Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 31, Number 309, 4 December 1906 — Page 7

The Richmond Palladium, Tuesday, December 4, 1906.

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fTTIITTTi TTTXXIXTJ riiiiTT By ANNA Amthtt of "The Mystery ef Copyright, Iff J, rrrxj ltttj "FT 1 iaaiy. SrouajTL-oretta nave caugnt tone glimpse of her face, but it was bidnswer a single one of her questions. he simply closed her door and kept It till toward raiduJ,rbt, when Miss uttie, coming into the hall, ordered a he bouse to be closed for the night. rben the long shut door softly swung pen; but, before any one could reach r, it was again pulled to and locked. The next day brought no relief. Miss guttle,-who bad changed greatly durng this tfnhappy day and night, sue ceded no better than before in getting iccess to ber sister, nor could Loretta arain the least word from ber mistress till toward the latter part of the afternoon, when that lady, ringing her bell. tare her first order.' . . A substantial dinner!" she cried. Und when Loretta, greatly relieved, rought up the required meal she was kstonished to find the door open and lerself bidden to enter. The sight hlcb met her eyes staggered her. From one end of the room to the other were signs of great nervous unrest I a - m . fv. i . mm I rr 1 Ivere pushed into corners as if the vretched bride bad tramped the floor n an agony of excitement Curtains - Ivere torn, and the piano cover was banging half on and half off the open ipright, as if she had clutched at it to ;eep herself from falling. On the floor eneath lay several pieces of broken hlna vases of whose value Mrs. Jefrey had often spoken, but which, jerked ff with the cover, had been left where hey fell while immediately in front f the fireplace lay one of the rugs. ossed into a heap, as if she bad rolled a it on the floor or used it to smother er cries of pain or anger. So much for the state in which the Fitness found the boudoir. The adoioing bedroom was not In much beter case, though it was evident that the ed itself bad not been lain in since It ras made up the day before at break ast time. By this token, Mrs. Jeffrey Laralta a Ina wltnaa ta.nS ad not slept the night before, or if she ad laid her head anywhere it bad i leen on the rug already spoken of. These signs of extreme mental suf fering, so much more extreme than any oretta had ever before witnessed. tightened her so that the tray shook H her hand as she set it down on the ble among the countless objects Mrs. effrey always had about her. The bise seemed to startle her mistress. ho had walked to the window after penlng the door,- for she wheeled imetuoualy about and Loretta saw her ce. it was as if a blight had passed rer it. Once gay and animated be - - j Jond the power of any one to describe, t had become In twenty-four hours a jhost's face, with the glare of some iwful resolve on it; or so it would ppear from the way Loretta describi it. Loretta, who was evidently accusfmed to seeing her mistress arrayed brilliant colors and much begemtied. laid great stress on the fact that. hough it was on the verge of evening Jnd she was evidently going out, she ras dressed in black cloth and with out even a diamond or a flower to reve its severe simDlIcltv. Her hair. po, which was always her pride, was Jiled in a careless mass upon her head k If she had tried to nrrnnee ft her. and had forcotten what she was Joing while her fingers were but half f trough their work. There 1 was a oak lying on a chair near which she has standing and she held a hat in her nnd, but Loretta saw no gloves. As te maid's glance and that of her misess crossed. Mrs. Jeffrey spoke, and he effort she made in doing so natuIIy frightened tfce girl still more. "I Vn going out," were ber words. "I ay not be borne till late What are j bu looking at?" Loretta declared that the words took ' r by surprise ana raat sne ma not how what to say, but managed to coy- : up her embarrassment by intimating ; at if her mistress would -t her uch up her hair a bit sb rould : ake her look more natural. ! At tiis suggestion Mrs. Jeffrey cast j glance in the glass and impetuously klared, "It doesn't matter." But sbe emed to think better of it the next inute; for. throwing herself in a Lair, sbe bade the girl to bring a mb and sat quietly enough, though Idently in a great tremor of haste id Impatience, while Loretta combed r hair and put it up in the old way. But the old way was not as beeoing as usual, and Loretta was wonderg if she ought to call In Miss Tuttle pen Mr. Jeffrey jumped to her feet bd went over to the table and began dtat vlth tha fAi-teh h acta Af nno !lio forces herself to take food In ite of hurry and distaste. This was the moment . for Loretta to nve the. room, but she did not know bw to ifo-eoV- She felt herself fixed the spot and stood waUhinff Mrs. ffrey till that lady, suddenly b-om- ! a conscious of the cirl's presence. '

