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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (June 12, 1921)
The Omaha Bimday Bee AMUSEMENTS' OL. L NO. 52. OMAHA, SUNDAY MORNING, JUNE 12, 1921. 1 D TEN CENTS The THREE MEN By EDEN PHILPOTTS EDITORIAL DEAD Wherein Michael Duveen, Inquiry Agent, Confronts a Sinister Mystery of the West Indian Cane Fields. VTTTHKN my chief, Michael Duveen, the in m yy uulry agent, invited me to go to the West Indies on a special mission, I re joiced exceedingly, for the time was late Janu ary, London suffered from abominable weath er, and the prospect of even a few weeks in the tropics presented very real charm. "They offered me 10,000 pounds to go," ex plained Duveen, . "and if i meant anything less than 10 days at sea, I should be pleased to do so. ., "I have told them, however, that I shall send one in whom I place absolute confidence; that I ishall devote personal attention to the subject from this side; and that, if we solve the mystery for them, a fee of 6,000 will con tent me; while, if we fall to do so, I shall ask nothing but my representative's expenses. I hear today by cable that they are satisfied with these conditions, and I invite you, therefore, to Hail in the Royal Mail steam packet Don from Southampton on Wednesday next." "Delighted, sir." "It will be a considerable feather in your cap if you can make anything of the crime. The data are involved, and one cannot build the, ytnost shadowy theory of what occurred upon r them. Indeed I shall not trouble vnu with tlinsn voluminous but vague documents. Tou can go "with an cpen and an empty mind, for if I hand Wou this screed, you'll be puzzling at it all the iway to Barbados and, possibly, arrive with f some cut and dried idea that will stand in your way and oven cloud your Judgment before you begin. "It's a criminal case on the face of it, and involves three dead men, but, apparently, no body who is alive. - Quite interesting and, I should say, quite ' difficult; but that's only an , impression. You may clear it up yourself with-. t out much trouble; or you may put me in a position to do so from England; or It may beat us both. See me again before you go; and book your passage today, otherwise you won't get a comfortable berth. There's a great rush among holiday people on the West Indies this year." "One question. Where am I to go?" "Only with the home ship to Barbados. The case lien In that Island alone, so far as I know. Should you have to go farther afield, of course you will do so. Good luck, my friend. I hope it's something that may prove useful to ybui i and I feel sanguine of your success." i I thanked the great man and withdrew well fiileased, for Duveen's compliments were few and ar between. He never praised, but his satis faction took shape of work, and I knew very well that he had not chosen me for what sound ed to be a fairly important investigation with out assurance that I should do Justice to his international name. A fortnight later there came a morning when I lounged on the deserted deck of the Don ' and watched a glorious blending of . moonlight and dawn. ' Barbados had been for some time visible, , lying like a huge sea monster, between the flashing whito light, on Bagged Point and a '-', crlmsen beacon, above a further promontory; but now the sun climbed up-heaven, as only he ' clifribs in the tropics, an! the island was limned every detail under his tremendous blase. I saw low, undulating, cultivated lands, whereon the miles of sugar cane looked at first like fields . of grass-green wheat or barley;-I noted the windmills) and , dotted dwellings and brown, tilled earth; while beneath them, crowned with 1 palms that clustered to the shore, spread Bridgetown, with Its gleaming masses of white architecture beside the blue waters and sun bleached beaches. A fleet of lighters manned with men of every hue, from mahogany to brown, from yellow to putty-color, was soon about us, while dozens of smaller vessels crowded in as soon as the shore authorities were satisfied. The sun blazed; the -steam winches groaned and chattered; people I rushed hither and thither shaking hands and Asaylng farewell, gathering luggage and tipping stewards ere they departed. Then came a message for me, and presently ' hit trunk and kit-bags were lowered into a white .'' boat with crimson cushions. J- ' A good-looking, sun-tanned individual sat in K end greeted me pleasantly, while two negroes pulled the boat ashore. ' He was browned by the srS JrQpic sun, but his