The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1878-10-02
A aHERALD" PERSONAL.
by A DETEcTIvE.

"0sisb Nepy 40 asafaoab sartsy Va 1877
Ugip Ayippy.'
There il was, in italic, half way down
the ''personal" column of the Herald,
conspicuous only for its singular and
most aggravating combination of letters
and figures, the soc clue to the where
abouts of the game had been after Tor
over week, scarcely resting, eating or
sleeping in my anxiety to secure the re-
ward offered in q heavy burglary Case
and something else.
That Something else" All! my heart
sank within me as | flung aside the
enigmatical puzzle before me. and lean
ing back in my chair gave myself up to
the gloomy reveries of the past. Edna
Dayton--how T loved her! How fair
and beautiful MS Il summers idyl had
been the week In which I had met her,
had loved her, and had been told that my
affection was returned How we'll re-
member the bitter parting-a hopeless
one, it seemed to me when / learned my
fate from her fathers lips, and passed
down the brown stone steps OF the
Dayton mansion, wondering if the incli-
nation of moneyed men toward stone res
licences was not caused by the existence
of similar hard material in that part of
the human anatomy known as the heart:
! was poor man, he said, and the
profession OF - detective was a precarious
one. His daughter loved me--he could
not deny that--but she was his only child
and her wealth and position demanded a
match with some social equal. He would
not break her heart by absolutely 1efus-
ing to sanction ours engagement; but it
within year could secure o fortune Of
twenty-five thousand dollars and alucra-
tive business, and Edna was still OF the
same mind-weli, he would consider it.
Twenty-ive thousand dollars grew
sick at the thought Of the condition i'm
posed, upon which was to purchase my
future happiness. Friendless, the recep-
lion of q rneagre salary, and utterly un-
known, where was I to raise this amount
and what business capacity had I, the
son OF parents who had given me every
luxury, and neglected practical educa-
ton, until & crash came that left us
homeless and in penury.
Day and night for ever month
brooded over my sorrows, and then one
day was aroused into renewed life BY
the reception Of formal but courteous
note from Mr.. Dayton requesting my i'm
mediate attendance at the mansion.
NV feet winged as I fastened to the
house of my loved Edna. What did il
mean2 Had he relented? Was Edna sick,
or did business await me at the pleasure
of my hard hearted censor? 7 was u.s.
cred into the library, where found tie
old gentleman in an intense state of ex.
citment pacing the floor, the window
broken In, papers and boxes scattered
about the apartment, and safe in the
corner broken open.
| stared at him in armament.
"You seem agitated, Mr.. Dayton" |
ventured to suggest. u.
"Agitated! a9itateo, sir! am wild
Late last night, or early this morning,
burglars entered this apartment by means
of yondec window and broke open the safe
When l came down this morning, I found
affairs as they are now, ami nearly one
hundred thousand dollars in money
bonds and jewelry gomez -
I stared mutely. The immensely of the
robbery petrifed me. ..... ..... ...z....
"You have informed the pollce?n
asked when Ircould find my voice.
mo" he Numbered, coming to full
, stop. II have no confidence In q police
force which fails to protect house from
such an audacious burglary and expects
'one-half Of the booty for its return. Here
is the room. and yonder is list of the
stolen property, I believe you are. hon
est, and leave the entire affair in YOU
own hands. Call upon me for whatever
money you require in an attempt to re
cover the property Or to detect the thieves
If you succeed within month I will
pay you thirty thousand dollars. If yor
fail I will pay your expenses for The
month and place the case in your hands
Are you satisfied"
| gasped spasmodically. Thirty thous.
and dollars! a fortune-more than ths
price Of my happiness! And then thu
pride Of my profession came to my aid
and [ told him tn at [ should succeed. IS
i examined the apartment. The bur
glary had been affected very simply, ap
parently. Edward, the iootmam--a tall
lank specimen Of humanity-had heard
noise in the night in the library, but hat
paid no attention to it, as MIR. Day ton wa
in the habit of writing very late, and HI
thought it was his employer.
What puzzled me most was the means
of entrance ndsegress adopted by thu
burglar or burglars. The library wa
fully fifteen feet from the ground, had s
bay window, and except the broken paat
of glass, there was not the slightest sigr
to show how the window had been gained
A ladder would have done it, but III