Show AGATHA WEBB I S A Powerful New Story By ANNA 4THARINE GREETS Author of The Leavenworth Case < Covrright 1899 by S S McClure Co SYXOPSIS OF PRECEDING CRAP TERS rust nter a baflat the Sutherland mansIon Agatha Webb and her servant nre found dead and Phllemon Webb Aga thas husband who for years has been browing demented Is discovered asleep at the dinner table A trace of blood on his sleeve poInts to hIm as the murderer Mr Sutherland and the local marshalL Fenton Invezt1satc Asatha Webb is known to but few as a rIch woman The key to her monevdrawer 15 found clutched clutch-ed in her hand Young Sutherland 15 not to be found and Miss Page the niece of Sutherlands housekeeper persists in re i ing mainnr so tout Veb b premises and dIscovers blood on the grass The money drawer Is found to be empty md robbery Is added to the mystery Frederick Sutherland Suth-erland a waward youth calls hIs father to witness hIs determination to be a better bet-ter man and promises not to marry Ulss Page b1 whom he has been fascInated 1IIss Page tells Frederick that she followed fol-lowed him the night of the murder ana knew where he had secreted a thousand dollars She gives him a week to decld whether to marry her or be proclaimed ns tIll murderer of Agntha Webb The whole town Is stirred up by the doublO murder and everyone tells of the goodness good-ness of 1lrs Webb SIx children had been born to her and all died In Infancy 1t lS learned that the money was In new bills and the keeper of a small store produces one that a strange man gave him late tile flight or the murder A detective arrles from Boston and reports Simple case MUrdered for money Find the man wltll a flowing heard Suspicion fal1s upon one of the Zobel brothers Frederick Islts the hollow tree The money 15 cone Wattles a Boston gambler arrIves and demand tKO of Frederick In pay mont of a gambling debt Frederick secures se-cures a check for the amount from his father and that night as ho is about to Icave home he Is stopped by Miss Page Tile Zabel brothers are found dead of starvation one of them clutching the telltale loaf the other a bloodstained knife The Boston detectIve declares the mystery solved but young Sweetwater astonIshes the company by a new chain or evidence pointing to another perpetrator perpetra-tor of the terrIble crIme ThIs time Ama hl Page is suspected Sweetwater finds c the hidden money where he has seen MISS Page hId It Miss Page Is confronted by the detectives and officers and tells what she saw the night of the murder Fred I crick overhears the talking and jOins i the group just as Miss Page Is about to declare her suspicious CHAPTER XIX What shO dlft say was in seeming ex Jlanatlon of her prevIous sentence 1t was not the same old man I had seen on the doorstep and while I was looking look-ing at him I becalne aware of some one I 1eatmg the house and passinG inc un II the road UDliilJ Of course this ended my Interest in what went on within and turnIng as quickly as I could 1 hur rId into the road and followed the sl1ddow I could just perceive disappearing disappear-ing in the woods abOO me 1 was bound gentlemen as you seC to follow out my adventure to the end But my task now became Vety difficult for the moon was high and shone down IltJOII the road so 1lstinctl that I could not fouo the person before me as closcly I as I wished without running the risk of beinG dlscoered by him 1 therefore trusted more to my ear than to my eye and as long as I could hear his steos 11 front of me I was satisfied But Plrentl as ye turned up this very llPt I ceased to flU these t3tevs md so became confident that he haG takfb to tbe woods I wits so sure of tlllS that I dId not hesitate 10 enter them myself and knowing the 1aths yell as I have every opportunity of doing lIving as wedo directly oppo ste this forest 1 easily found my way tJ the littl clearing that I havc reason tQ think you gentlemen have ince lle come aCfualnted with dut though frl m the sounds I heard I was assured tht the person I was following was nut far in advance of me I did not dare to enter this brilliantly illuminated S11e especially as there was every 1ii1batlon of this Derson hpvttg com ph te j whatever task he had set for himself Indeed I was sure that 1 heard I his steps coming back So for the second sec-ond tIme I crouched down in tit darkest dark-est place I could find and et tillS ms terJOu person pass me When lit had quite disappeared I made my own retreat re-treat for It was late and I was aflaid of being missed at the ball But later or rather the nextday I returned and began a search for the money which I Was confident had been left in these woods bl the person I had been following follow-ing I found it and when the man here present who though a mere fiddler has pnsumed to take a leading part in this intn vIew came upon me with tile bills in my hand I was but burying deeper the illgotten gains I had come upon Ah and so maldng them your own I Quoth Sweetwater stung by the sal CaslIl In that word fiddler But with a suavity against which every attack fell powerless she met his significant 1001 wIth one ully as slg nlficant and quietly said if I had wanted the money for myself my-self I would llOt have risked leaving it whc e the murderer could find It I 1j dng up a few handsful or mould and a Loath of sodden leaves No I had an thtr