Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 31, Number 347, 17 January 1907 — Page 7

The Richmond Palladium, Thursday, January 17, 1907.

Faoe Savcn.

I The Mystery of Agatha Webb. fit By Anna Katharine Grsen. tl A $ Author of Th3 Iivenwcrtii Case," 'Xoet Xcr.3 Hone," "Hana ted Eir, 72tz., ITc 11

AJ Copyright, 1900, by Aura Kathaiins Gre-a.

"Most certainly,- acquiesced rvsnjrj-. As for Sweetwater, be remained silent till the opportunity came for him to whisper apart to Dr. Talbot, wlieu he paid: "For all the palpable proof of which Mr. Knapp speaks tbe 4J. Z.' on the dagger and the possibility of this being the object he was seen carrying out of Philemon Webb's gate I maintain that j this old man in his moribund condition ! jiever struck the blow that killed Agatha Webb. lie hadn't strength rnough even If bis lifelong love for ber Lad not been sufficient to prevent him." The coroner looked thoughtful. "You are right." said he. "He hadn't -strength enough. But don't expend too much energy in talk. Wait and see what a few direct questions will elicit from Miss Page." CHAPTER XVIII. A WILT WITNESS. Frederick rose early. He had slept but little. The words he had overheard at the etid of the lot the night before were still ringing In his ears. Going down the back stairs In his anxiety to avoid Amabel, he came upon one of the 6 tab! cm en. " "Been to" the' village 'this morning?" tie asked. "No, sir, but Lem has. There's great news there. I wonder if any one has told Mr. Sutherland?" "What news, Jake? I don't think my father Is up yet." "Why, sir, there were two more deaths In town last night the brothers Zabel and folks do say (Lem heard it a dozen times between the grocery and the fish market) that It was one of these old men who killed Mrs. Webb. The dagger has been found In their house end most of the money. Why, sir. what's the matter? Are you sick?" Frederick made an effort and stood upright. He had nearly fallen. "No that is, I am not quite myself. Bo many horrors, Jake." "What did they die of? You say they ere both dead both?" "Yes, sir, and It's dreadful to think of, but It was hunger, sir. Bread came too late. Both men are mere skeletons to look at. They have kept themselves close for weeks now, and nobody knew bow bad off they were. I don't wonder It upset you, sir. We all feel it a bit. and I just dread to tell Mr. Sutherland." Frederick staggered away. lie had never In bis life been so near mental und physical collapse. At the threshold of the sitting room door he met his father. . Mr. Sutherland was looking lotb troubled and anxious more so, Frederick thought, than when he signed the check for him on the previous night. As their eyes met both showed embarrassment, but Frederick, whose nerves had been highly strung up by what he bad Just heard, soon controlJed himself and, surveying bis father with forced calmness, began: This Is dreadful news, sir." But his father, Intent on bis own thought, hurriedly Interrupted him. "You told me yesterday that everything was broken off between you and Miss Page, yet 1 saw you re-enter the house together last night a little while lifter I gave you the money you asked ; for." I "I know, and It must have had a bad j appearance. I entreat you, however, to The dagger hm teen found in their house ! most of the money." believe that this meeting between Miss Page and myself was against my wish and that the relations between us have not been affected by anything that passed between us." "1 am glad to hear it, my son. You could not do worse by yourself than to return to your old devotion." "1 agree with you. sir." And then, because he could not help it, Frederick inquired If he had heard the news. Mr. Sutherland, evidently startled, asked what news, to which Frederick replied: "The news about the Zabels. They are both dead, sir dead from hunger. Can you Imagine it? This was something so different from what his father had expected to hear that be did not take it in at first When he did. his surprise and grief were even greater than Frederick had anticipated. Seeing him so affected. Frederick, who thought that the whole truth would be no harder to bear than the half, added the suspicion which had been attached to tbe younger one's name and then stood back, scarcely daring to be a witness to the outraged feelings which such a communication could not fail to awaken In one of his father's temperament. But, though he thus escaped the fchocked look which crossed his father's countenance, he could not fail to hear the Indignant exclamation which burst from bis Hps or help perceiving that It would take more than the most complete circumstantial evidence to convince his father of the guilt of men he had known and respected for so many years. For some reason Frederick experienced, grewt relief at this and wis brae-