gray eyes and fair hair and elean-cut cast of features proclaimed him an Englishman. He was tall, well built, and dressed In black clothes, which somewhat concealed his size and muscular development. He might have been 45, but life In Barbados had tended to age him, and I learned presently that he was but 5 and 30 years of age. ' ,. Amos Slannlng, owner of the famous Pelican ' plantations and sugar factories, chatted as we rowed ashore; but he spoke with an object, and gave m various items of Information that X erved as preliminary to the story he was to tell. 7 ''Barbados." he said, "unlike most of the West Indies, has had a fairly peaceful history. An English ship took possession of it in -1605, and it has never changed hands since. There's no mere loyal corner of the empire than Birm hire, a3 we call this, island. v "You see before you the last of the West Tndiar. Slannings, and. I suppose, the wealthiest ' !?&n Jr. Barbados. Time and chance have re duced us to one, since my twin brother, Harry, was murdered recently; and though nothing can bring him back from the grave. I shall' not go to my own in peace if the profound mystery of " his death is left unexplained." He asked me questions concerning Duveen, while I explained that," though my chief could ' not come personally to explore the problem, he had sent me, that I might gather every possible particular at first hand and report to him. I brought letters from headquarters for Mr. Slan nlng, and presently we went together to the Ice House and sat for half an hour at that famous restaurant while he perused them. "Now I understand," he said, "and heartily I hope you are not here In vain. We'll go to the club now and lunch. Then I'll tell you the story, as far as I know It; and then we'll go home. You'll put up with me, I trust?" This, however, I declined to do, and ex plained that It was my purpose to be entirely t free during the coming weeks. I 'To stop with you might handicap me in " many ways," I said, and he raised no question. We were soon on our way to the club. But an Incident broke the brief Journey. : There passed , us a " little victoria In which sat two ladies, and the car -was stopped -while , Amos . Slanning dismounted and spoke with them. One, a handsome, middle-aged woman, he addressed, while the other listened. . She was a very pretty young creature an exotic here, at it seemed to me, for she was paie ana her blue eyes lacked luster. One had pictured her at home with roses in her cheeks; here she challenged one's sympathy as a hardy flower -en in a hothouse. 'Tell me you are better," said Slanning to , the elder, and she shook hands warmly and as- ' sured him that she was. v "Poor May is not, however. I'm going to tax her to America for the summer, "she said. "Yon are wise," he answered, gently regard ing the girl,. ".'Let her have distractions, the ev childTr-ahe needs themT Then his voice dropped, and I doubted not that he was .mentioning me. A moment later he introduced me. The girl bowed, but did not speak; her mother shook hands and hoped that Z should be successful. "All who loved my dear friend's brother share his sorrow," she said quietly. "And there is nobody on earth who knew him that did not love him. But you are faced with the profound est difficulties, for this shocking deed was with out motive so far as any human being can see." Sho spoke clearly and with deep, earnestness, and added that she hoped I would come and see her if I found it desirable to do so. They drove on, and Slanning trusted I had marktd them carefully. "Nothing," he said, "connects them with my brother's . death, and yet, to my mind, there may exist some link. They are dear friends, and Lady Warrender's late husband, General Sir George Warrender, was also a dear friend to my brother and myself. But all unconsciously and innocently, the. ladies may, none the less, be Involved in some way hidden from them selves and us. That will be for you to consider when you know all that I can tell you." "The girl looks very ill," I said. "She is with reason. But the illness is of the mind, not the body. She has had a sad shock." ' We reached the public square, wherein the object of chief interest was a green bronze statue of Lord Nelson; and then arriving at Slanning's club, alighted and presently enjoyed a lunch of many delicacies. After the meal he led me into a small, pri vate smoking-room where we should be alone. He ottered a cigar, which I declined, since the "business of my visit was now to begin. Nor did . he