motive for my action a mottve It Ith whhh feY If any of YOU will ben SW be-n to credit me 1 wished ta save the murderer whom I had some rea1n as cu see for thinking I knew from th OI1EcQuenccs of his own action 1 Courtney Dr Talbot and even Mr buthCTland who naturally believed sh > c < rrtd to ZabeJ and W11O one and all d a lingering tenderness for this Un L1nate old man which not even thl seeming act of madness on his Plh t comd cuite destroy felt a species of IeutIon at this and surveyed th sin lar being before them with per haps the slightest shade If relenting 1n tlelr severity Sweetwater alone be tifl od restlessness KnlDJ showed no fee 1m at all and while Freiiwck stood I iiI me Detriflcd and movei llcithor hand nor foot hrne that Is the outcome of fore thc ught Is deslicable she went 011 isith a deliberateness so hard that the awwe suCCDtlble of her aur1iI11s shod dre But crime that sDrins from aanL imperative and overVJetil1 ne ceSsti of the min or body might well Awakfon symJathy and I am net elinsnod of having been SOrt for tlls frenzied and suffering limo Vale and Impulsive as rou may consider me 1 did not want hlm to suffer on account of n moments madners as he ndoubt tt 1 QuId if he were ever found with th money In his possession so I pIU1ged 1t deeDer into te soil and tI lsted tQ the confusion which crime 11 wr > s awakens even in the strongest mnd for hIm not to disovcr my sub tc u I i Ha Wonderful Dclljsh subtle eh Clecr too clever were some of the thtsuierei exclamations whIch this curious I cu-rious xplanatIon on her part brought out Yet only Sweeotwater Mowed his opn and entire disbelief of the story the others possibly remembering that t for surh natures as hers there is no governing law and no commonplace interpretation To Sweetvater however this was but so much display of feminine resource re-source and subtlety Though he felt he should keep still in the presence of men so greatly his superiors he could not h resst saying Truth Is sometimes stranger than 1lctlon I should never hue 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 afterwards extracted the large sum of money in question nut say that this TelJUrying of stolen funds vas out of consideration for the feeble out man you describe as having carrIed car-rIed them there do you not see that by this act you can be held as an acres > 01F after the fact 7 Her eyebrows went UP and the delicate deli-cate curve of her lips was not without menace as she said Jon 1114 > 150 Mr Swcctwater Do h YOU wish me to tell these gentlemen 1 why The flush which notwIthstandlhg this peculiar young mans nervc instantly I crimsoned his featlres was a surprise I to Frederick So Was it to the others I who saw in It a possible hint as to the real cause of his persistent pursuit of thIs young girl which they bad hItherto hIther-to ascribed entirely to his love of justice i jus-tice Slighted love makes some hearts venomous Could this ungainly fellow have once loved this bewitchIng piece I of unreliability aIld suffer d from her disdain i L was a er possible assumption I though Sweetvates blush was the only answer he gave to her question I which nevertheless had amply served I It turn I To fn the gap made by his silence I Mi Sutherland made an effort and addressed dressed her himself I Your conduct said he has not been that of a strictly honorable person yofd tlaRO I son Why did you fall to give the ala when you reentered my house after being witness to this double tragedy Her serenity was not to be disturbed I have just explained she reminded him that I had sympathy for the criminaL Ve all have sympathy for James Zael but I 1 do not believe one word of thin story interposed Sweetwater in reckless reck-less disregard of the proprietes A hung feeble old man like Zabel on the verge of death could not have foun his way up into these woods as you say You carried that money there yourself miss you are the Hush Interposed the coroner au thoriatel Do not let us go too fastyet Miss Page has an ar of I speaking the truth strange and unaccountable un-accountable as it may seem and If he was led into theft and murder It was murer not until his faculties had been weakened weak-ened by his OWn suffering and that of his muchloved brother Thank you vas her simple reply and for the first time every man there tie at her tone Seeing I nil the dangerous fascInation of her look and manner returned upon her with double force 1 have ben unwise sad she and let my sympathy runaway run-away with my jUdgment Women have Impulses of this kind sometimes and men blame them for it till they themselves come to the point of feeling I the need of just such blind devotion I am sure I regret my shortsightedness shortsighted-ness now for I have lost esteem by it I while be With a wave of the hand I she dismissed the subject and Dr Talbot i Uf l bot watching her felt a shade of his distrust leave him and in Its place a spccie of admiration for the lithe graceful bewitching personality before them with her childIsh impulses and i womanly wit which half mystified and hail imposed them haf upon theI I ir Sutherland on the contrary was I neither charmed from his antagonism I nor convinced of her honesty Ter was something in this mater that I could not be explained away by her I argument and his suspicion of that something he felt perfectly sure