The Lambertville press. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1858-1???, 1861-01-30
A Pretty Girl in a Pretty Fix

A paper published at Council
Bluffs, Iowa, reminds its readers Of a
mysterious occurrence in that place
four years ago. It was case of sus-
pected murder, under peculiarly dark
circumstances, and had some resem-
blance to a tragedy once enacted in
New York. The central figure in this
mysterious occurrence" was an ex-
ceedingly beautiful giri-the sole hope
and pride Of her venerable @parents"
who disappeared from home one night,
leaving no trace by which she could be
recovered Dark surmises were made
as to her probable fate, and murder
was rot the least evil conceded to her,
while the deepest sympathy with the
girls bereaved parents was felt by the
whole community They-poor old
people were crushed by the terrible
blow, and died in less than six months
after their daughters disappearance
As time rolled on, the belief that mur-
der had been done grew apace and
the circumstances of the case seemed to
justify it. On the night Of the girls
departure, policemen had heard the
smothered shrieks Of a female in the
vicinity of her parents residence but
before they reached the spot all was
silent. Persons living in the neighbor-
hood, TOO, had observed dark figures
beneath the lady's window, and heard
mysterious noises yet they raised no
alarm. All these circumstances ex-
cited suspicion of foul play. If the
girl had only eloped with her lover,
she could net have been so heartless
as to suffer her parents to die without
hearing Of her safety; and, besides, the
young gentleman to whom she was
supposed to be betrothed remained at
Council Bluffs, and showed every sign
of deepest aft lotion. So the public
talked ofthe matter in hurried whispers
for a while, and then forgot it. But
every mystery has its sequel, and this
dark affair finds a solution thus
Shortly after the disappearance,
young man, of rather boyish appear
ance, and medium size, calling himself
Frank Bates, applied to the captain of
a riser-boat for the place of cabin-boy.
His polished demeanor and open coun-
tenance won upon-the captains good
humor, and secured the position he
craved, from whence he was rapidly
promoted to the Office of assistant clerk,
as various abilities were developed.
His patron was somewhat surprised at
first to find lad Of such education
with such designs but supposing him
to be some rebel against strict parental
authority, forebore to question him re-
gardiug it. In the position of clerk,
Franks esprit, thorough good-humor,
and answering gentility, brought him
under the notice of drygoods mer-
chant doing business at Council Bluffs,
and he was induced to take clerk ship
In the merchants store. This hap
pened two years ago. AS counter
jumper, the handsome Young man was
even more popular than he had been
on the river, and speedily made his
employers store the most frequentcd
establishment in the place While
the young men could not help liking
him for his courtesy ana good temper,
the ladies fell in love with him for his
good looks, and, between the two,
Frank was all The go. The bellies of
the Bluffs laid various traps to catch
| his heart and after manoenyering for
two years, no less than six ofthem inn