THE TIMES, NEW HLOOMFIELD, PA., JANUARY 21), 1878.
a
THAT WOMAN'S SECRET.
I'ONCI.tU K!.
"W
rilKX," continued Mrs. Elniore,
as we will now call her, " my
husband nrose to his feet and mode this
request my heart almost ceased Its beat
ing. I feared, I believed that he was
about to confess that he had attempted
the life of the girl who had rejected him.
Hut no I Ah I Heaven, no! I never
before hod realized one lota of the base
ness of the man ! Standing there, with
hypocritical tears upon his face, Egbert
Elmore denounced meos the would-be
murderess of Agnes Lelghton. he tes
tified to having seen me put a white
powder in her wine glass while the at
tention of the company was otherwise
directed, lie sold that I had long been
jealous of her; that I had uttered threats
against her. I sat there benumbed, stu
pefied, powerless to reply, till suddenly
all became dark and I fell to the lloor.
Would that I had never arisen I Oh,
how can I tell the miseries of the next
wretched month ! Let me hasten on
with the shameful story. A package of
arsenic was found in my pocket, which,
Heaven knows, I never placed there.
An effort was made to keep the matter
a secret; but, through the base machi
nation of Egbert Elmore, who feigned
the deepest grief, and played the part of
a base hypocritical villain throughout,
all was made public ; and this 1 Scandal
In High Life' became the town talk. I
was tried for the crime In a court of jus
tice ; but I will not, I cannot, dwell on
this ! There was much perjury a
wretched creature being put upon the
stand who swore he sold me the deadly
drug and a general prejudice against
me In the public mind from the first.
The bitter end of it all was a sentence to
a weary term of years in the State Pris
on. 'Oh, God!"
Mrs. Elmore paused, deeply affected.
" Of what interest is this story to me
or to my friend, Bentley ?" Major Heith
said, with a sneer, having fully regained
his composure. "My good woman, If
you assert that I am this man, Elmore,
I Bhall fear your troubles have turned
your brain." .
" Do you still deny that you are Eg
bert Elmore?" the woman demanded,
turning to him with a glance under
which. In spite of himself, he quailed. -
" But," he replied, "I-I have heard
of this affair before ; and happen to
know that Elmore has been dead several
years."
" I supposed him dead until lately,"
returned Mrs. Elmore; "but when I
saw you, base wretch, I knew that he
still polluted the earth with his pres
ence." " Bentley," the major cried, turning
to his host with a menacing glance,
" This woman Is mad. Summon a ser
vant to eject her from the premises ; or"
he added, in a whisper, " I'll proclaim
your secret to the household. Have her
ejected at once."
" I will not," returned the banker, in
the same low tone. "I wish to. hear
more of this narrative ; for I remember
that when the remains supposed to be
those of Egbert Darrell were washed
ashore, his friends announced that his
real name was Elmore."
With a bitter curse the major turned
away.
" Madame," added Edward Bentley,
addressing Mrs. Elmore, " proceed, if
you please."
"After my committal to prison," con
tinued Mrs. Elmore, "my husband be
came more than ever dissipated, plung
ed into all manner of vice; and
only a month after the conclusion
of my trial, left his father's home for
ever, cursing the parent who had done
for him all that mortal man could do,
who had borne with his faults until all
patience was gone. He became a pro
fessional gambler; and changed his
name to Egbert Darrell. At last, one
night, he suddenly disappeared, and it
was believed that he bad left the city to
avoid paying his debts,' which were
enormous. But a few weeks after his
disappearance a body supposed to be his,
was found at the foot of pier East
river, and buried by his relations. But
this body was not his, for ho still lives."
"Just Heaven, I thank thee!" the
banker exclaimed. " I am innocent of
that terrible crime. Oh, what a burden
of remorse is lifted from my soul !" -
" Father, what do you mean V" Edith
Bentley cried.
"Edith, for years I have supposed
myself to be the murderer of Egbert
Elmore. This man, whom I now
know to he Elmore, procured his Intro
duction to this family and to society
under the name of Major Heith, by
threats of exposing my crime ; of which
he pretended he was an unseen witness.
But, thank God, I am innocent and a
free man once more!"
"Bentley!" exclaimed the major,
whose voice was still firm,, though his
face had grown ghastly, "you're a cra
ven fool 1 you have ruined youiself !
I am not Egbert Elmore, I tell you!'
Did you not yourself throw him, Insen
sible and bleeding Into the river J has
he been seen by mortol eyes for ten
years V wos not his body found, fully
Identified by those who knew him well,
and burled ? How then can I be lie? I
tell yoit,Bentley you 're mad! the thing's
Impossible!"