was shed by his son toward whose cold set face he had frequently cat thu most uneasy glance He was not ready however to probe into the sub jet more deeply nor could he for the sake of Frederick urge on to any further fur-ther confession a young woman whom his unhappy son professed to love and in whose discretion he had so little confidence As for Sweetwater he had now fully recovered lmself and bore i himself with great discretion when Dr I Talbot finally said I Well gentlemen we have got more thn we expected when we came here I this morning There remains however a point regarding which have rearding we received re-ceived no explanation Miss Page hem ce tat orchid which I a told yea wore In your hair at the dance to be found lying near the hem of Batsys skirts You distinctly told us that you did not go upstairs when you were in I Mrs Webbs house Ah thats so acquiesced the Bos ton detective dryly How came that flower on the scene of thCmurder She smiled and seemed equal to the emergency That is I mystery for us all to solve she said quiet looking into the eyes of her questioner A mystery it is your business to solve corrected the district attorney Nothing that you have told us il support sup-port of your innocence would In the eyes of the law weigh for one Instant anst the comnJciv shown hi that I oie piece of circumstantial evidence against you Her smile carried a certain highhanded high-handed denial to this to one heart thereat there-at least But her words were humble enough I anI aware of that sid she Then tuning like lightning to where Sweet water stood lowering upon her from out his llalfclosed eyes she Impetuous cried You sir you who without cal to do so have presumed t arrogate the ofce of detective from those whose right it was to act in this mater prove yourself equal to your presumption by finding out the explanation of this mystery mys-tery yourself It can be fOUnd out for mark 1 did not carry that flower into the room where it was found This I a ready to swear to before God and before man Tier hand was raised her whole att tude sptke defiance andhard as it was for Sweetwater to acknowledge it truth He felt that he had received n challenge md with a quiche glance at Knapp who barely responded by a shrug lie shifted over to the side of Dr Talbot Amabel at once dropped her hand May I go she now cried appealIngly ingly to Mr Courtney I really have no more to say and I n tired Did you see the figure of the man who brushed by you In the wood Vas it that of the old man you saw on the doorstep At this dIrect question Frederick quivered in spite of his dogged self control But she with her face upturned upturn-ed to meet the scrutiny of the speaker showed only a childish kind of wonder won-der WIlY do you ask that Is there any doubt about it being the same That an actress Frederick stood appalled ap-palled He had been amazed at the ski with which she had maIntained her story so as to keep her promIse to him and yet leave the way open for that further confessIon which would alter the whole Into a denunciation of himself which he would find it difficult i not impossible to meet But this extreme dissimulation made him lose heart I showed her to be an antagonist antago-nist of almost illimitable resource and secret determination 1 did not suppose there could be any doubt she added in such n natural nat-ural tone of surprIse that Mr Courtney the subject and Dr dropped subjet Talbot turned to Sweetwater who for the moment mo-ment seemed to have robbed Knapp of his rightful place as the coroners confidant con-fidant Shall we Jet her go for the present he whispered She docs bolt tired poor gIrl The public challenge which Sweet water had received made him wary and his reply was a guarded one I do nol trust her yet there Is much to confirm her story Those sandwiches now She says she dropped them In Ir Webbs yard under the pear tree and that the bag that held them burst open Gentlemen the birds were so busy there on the morning after the murder that I could not but notice murer notce them notwithstanding liiy absorption In greater matters I remember wondering won-dering what they were all pecking at so eagerly Then the length of time that elapsed between the moment Za bel was seen rshIng from Mrs Webbs gate and the hour In whIch he bought the bread lisa never been quite ac I counteit for Though I doubt that s old a man would find strength for that journey to the woods I can but acknowledge ac-knowledge that it would account for those very minute we have had some difficulty in lng up But the flower wlose presence on the scene of guilt she challenges me to explaIn How about thatr sirs And then the money so deftly reburied by her Can any explanation mae her other than accessory cessory to the crime on whose rlt she lays her hand In a way tending solely to concealment No sirs and so I shall not relax my vigilance over I her actions even i In ordet to be faithful to i I have to suggest that a warranty be made out for her Imprisonment Im-prisonment I You are right acquiesced the cor ner and turning to Knapp he suggested suggest-ed that Miss Page was such an im I portnt e wItness in this matter that perhaps it would be better to have her down in the town where she could be more easily underhis eye I Nothing could have pleased 11 Sutherland Suth-erland better Glancing at