smoke himself, but entered at once upon his narrative. , ' " "Stop me and ask any questions that may occur to you," he said, and then proceeded. "My mother died when Henry and I were boys ot 14 years old. We were in England at 'the time and had Just gone from a preparatory school to Harrow. From there we proceeded together to Cambridge. During the winter va cation we used to come out to my father here, while in the summer he usually visited Europe and took us with him to France or Italy. . We were Just completing our years at the university when my father, Fitzherbert Slanning, passed away somewhat suddenly he had always been a delicate man and Henry and I were called to the estates. My father always held that ab sentee landlords were the ruin of the West In dies and, long' before he died, made us promise to live and work here. We kept our word. , "It is, I believe, a rooted opinion that twins resemble each other closely in every particular of appearance and character and taste; and doubtless it often happens so; but I cannot flat . ter myself that I was half the man my brother was. He had better brains, better Judgment, and a larger measure of self-control. ' We re sembled each other superficially, but "he had a more thoughtful countenance and a less impetu ous disposition. I would not say that I was the optimist and Henry the pessimist; but whereas my na ture led me to be sanguine and trustful, he was more cautious and a far shrewder Judge-of character,' "We had a valuable! overseer, faithful to my father and trained in 1 -a school to whom the Slannings were a tradition. , He helped to seat -us In the saddle, and since we were both workers and well educated, we carried on the great sugar industry - that our ancestors had founded with success and created respect and con fidence. We were singularly alone, for it hap pened that my father was the last of his line, , and now no oter Slanning than myself has any direct interest W the Pelican estates. They were ours absolutely, and now they are mine, to gether with the great revenues they furnish and responsibilities they embrace. "Life passed for us uneventfully and pros perously. We were everything on earth to each other, and had not, as I believed, an idea un shared or an ambition not held in common. I stuck to the business entirely; Henry developed wider activities, Joined the administration and did useful public work. "He was a man of extraordinary generosity; he loved to advance the welfare of the island and the humblest upon it. If it can be said of any man that he had not an enemy, that can be said of my brother. He was the soul of justice, and displayed an enthusiasm for hu manity that won the respect of the rich and the worship of the poor. Yet this man has been deliberatly destroyed by a fellow man un der circumstances of the profoundest mystery; and when he perished another died also one who would have laid down his life for Henry or myself a thousand times. This was John Diggle, a full-blooded negro, whose forbears have worked for generations at the Pelican. He was a watchman, and his business required that he should guard the plantations at night. The looser sort of negro will always pilfer, and none Is immune from that annoyance. At the time of cane-cutting, therefore, we look after our boundaries; and if the blackguards who come thieving about know that they may get a bul let about their ears,they think twice before committing depredations. "It was an old custom that niggers found by our estate police in the cane by night were challenged and, if they did not respond, fired upon. It is a very ancient enactment of course not followed nowadays. "The manner of Henry's death, I will now describe. After a night of full moon he did not join me at breakfast according to his custom, and sending a servant to seek him, I found he was neither in his bedroom nor study "Puzzled, I looked round myself, but could see nothing of him. Then came the evil news from the cane-fields, and I mounted my, horse and rode out to a spot a mile from home, lying in a clearing on the outskirts of the plantations not very far from the Crane hotel, on the south coast of the island. My brother was lying dead, shot through the breast, and actually upon him John Diggle also lay, a corpse. His gun, with both barrels discharged, appeared nearly 20 yards from the bodies; and that it was Diggle's gun which had destroyed both my dear brother and himself there could be no question, for. the cartridges were of a peculiar bore and the