"You are a smart one," he said, with a little catch in his throat, "and I suppose, from a moral standpoint, you are to be congratulated upon what you have accomplished. But you would have better kept out of this case, for, though I killed that miserable wretch of a woman, she deserved death, and I was sorely tempted."
"How did it happen?" asked Nick.
"I might refuse to answer, now that I am under arrest," replied Leonard, "but I shall have but one story to tell if ever I am brought before the court for trial, and I am willing to tell it first to you. The woman struck John Dashwood, as I have previously stated. In fact, everything I told you up to the moment I arrived on the wharf to find her bending over Dashwood's prostrate form is true. The story I told of the after-happenings on that wharf is not true.
"This is the truth: The woman gave me five thousand dollars, and the incriminating documents, and then taunted me with being a fool. She boldly declared that she was not my daughter—my supposed relationship had much to do with my acquiescence in her suggestions—and that she had played a fine trick on me. She said I was the easiest mark she had ever played with. She advised me to jump in the river and give the fishes a chance. We stood face to face. I had in my hand at the time the section of iron pipe with which she had cracked the skull of John Dashwood. I had picked it up for the purpose of throwing it into the river.
"Angered beyond endurance at her words and her expression, I struck her down. The blow killed her. When I realized what I had done, I threw the dead body into the river. I should have secured the fifteen thousand dollars in notes which she had thrust into her bosom, but I did not do so. I never thought of the money. My only thought was to remove the evidence of my crime. Then, when the waters of the Mississippi had closed over the body, I returned to John Dashwood. My movements from that time are known to you. Yes, I am a murderer, my daughter is disgraced, and I shall be hanged."
His forced composure vanished now. Giving way to his feelings, he shook like a reed. Suddenly his form stiffened, he gave a gasping cry, and fell backward on the bed.
"Run for the doctor," said Nick quickly to Chick. "I will do what I can while you are gone."
Nick loosened Leonard's collar, and then procured a basin of water and bathed the stricken man's face. He was thus engaged when Doctor Holcomb arrived.
One look at Leonard, and he shook his head.
"Too late," was his comment. "He has been a sufferer from heart-disease for years. I have repeatedly warned him to avoid excitement. To-day's occurrences have brought on a fatal attack."