Frederick I and seeing that he was rather pleased than disturbed by this suggestion he gave his unqualified approval and Miss Page wishes was notified of the corner S I She made no objection On the con trr her chek dimple and she turned ay with alacrity to ptepar I herself for departure But bcoregin she approached the coroner and said persuasively I have told you all that came to my mind his moment But after thinking i over I may remember some little details de-tails that have escaped me today Call her back cried Mr Courtney She has kept back something let us hear It all I But Mr Sutherland with a side look at Jcdetck whispered WIt She is asbte creature and under the excite I men of the momct wi contrive to elude you Catch her alone Mr Courtney I Court-ney catch her alone and I she has a I sicget you of all men 11 succeed in surprising it He ha noted tat the rest were too note we I prepccup1ed to observe that Frederick had reached the limit Of his atrength I and could not be trusted to preserve his composure any longer under this archIng arch-Ing examination into the conduct of a I woman from who he had so lately detached de-tached himself The next day was the day of Agtos I funeral She was tO be buried in Potchestel by the side of her six children and a the day was fine the whole town a by I common consent assembled in the road along which the humble cortege was to I make its way to the spot Indicated Prom the windows of farm housC from belwee tie tree of the few scat toted thickets along the way saddened and curious faces looked for till Sweetwater wlo waked as near a he dared tQ the Immediate friends of the deceased felt the ImpossIbility of re membeing them and all gave up the task In despair Before one house about a mile out of town the procession paused and at a gesture from the minister ever one within sight took oil their hat amid a hush which made almost husl painfully apparent ap-parent the twittering of birds and the other rounds of animals and man mate nature which ae inseparable from a country road They had reached widoW Jones cottage in whIch Phie men was then stayIng The front door was closed and so were the lowe window but In one of the upper casements a movement was perceptible and in another momCt there came Into dew 0 woman and man supporting between them the Imp passlble for of Agthas husband Holding him up in plain sight of the al moat breathless throng below the woman pointed to where his darling lay anti appeared to say something to him Then there was to be seen a sr eight The old man with hIs thin whit locks fluttering In the breeze leaned forward with a smile and holding out his arms cried ma faint but joyful tone Agatha Then as If realizing for the first time that it was death he looked upon and that cow below was a funeral proession his face altered al-tered and he felt bank with a low heartbroken moan Into the anna of those who supported hIm As his white head disappeared from sight the procession moved on anti from only one pair of lips went up that groan of sorrow wit which every heart I seemed surcharged One groan From whose lips dId It come Swewate en deavore to find out but was not able I nor could anyone Inform him unless it was Mr Sutherland whom he dared not approach ThiS gnteman was on foot like the rest with his arm fast lnked n that of his son Fredericlc He had met to rIde for the distance saa long for men past 60 but finding the latter resolved to walk he had consented to do the same rather than be separated from his son He had er for Frederick he could hardly have told why and as the ceremony cer-emony proceeded and Agatha was aol emnh hid away In the place prepared for her his sympathies grew Upon him to such an extent that he found it dif cult to quit tIC young man for a mo melt or even to turn his eyes away front the face he had never seemed to know until now But as a friend and stranger were rapidly leaving the yard he controlled himself and assuming amore a-more natural demeanor asked hIs son if he were now ray to rile back But to hiS astonishment Frederick replied that he did not iatend to return to SUtll erJadhwn at present that he had bus mess in Porehester and thai he was doubtful 35 to when he would be ready to g home As the old gentleman did not wish to raIse a controversy he said noWng but a soon as he saw Frederick disappear up the road he sent back the carriage he ha ordered saying say-Ing that he would return in 0 Port cheater gig a soon a he had settled some affairs of his own which might and might not detain him there until evening Then he proceeded to 0 little Inn here he hired a room with windows that looked out on the hIgh road In one of these windows he sat aU day watching for Frederick who had gone further up the road furer te ra But no Frederick appeared and with vague misgivings for which as yce lie ha no name he let the window and st out on foot for home I was now dark but a silvery gleam on the horizon gave promle of the speedy rising of a full moon Otherwise he would not have atemJted to walkover walk-over a road proverbially dark and dismal dis-mal The churchyard in which they had just laid away Agatha lay In his course As he approached it he felt his heart fail and stopping a moment at the stone wall that separated It from the highroad he leaned against the trunk of a hug elm that guarded