heavy' swan shot unlike anything else of this sort in Barbados. v - , "Another weapon was discovered a revolv er, brand new, and with all its chambers empty. It had evidently never been fired, and I had not seen it or heard of it; but subsequent investiga tion showed that my brother had bought It in England with a box of 100 cartridges, which was never even opened. The revolver is one of Forrest's make, and why Henry bought it, see ing his curious hatred and dread of firearms, is surely a part of this mystery. "Medical examination proved that neither man had been shot at close range a fact that disposed of an obvious theory. For the local police colored people suspected that poor Diggle had murdered Henry and then shot him self; but this Is impossible. First, he worshiped Henry as something more than a man, and would have . suffered any imaginable torture rather than hurt a hair of his head, and, second, he himself was shot from some distance oft. From the nature of the wounds it was calcu lated that the gun must have been fired at a range of 20 yards the distance it was found lying from 'the' bodies. "Ten yards from the spot where my brother fell, hidden in the plantation, we came upon a pile of cut pane nd one of the common axes M I V- "My brother was lying dead, not through thm breast, and actually upon him John Diggle alto lay a eor.' used for cutting it. - This would not have been there under normal circumstances, and pointed to the fact of a thief. He had apparently been busy when disturbed. But of him no trace is forthcoming, though a handsome reward has been offered to the rascal if he will come for ward and tell us anything he knows. . "Why my brother was out that night Is, of course, part of this problem; for there existed, no shadow of reason that he should have been. He never did such a thing to my knowledge be fore, and though he often took solitary rides and. walks, being of a meditative spirit, it was not, of course, his rule to . rise after retiring. Yet on the night of his death he must have awakened from sleep, drawn on his boots, flung a black alpaca coat over . his pajamas, and sauntered out a mile or more into the planta tions, to the beat where he knew that Diggle. would be doing his work and . keeping his rounds. "I now come to the third man who. appears to have lost his life on this fatal night Per sonally I do not associate him in. any way with the story I have told you. I see no shadow of connection between the two crimes, and I am tolerably confident indeed we all are that the' poor wretch known as Solly Lawson got his throat cut by an enemy. . "He was a half-caste employed at the Peli can who lived with an old, black mother in a cabin near the cliffs. He was a worthless, hot tempered beggar, with a dog-like, affection for my brother and myself; but he quarreled with his fellows and always gave himself great airs on the strength of his white blood. Solly had a way with the ladies also, and made a good deal of trouble in his own circle of society. He has fought various battles and figured in more than one paternity case; but though the poor fellow thus earned some reprobation, we, weak ly enough, forgave him a great many of his sins, for he was a mirth-provoking spirit with ready wit; and as much for his old mother and his dead father's sake as his own, we kept him on and forgave him his stupid sons. - "He had been locked up twice, and knew that one more serious offense would be the last so far as the Pelican was concerned; but it seemed of late that he had reformed and was becoming a useful member of the community. So, at least, old Mrs. Lawson. declared. "Well, on the day that was black with this double murder came news of Solly Lawson's end. The debonair creature, so witty and full of life such a secret Joy to us and such a source of endless exasperation to his fellows was found dead with his throat cut from ear to ear. . "An sccident revealed the murder, - for-the body lay on a shelf under the cliffs, midway be tween the summit and the deep sea that rolled beneath. It was evident that those responsible for his destruction had flung him over, after murdering him, and that, instead of falling into the water 200 feet below, as they Intended, the unseen ledge had received him. From this, when found, he was subsequently lowered into a boat and brought ashore. The fall had broken seyeral bones, but the fatal wound was in his throat "In his case, also, no motive whatever for his murder has appeared; and though I doubt not It was over