tag himself to meet the fire of ques- i tions which his statement mast neces- j sarily call forth when the sound of ap- j proaching steps drew the attention of j both toward a party of men coming up

the hillside. Among them was Mr. Courtney, prosecutiug attorney for this district, and as Mr. Sutherland recognized hira he sprang forward, saying. "There's Court ney: he will explain this. i Frederick followed, anxious and hewild:red, and soon had the doubtful j pleasure of seeing his father enter his j considered to be most Interested in the elucidation of the Webb mystery. As he was lingering in an undecided mood in the small passageway leading up stairs he felt the pressure of a finer on his shoulder. Looking up. he met the eyes of Amabel, who was leaning toward him over the banisters. She was smiling, and. though her face was not without evidences of physical languor, there was a charm about her person which would have been sufficiently enthralling to him 24 hours before, but which now caused him such a physical repulsion that he started back in the tffort to rid his shoulder from her disturbing touch. She frowned. It was an Instantahe ous expression of displeasure which was soon lost In one of her gurgling laughs. "Is my touch so burdensome?" she demanded. "If the pressure of one finger Is so unbearable to your sensitive nerves, how will you relish the weight of my whole hand?" There was a fierceness In her tone, a purpose in her look that for the first time lu his struggle with her revealed the full depth of her dark nature. Shrinking from her appalled, he put up his hand in protest, at which she changed again In a twinkling, and with a cautions gesture toward the room into which Mr. Sutherland and his friends had disappeared, she whispered significantly: "We may not have another chance to confer together. Understand, then, that It will not be necessary for you to tell me, In so many words, that you are ready to link your fortunes to mine; the taking off of the ring you wear and your slow putting of It on again. In my presence, will be understood by me as a token that you have reconsidered your present attitude and desire my silence and myself." Frederick could not repress a shudder. For an instant he was tempted to Buccumb on the spot and have the long agony over. Then his horror of tbe woman rose to such a pitch that be uttered an execration, and. turning away from her face, which was rapidly growing loathsome to him. he ran out of the passageway Into tbe garden, seeing as he ran a persistent vision of himself pulling off the ring and putting It back again, under the spell of a look he rebelled against even while he yielded to its influence. "I will uot wear a ring. I will not subject myself to the possibility of obeying her behest under a sudden stress of fear or fascination." he exclaimed, pausing by the well curb and looking over it at his reflection in the water beneath. "If I drop it here. I at least lose the horror of doing what she suggests under some involuntary i Impulse." But the thought that the mere absence of the ring from bis fin ger would not stand In the way of his going through tbe motions to which Ehe had Just given such significance deterred him from the sacrifice of a valuable family jewel, and he left the spot with an air of frenzy such as a man displays when he feels himself on the verge of a doom he can neither meet nor avert. As he re-entered the house he felt himself enveloped In the atmosphere of a coming crisis. He could hear voices in the upper hall, and among them he caught the accents of her he bad learned so lately tofear. Impelled by something deeper than curiosity and more potent even than dr.ead. he hastened toward the stairs. When half way up them, he caught sight of AmsbeL She was leaning back against the balustrade that ran across the upper hall, with her hands gripping the rail on either side of her and her face turned toward the five men who bad evidently Issued from Mr. Sutherland's study to Interview her. As her back was to Frederick, he could not Judge of the expression of that face save by the effect It had upon the different men confronting her. But to see them was enough. From their looks he could perceive that this young girl was In one of her baffling moods and that, from bis father down, not one of the men present knew what to make of her. - At the sound his feet made, a relaxation took place In her body, and she lost something of the defiant attitude she had before maintained. Presently he heard her voice: "I am willing to answer any questions you may choose to put me here, but I cannot consent to shut myself in with you In that small study. I should suffocate." Frederick could perceive the looks which passed between the five men assembled before her and was astonished to note that the Insignificant fellow they called Sweetwater was the first to answer. "Very well," said he. "If you enjoy the publicity of the open halL no one here will object. Is not that so, gentlemen?" Her two little fingers, which were turned toward Frederick, ran up and down the rail, making a peculiar rasping noise, which for a moment was the only sound to be heard. Then Mr. Courtney said: "How came you to hate the handling of the money taken from Agatha Webb's private drawer?" It was a startling question, but it seemed to affect Amabel less than it did Frederick. It mjido him itarL bjit