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fife ree Ball KATHARINE GREEN, Agatha Weak," "Lest Man's Lane," Etc. by the Bobbi-Merrlll Ceaasasy V H tarired, and in the midst of the moans which broke - unconsciously from her lips said with a pitiable effort at her old manner: "Go away, Loretta; I am ill; bare been ill for two days. I don't like people to look at me like that!" Then, as the girl shrank back, she added in a breaking voice, "When Mr. Jeffrey comes home" and said no more for several minutes, during which he clutched ber throat with both hands and strugged wItn her8elf till 8De got her Toice back and found herself able to repeat: "When Mr. Jeffrey comes, if be does come, tell him that I was right about the way that novel ended. Remember that you are to say to him the moment you see him that I was right about the novel and that he is to look and see if it did not end as I said it would.' And, Loretta" here she rose and approach ed the speaker with a sweet, appeal ing look which brought tears to the impressionable girl's eyes "don't go gossiping about me downstairs. I shan't be sick long. I am going to be better soon, very soon. By the time you see me here again I shall be quite like my old self. Forget how how" and Loretta said she seemed to have difficulty in finding the right word here "how childish I have been." Of course Loretta promised, but she Is not sure that she would have had the courage to keep all this to herself if she had not heard Mrs. Jeffrey stop in Miss Tuttle's room on ber way out. That relieved her and enabled her to go downstairs to her own supper with more appetite than she bad thought ever to have again. Alas, it was the la at good meal she was able to eat for days! In three hours afterward a man came from the station house with the news of Mrs. Jeffrey's suicide in the horrible old house In which she had been married only two weeks before. As this had been a continuous narrative and concisely told, the coroner had not interrupted her. When at this point a little gasp escaped Miss Tuttle and a groan broke from Francis Jeffrey's hitherto sealed Hps the feelings of the whole assemblage seemed to And utterance. A young wife's misery culminating in death on the very spot where she had been so lately married! What could be more thrilling or appeal more closely to the general heart of humanity? But the cause of that misery! This was what every one present was eager to have explained. This is what we now expected the coroner to bring out. But Instead of continuing on the line he had opened up he proceeded to ask: "Where were you when this officer brought the news you mention?" "In the hall, sir. I opened the door for him." "And to whom did he first mention his errand?" "To Miss Tattle. She had come in just before him and was standing at the foot of the stairs" "What! Was Miss-Tuttle out that evening?" Yes; she went out very soon after Mrs. Jeffrey left, When she came in she said that sbe had been around the block, but sbe must have gone around it more than once, for sbe was absent two hours." "Did you let her in?" "Yes, sir." "And she said she had been around the block?" "Yes. sir." "Did she say anything else?" "She asked if Mr. Jeffrey had come to." t "Anything else?" rrl i, . w -r-d 1 1 t. J iueu ij. Airs. J t'ufcj uau reiurneu. t0 fth of which questions you an swered" "A plain 'No. " "Now tell us about the officer." "He rang the bell almost immediately after she did. Thinking she would want to slip upstairs before I admitted any one, I waited a minute for her to go, but sbe did not do so, and a the officer stepped in she" "Well?" "She shrieked." "What! Before he spoke ? "Yes, sir." . "Just a t sight of him?" "Yes, sir." "Did he wear his badge In plain view?" "Yes; on his breast." "So that you knew him to be a police officer?" "Yes." ' "And Miss Tattle shrieked at seeing a police officer?" . , '. "Yes. and sprang forward. "Did she say anything?" ' "Not then." "What did 'she do?" "Waited for him to speak." "Which he did?" "At once and very brutally. He asked if she was Mrs. Jeffrey's sister, and when she nodded and gasped 'Yes, he J blurted out that Mrs. Jeffrey was dead: that be had just come from the old house in Waverley avenue, where she had just been found." "And Miss Tuttle?" "Didn't know what to say; just hid 1 her face. Sbe was leaning against the ; newel post, so it was osy for her to do so. I remember that the man stared at her for taking it so quietly and asking no questions." j "And did sbe speak at all?" "Oh, yes, afterward. Her face was wrapped in the folds of her cloak, but r I heard her whisper as if to herself: ' 'So, no! That old hearth is not a lodestone. She cannot have fallen wildly and cried: There is something more! Something which you have not told me." 'She shot herself, if that'a what you mean. Miss Tuttle's arm3 went straight up over her head. It was awful to see her. 'Shot herself?' she gasped. 'Oh, Veronica, Veronica! 'With a pistol be went on I suppose " io 'tif to her rist' "Ul ne npTr 8i u out. lor .miss iuitie at the word 'pistol' clapped her

