n he didn't say any more, and
in another half-hour or so he dies, quiet and gentlemanly like. I looked
for the heart with Mameri in the morning--it was gone.

"Well, we buried him. And now look here, Mr. ------, as sure as I
believe there's a God over us, I believe that that native soul-catcher
_has_ dealings with the Devil. I had just stowed the poor chap in his
coffin and was going to nail it down when the kanaka wizard came in,
walks up to me, and says he wants to see the dead man's hand. Just to
humour him I lifted off the sheet. The soul-catcher lifted the dead
man's hands carefully, and then I'm d------d if he didn't lay that dried
heart on his chest and press the hands down over it."

"What's that for?" says I.

"'Tis the heart of the woman he slew in her sleep. Let it lie with him,
so that there may be peace between them at last," and then he glides
away without another word.

*****

"I let it stay, not thinking much of it at the time. Well, as I was
tellin' you, Peese came again. Seeing that I had all my people armed, I
treated him well and we had a chat, and then I told him all about 'Mr.
Brown's' death and the soul-saver and the dried heart. And then Peese
laughs and gives me this newspaper cutting. I brought it with me to show
you."

Trenton took the piece of paper and read.

*****

"'Lester Mornington made his escape from the State prison at San Quentin
(Cal.) last week, and is stated to be now on his way either to Honolulu
or Tahiti. It has been ascertained that a vast sum of money has been
disbursed in a very systematic manner during the last few weeks to
effect his release. Although nearly eight years have elapsed since he
committed his terrible crime, the atrocious nature of it will long be
remembered. Young, wealthy, respected, and talented, he had been married
but half a year when the whole of the Pacific Slope was startled with
the intelligence that he had murdered his beautiful young wife, who had,
he found, been disloyal to him.

"'Entering the bedroom he shot his sleeping wife through the temples,
and then with a keen-edged knife had cut out her still-beating heart.
This, enclosed in a small box, he took to the house of the man who had
wronged him, and desired him to open it and look at the contents. He did
so, and Mornington, barely giving him time to realise the tragedy, and
that his perfidy was known, shot him twice, the wounds proving fatal
next day. The murderer made good his esca