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n , i.ni.,'?.4""!.-t she only turned her head a trifle aside, so that the peculiar smile with which she prepared to answer could be seen by any one standing below. "Suppose you ask something less leading than that to begin with." she suggested in her high, unmusical voice. "From the searching nature of this inquiry you evidently believe I have Information of an important character to jrive you concerning Mrs. Webb's unt happy death. Ask me about that. The other question I will answer later. The aplomb with which this was said, mixed as it was with a feminine allurement of more than ordinary subtlety, made Mr. Sutherland frown and Dr. Talbot look perplexed, but it did not embarrass Mr. Courtney, who made haste to respond in his driest accents. "Very well. I am not particular as to what you answer first. A Cower worn by you at the dance was found near Batsy's skirts before she was lifted up that morning. Can you explain this, or. rather, will you?" "You are not obliged to, you know," put in Mr. Sutherland, with his Inexorable sense of justice. "Still, if you would. It might rob these gentlemen of suspicions you certainly cannot wish tfcem to entertain." "What I say." she remarked slowly. "A flower worn by iou at Vie dance tea Jouiul near Batsy's tkirts." "will be as true'" to flie fact' as IT 1 stood here on my oath. I can explain how a flower from my hair came to be in Mrs. Webb's house, but not how It came to be found under Batsy's feet. That some one else must clear up." Her little finger, lifted from the rail. p pointed toward Frederick, but no one saw this unless it was that gentleman himself. "I wore this orchid In my hair that night, and there would be nothing strange in Its being afterward picked up In Mrs. Webb's house, because I was Ia that house at or near the time she was murdered." "You in that house?" "Yes, as far as the ground floor; no farther." Here the little finger stopped pointing. "I am ready to tell you about it, sirs, and only regret I have delayed doing so so long, but I wished to bo sure it was n?cessary. Your presence here and your first question show that it 13." There was suavity in her tone now, not unmixed with candor. Sweetwatec did not seem to relish this, for he moved uneasily on his feet and lost a shade of his self satisfied attitude. He had still to be made acquainted with all tbe ins and outs of the woman's remarkable nature. "VTe are waiting," suggested Dr. Talbot. She turned to face this new speaker, and Frederick was relieved from the sight of her tantalizing smile. "I will tell my story simply," said she. "with tbe simple suggestion that you believe me; otherwise you will make a mistake. While I was resting from a dance tbe other night I heard two of the young people talking about the Zabels. One of them was laughing at the old men. and the other was trying to relate some old story of early love which had been tbe cause, she thought, of their strange and melancholy lives. I was listening to them, but I did not take In much of what they were saying till I heard behind me an irascible voice exclaiming: 'You laugh, do you? I wonder If you would laugh so easily If you knew that these two poor old men haven't had a decent meal Ia a fortnight? I didn't know the speaker, but I was thrilled by his words. Not had a good meal, these men. for a fortnight! I felt as If personally guilty of their suffering. and, happening to raise my eyes at this ; minute and seeing through an open door the bountiful refreshments prepared for us all in the supper room, I felt guiltier than ever. Suddenly I took a resolution. It was a queer one j and may serve to show you some of I the oddities of my nature. Though I ! was engaged for the next dance, and though I was dressed in the flimsiest garments suitable to tbe occasion, I decided to leave the hall and carry some sandwiches down to these old men In their cottage. Procuring a bit of paper, I made up a bundle and stole out of the house without having said a word to anybody of my Intention. Not wishing to be seen, I went out by the garden door, which Is at the end of a dark halL" v "Just as the band was playing the 'Harebell Mazourka,' " interpolated Sweetwater. Startled for the first time from her careless composure by an Interruption of which It was impossible for her at that minute to measure either the motive or the meaning. he ceased to play with her fingers on the baluster rail and let her eyes rest for a moment on the man who had thus spoken, as If she hesitated between her desire to annihilate him for his impertinence and a fear of the cold hate she saw actuating his every word and look. Then she went on, as if no one had spoken: ; "1 ran down the hlil recklessly. 1 was bent on my errand and not at all afraid of the dark. When I reached that part of the road where the streets branch off, I heard footsteps in front Of me. 1 ha oTjsrtakea sojna one. I