another woman that he finally came to grief, nothing throws light on the sub ject, and no man, or men, in Barbados can be fairly suspected of the business. "Thus we have three capital crimes, all of which, on the face of it,, are motiveless; and while in the case of Solly, as I say, we may feel very euro' that he awakened some secret ma . lignity and brought his punishment upon him self,' while there' probably are those among us : who know the secret of his death, so far as my ' brother -and John Diggle are -concerned no shadow of reason for their destruction can be : found on the Island, or in the world. "Of my brother I have spoken; while Diggle, in his humble capacity, similarly enjoyed the respect' and regard of all men. We had not a more popular servant on the plantation, or in the . factories. He leaves a wife and three . youngsters, and my brother was godfather to : the eldest, while to the second I stood in the - same relation. ".That is the dreadful outline you . will have to .fill In, young "man; and now please ask me what .questions may occur to you, unless you would rather leave them to a later occasion." ."I shall have many questions to ask, Mr. . Slanning," I answered; "but at this point per haps' you will tell me a little about Lady War render and her daughter." "Gladly. The incident which connects them '. with my brother's name lies outside those I have narrated, in my opinion; nor can I link it with ' Henry's death. But you will approach this matter with an open mind, and in any case must hear It and regard it as a confidence. This was one of the few experiences that my dear brother kept from me entirely; nor should I . have i ever known but for the ladies themselves. "A year ago now Henry told me I ought to marry, and I retorted that it was quite as much his business as mine.' He admitted it, and we chaffed one another; but I regarded him as an incurable bachelor ' and - believed myself to be one. In truth,-however, Henry desired to mar- ; ry and, with-what looks now like extraordinary secrecy, ' cultivated little May Warrender. .Her, ' mother did -not know it until afterwards; but' ' when - Henry died, the girl revealed to her mother that he had much desired to marry her . and proposed twice." "Yoi: have no reason to doubt her?" ' ' "None, for she is not the sort- to invent any such ' story. Perhaps, if I had heard such a ' thing from anybody but those people, I might have disbelieved; but it is impossible to doubt ' them. ' Henry evidently loved her and strove ' 1 hard to win her; but he was old for his age and doubtless seemed much older, than he was to a girl not 20. Whether he was deeply die- appointed or not can never be known. He was such a- philosopher that I do not suppose he al lowed the matter to trouble him more than was ; inevitable. May liked him immensely, and when he died, she was quite 111 for a time, but when she told her mother, she also declared that marriage with him would have been im possible. "Probably, as I say, his reverse did not cast Henry down unduly, for he was a very quick minded and intelligent man and a great student of human nature. Moreover, had it made any very poignant Impression upon him, I cannot ; think It would have been hidden from me, even though he had tried to hide it We knew each other too well, and he certainly did not depart at that time from his customary, steadfast frame, of mind not before me, at any rate. He was " level-headed and well-balanced as usual." . So Amos Slanning's statement ended, and what chiefly struck me was the innumerable permutations and combinations that might be drawn from it That the speaker had told me the truth, as he saw it, I could not doubt He was .a simple-minded, Ingenuous man and evi dently very deeply moved by his loss. For the rest, it became a question how to pursue my Inquiries to the best advantage. The local police had no theory and no clue; while those chiefly Interested In all the dead men were in the same predicament Nobody could fit the facts together and make a rational story out of them; .indeed, the very material seemed doubtful, for the body of opinion sepa rated the death of the young, half-caste,-Solly Lawson, from that of the others, and held it only as a coincidence that he had lost his life at tho same time. After his recital Mr. Slanning took me for a long ride about the island, and we stopped at the scenes of the incidents in his story. Mile after mile of sugar cane extended upon every side of us. Great Jungles of it fringed the road