the gate of entrance As he did so he heard a sound of repressed sobbing from sme sput not very far away and moved by some undefnable impulse stronger than his will he pushed open the gate and entered the sacrOd precincts Instantly the weirdness and desolation desola-tion of the spot struck him He wished yet dreaded to advance Somethingin the grief of the mourner whose sobs he had heard had seized UDon his heartstrings heart-strings and yet as he hesitated the sounds came again and forgetting that his intsion might not prove alrIther WOiCeme he pressed forward till lie came within a few feet from the spot from which the sobs issued He had moved quietly feeln the awe of the place and when he mused IC war with a sensation af dread not to be entirely explained by the sad amid dIsmal surroundings Dark 15 It ash as-h discerned the outline of a form lying stretched in speechless misery across a grave but when impelled by an alicost rnsitble compassion lie strove to speak his tongue clove to the rcof of hIs mouth and he only drew back fur her Into the shadow He had recogIze the mourner md the gave The mourner was foerick md the grave that of Agth Weldi S few mInutes later 11 utherlld remlerrcc at the door of the inn arid naked for a gig and driver to tlle him back to Sutberlandtown He said in excuse for his Indecision that he had I undertaken to walk but iiadfoimnd his strength lnadcuuate to he exertion lie was lookIng very nale and tremble trem-ble r that he landlord who took hie order asked him if he were m But Mr Sutherland Insisted that le wa quite well only In a hurry rind showed the greatest mmUence til hs vas ugaizi started upon the ioad For she first halfmile he sit perfectly per-fectly silent The moon was now uP and the road stretched before them flooded with light As long as no ole wits tobe seen on thIs road or on the path running besIde it Mr Sutherland held hmlsef erect his eyes fixed before be-fore him In an attitude of anxious in qiiry But a soon as any sound came to break the silence or there appeared In the distance ahead of them the least appearance of a plodding wayfarer way-farer he drew back and hid hImself in the recesses of the vehicle This happeed several times Then his whole manner changed They had just passed Frederick walking wih bowed head toward Suthelandtown But he was not the only persn ext the read sit this time A few minute pre vioucly they had passed another man walking In the same direction As l Sutherland mussel over this he found himself peering through the small win dw at the back of the buggy ftrving to catch ancdihca glimpse of the two men plodding buhD him He could see them both his sons form throwing its long shaow over the moonlit road followed fol-lowed only too closely by tht other wh0e ungainly shape he feared to ac knowlege to himself was growing only too familiar in his e e Falling into a troubled reverie he beheld be-held te well known houses and the great trees under whos shadow he had gown from youth to mhhood lIt by him like phantoms in a dream But suddenly one house and one place drew his attention wih a force that sUIted mm again Into an erect attitude and seizing wIth one had the arm of the driver he pointed with the other at the door of the cottage they WOe passing saying in choked tones See see Something dreadful has hiPPeel1 since we passed by here this morning That Is crape Samuel crpe hapglng from the doorpost yonder Yes it i9 crape answered the driver jumping out and running up the path to look Phlcon must be dead toe gOd Plemon Her waS a fnIh blow 1 Suther lad bowed before It for a moment then he rose hurriedly anti stopped down into the road beside the driver Get In again sid he and drive on Ride a half mile then come back for me I muse see the widow Jones The drher awed bOtl by the oc eden and the feeling ilt had called up in Mr Sutherland did as he was bId and dove away Mr Sutherland wIt a glance back at the road he had just traversed walked painfully up the path to Mrs Jones door A moments conveTotOI wit the woman who answered his summors proved the drIvers suppositions to be correct Phiemon had passed away He had never rallied from the shock he had received He had joined his beloved Agta on the day of her burial an the long tragedy of their mutual life ws over I is a mercy that no Inheritor of their misfortune erains quoth the gOO woman as she saw the affliction her tding caused in thIs much revered re-vered frIend The assent Mr Sutherland gave was mechanical He was anxiously studying the rod leading toward Portcheeter Suddenly he steppe hastily in Will you be so god as to let me sit down In your palc for a few mo meats he asked I would like to 15t there fOr an instant alone This finn blow has upset me The good woman bowel Mr Suther lands word was law In that town She did not even dare to protest again the alone whlch he hind so pointedly em IhIze but left 11m after making him as she sad comfortable and went back tQ her duties In the room above I was fortunate she wa s amenable amen-able to his wisheS lot no sooner had her steps ceased 10 be heard thifu Mr Sutherland arose from the easy char In which he had been rented and putting out the lamp widow Jones had insisted on lighting passed directly to the window win-dow through which he began to peer with looks of the deepest anxiety To Be Continued |