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Slacken Uiy pace to Uiat t should not pass this person, whom I Instinctively knew to be a man, I followed him till 1 came to a high board fence. It was that surrounding Agatha Webb's house, and when i saw It I could not help connecting the rather stealthy gait of the uau in front of me "with a story I had lately heard of the large sura of money she was known to have in her house. Whether this was before or after this person disappeared round the corner 1 cannot say, but no sooner bad I become certain that he was bent upon entering this house than my impulse to follow him became greater than my precaution, and, turning aside from the direct path to the Zabels. I hurried down High street just in time to see the man enter Mrs. Webb's front gateway. "It was a late hour for visiting; but, as the bouse bad lights in both its lower and upper stories, I should by good lights have taken it for granted that he

was au expected guest and gone my j own wsy to the Zabels'. But I did not. The softness with which this person j stepped and the skulking way in which j he hesitated at the front gate aroused my worst fears, and after he had open ed that gale and slid in I was so pursued by the idea that he was there for - r t t -t i fco good tliat I stepped; inside the gate myself and took mj stand in the deep shadow cast by the old pear tree on the right hand side of the walk. Did any one t-peak?" There was a unanimous denial from the five gentlemen before her, yet she j dij- not look satisfietL "I thought I heard some one make a remark." she said and paused again for a half minute, during which her smile was a study. It was so cold and In such startling contrast to the vivid glances she threw everywhere except behind her on the landing where Frederick stood listening to her every word. "We are very much interested," remarked Mr. Courtney. "Pray go on." Drawing her left hand from the balustrade where It had rested, she looked at one of her fingers with an odd backward gesture. "I will," she said, and her tone was hard and threatening. "Five minutes, no longer, passed when I was startled by a loud and terrible cry from the house, and, looking up at the second story window, from which the sound proceeded, I saw a woman's figure hanging out in a seemingly pulseless condition. Too terrified to move, I clung, trembling, to the tree, heaing and not hearing the shouts and laughter of a dozen or more men who at that minute passed by the corner on their way to the wharfs. I was dazed, I was choking, and only came to myself when sooner or later, I do not know how scon or how late, a fresh horror happened. The woman whom I had Just seen fall almost from the window was a serving woman, but when I heard another scream I knew that the mistress of the house was being attacked, and, riveting my eyes on those windows, I beheld the shade of one of them thrown back and a hand appear, flinging out something which fell in the grass on the opposite 6lde of the lawn. Then the shade fell again, and, hearing nothing further, I ran to where the object flung out had fallen and, feeling for it. found and picked up an old fashioned dagger, dripping with blood. Horrified beyond all expression, I dropped the weapon and drew back, trembling, into my former place of concealment "But I was not satisfied to remain there. A curiosity, a determination even, to see the man who had committed this dastardly deed attacked me with such force that I was Induced to leave my hiding place and even to en ter the house where in all probability . he was counting the gains he had just obtained at the price of such precious blood. The door, which he had not perfectly closed behind him. seemed to Invite me In. and before I had realized my own temerity I was standing in the hall of this 111 fated house." The interest which up to this moment had been breathless now expressed Itself in hurried ejaculations and broken words, and Mr. Sutherland, who had listened like one in a dream, exclaimed eagerly and in a tone which proved that he for the moment at least believed this more than Improbable tale: "Then you can tell us If Philemon was in the little room at the moment when you entered tbe house?" As every one there present realized the importance of this question, a general movement took place, and each and all drew nearer as she met tneir j eyes and answered placidly: j "Yes: Mr. Webb was sitting In a j chair asleep. He was the only person j I saw." i "Oh, I know he never committed this i crime," gasped his old friend, in a re- j lief so great that one and all seemed j to share It ' "Now I have courage for the rest Go on. Miss Page." j But Miss Page paused again to look ! at her finger and give that sidewlse toss to her head that seemed so uncalled for by the situation to any who did not know of the compact between herself and the listening man below. J "I hate to go back to that moment ! said she, "for when I saw the candles ? burning on the table and the husband of the woman above sitting there in unconscious apathy I felt something rise In my throat that made me deathly sick for a moment Then I went right In where he was and was about to shake his arm and wake him when I detected a spot of blood on my finger from the dagger I bad handled. That gave me another turn and led me to wipe off my finger on his sleeve." "It's a pity you did not wipe off your slippers, too." murmured Sweetwater. Again she looked at him; again her eyes opened in terror upon the face of this man. once so plain and Insignificant In her eyes, but now so filled with menace she inwardly quaked before it for all her apparent scorn. "Slippers." she murmured. "Did not your feet pass through that blood In the grass, as well as your hands?" She did not answer. She held him possibly In too much scorn. "I have accounted for the blood on my hand." she said, not looking at him, but at Mr. Courtney. Tf there Is any on my slippers. It can be accounted for In the same way." And she rapidly renewed her narrative. "I had io sooner made my little finger clean I never thought of any one suspecting the old gentleman when I heard steps on the stairs and knew that the murderer was coming down and in another instant would pass the open door before which I ftootL