with their drooping, polished stenis, tawny tan . gles of dried leaves below and bright green crowns above. Beside a little, neat house surrounded by a hedge of prickly pear, a - big calabash tree grew, and"' its green, polished fruit hung from jagged, almost leafless boughs. "That's where poor Diggle's widow lives," said Slanning, "and we are now within a mile of the scene of the tragedy. Now you can see the general outline of the Pelican estates, sweeping in an arc to north and south and ranging almost to the coral cliffs near the Crane hotel. If you woa't come to me, you might take quarters there to be on the scene of your work." But knowing not where that work would be, I determined for the present to remain in Bridge-town, and after standing in a cane clear ing on the scene of his brother's death and visiting the stately home of the last of the Barbados Slannings, I returned to town and presently took a couple of rooms in a secluded square not far from the club. My object was to work unknown, as far as possible, and in this . ambition Amos Slanning assisted , me. My business was not specified, though I soon found that most people were aware of it I wanted, of course, to learn much that the dead man's brother could tell me, and ' since the matter still remained a nine days' won der, all men were glad enough to talk about it, and the conversation in the club smoking-room often drifted round to it. I had been elected a temporary member of this institution, and spent a few days almost entirely within its walls. I found Amos Slan ning immensely popular; indeed, even more so than Henry had been; for while men spoke of the brother with respect, and deplored his sudden end, it seemed that he had. not awak ened enthusiasm. Indeed, the rest of man kind saw him with different eyes from his twin. A Creole lawyer at the club knew both well, and gave me a friendly but Independent descrip tion of them. "Henry Slanning was a man of affairs," he said. "He had ambition, and little liked to be contradicted. But few ever contradicted him, for he was a very sane man, a sound democrat, and knew the trend of contemporary thought You can form no complete opinion of him through his brother. He had none of the san guine spirit and natural cheerfulness that marks . Amos. He was, in fact, of a melancholy cast of mind even morbid sometimes.'; "Have you any theory of events?" I asked, for the sake of conversation, and the other an swered that he had none. "Had Henry1 been faced with any great and 'crushing disappointment," he said, "or had he found himself up against some stroke of fate beyond the power of his money, or brains, to withstand, I can imagine he might have de stroyed himself. His brother, of course, says that under no conceivable circumstances would he have done such a thing; others, however, agree with me so far. But this is no suicide, obviously. He was deliberately shot from some distance 15 to 20 yards, the doctors say. Be sides, no circumstances exist, to my knowledge, which had caused Henry any sort of unhappl- - ness." So he spoke and revealed that he was not - familiar with the fact that the dead man had proposed marriage and been rejected. Indeed, so I found it invariably among the numerous men who had something to say about the mat ter. Nearly all could furnish some item of information, or some experiences throwing light on character. All helped to complete the picture of Henry Slanning; but none, from his brother to the billiard-marker at the ' Club, ' could give a complete portrait &nd I perceived the picture might never . be completed unless Duveen himself proved equal to that task. Almost my first visit was to Lady Warren der, and her description of the murdered man differed slightly from the rest She said he was of a religious temperament, but unorthodox and not devoted to any particular form of faith. "Did you know that he desired to marry Miss Warrender?" "I had no idea of it. Sometimes I chaffed him - and his brother about finding wives and not letting the famous Barbados Slannings die out with them; but Henry always said that Amos was the marrying man. May "would have kept his proposal a secret, as he begged her to do, had it not been for his death. Then she felt it was only right to confide In me, and I told his brother. One never knows what may bear upon a question." "You noticed no change in him laterly?" "None. It was about six weeks after his re jection that he died." . ."Should you have objected to such a mar riage?". , t "Far from it. He was