Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1870-02-24

father and mother. who were living
at the = Hotel. She knew him by
representation, | supposed. He is
very wealthy. I went to the hotel
The father had left town on business
and the mother, an invalid, I found in
! bed. | didn't tell what | had heard
from the country, but managed tc
find out that size thought her daugh.
ter out of town.
{" 4 left the hotel an awfnl feel.
ing of dread creeping over me.
Surely, Mr.. j. must know some.
thing about my friend, thought I.
| He is rumored to be her accepted
lover. Well, / called on him. ]
did not startle him into any sud.
den questions, but he acted rather
strangely, l thought. This may
have all been Imagination. ]
shut the door Of his fathers house
leaving all hopes behind, for j.
had spoken of Miss P as be-
ing in the country still. l did
not tell him what l had heard.
" Now and as the girl pro-
nounced this monosyllable she let
her shawl fall from her head, her
face grew deadly pale and her
fingers tVitched nervously. Twas
startled at the sudden change
that came over her.
Now she said, as her breath
came hard and fast, 'listen. This
evening-an hour ago-I met a
friend Of mine who asked me how
Miss P was. Had / not
seen her? Strange, was it not?
He had seen her and Mr.. j
the day before, arm-in-arm, in
West street as he drove by in a
hack.
"The girl pulled the shawl over
her head and stood up; now she
exclaimed, have I good cause for
stealing away from home all unat-
tended to tell you this. There's
my card and the hand from which
the ive-stOne diamond ring spar
kled in the gas light held out the
delicate pasteboard. In her agi-
tation she dropped it on the floor,
and as I stopped to pick it up the
door opened and the girl was
gone"
"Did you follow her ?" | ven-
tured to ask the officer.
"Have patience and we will
hear the rest" he replied.
"The dead body OF woman
was found floating in the North
river one morning about three
months after the visit" continued
the detective, as be lit a fresh
cigar. at had evidently been in
the water for long time, although
it was, as the doctors said, 'in a
good state of preservation ]
read in the newspaper of the find
ing of the body. 1t gave a full
description of it, and many Of US
went down to see it, for we were
led to believe that it was the body
of Miss P, from the descrlp'
ton given"
"Then you had heard nothing
all this time of the lady?"
absolutely nothing, and YET
we had worked at the case day
and stimulated, between
you and me, by large reward
offered by the father.
:, "Wea, we went down TO the
} dock, and became satisfied thai
, the body was that Of Miss P
! "The young lady who called al
the Office that rainy night three
months before, went with US, at
terwards. She recognized bel
friend in an instant, as did the
poor mother. The body had ne
marks of violence about it, ane
the gold earrings were still in the
ears, and a diamond ring on one
of the fingers.
t 81 noticed that it was a five
stone one, and that the gold set
, ting, which was peculiar, was ex
actly like that of the diamOn'
! ring that / had noticed on the fin
/: ger of the dead woman's frlent
the night she came to the Office