hands to her ears and for a 'moment looked quite distracted, so that he

thought better of worrying her any J more and only demanded to know if Mr. Jeffrey. kept any such weapon. "Miss Tuttle's face grew very strange at this. 'Mr. Jeffrey! Was be there?' she asked. The man looked surprised. They are searching for Mr. Jeffrey,' he replied. 'Isn't he here?' Xo,' came both from her lips and mine. The man acted very impertinently. 'You haven't told me whether a pistol was kept here or not, said he. Miss Tuttle tried to compose herself, but I saw that I bould have to speak if any one did, so I told him that Mr. Jeffrey did have a pistol, which he kept in one of his bureau drawers. But when the officer wanted Miss Tuttle to go up and see if it was there she shook her head and made for the front door, saying that she must be taken directly to ber sister." "And did no one go up? Was no at tempt made to see if the pistol was or was not in the drawer?" I "Yes; the officer went up with me. I J pointed out the place where it was ' kept, and he rummaged all through it, but fouad no pistol. I didn't expect him to" Here the witness paused and bit her lip,' adding confusedly, "Mr. Jeffrey had taken it, you see." The jurors, who sat very much in the shadow, had up to this point attracted but little attention. But now they began to make their presence felt, perhaps because the break in the witness' words bad been accompanied by a sly look at Jinny. Possibly warned by this that something lay back of this hitherto timid witness' sudden volubility, one of them now spoke up. "In what room did you say this pistol was kept?" "In Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey's bedroom, sir; the room opening out of the sitting room where Mrs. Jeffrey had kept herself shut up all day." Does this bedroom of which you speak communicate with the ball as; well as with the sitting room ?" ' "No, sir; it is the defect of the bouse. Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey often spoke of it as a great annoyance. You had to pass through the little boudoir in order to reach it." The juryman sank back, evidently satisfied with ber replies, but we who marked the, visible excitement with which the witness had answered this seemingly unimportant question wondered what special interest surrounded that room and the pistol to warrant the heightened color with which the girl answered this new interlocutor. We were not destined to know at this time, for the coroner, when he spoke again, pursued a different subject. "How long was this before Mr. Jeffrey came in?" "Only a few minutes. I was terribly frightened at being left there alone and was on my way to ask one of the other girls to come up and stay with me when I heard his key in the lock and came back. He had entered the house and was standing near the door talking to an officer, wiio had evidently come in with him. It was a different officer from the one who had gone away with Miss Tuttle. Mr. Jeffrey was saying: 'What's that? My wife hurt! 'Dead, sir!' blurted out the man. I had expected to see Mr. Jef frey terribly shocked, but not in so awful a way. It really frightened me to see him and I turned to run, but found that I couldn't and that I bad to stand still and look whether I wanted to or not. Yet he didn't say a word or ask a question." "What did he do, Loretta?' "I cannot say. He was on his knees and was white oh, how white! Yet he looked up when the man described 1 bow and where" Mrs. Jeffrey bad been ' found and even turned toward me when I said something about his wife :. having left a message for him when j she went out. This message, which I j almost hesitated to give after the aw- ' ful news of ber death, was about the ending of some story, as you remember, and it seemed heartless to speak ; c J it at a moment like this, but as sbe ! had told me to I didn't dare to disobey her. So, with the man listening to my every word, and Mr. Jeffrey looking as if be would fall to the ground before I could finish, I repeated her words to him and was surprised enough when he suddenly started upright and went flying upstairs. But I was more sur- j prised yet when, at the top of the first j flight, he stopped and, looking over the balustrade, asked in a very strange . voice where Miss Tuttle was. For he j seemed just then to want her more than anything else in the world and looked beaten and wild when I told him that she was already gone to Waverley avenue. But he recovered himself before the man could draw near enough to see his face, and rushed Into the sitting room above and shut the door behind him. leaving the officer and me standlnp- dnwn hr thu frrnt rlnor i "As I didn't know what to say to a j man like him, and be didn't know what to say to me, the time seemed long, but K couldn't have been very many minutes before Mr. Jeffrey came back with a slip of paper in his band and n very much relieved look on his face. ' 'The deed was premeditated V be cried. 'My unfortunate wife has misunder-'. stood my affection for her" And from being a very much broken down man . be stood up straight and tall and pre-; Iared himself very quietly to go to the Moore house. That is all I can tell about the way the news was received by him." Were these details necessary? Many appeared to regard them as futile and uncalled for, but Coroner Z. was never known to waste time on trivlalties, and if he called for these facts those who knew him best felt certain that they were meant as a preparation for Mr. Jeffrey's testimony, which was now called for. CHAPTER XII. w HEN Francis Jeffrey's hand fell from his forehead and he turned to face the assembled people an instinctive compession arose in every breast at sight of his face, which, If not open in its expression, was at least surcharged with the deepest misery. I pass over tho preliminary examination of this important witness and proceed at once to the point when the coroner, holding out the two or three lines of writing which Mr. Jeffrey had declared to have beea left him by his wife, asked ' "Are tht-oC words . iu your wife's handwriting?" Mr. Jeffrey replied hastily and with jojt a glance at the paper offered him: i