"Though I bad been courageous j late upon my feelings; it Is my errand enough up to that minute. I was seized j you are Interested in and what hapby a sudden panic at the prospect of j pened when I came up to the Zabels meeting face to face one whose hands j dreary dwelling."

were perhaps dripping with the blood ' of his victim. To confront hira there and then might mean death to me. and i I did not want to die, but to live, for I ; am young, sirs, and not without a j prospect of happiness before me. Sot I sprang back. aud. seeing no other place of concealment in the whole bare ; room, crouched down in the shadow of the man yoti call Philemon. For one, two minutes, I knelt there In a EtaV f mortal terror, while the feet! descended, paused, started to enter j the room where I was. hesitated, turn- j ed and finally left the house." j "Miss Page, wait, wait." put in the , coroner. lou saw mm. lou can teu who this man was?" The eagerness of this appeal seemed to excite her. A slight color appeared in her cheeks and 'she took a step forwaru, Dut oerore tne worns ror wmcn j they so anxiously waited could leave j her lips, she gave a start and drew j back with an ejaculation which left aj more or less sinister echo in the cars j j of all who heard it. . Frederick had just shown himself at j i the top of tl,e staircse. j .Good morniaff, gentlemen" said he,! advancing into their midst with an air! "For one, two mlnuttt I knelt there In a state of mortal terror." whose unexpected manliness disguised his inward agitation. "The few words I have Just beard Miss Page say are of so important a nature I find it impossible not to join you." Amabel, upon whose lips a faint complacent smile had appeared as he stepI ped by her, glanced up at these words in secret astonishment at the indifference they showed and then dropped her eyes to his hands with an Intent gaze which seemed to affect him unpleasantly, for he thrust them Immediately behind him, though he did not lower his head or lose his air of determination. "Is my presence here undesirable?" he inquired with a glance toward his father. , Sweetwater looked as If he thought it was, but he did not presume to say anything, and, the others being too interested in tbe developments of Miss Page's story to waste any time on lesser matters. Frederick remained, greatly 'to Miss Page's evident satisfaction. "Did you see this man's face?" Mr. Courtney now broke in In urgent Inquiry. Her answer came slowly after another long look In Frederick's direction. "No, I did not dare to make the ef fort I was obliged to crouch too close to the floor. I simply heard his footsteps." "See now" muttered Sweetwater, but In so low a tone she did not hear him. "She condemns herself. There Isn't a woman living who would fall to look up under those circumstances even at the risk of her life." Knapp seemed to agree with him, but Mr. Courtney, following his one idea, pressed his former question, saying: "Was It an old man's step?" "It was not an agile one." "And you did not catch the least glimpse of the man's face or figure?" "Not a glimpse." "So you are in no position to Identify him?" "If by any chance I should hear those same footsteps coming down a flight of stairs, I think I should be able to recognize them," she allowed In the sweet est tones of her command. "She knows It Is too late for her to hear those of the two dead Zabels," growled the man from Boston. "We are no nearer the solution of this mystery than we were in the beginning," remarked the coroner. "Gentlemen, I have not yet finished n?y story," Amabel sweetly Intimated. "Perhaps what I have yet to tell may give you some clew as to who this man was." "Ah, yes. Go on, go on. You have I not yet explained how you came to be In possession of Agatha's money." , "Just so," she answered, with another quick look at Frederick, the last she gave him for some time. "As soon, then, as I dared I ran out of the house Into the yard. The moon, which had been under a cloud, was now shining brightly, and by its light I saw that the 6pace before me was empty and that I might venture to enter the street But before doing so I looked about for the dagger I had thrown from me before going in. But I could not find it It had been picked up by the fugitive and carried away. Annoyed at the cowardice which had led me to lose such a valuable piece of evidence through a purely womanish emotion. I was about to leave the yard when my eyes fell on the little bundle of sandwiches which I bad brought down from the hill and which I had let fall under the pear tree at the first scream I had heard from the house. It had burst open, and two or three of the sandwiches lay broken on the ground. But those that were intact I picked up, ana, being more than ever anxious to cover np by some ostensible errand my absence from the party, I rushed away toward the lonely road where these brothers lived, meaning to leave such fragments as remained on the old doorstep, beyond which I had been told such suffering existed. "It was now late, very late, for a girl like myself to be out but under the excitement of what I had Just seen and heard I became obllvleus to fear and rushed into these dismal shadows as : into transparent daylight Perhaps the shouts and stray sounds of laughter that cam up from the wharfs where ! a ship T715 getting under way gave j roe a certain sense of companionships Perhaps but It is f ollr for me to di-

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The look with which she paused, os