a distinguished and honourable man a gentleman In the highest acceptation of the term. My daughter liked him, and it. hurt her much to make him sad; but she did not love him. Though only 15 years older than May, he seemed far more to her, for he was old for his age and a staid, quiet man, averse from society, fond of t reading, and with no pleasures in which the average girl could share. He would have made a splendid husband, but not for May." Gradually I built up the picture of Henry Slanning, yet I cannot say. that I ever saw the man very clearly. He came and went, some times grew clear, then receded again. Some, I found, held him a cynic, with the warm heart a 'dyrric often conceals; others, of a religious frame of mind, doubted him as one not ortho dox. .None denied that much good could be credited to him, and in only one quarter, and that very unexpected, did I find a doubt or a suggestion that he had ever committed an act ' open to question. . , I visited the - widow of John Diggle, who - proved ' a talker. But she was intelligent, her memory seemed trustworthy, and her honesty obvious. She was gathering washing from the thorny hedge outside her little home, and she chatted mournfully of her husband, the night watchman, and his virtues. "Him not an enemy, sar de kindest man and do best husband. Him work for Marse Henry an' Marse Amos for years an' years, an' nebber a hard -word from dem all de time. Dey fink do world ob him, an' my po' John, he fink de world ob dem." "Let me come into your house and sit down, Mrs. Diggle, out of the sun. I'm sure every " body has been very sad for you. Mr. Diggle was greatly respected." "A most respectable man, sar, an' only wicked legues that tlet de cane ebber quarrel -wid him." "Had he any quarrel with Solly Lawson, the poor nigger who had his throat cut?" "Nebber. He knew dat Solly was a wild nig- ger; but John 'mark able gentle wid young men and he said Solly mend some day. He a most Christian person, my John." "Tell me about him. I am very interested to hoar about him." She rambled on for a while, and gradually I brought her to her last memories of .the man. "Did he ever do anything that Mr. Henry didn't approve of?" "No, sar nebber." "Did Mr. Henry ever do anything your hus band din't approve?" "No, sar; Marse Henry a good man. But but" . "They always agreed?" "Now you say dat, I mind a queer fing, sar. One day one, two, free days before him die, my John came In sad to him breakfus, an' I say, 'What de matter, John?' An' him say, 'Nuffin.' But I say, 'Dar somefln, 'cause yo' head wrinkle up an yo' puff fro' your nose.' An' him say, 'You dam' silly ole woman, Jane.' Den, 'fore he go out in de pigeon peas to work, he say, 'Blast dem wicked folk dat steal de cane dey make trouble an' it fall on me.' ' "Was much cane being stolen?" "No, sar. Dar always a little gwlne by night; an' John he cotch a man sometimes; but it am nuffln much, an' I nebber heard him worry 'bout it. So I say, 'Yo' no worry, John, bout a silly fing like dat,' an he say, 'I got to worry, 'cause Marse Henry, him worry. 'An Marse Henry, him tell me I no' sharp enough an' no' do my duty to de tiefs an' forget how to treat tie rogues. I terrible surprised to hear my husband say dat, an John, he run on, an he say he do what he told in future, whatebber happens, an' no question orders; an I say, 'You always do what you told, John.' " "Did he explain any more about It?" "No. Him go 'way growling, but him soon get happy again. He said no' mo' 'bout it till John gone killed an' Marse Henry gone killed; an' den I wish I knew mo' 'bout it; but too lata den. Po John him shot in de side an him heart blown to pieces." - "I suppose Mr. Slanning couldn't have shot your husband?" "Me Gard! Marse Henry shoot -John? To might as well fink John shoot Marse Henry. Marse Henry a gemman dat hated killing any flng. Him nebber flreti a gun in him life. Him nebber squashed a scorpion. He love John, for him told me so, when John ill once. An' John him have died a hundred times for Marse Henry, or Marse Amos. He berry faithful man an' live for his masters." "Have you any idea in your mind, Mrs. Dig gle,' what happened? If John has sometimes arrested men for stealing sugar cane, he may have had enemies." "No, de man or two dat went to prison no fink bad ob John. It all In de day's work for bad man to be cotch some time. And John him shot wid him own gun 'member dat. John carry him gun himself. He nebber put it out of him hand." "It would have been impossible, you think, for