"They ate." The coroner pressed the slip upon him. "Look at them carefully," he urged. "The handwriting shows hurry and In places is scarcely legible. Are you ready to swear Jhat these words were

written by your wife and by no other?" Mr. Jeffrey, with just a slight contraction of his brow expressive of annoyance, did as he was bid. He scanned, or appeared to scan, the small scrap of paper which he jow took into bis own handv "It is my wife's writing," he impatiently declared; "written, as all can see, under great agitation of mind, but hers without any doubt." "Will you read aloud these words for our benefit?" asked the coroner. The lines he was thus called upon to read may bear repetition: I find that I do not love you as X thought. I cannot live knowing this to ba so. Pray God you may forgive rae! VBBONICA: As the last word fell with a little tremble from Mr. Jeffrey's lips the coroner repeated: "You still think these words were addressed to you by your wife; that in short they contain an explanation of her death?" "I do." There was sharpness in the tone. Mr. Jeffrey was feeling the prick. There was agitation In It, too; an agitation he was trying hard to keep down. - "You have reason, then," persisted the coroner, "for accepting this peculiar explanation of your wife's death, a death which, in the judgment of most people, was of a nature to call for the strongest provocation possible?" "My wife was not herself. My wife was in an overstrained and suffering condition. For one so nervously overwrought many allowances must be made. She may have been conscious of not responding folly to my affection. That this feeling was strong enough to Induce her to tae her life is a source of unspeakable grief to me, but one for which you must find explanation, as I have so often said, TKa 4iapva4 writing in the terrors caused by the dread event at the Moore house, which recalled old tragedies and emphasized a most unhappy family tradition." The coroner paused a moment to let these words sink into the ears of the jury, then plunged immediately into what might be called the offensive part of bis examination. "Why, if your wife's death caused you such "Intense grief, did you appear so relieved at receiving this by no means consoling explanation?" At an Implication so unmistakably suggestive of suspicion Mr. Jeffrey showed fire for the first time. "Whose word have you for that? A servant's, so newly come into my house that her very features are still strange to me.. Y'ou must acknowledge that a person of such marked inexperience can hardly be thought to know me or to Interpret rightly the feelings of my heart by any passing look sbe may have surprised upon my face." This attitude of defiance so suddenly assumed had an effect he little realized. Miss Tuttle stirred for the first time behind her veil, and Uncle David, from looking bored, became suddenly quite attentive. These two but mirrored the feelings of the general crowd, and mine especially. "We do not depend on her Judgment alone," the coroner now remarked. "The change In you was apparent .to many others. This we can prove to the Jury if they require It." But, no man lifting a voice from that gravely attentive body, the coroner ; proceeded to inaulre if Mr. Jeffrey felt j like volunteering any explanations on this bead. Receiving no answer from him either, he dropped the suggestive line of inquiry and took up the consideration of facts. The first question he : now put was: ."Where did you find the slip of pa-' per containing these last words from your wife?" "In a book I picked out of the bookshelf in our room upstairs. When Lo retta gave me my wife's message I '. knew that I should find some word I from her in the novel we had Just been ' reading. AS we had been interested in ' but one book since our marriage, there was no possibility of my making any mistake as to which one she referred." "Will you give us the name of this nOVel ?" " 'Compensation.' " "And you found this book called 'Compensation' in your room upstairs?" "Yes." "On the bookshelf?" "Yes." "Where does this bookshelf stand T Mr. Jeffrey looked up as much as to say, "Why so many small questions about so simple a matter?" but answered frankly enough: "At the right of the door leading into the bedroom." "And at right angles to the door leading into the hall?" "Yes." "Very good. Now may I ask you to describe the cover of this book?" "The cover? I never noticed the cover. Why do you Excuse me, I Miss Tattle and Unci David listening to tha avidenca Suppose you hate your reasons for asking even these puerile and seemingly unnecessary questions. The cov er a queer one. and partly cTn j u ; V i, 7 ' and that i- i I , ;i know about U-"