tensibly to take breath, but ia reality to weigh aud criticise the looks of those about he', was one of those wholly indescribable ones with which she was aecustoced to control the judgment of men who allowed themselves to watch too closely the ever chauging expression of her weird yet charming face. But it fell upon men steeled against her fascinations, aud. realizing her in ability to move them, she proceeded with nt?r gtory before even the most aaxious of her hearers could request 2ier to do so. i nad come." said she, "very quietly along tbe road for my feet were lignt. ly shod, and the moonlight was too bright for me to make a misstep. But as I cleared the trees and came into the open place where the house stands I stumbled with surprise at seeing a figure crouching on the doorstep I had anticipated finding as empty as the roa(L It was an olll man's figure, and as t pausca In my embarrassment he siowiv and with srreat feebleness rose to ni3 feet and began to grope about for tue door. As he did so I heard a sharp, tinkling sound, as of something mtuic fallinff on tne doorstone. and. taklne a cuick sten forward. I looked over his shoulder and saw in tbe moonlight at his feet a dagger so like the one l naa lately nanaieu in Mrs, Webb's yard that I was overwhelmed with astonishment and surveyed the aged and feeble form of the man who had dropped it with a sensation difli cult to describe. Tbe next moment he was stooping for the weapon with startled air that has impressed itself distinctly upon my memory, and when. after many feeble attempts, he sue ceeded in grasping It he vanished Into the house so suddenly that I could not be sure whether be had seen me stand ing there or not "All this was more than surprising to me, for I had never thought of associ ating an old man with this crime. In deed I was so astonished to find him In possession of this 'weapon that I forgot all about my errand and only wondered how I could see and know more. Scar ing to be observed where I was, I slid in among the bushes and soon found myself under one of the windows. The shade was down, and I was about to push It aside when I heard some one moving about Inside and stopped. But I could not restrain my curiosity,' so. "I rushed away toward the lonely road pulling a hairpin from my hair, I work ed a little bole in the shade and through this I looked into a room brightly il lumined by the moon which shone in through an adjoining window. And what did I see there?" Her eye turned on Frederick. His right hand had stolen toward his left but it paused under her look and remained motion less. "Only an old man sitting at a ta ble and" Why did she pause, and why did she cover up that pause with a wholly inconsequential sentence? Terhaps Frederick could have told. Frederick, whose hand had now fallen at his side. But Frederick volunteered nothing, and no one, not even Sweet water, guessed all that lay beyond that and which was left hovering In the air to be finished when? Alas, had she not set the day and the bourl What she did say was in seeming ex planation of her previous sentence. "It was not the same old man I bad seen on the doorstep, and while I was look ing at him I became