anybody to get his gun away from John?" "Only Marse Henry do dat. If Marse Henry come by night an say, "Lend me yo' gun, John.' den John lend him. But Marse Henry no want gun. Him hate guns." "Did your husband ever say he had met Mr. Slanning on his rounds by night?" "Nebber, sar. He sure tell me if such a funny fing as dat happen, 'cause Marse Henry and Marse Amos, dey never go near de planta tions by night." v "Have any of your friends any idea, what may have happened?" "Only silly folk. Dey fink de debble tell Marse Henry to go out in de night an' put it In John's head to shoot him; an' den de debble , shoot John; but what Gard A'mlghty doin all de time? Marse Henry an' John berry good men, an dey In hebben now wid golden crowns on der heads an golden wings an' golden harps, sar; but dat de wilL ob Gard. An' it no better for de wicked murderer dat dey happy now. He go to hell all de same, whar him belong.!' "You don't think Solly Lawson had any thing to do with it?" "I doan' know nuffln 'bout dat. He killed dead, too, so nobody nebber know if him dar or not." "He was a sort of chap who might steal cane?", "Him tief plenty cane, I dare say, Massa; but him nebber do nuffin 'gainst Marse Henry Marse Henry stand up for him plenty times. De niggers tief cane 'cause dey terrible ig'rant fellows an' no fink how wicked dey are; but dey no fall out wid udder gemmen 'bout it Dat po' Solly if him see anybody treatin John bad. or treatin' Marse Henry bad, he run to help dem; I'se sure." She whined on a shrewd, sensible creature enough, and one's heart bled for her grief, for she often stopped talking to Weep. ' It was personal sorrow at her loss and no fear for the future that troubled her, for Amos Slanning had, provided for her and her children. And elsewhere, a few days later, my In quiries took me to see another sad, black wo man, the mother of the murdered Solly Lawson Mrs. Mary Lawson's cabin stood near the place of. her son's death. She was a little, with ered negress who had married an Englishman! an old sailor who found work at the Pelican When h left the coasting trade In the Antilles. Mary could add little to my knowledge; hut she confirmed what others had said of Solly. "Him no vice, sar only berry fond ob de gals an berry good lookln' my dear boy was He lost him head and did silly flngs an' fell out wid de neighbors; but him no wicked deepi down, an' him always terrible sorry after. Hint an mu oh full nh life dat it ran awav with him a berry 'scitable boy, sar, an' dash at fings an often get in a mess, but ebb'rybody forgib him after sorry. An' Marse Henry he never rough, wid Solly 'cause Solly so quick wid his tongue, he always get round Marse Henry an Marse Amos, too, an' make dem laugh." "He was fond of them?" "He lub dem nuffin too good for dem he tell me dat a fousand times. All de world lub dem dar nobody on de earf dat would hurt dem. An' If Solly him see anybody do harm or Marse Henry or Marse Dlggte he so fierce him be dat he fight dem an' no care if he kill dem." . - . "He was friendly to JohnDiggle, too?" "Yes, ear he friendly to Marse Diggle. Marse Diggle a berry nice gemman, an' kind to my son when odder folks cross wid him." "But suppose Marse Diggle had seen your son stealing sugar-cane?" "Den Marse Diggle would hab got Solly lock up. God forgib my Solly, dat happened one or two times; but John forgib Solly after him pun ished, an' Solly ho angry wid Marse Diggle after. When a fing done, It done, sar." "You wouldn't say that Solly might not have been stealing cene that night?" "No, sar, I wouldn't say dat He might; but I Ao fink him dar. I no fink him far from him home. I fink some bad men quarrel wid Solly ober a gal, an' lie hid for him an pounce on my po' boy while him come home, an' kill him." "More men than one?" "Yes, 'cause Solly berry quick an' strong. Dar no nigger In dese parts strong 'nough to kill- my Solly single-handed wid a knife an' den fro him ober de cliff. It take six, sebben men to do dat." She dwelt on her son's great strength with mournful satisfaction. "You cannot give a name to anybody who might have had a grudge against him?" "No, sar nobody. Him been berry good boy for long time now. An' I ask all de niggers if dey know anybody what hab a down on Solly, an nobody know. But dar must be some body done it I fink sailormen, who sail away de next day, might hab done It." "You know of no girl who cared for your on, or quarreled with him?" 'Tlenty gals, sar; but he only firjendj wij iTum ta race Ihras. CttlasM OmJU