"Is this the book?" "Mr. Jeffrey glanced at the volume the coroner held up before him. "I believe so; It looks like it" The book had a flaming cover, quite unmistakable In Its character. - - "The title shows it to be the same." remarked the coroner. "Is this the only book with a cover of this kind in the house?" "The only one, I should say..' The coroner laid down the book. "Enough of this, then, for the present; only let the jury remember that the cover of this book is peculiar and that it was kept on a shelf at the right of the opening leading Into the adjoining bedroom. And now, Mr. Jeffrey, we must ask you to look at these rings, or, rather, at this one. Tou have seen It before. It is the one you placed on Mrs. Jeffrey's hand when you were married to her a little over a fortnight ago. You recognize it?" "I do."

"Do you also recornize this email mark of blood on it as having been here when it was shown to you by the detective on your return from seeing her dead body at the Moore house?" "I do; yes." "How do you account for that spot and the slight injury made to her finger? Should you not say that the ring bad been dragged from her band?" "I should." "By whom was It dragged? fy you?" "No, sir." "By herself, then? "It would seem so." "Much passion must have been in that act Do you think that any ordinary quarrel between husband and wife would account for the display of such fury? Are we not right in supposing a deeper cause for the disturbance between you than the slight one you offer in way of explanation?" An inaudible answer; then a sudden straightening of Francis Jeffrey's fine figure. And that was all. "Mr. Jeffrey, in the talk you had with your wife on Tuesday morning was Miss Tuttle's name introduced?" "It was mentioned; yes, sir." "With recrimination or any display of passion on the part of your wife?" "You would not believe me if I said no," was the unexpected rejoinder. The coroner, taken aback by this direct attack from one who had hitherto borne all his innuendoes with apparent patience, lost countenance for a moment, but, remembering that in his official capacity he was more than a match for the elegant gentleman, who tinder other circumstances would have found It only too easy to put him to the blush, he observed with dignity: "Mr. Jeffrey, you are on oath. We certainly have no reason for not believing you." Mr. Jeffrey bowed. He was probably sorry for his momentary loss of self control, and gravely, but with eyes bent downward, answered with the abrupt phrase: "Well, then, I will say no." The coroner shifted his ground. "Will you make the same reply when I ask if the like forbearance was j shown toward your wife's name in the conversation you bad with Miss Tuttle Immediately afterward?" "Miss Tuttle was Mrs. Jeffrey's half sister. The bond between them was Rtrong. Would she would I be opt to speak of my young wife with bitterness?" "That is not an answer to my question, Mr. Jeffrey, i must request a more positive reply." "There were no recriminations ut tered. Mrs. Jeffrey had displeased me, and I said so, but I did not forget that I was iineaklnc of mv Wife and to her sister." As this was in the highest