Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1868-11-20

A Fly.l.ear fFOm q Detective's
Note Beck.
From the 81. Louis News.

Butten-holing one Of eur reporters on bic
customary rounds yesterday perning n
well known detective, whose name it Will
not DO nscss airy to mention, narrated .
chapter iron his personal history which
borders closely upon the romantic. His
stsry, a. told in his own language, was in
substance as follows:
"Do you remember the mystery Was
engaged in solving when We last met p
he asked, and without waiting for al an
swsi, continued, well | will tell you the
Uqss'. Mrs. A., you rccollect, lost her ring,
aud Nellie-was suspected Of stealing il.
The morning after the ball, while sleeping
in her own chamb .r the ring Was removed
from her finger without arousing its owner.
No one but Nellie had access TO the apart.
ment, and sEc must have taken it. SO
thought Mrs. A., so thought her hasband,
and 30 thought |, when was sent for and
given the points in the ease, before being
employed 70 work itup. The ring was set
with diamonds, . cluster Of exceeding
brllliansy and richness. Its valns could
not have b,en less than 5000 Nellie
was employed as Mrs A 8 waiting maid,
at wages which, info years would scarce
have aggregated the value Of the diamonds
i%V-i otohV III Suo sVt " - WVItu . year Vi
Nellie's life Snd labor, albeit neither nor eli
ofthem could have dropped single drop Of
water on rarching tongue or stroked . fs-
vered brow whom it was racked with pain.
Al the instance Of Mrs. A., Nellie was arrest
ed upon the accusation of stealing the ring.
She protested her innocence in tears, but
all the circumstances looked 30 strongly to
ward her guilt her tears were unavailing.
I followed her - the Jail, and At my sug-
gesiion she was assigned . cell by herself.
The next day ! visited her, and, by every
means dared to employ, sought to gain
from her confession. At length | u
tempted to intimiiate her and hsrshly
charged her with the theft. Again she
burst into tears and hiding her face in her
hands, wept ~ though her heart would
break. Here the matter ended, for could
60 no further. had forgotten to tell you
before that Nellie was handsome, and she
never seemed 30 beautiful. in nv eyes a.
when the tears we're falling from her own,
in shower of diamonds, every one Of them
more precious than these l was after. /
left the cell completely bafflsd. Although
| never told ~ much to Mrs. A., or intimi.
dated - much to Nellie. I wss satisfied Of
her innocence, and forthwith turned nv Of.
forts in another direction. l continued nv
visit to Nellie IN her cell day after day, but
never afterwards alluded to the ring. A
week bad passed, and bad Oh bus given
up the job in despair. Finally, one morn.
ing early, while lettering down . esrtain
street in the direction Of the river, l in-
stinctively paused under three balls and be
gan closely ecrutinizing display Of pledges
in the window Of "my uncle's'' shop. In
an instant my eye singled out Of . whole
case Of rings one which thought might be,
and which, - fortune would have il, proved
to be idsntically that stelsn from Mrs. A q
finger. | had but little difficulty in tracing
out the the thief. IL was Mrs. As ewn
son. To satisfv . debt, contracted during
. dsbaueli, he bad taken it from his moth
er's singer and pawnsd it. But how about
Nellie" yen ask. She too WAS guilty Of .
theft. but fergavs her. She Is nes my
rife"