The White Rose of MemphisFalkner, William C. (Clark)
General
The White Rose of Memphis
Falkner, William C. (Clark)
Memphis (Tenn.) -- Fiction
“‘Ah, yes! I see how it is; she has been laboring under temporary
insanity,’ said the doctor; ‘but I fear that will not avail her in this
case. The pleas of insanity are becoming so frequent that all courts
view them with suspicion; I most earnestly hope you will be able to
establish her innocence. Write to me, Demar, often, and keep me posted
as to the progress of this case; I shall not be able to discard it from
my mind until I know the final result. Good-by, old fellow, I must leave
you now; success to you. My respects to that charming girl you are
always talking about; I’d give a quarter’s salary to see her. If she is
half so pretty as you say she is, it would delight me to look at her;
Lottie, yes, Lottie--that’s the name, I believe--by the by, a very
pretty name for a pretty girl; adieu.’
“When the doctor closed the door behind him as he passed out I began to
arrange my baggage, while Lottie’s dear image floated before my mind;
and my heart fluttered with excitement when I thought of the great
pleasure it would afford me to be with her once more. I was at the depot
twenty minutes ahead of time, and impatient and nervous; so much excited
that I could not sit five minutes in one place. I think my pulse must
have counted at least ninety to the minute; I snatched up a newspaper
and tried to read, but couldn’t do it; looked at my watch a dozen
times--compared it with the railway clock as often--then began to notice
the crowd of travelers as they came hurrying in, hoping to see Dabbs
among them, but he did not arrive until the conductor cried ‘All
aboard!’ when I saw him elbowing his way through the crowd.
“‘I was afraid you would be left, Mr. Dabbs,’ I said, as he came up.
“‘Never was left in my life, sir; don’t think of me at all; I’m one of
those kind of fellows that ain’t left; I know the value of time, sir;
have been dispatching instructions to Tadpoddle; he’s got ’em before
now--good, we’re off.’
“I found it a great relief to my restless mind to be with Dabbs, for he
was an incessant talker, well posted on general subjects, and appeared
to be willing to impart what he knew without any questions from me. He
gave me an interesting history of many notorious criminals whose dark
deeds had been brought to light by him as a detective officer. I would
interest you with a repetition of them here, but my business is to
describe occurrences more directly connected with my story. I will,
therefore, read you Harry’s letter, as I think it will throw more light
on the matter now in hand than anything I could say. Here it is:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account