The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1878-09-13

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tie, for the ight-blue dress and the gray
shawl were the distinguishing features
of the habit of the woman who had
MIXED the cows.
The wound in the widows head had
been made by sharp-edged instrument,
and Ratchet found under the front step
was declared to be the murderous
weapon. There were blood and hair
upon its steel, and the marks of bloody
fingers ON the handle. It belonged to
the widow, as was well known. There
were few signs of struggle in the little
bed-chamber; but it was evident that the
widow had been surprised at her hour
for retiring. A broken chair and an
overturned stand, with rent in the
widows underclothes, were the emily
signs of a struggle left behind by the
assassin,
An examination of the premises, made
under the eye of the county magistrate,
revealed the fact that no article of value
was missing save the widows jewels, of
little worth, and inferior metal. This
discovery seemed to say that the crime
had not been perpetrated Tor the sake of
robbery, for a large sum of money was
of easy access. Revenge appeared to
have been the motive, and the ASA ssin
in his sweep of crime had come across
the jewelry, which he had appropriated,
perhaps, to appease some recalcitrant
mistress.
Hattie Robson was buried, and the
reward offered by the county failed to
throw any light upon the affair. The
people who averred that they had seen
Hattie milking her COWS on the morning
and night of the 9th of April still main
tanned their ground whenever the matter
was brought up in their presence. No
detective came to work up the case; the
reward was 40 meager that no man.
hunter with growing reputation could
afford to dabble in it. 1t was pretty
generally believed that for once the med
ical fraternity were mistaken, and that
the widow had MIXED her COWS at the
times referred to.
Among the doctors who held the post
norton over the widows corpse was q
late graduate named Bullock. He was a
young man of strong proclivities, hard
to convince in argument, and chagrined
when disputed. He fought the argu-
ment that the widow had attended to her
stock on the 9th, and his earnestness
soon drew upon him much dislike. His
practice began to decline; but he pro-
claimed his expressed opinion the louder,
even going so far as to declare that the
person who had MIXED the COWS was the
murderer.
One morning the doctor found the
following note on his table. It had been
slipped into the offi'e by the window
during the night:
CDR. BULLOCK: You had better be
careful how you talk about the milking
of the COWS. Are You trying to make
out that woman killed Hattie Robson :?
If you do not bride your tongue you
must leave the neigbborhood, or take
the consequences. This is from friend
who does not want to see you get into
trouble"
There was no signature to this GEM
munication.
ct do believe that a woman killed
Hattie Robson |" the doctor said aloud,
when he had finished the perusal of the
note 81 am not going to leave this
community until find out, and then I
may not CO."
The next moment Bullock was look.
ing over mass of papers which he kept
in an Office drawer. They were orders
for medicine which his patrons had sent
by their children and others. He was
comparing the chirography of each with
that of the mysterious note. At last he
struck one which made his eyes glitter
with triumph, and comparison showed
that the handwriting of both were the
same.
The little order ran as follows:
Door. BULLOCK: Send me another vial of
the neuralgia medicine by johnny.
MRs. DAVIS.
Having discovered to his satisfaction
the author of the mysterious note, he
put the papers in his memorandum.
Mrs. Davis was the wife of farmer
and one of the widows neighbors. Her
disposition was not of the best, and it
was known that she had upon several
occasions taken pains to circulate re-
ports concerning Hattie Robson. Added
to this a jealous disposition, a tyranni-
cal motherhood, and dislike of herself
because her beauty was fading, the
farmers spouse was not the paragon of
her sex.
DR.. Bullock resolved to devote much
of his time to the vexed question of the
milking of the cows.
He suddenly stopped talking on the
subject, preferring to be considered van
quished than to compromise the success
OF his plans, and it was not long before
a second note in the chirography of the
first found its way to his table. It was
almost Immediately seized, for the doc
tor had quietly moved his cot in the
Office, and minute later he was hurry
ing through wood at the edge of the
| town.
Emerging from the turn at the mouth
of the lane that led up to the house of
farmer Davis, the doctor-detective sta
toned himselfin the shadows and waited.
At the end of half an hour the sound of
hoofs was heard, and, presently, the
figure of a woman on horseback doomed
up before him.
He saw her enter the lane, and, as she
leaned forward to open the gate, he
stepped from his concealment and
grasped the bride.
An exclamation of surprise hailed his
sudden action.
"Mrs. Davis !" he said, looking up
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