aware of some one leaving the house and passing me on the road up hilL Of course this ended my interest In what went on within, and, turning as quickly as X could, I hurried Into the road and followed the shadow I could just perceive disappearing in the woods above me. I was bound, gentlemen, as you see, to follow out my adventure to the end. But my task now became very difficult for the moon was high and shone down upon the road so distinctly that I could not follow the person before me as closely as I wished without running the risk of being discovered. I therefore trusted more to my ear than to my eye, and as long as I could hear his steps in front of me I was satisfied. But presently, as we turned up this very hill. I ceased to hear those steps and so became confident that he bad taken to the woods. I was so sure of this that I did not hesitate to enter them myself, and, knowing the paths well, as I have every opportunity of doing, living as we do, directly opposite this forest I easily found my way to the little clearing that I have reason to' think you genUenaeiTifave "since become acquainted with. But though, from tbe sounds I heard I was assured that the person I was following was not far in advance of me, I did not dare to enter this brilliantly illumined space, especially as there was every Indication of this person having completed whatever task he had set for himself. Indeed I was sure that 1 heard his steps coming back. So, for the second time, I crouched down in the darkest place I could find and let. this mysterious person pass me. When he had quite disappeared, I made my own retreat for It was late, and I was afraid of being missed at the ball. But later, or,, rather, the next day, I returned and began a search for the ffiPEI-..:Fhclv .I .was confident had j

iu'vti leu iit .... vc uuvus ty the person I bad been following. 1 found it and when the man here present who, though u mere fiddler, has presumed to take a leading part In this interview, came upon mo with the bills in my hand, I was but burying deeper the ill gotten gains I had come upon." "Ah. and so making them your own." quoth Sweetwater, stv.ug by tbe sarcasm in that word tiddler. But with a suavity against which every attack fell powerless she met his significant look with one fully as significant and qu'-ckly said: "If I had wanted the money for myself. I would not have risked leaving It where the murderer could find It by a bunch of sodden leaves. No, I had another motive for my action, a motive with which few. If any, of you w ill be willing to credit me. I wished to save the murderer, whom I had some reason, as you see, for thinking I knew, from the consequences of his own action." Mr. Courtney. Dr. Talbot and even Mr. Sutherland, who naturally believed she referred to Zabel and who. one and all. had a lingering tenderness for this unfortunate old man which not eveu this seeming act of madness ou his part could quite destroy, felt a species of reaction at this and surveyed the singular being before them with perhsps the slightest shade of relentiug in their severity. Sweetwater alono betrayed restlessness. Knapp showed no feeling at all. while Frederick look

