Year: 1867

The murder of old Squire Erston set
the town crazy with excitement So
atrocious crime had not been COM
mitted inside its limits within the mem
ory of its oldest inhabitant. The trag-
edy was in every mouth.


But neither moraliZing, nor wonder
ing, nor fearing could bring the
murdered man back to lie; and SO
after he had lain nearly a week, his
funeral took place. lie was buried
with ostentatious show, for be Was a
rich man; and after it was all over,
peoples thoughts turned from him to
his assassination the deed to the
Loer


Who was the murderer? Suspicion
fell at first on his gardener. The old
squire had dismissed him FROM his
service in "a rage only the day before
the murder and it was said he had been
heard to vow revenge But there was
no further proof to substantiate such
an opinion. Then foolish Dick Lawson,
a quiet, harmless lad, who had never
done injury to so much as fly, came
under the ban of public mistrust But
he was free again in a few days. No
one, looking in his vacant face, or
listening to his almost childish prattle,
could entertain such a thought of him
long. Then suspicion, as if melted by
defeat, ran hastily back and forth
among all the desperate and hardened
men of the town (and they were few,
indeed-it was such pious, proper lit
tie place, still failing to lay its dark
hand on any individual shoulder. Sud
denly it veered-paused a space, as if
changing to certainty, ran on pace or
two, wayered, enlarged, and then
sprang with swift panther leap at the
throat of its new victim.


Edwin { hesley, the squire's private
secretary, was arrested and thrown into
Jail. There was strong circumstantial
evidence against him. He had been
absent from his lodging on the night of
the murder. A bloody knife had been
found concealed among the clothes ID
his trunk; and while all about him
gossipped and guessed and shuddered
over the matter, he had appeared grave,
self possessed and taciturn, saying little,
and apparently wondering still less


The wise men of the place stroked
their boards and nodded their heads
knowingly, as much as to say, "We
have caught the right man at last"
But what motive Conjecture was
puzzled there for time. He could
not have committed the murder for
money, for there had been nothing like
robbery attempted with it. Nor for re-
renge employer and employed had al
ways been on the best of terms with
each other For years they had been
like father and son. The wise men
pondered, cropping darkly about in a
wilderness of vague conjectures for some,
little clue to guide them to truth
They stumbled over it at last, and
stroked their boards and nodded their
heads again.


Mrs. Ersten, left widow by the un-
timely death of her husband, was a
young woman, beautiful and fascinating.
Report said she had been thrown much
in the society of her husbands Sec
retary; and that they had taken long
walks and rides together during the old
squire's frequent illness and absences;
and-well, what could be plainer 1t
wasn't the first time that beauty and
wealth bad tempted mans soul away
from him. 1t was strange they had
never noticed that viilainous look in
young Chesley's face before-very
strangei


To be sure they knew he had been
engaged to Elsie Hamilton, a young