degree noncommittal, the coroner could be excused for persisting. "The conversation, then, was about your wife?" "It was." "In criticism of her conduct?" "Yes." "At the ambassador's ball?" "Yes." Mr. Jeffrey was a poor hand at lying. That last "yes" came with great effort. The coroner waited, possibly for the echo of this last "yes" to cease; then he remarked with a coldness which lifted at once the veil from his hitherto ; well disguised antagonism to this witness: "If you will recount to us anything which your wife said or did on that evening which, in your mind, was worthy of all this coil, it might help us to understand the situation." But the witness made no attempt to do so, and while many of us were ready to pardon him this show of delicacy others felt that under the circumstances it would have been better bad he been more open. Among the latter was the coroner himself, who from this moment threw aside all hesitation and urged forward uia uiijuiiiest ui a rraj iu yi f uie witness closer and closer toward the net he was secretly holding out for him. First, he obliged him to say that bis conversation with Miss Tuttle had not tended to smooth matters, that no reconciliation with his wife had followed . it and that In the thirty-six hours I which elapsed before he returned home ! again be had made no attempt to soothe the feelings of oiie who, according to bis own story, he considered hardly responsible for any extravagances in which she might have induiged. Then when this inconsistency had ; been given time to sink into the minds of the jury Coroner Z. increased the elect produced by confronting Jeffrey ' with witnesses who testified to the j friendly, if not loverliie, relations j which hfid existed between himself and i Miss Tuttle prior to the appearance of ; his wife upon the scene, closing with a question which brought out the de- . clal, by no means new, that an en- ; gagement had ever taken place be1 tween him and Miss Tuttle and hence that a bond had been canceled by his marriage with Miss Moore. Some hint of what the coroner contemplated had already escaped him In j the persistent and seemingly ineoniei Quent questions to which he had subjeeted this witness. But the Time hid now couie for a more direct attack, and the Interest rose correspondingly high when the cdroner, lining agaia to sight the scrap of paper containing the few piteous lines so often quoted, asked cf the now anxious and agitated witnes if be bad cTer noticed eny r - .tL 1, bis wife and that . of Miss Tuttre. Am latoant "q7 was sAejit tg t

pass his lips when he suddenly checked himself and said more mildly: There may have been a similarity. I hardly know. I have seen too little of Miss Tuttle's hand to judge.- . . This occasioned a diversion. Specimens of Miss Tuttle's handwriting were produced, which, after bavins been duly proved, were passed down to the Jury along with the commanicatton professedly signed by Mrs. Jeffrey. The grants of astonishment which ensued as the knowing heads drew near over these several papers caused Mr. Jeffrey to flush and finally to cry oat with startling emphasis: "I know that those words were written by my wife."

