Year: 1868

'"' Aio " "o9""ihhhS Iic WltH HIS arrival. Not dreaming that he was at home, had been careless as to the noise 1 made in breaking the window, and this having aroused him, he had risen to learn it's cause.

 As this revelation presented itself to me, another still more appalling was manifest to my mind. I was discover ed! These three words called up a vision in which disgrace, punishment, and utter ruin were the horrible fig ures! I have no consciousness of any thought but this at the moment; no recollection of seeing anything but his piercing eye fixed upon me in horror, scorn, and anger. 1 rushed forward in mad frenzy, the chisel uplifted in my hand. He uttered loud cry of astonishment and terror; there was a brief but awful struggle; twice, thrice, my right arm rose and fell, and then l was alone with the dead The corpse of my uncle lay bleeding at my feet, and l was an assassin!

 My subsequent acts on that awful night were in great part mechanical, though undoubtedly dictated by pro- cess of reasoning of which was, at the time, unconscious. 1 removed the money from the secretary, deliberately washed my ensanguined hands in his bedroom, threw the chisel out of the window, and thus having completed the evidence which would go to prove that the murderer had broken into the house, took up the candle and regain ed my own room. During the remain der of the night sat in one position completely stupefied and utterly una ble to realize what had done.

 The first gleam of dawn aroused me, and at last comprehcnded the full ex- tent of my crime. What 1 endured during the brief hour allowed myself to dwell upon it may be imagined by one equally guilty, but by none be- sides. The necessity for taking mea- sures for my own safety at last occurred to me, and l recovered my selt-posses- sion. There was fire burning in my sitting-room and in this 1 destroyed such ofmy clothing as had been stained in the commission of the awful deed. Luckily for me these stains were not extensive, and by sunrise no trace re. mained which could possibly connect me with the tragedy. When the horri fled servants burst into my room some hours afterward to announce the terri ble intelligence, they found me, us they supposed, sleeping calmly--a mockcry of the rest l was never more to know.

 The shock which the mysterious murder of Jason Winner produced in the community was of course fearful, and no pains or expense were spared by his friends in the endeavor to trace the assassin. Whithout avail, as may be supposed, for the devil had so beiriended me that not even the sligh- test suspicion was ever directed to- ward me. My subsequen. illness and melancholy were attributed to the very natural causes which must supervene upon the loss of so near relative by such death, and, save two persons on- ly, no one in the world would have dared to hint that was guilty.

 Save two persons only! My punish ment began almost instantly, for De Chargny and Helena were aware that was guilty, and never, from that mo- menty, allowed me to escape their power was soon aware oftheir utter selfishness, for their dcmands-De Chargny's especially-became so unrea- sonable that was at last goadcd into resistance and refusal. He left me without word on that occasion, but shuddered at the malignant glance he darted at me as he did so, and it was with a feeling of inexpressible relief that I received message from him soon after, appointing final meeting at which our differences might be set tied.

 The place which he had appointed for this interview was tolerably well known to me, being lodging-h house connected with factory formerly owned by my uncle. The factory itself had been burnt, and nothing remained save the rear wall broken and falling, which stood directly behind the lod- ging house some fifteen feet distant. The windows of the house overlooked the wall, and from the upperstory two beams, which had formerly supported platform connecting the buildings, extended to the top of the highest DOT tion of the wall still standing. Iknow not what the platform had been used for, but it was necessary to mention it, as it's remains play an important part in the sequel of my story. The lod- ging-house itself was dilapidated old building fronting on squalid neigh borhood and having but one entrance and one set of staircases.

 In an upper room of this house, on a wild and stormy evening about three months after Jason Winners murder, met Arthur de Chargny and Helena Montford for the last time. l was much surprised to find her with him in this moro than doubtful locality, but being resolved to break with both, l was not displeased at her presence. It was fortunate for me that she did come.

 The business upon which we bad met was soon reached, and my rage may be imagined when l heard De Chargny coolly demand that l should pay him sum equal to one-third of