" I am firmly persuaded that you are
Eglwrt," returned the banker, " and I
have no doubt that all will be made clear
in the course of an investigation which
shall be Immediately begun."
"Fear not, sir," said Mrs. Elmore,
"I will, ere many minutes, confront
this man with such proofs of his iden
tity as will leave no possible room for
dispute or doubt. But I have not near
ly finished my story. Before my trial
was over I discovered a fact that filled
my cup of misery to the brim ; I was
destined to become a mother. Oh God !
what agony I endured when the dis
graceful sentence of imprisonment was
pronounced upon me; and I thought
that my child would be born within the
walls of a prison ; Its mother a misera
ble, disgraced woman ; its father a
guilty wretch shunned by all who were
good and pure. But, thank God! my
babe was not destined to be born under
a prison roof. Through the untiring
efl'orts of old Mr. Elmore I was pardon
ed ere I had served four months of my
time. But, alas ! I wns disgraced, ruin
ed! I could not return to my former
home, I could never again mingle In
the society to which my husband had
Introduced me; could not meet my for
mer fashionable friends, many of whom
believed In my guilt and had deserted
me in my hour of trouble. , Old Mr.
Eifnore, who had been my friend
throughout the wretched affair, and who
had, at last, publicly disowned his son,
would have given me a home, but I
could not accept It. My mother had
died of a broken heart, or I might have
found shelter with her. I seed red lodg
ing in a secluded spot in Brooklyn, and
there my child, a boy, was born ; and
there, for months, I lived under the as
sumed name of Clayton, my mother's
maiden name. My very existence was
a secret to all my former friends, even
to old Mr. Eimore, who would have be
friended me, but whose sympathy I
rigidly denied myself, and whom I
never met after our parting at the prison
door."
"This tale is false, woman," inter
posed Major Heith, who was evidently
laVoring under great excitement. " No
child was born ; if so,where Is he now?"
" Of his present whereabouts you
should know best," Mrs. Elmore said,
sternly.
" What do you mean ?" exclaimed the
major.
" I will explain," replied Mrs.Elmoie.
" I had a hard struggle for life. Pover
ty oppressed me; and though I toiled
from early morn till late at night I
earned but a scanty living. For my
self I cared not ; but for my babe, my
poor boy, my heart bled. Must his
childhood and youth be embittered by
poverty and privation? must he to
whom rightfully belonged all the bles
sings which wealth and a willing hand
could bestow, be crushed by the Iron
hand of want? These thoughts were
very bitter to me; but bitterer still was.
the reflection, that sooner or later, the
knowledge must come to him that his
mother was a disgraced criminal, the
former inmate of a prison, his father an
outcast from the society of the good and
pure. Many were the hours I spent in
thought upon the subject; weary,
wretched hours, the memory of which
is a torture. At last I determined upon
a plan which, though It would separate
me, probably forever, from my boy,
would, I believed, secure him a home,
an education, and an honorable position
among men. I determined to leave the
child at the door of his grand-father's
house, with a note imploring old Mr.
Elmore to receive the babe and care for
it as his own."
"And you did so?" interposed Mr.
Bentley, deeply interested and affected.
" I did."
" The child was received and kept?"
" He was, sir."
"And the name he bears is Walter
Elmore?"
" Yes, although neither he nor his
grand-futher suspected that he had a
rightful claim to it."
"My God I ''exclaimed Major Heith,
evidently much agitated.
"The child was received, adopted and
treated lu all respects as a dear son by
Mr. Elmore," continued the woman,
"though he could have had no suspi
cion of Walter's intimate relationship
to himself; for that I was a mother
was, of course, unknown to him. Wal
ter grew to manhood, and became all I
could have desired. During his child
hood I often met and conversed with
him, wneu he was with his nurse in the
public streets ; and as he passed from
youth to manhood my face was not an
unfamiliar one to him. From unguard
ed remarks which I at different times
made, he learned that I had some
knowledge of his parentage. Of late
years when we have met he has endeav
ored to learn this secret from me, but In
vain ; my Hps were closed. Iliad fully
determined never to disgrace him, and
blight his honorable manhood by ae
know lodging myself his mother. But
events have lately transpired which will
enable me to remove the stain which
has long disfigured my good name;
which done, I will make this secret
known to the world, and lift the burden
from my poor boy's heart."
"But, madame," interposed Mr.