But when the coroner asked him his reasons for this conviction he could or would not state them. "I have said." he stolidly repeated. and that was all. The coroner made no comment, but when after some further inquiry which added little to the general knowledge Je misl Jfrey and recalled cuo uiric waa iuii lu ill a win which warned us that the really rerious portion of the day's examination was about to begin. CHAPTER XIIL THE appearance of this witness had undergone a change since she last stood before us. Sbe was shamefaced still, but her manner showed resolve and a feverish determination te face the situation which could but awaken in the breasts of those who had Mr. Jeffrey's honor and personal welfare at heart a nameless dread, as if they already foresaw the dark shadow which minute by min ute was slowly . sinking over a. house hold which up to a week ago had been the envy and admiration of all Wash ington society. The first answer she made revealed both the cause of her shame and the reason of her firmness. It was in re sponse to the question whether she, Loretta, had seen Miss Tuttle before she went out on theVtlk she was said to have taken immediately after Mrs. Jeffrey's final ' departure from the house. Her words were these: "I did. sir. I do not think Miss Tuttle know it, but I saw bar in Mrs. Jeffrey's room. I am not especially proud of what I did that night, but I was led into it by degrees, and I am sure I beg the lady's pardon." And then she went on to relate bow after he had teen Mrs. Jeffrey leave the house sbe went into her room with the Intention of putting it to rights. As this was no more than her duty, no fault could be found with her, but sbe owned that when she had finished this lask and removed all evidence of Mrs. Jeffrey's frenzied condition she had no business to linger at the table turning over the letters she found lying there, s Her checks were burning now, for sbe bad found herself obliged to admit that she 'had read enough of these letters to be sure that they had no reference to the quarrel then pending between ber mistress and Mr. Jeffrey. Her eyes fell and sbe braked seriously distressed as she went on to say that she was as conscious then as now of having no business with these papers; so conscious. Indeed, that when sbe heard Miss Tuttle's step at the door, her one idea was to hide herself. That she could stand and face that lady never so much as occurred to her. Her own guilty consciousness made her cheeks too hot for her to wish to meet an eye which had never rested on her any too kindly; so noticing how straight the curtains fell over one of the windows on the opposite side of i the room, she dashed toward it and slipped In out of sight just as Miss Tuttle came in. This window was one seldom used, owing to the fact that it overlooked an adjoining wall, so sbe had no fear of Miss Tuttle approaching it. Consequently, she could stand there quite at her ease, and, as the curtains in falling behind her bad not come quite together, she really could not help seeing what that lady did. Here the witness paused with every appearance of looking for some token of disapprobation from the crowd. But she 'encountered nothing there but eager anxiety for her to proceed, so without waiting for the coroner's "i8"0"- she f dded !? ,8 a.nT. w.orU..: - ene went nrst w uie oooitsueivee. We had expected it; but yet a general movement took place, and a few suppressed exclamations could be heard. i "And what did sbe do there?" j "Took down a book, after looking ! carefully up and down the shelves." ; "What color of book?" "A green one with red figures on it. I could see the cover plainly as she took It down." "Like this oner "Exactly like that one." "And what did she do with this book?" 0pened iu but not to read It She was too quick In closing It for that." "Did sbe take the book away?" "No; sbe put it back on the shelf." "After opening and closing it?" "Yes, sir." -"Did you see whether she put anything into the book?" "I cannot swear that sbe did, but then her back wss to me, and I could not have seen it if she had." -The implied suggestion caused some excitement, but the coroner, frowning Laretta'si testimony creates a, sastia on this, pressed the girl to continue, nskinc if Miss Tuttle left the room immediately after turning from the bookshelves. Loretta replied no; that, on the contrary, she stood for some minutC3 near them, gazing in what seemed like a great dhtres of mind straight upon tL floor, after which she moved lu an agitated way and with aore than one anxious look behind her Into the adjoining room, where she paused before a large bureau. As this bureae was devoted entirely to Mr. Jeffrey's use. Loretta experienced some surprise at seeing bis wife's tislerapproacn it ia so ebraltny a manner, Consequently sfce was watching with H her ggyht wta vft l.O

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Are You Tired, Nervous and Sleepless? Nervousness and sleeplessness are usually due to the fact that the nerves are not fed on property nourishing blood; thev are tirvcl nerves. Dr. Tierce's Golden Medical Discovery makes pure, rich biou.., and thereby tha nerves are croperiy nourished and all the organs of ; he body are run as smoothly as machinery which runs in oil. In this wsy you foe clean, strong and strenuous you are toned up and invigorated, and you are Tood for a whole lot of phvjical or mental work. Best of all, the strength and Increase in vitality and health are Uistinq. The trouble with most tonics and med

