went slowly in New York and the case seemed to come to a
standstill, when public opinion was suddenly reawakened and a more
definite turn given to the whole matter by a despatch from Santa Fe
to the Associated Press. This despatch was to the effect that Abner
Fairbrother had passed through that city some three days before on his
way to his new mining camp, the Placide; that he then showed symptoms of
pneumonia, and from advices since received might be regarded as a very
sick man.

Ill,--well, that explained matters. His silence, which many had taken
for indifference, was that of a man physically disabled and unfit for
exertion of any kind. Ill,--a tragic circumstance which roused endless
conjecture. Was he aware, or was he not aware, of his wife's death? Had
he been taken ill before or after he left Colorado for New Mexico? Was
he suffering mainly from shock, or, as would appear from his complaint,
from a too rapid change of climate?

The whole country seethed with excitement, and my poor little
unthought-of, insignificant self burned with impatience, which only
those who have been subjected to a like suspense can properly estimate.
Would the proceedings which were awaited with so much anxiety be further
delayed? Would Mr. Durand remain indefinitely in durance and under such
a cloud of disgrace as would kill some men and might kill him? Should I
be called upon to endure still longer the suffering which this entailed
upon me, when I thought I knew?

But fortune was less obdurate than I feared. Next morning a telegraphic
statement from Santa Fe settled one of the points of this great dispute,
a statement which you will find detailed at more length in the following
communication, which appeared a few days later in one of our most
enterprising journals.

It was from a resident correspondent in New Mexico, and was written, as
the editor was careful to say, for his own eyes and not for the public.
He had ventured, however, to give It in full, knowing the great interest
which this whole subject had for his readers.

VII. NIGHT AND A VOICE

Not to be outdone by the editor, I insert the article here with all its
details, the importance of which I trust I have anticipated.

SANTA FE, N.M., April--.

Arrived in Santa Fe, I inquired where Abner Fairbrother could be found.
I was told that he was at his mine, sick.

Upon inquiring as to the location of the Placide, I was informed that it
was fifteen miles or so dist