Bentley, "do you not know that Wal
ter Elmore Is -"
" I know all, sir," Mrs. Elmore inter
rupted, "and, will speak of his disap
pearance shortly, and explain it."
Major Heith started violently, and
half arose from his seat. But In an In
stant he regaiued his composure, and
sunk Sack with a sneer upon his lips.
"And now," Mrs. Elmore continued,
"thank Heaven I can, at last, prove my
Innocence of ony attempt to poison
Agnes Lelghton, andean produce the
guilty party."
"Can this be possible?" exclaimed
Mr. Bentley.
Mrs. Elmore summoned from the ad
joining room the coachman, John
Douglus.
" Tills man," she said, "your present
coachman, Mr. Bentley, was, at the
time of that dreadful affair, a servant
in Mr. Elmore's family. He saw Eg
bert Elmore put that package of arsenic
in the pocket of my dress. This arous
ed his suspicion, for he had seen the
label of the package, which told its con
tents ; and he watched my husband nt
the dinner table. He saw him mix the
poison with the wine which he handed
Mrs. Lelghton. He made Egbert Elmore
acquainted with what he knew, but by
threats and bilbes was Induced to keep
Ills knowledge a secret. And so the trial
went on, and by the testimony of false
witnesses, and the suppression of John
Douglas's evidence, which would have
saved me, I was convicted of the crime,
and sentenced to the State Prison. I
had never dared to hope that the truth
would In time become known, but at
last my innocence is to be ninde mani
fest. This man, John Douglas, it seems
bitterly regretted his crime nnd insti
tuted a search for me, after my pardon,
with the Intention of confessing all and
cleansing my sullied reputation. But
he could learn nothing about me after
my departure from the prison. Long
years ago he gave up the search in de
spair, having relinquished all hope of
ever seeing me again. But Heaven was
merciful, ami we at last met. Are you
ready," she added, addressing John
Douglas, "to swear to the truth of the
statement regarding this a f full', which
you have made me ?"
" I am, madam ; and also to the iden
tity of this man who has been called
Major Heith, us Mr. Egbert Elmore."
The face of the entrapped vllluin was
livid, and he moved restlessly in his
chair, but he did not speak.
" It is well," Buld the woman, " Eg
bert Elmore, you tremble; but I have
not yet exhausted the catalogue of your
crimes. De you remember the events
or the night of August 10, 18"
" What do you mean ?" the man
cried, in a voice which sounded harsh
and unnatural.
" I mean that on that night you stole
the infant child of Mark Lelghton from
har cradle, and took her to the house of
a woman named Van Dyke, in East
Broadway, where, for eighteen yeors
after, she lived. Do you deny this ?"
"Curses on you!" was the ouly re
sponse. "And, in further pursuance of your
foul scheme of revenge on Mark and
Agnes Lelghton, you usslsted Ralph
Marsden in abducting the young girl
from her home and placing her in a
gaming house owned by himself and a
man named Percival, on Tweutleth
street. Ah! Egbert Elmore, you had
begun to congratulate yourself that
your complicity in that crime was to re
main a secret, hud you not ?"
Since Marsden 'a arrest for the murder
of Laura Odell, he hud shown the pos
session of that sort of honor which
exists among thieves, and had not men
tioned Major Helth's name in connec
tion with the affair. And us he (the
major) had never entered Jured Per
cival's house, and hud not, as the reader
will recollect, been recognized by Mara
on the night of the abduction, he had
become certain that his bhnre in the
crime was not destined to become pub
lic. The first thought of the major, or,
as we will now call him, Egbert Elmore
on hearing his wife's words, was that
Marsden hnd broken his silence and be
trayed him.
"I deny it!" he cried, hoarsely,
"Marsden lies!"
" Marsden has not spoken," the wom
an said, "but Mrs. Van Dyke has con
fessed all." i
The man uttered a terrible oath.
' And, in addition to all this, Egbert
Elmore, I accuse you of having one
month ago, sent to your son, Wulter
Elmore, a note, in which "
" Enough!" cried tne mau, springing
from his seat; "say no more, womun.
The game's Op, and you have won it."
He would have rushed from the room;
but a man's form blocked the doorway.
As Egbert Elmore looked In this per
son's face he recoiled, and cried, almost
shrieked :
"Walter-Walter Elmore!"
" Ay !" exclaimed his wife; " Walter
Elmore, your son, whom Heaven would
not permit to perish by your murderous
hand."
The man's nerves hud received a ter
rible shock by this confrontation with
his supposed victim, and for several mo
ments his fmino quivered like a leof.