icines which have a large, booming sale tar a snort nine, js that they are larpen eompojiod of alcohol holding the drups o'ution. I his aioot.oi shrinks up thej !ood corpuscles, and In the , long-run rrtly injures the svstm. One mm feci cshilarated and bettor lot tho timrfbeinir, vet in the end weakened and witlCitalitv iocreafed. Dr. Plorce's tJo'idetMedical Discovery contains no alcol Evry Kittle of it bears upon its Haaqe of Honesty, in a full rapper ie t of all its several ingredients. For tms drugjtlvt to ofTer you something he cIotds is "just as eoe - ts to insult your mjriiigence. Every ingredient erering into the world-famed "Golden JkfdicafDiscovery " has the unanimous apfov&l and endorsement of the leading Medical authorities of all the several schools of practice. No other medicine 4M iroush druggists for like purposes has a such endorsement. The "to!in Heal Discovery" not only produces all le good effects to be obtained from the use of Golden Seal root, in all stomach, liver and bowel troubles, as In dyspepsia, biliousness, constipation, ulceration of stomach and bowels and kindred ailments, but the Golden fcioal root used in its compounding is greatly enhance In its curative action by other ingmiieiit such as Stone root. Black Cherrybark. 1 Hood root. Mandrake root and chemically pure triplerefined glycerine. "The Common Sense Medical Adviser." Is sent free In paper cover on receipt of 21 one-cent stamps to pay the cost of mailing only. For 31 stamps the cloth-bound volume will be sent. Address Dr. R. V. Pierce. Buffalo. N, Y. Dr. Pierce's Pleasant Pellet cure constipation, biliousness and headache. openeu uc uyer crawer ana wun very evident emotion thrust her hand into it. What sfce tevk out or whether she took out anything this spy upon ner movements could . not say, for when Loretta heard; toe drawer being pushed back Into place she drew the curtain close, perceiving that Miss Tuttle would hvete -face this window lu coming back. However, she ventured upon one other peep through them just as that lady was leaving the room and remembered as if it were yesterday how clay white her face looked and how she held ber left band pressed close against the folds of her dress. It was but a few minutes after that Miss Turtle left the house. As we all knew what was kept la that drawer, the conclusion was obvious. She wished to sec if his pistol away by ber sister. The temerity which bad made it possible to asseciate the name of such a man as Francis Jeffrey with an outrageous crime having been thus in a measure explained, v the coroner recalled that gentleman and again thoroughly surprised the gaping public. , Had the witness accompanied bis wife to the Moore bouse? "No." Had he met her there by any appointment be had made with her or which had been made for tbem both by some third person? "No." Had he been at the Moore house on the night of the 11th at any time pre vlous to the hour when, be was brought there by the officials? "No." Would he glance at this Impression of certain finger tips which had been left In the dust of the southwest chamber mantel? He had already noted them. Now would he place his left hand on the paper and see(To Be continued.) Get Liquor Licenses. David 11. Johnston, B. A. Kennepohi and William Torbeck. all of this city, were granted liquor licenses by the County Commissioners on Monday. , TORTURED BY Suffered Tremendous Itchmcr Over Whole Bod v Scratched Unti Bled Worse at Night, W Sorenoss and txcruciatma: rays a. an t . r A Western Lady's WONDERFUL CURE CUTICURA REMEDIES "Last year at this time with a tremendous itchin suffered on my back, which grow worse and orse, until it spread over tnc wnon only my face and hands y, and ere rcc. For four months or so 1 ered tho torment afof the damned, scratchscratch, scratch. id I had to ntil I bled. At nigm when l went cot toie. and I had a bed things imes to eet up andfscratch my body 1 over, until I was 14 sore as coma and until I sufferei excruciatmr s. 1 did not know that it was, an resorted to a numrxw of blood pu icrs, using at times lso Cuticura me thftt that I w d. Thev told su'Tering from eczemas Then I up my mind hat I mould also url Cuticura Oint ment arjl Cuticura Insolvent. I used them ace&ding to inyxuetions, and very soon indeei I was eatly relieved. I continued Witil w&il, and now I am ready to recQaSjnrijpfd the Cuticura Remedies to any one who suffers as did you obedient servant. Mrs. Mary Metzger, Sweetwater, Okla., June 28, 1905." Humors, Eczema?, and Itchiogs Cured by Cuticura The agonizing itching and burnine of the skin, 84 in eczema; the frightful scaling, as in, psoriasis; the loss of hair and crusting of scalp, S3 in scalled head ail demand a remedy of almost superhuman virtues to successfully cope with them. That Cuticura Soap, Ointment, and Pills are such stands proven beyond all doubt. g'4 flweaffe-at tfce wrt. Catfcara nfc't Ac- V.n'i. 10c (la farm f CNri! Cawf &r ru rial af V: mmr b kaa at .l 4rarta A lrf mt aft ewe. F?ter Vrnf 4 (Hft C. wn

CHINE

ECZEMA

TQRTURfNG

DISFIGURING