ed like one petrified and moved neither hand nor foot , "Crime that is the outcome of forethought is despicable." she went cn, with a deliberateness so bard that th more susceptible of her auditors shuddered. "But crime that springs from some imperative and overpowering necessity of the mind or body might well awaken sympathy, and I am not ashamed of having been sorry for thU frenzied and suffering man. Weak and Impulsive as you may consider me, I did not want him to suffer on account of a moment's madness, as he undoubtedly would If 'he were ever found with this money in his possession, so I plunged it deeper into the soil and trusted to the confusion which crime always awakens even In the strongest mind for him not to discover my subterfuge." "Hal Wonderful! Devilish subtle, eh? Clever, too clever!" were some of the whispered exclamations which this curious explanation on her part brought out Yet only Sweetwater showed hi open and entire disbelief of the story, the others possibly remembering that for such natures as hers there is no governing law and no commonplace Interpretation. To Sweetwater, however, this was but so much display of feminine resource and subtlety. Though he felt he should keep still In the presence of men so greatly his superiors, he could not resist saying: "Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. I should never hare attributed any such motive as you mention to the young girl I saw leaving this spot with many a backward look at the hole from which we afterward extracted the large sum of money in question. But say that this reburying of stolen funds was out of consideration for tbe feeble old man you describe as having carried them there, do you not see,that by thl act you can be held as an accessory after the fact?" Her eyebrows went up. and the deli cate curve cf hrr lips was not without menace as r he said: "You hate me. Mr. Sweetwater. Do you wish me to tell these gentlemen why?" The Hush which, notwithstanding this peculiar young tn'a nerve. Instantly crimsoned bis features was a surprise to Frederick. So was it to the others. wb saw In it a passible hint a to the real cause of bis perslateut pursuit of this young girl, which they had hitherto ascrllwd estlrsly to hia love of Justice. Slighted love makes some hearts venomous. Could this ungainly fellow have oace loved this bewitching piece of unreliability and suffered from her disdain? It was a very possible assumption. though Sweetwater's blush was thj only aaswer he gaye o her question, which nevertheless had asaply served its turn. To fill the gap made by, his silence Mr. Sutherland iade an effort and ad dressed her himself. "Your conflict" aaid he, "has not been that of a strictly honorable per son. Why ma you iau to give me alarm when yon re-entered my house after being witness to this doublo tragedy?" Her serenity was not to be disturbed. "I have Just explained," she remind ed him, "that I had sympathy for tbe criminal." "We all have sympathy for James Zabel. but" "I do not believe one word of this 6tory," interposed Sweetwater, in reck less disregard of the proprieties. 'A hungry, feeble old man. like Zabel. on the verge of death, could not bav found his way up Into this woods, as you say. You carried that money there yourself, miss; you are the" "nush!" Interposed the coroner au thoritatively. "Do not let us go too fast yet Miss Page has an air of speak ing the truth, strange and unaccountable as it may seem. Zabel was au ad mirable man once, and If he was led Into theft and murder It was not until his faculties had been weakened by his own suffering and that of his much loved hv-tif " (To Be Continued.) Dieo'TCry f Iron In America. One historical authority states that the earliest discovery of iron within the present limits of the country was In the mountain range of western North Carolina, and the first effort to manufacture it Into merchantable form was made in tbe state of Virginia iu 1619. The foundry was destroyed by the Indians in 1G22. Honeyed Batter. Parisian restaurant keepers mix a little honey with their butter. This gives it an agreeable taste and flavcr and makes the"Tiifrior butter mora paia table. Indian Fearla. Pearls Imported from Australia and Panama are all of mediim and large size. Generally speaking, the Indian pearls command tbe highest price !- cause of their superior form and their brilliant luster.