But, ns his mind comprehended the sit
uation, he regained, with a supreme ef
fort, his self-control, and said :
" Since he Is my son, I am not sorry
he esenped. But let us end this scene.
Ellen, you're a smarter woman than I
ever believed you. I admire you, 'pou
honor 1 do. But I regret that I must
deprive you of the pleasure of my com
puny. Adieu !','
"Stop, Egbert Elmore, you cannot
go!" cried Murk Lelghton, who entered
at this moment.
" You would detain me !" the villain
cried. "You had better not; for your
own takes you had better not. Think
of the disgrace of an exposure. Think"
" No consideration shall prevent Jus
tice being at last done, and these terrible
wrongs atoned for !" exclaimed his wife.
Egbert Elmore glanced wildly around
for some means of escape. The one
doorway was guarded by his sou and
Murk Lelghton. But there remained
one means of egress. With lightning
rapidity he rushed to the window, threw
It open, and leaped to the pavement,
twenty feet below.
' He has escaped us !" Murk Lelghton
exclaimed.
"No," said Walter, hastening to the
window, " he does not arise from the
pavement. " He is Injured !"
The two men rushed to the street.
Egbert Elmore was evidently severely
injured, and was unable to move. They
bore him Into the house and sent for
Dr. Oakley, who soon arrived. After a
brief examination, he said :
"'His leg Is broken, and he has receiv
ed such serious internal Injuries that I
feur he cnu not live long." '
"My God!" excluimed Egbert El
more, who overheard the words. " This
must not be. Doctor, tell me there is
some hope; I cannot die I"
" Do not agitate yourself, sir," said
the physician. " I fear your hours are
numbered. I will give you a soothing
draught, which will alleviate the pain
you now feel, and I would recommend
that you settle all your earthly affairs,
and make your peace with Heaven."
"Oh, Egbert!" exclaimed his wife,
bursting Into tears, " all the sorrow you
have caused me is now freely, gladly
forgiven."
" And," added Mark Lelghton, " will
you, in this solemn hour, refuse to
make this poor ludy the only restitution
in your power by confessing all, and
restoring to her her good name ?"
There wns a short silence, broken by
Egbert Elmore, who suid :
" Lelghton, I will do as you wish."
A confession of the attempted murder
of Agnes Lelghton was hastily written,
and to it Egbert Elmore appended his
signature.
A servant at this moment entered.
and handed Mark Leightou a note
which bore the address, "Major Heith."
He handed it to the dying man.
" Bead it Ellen," Elmore said, hand
ing It to his wife. She tore open the
envelope, and read as follows :
" Ma.ioii Heith : I have Ihph mitt.
taken for Richard Carroll, the Bank of
.ungiunu iorger, ana arrested. Come to
me at once, and bring Bentley. I want
you both to identify me as ltodney
" Too lute I" exclaimed Egbert Elmore.
"Poor Carroll, lam powerless to aid
him now."
" Then," suid Mark Lelghton', "this
man whom you have called ltodney
Heith, and for whose sake you would
have murdered your son "
"Is no other than Itichard Carroll,
who forged a draft on the Bank of Eng
land for five thousand pounds, a few
months ago. But Lelghton, when I
made that attempt on my son's life, I
did not dream of the relationship exist
ing between us, you must remember. I
looked upon him as a numeless strunger,
who had crossed the path of my adopted
son, Richard Curroll; and who hud also
occupied the place which rightfully bo
longed to me in my father's house, and
whom for both reasons I hated. But
listen, and I will give you a brief ac
count of my doings for the lust ten
years. I have no further need of con
cealment." "Egbert," cried his wife, ".end
the few moments left you in other
thoughts than these. Forget your
wretched past and prepare for the fu
ture." " Ellen," wus the reply, "It U too late
for that now do not pursue tne subject
but listen: When you Bentley, threw
me, insensible and bleeding, into the
river, I fell In cloe proximity to a boat
containing several river thieves, who
were about landing with a quantity of
b.mty. These men rescued me, and took
me to their head-quarters, a miserable
den in the lower purt of the city, where,
for weeks 1 lay in a critical condition.
The residents of the house did not know
who I was, and they made but few in
quiries. But they nursed me buck to
life; and one of their number, who hnd
some knowledge of surgery, one day
performed an operation upon me, rais
ing n portion of my skull which pressed
upon the brain, and thereby restoring
nie to consciousness,
"From that time, my recovery wan
rapid. I soon learned from tho news
paper that a body supposed to be mlno.
had been found In the river, ami buried
by my relatives. No one questioned
the fact of my death. The thought
arose In my mind, why not remain deail
to the world ? Why make my existence
in the land of tho living known to my
former friends? My father hod dlsown
ed me ; I was tabooed by good society,
distrusted by my companions ut tho
gaming tuble on account of certain:
Bharp practices I had Indulged In. In
short, my reputation with every one
wus as bad as it could be, and my occu
pation was about gone. To be sure, if I
declared myself, I might recover tho
six thousand dollars, of which I had
been robbed, and punish the thief par
don the term, my dear Bentley but, on
the other hand, I should be again oblig
ed to shoulder a debt amounting to
double that sum.
" After a careful consideration of the
matter, I concluded to leave Egbert El
more undisturbed in his grave. My
newly found friends were professional
thieves; I joined them Irt several of
their expeditions, and when 1 accumu
lated a tew hundred dollars, I emigrated
to London. There for ten yeurs I re
mained, practicing my old profession
with varying success. When 1 heard
of my futber's death, I thought of re
turning, acknowledging my identity,
and claiming the property : but I soon
learned that he had, by rush speculation
lost it all. So, still I kept my secret.
"About five years ago n friend of mine
visited America, and I asked him to
muke inquiries regarding Edward Bentr
ley, describing you, my dear boy, and
giving him such particulars as I thought
would prevent the possibility of a mis
take. Whether he really made inqui
ries or not, I do not know, but if he did,
he was misinformed, for he returned
with the information thut you, Bentley,
were dead.
"I wus disappointed, for I hoped thai
you had grown wealthy in the live years
that had possed ; in which case I con
fess, I intended to return to New York
and bleed you. But, my dear Bentley,
as your worldly possessions increased,
so did your fume, und a few mouths ago
I learned that you still lived, and had
become a millionaire. I then matured
the scheme which I nflerwurds carried
into execution. Richard Carroll was
my best friend ; he had suved my life,
he had often shared his lust shilling
with me. Now he was In trouble; he
had forged a draft on the Bank of Eng
land, aud the police were after him. I
was grateful to him for the favors 1 had
received at his hands, and I offered to
assist him in escaping to America with
me, and to share with him the golden
harvest which I expected to reap.
" I did not, however, reveal my secret
even to him, for there was a possibility
that he might at some future lime, turn
against me, and I would not put myself
in his power. I Informed him of such
portions of my history as I thought best,
but left him in the dark as to my iden
tity, and to this day he does not know
my real name. I told him that 1 pos
sessed a millionaire's secret which was
worth tome money, position, every-,
thing. I ottered to share all but the se-'
cret with him. He gludly agreed to
this. 1 1 was necessary that be should
change his name. I agreed to give him
mine that of Heith and to introduce
him to New York society as my son.
To this, also, he willingly consented. I
furnished him with a disguise. I suc
ceeded in putting the police completely
off the track, aud sent them to Paris in
search of him. That they have ut lust
caught him astonishes me. . The day we
arrived in New York, Curroll and I ac
cidentally saw your daughter. He took,
a fancy to her. 1 determined he should
marry her, knowing that such un alli
ance would be mutually advantageous
tous. The rest you know."
He paused, exhausted with the effort
he had made.
Two hours later he died.
And now but little remains to be to!d.
Walter Elmore und Edith Bentley
were married a few weeks after the oc
currences we have Just recorded; and at
the same time Henry Oakley led to tho
ultur Blanche Leightou she whom, un
til now, we have known as Mara Syd
ney. They have been married several,
years, and two happier couples cannot
be found In New ork City.
Mrs. Elmore, the terrible secret which
hud so long shadowed her life removed,
lecame a quietly happy woman, whose
presence was, aud is, a sunshine to ail
urnund her.
Edward Bentley, too, is a wonderfully
uttered man ; joy lias taken the place of
regret ; gratitude of remorse.
Alice Leightou is shortly to be mar
ried to one eminently worthy of her,
having long since, conquered her affec
tion for Ralph Marsden.
Richard Carroll, alias Rodney Heith,
was returned to England, where he was
sentenced to a long term of Imprison
ment which he is now serving.
Mrs. Van Dyke disappeared fnun the
city immediately on receiving tho fiv
hundred dollurs which it will be remem
lered Mark leightou promised to pay
her. 1
Ralph Marsden committed suicide in
ids cell before the time for bis triul had
. arrived.
Jured Percival wus soou released from
durance vile and left the city.
And now to the atory which boa
growu from our n iuto our . heart, and
iyou, dear reader, wo bid a reluctaut
farewell.