The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1880-11-06

Az h'u OOCu Oub OH LIE IldllS, also, Us
an army surgeon, and could recount a
thrilling adventure or two in connection
with the Indians. But he had a way of
resting his elbow on the desk and prop
ping his head up with one hand, while
looking vacantly beyond, and dropping
his voice, as though speaking to him
self, that was tedious to the listener
"Yes, to be sure," he would frequently
say, IN conclusion, ''that was over TWEEN
ty years ago-twenty years ago. We
can't always be young, Mr.. Durand."
He preferred Durand to any of the
others of us, and usually addressed
himself to him, if he were in the room.
When going home after the nights
work, he always took care, too, to
shake hands with him very formally be-
fore leaving. Tom was recalling this
recently, and bringing to mind the old
gentleman Che seemed an old gentleman
to us) preparing to depart for the night.
First, he would ransack large drawer
in his desk ten minutes or more, in
search Of a pin for his collar. Then he
spent some time putting back the hum
dred and one miscellaneous articles
which he kept topsy-turvy in this re-
ceptacle-such as clay pipes, q dilapi-
dated volume of Coleridge's "Aids to
Reflection" needles and thread, news
paper clippings, an opera-glass, and a
brace of large navy pistols, with belt,
and sheets. Following these prelim-
inaries were the precautions taken
against footpads, garroters, and robbers
in general, by loading his weapons and
hI1n liyopr fhor,, A -, So,
among the wild Indians, Mr.. Durand,''
he used to say, ethan on the streets of
this city after midnight" Then, tip
ping his old beaver hat over his eyes
and turning up his coat-collar, to give
himself a mysterious and dangerous APP
pearance, he would take the opera glass
in his hand (probably for reconnoiter-
ing around dark corners), and sally
forth, using his umbrella as cane.
At the end of six months, or about
that time, from the first night he joined
us, we found that there was little mys-
terry in connection with his past, which
he preferred should remain uninvesti-
gated. Some of us had always noticed
that he was particularly interested in
every dispatch that came to the Chief
of Police respecting missing people, and
once he had even declared that he be-
lieVed it quite possible to find any one
who had disappeared, if the search were
begun Immediately.
"Why, | have sometimes thought"
he said, with little burst of enthusi-
asm, GO that any case of the kind might
be worked out, like an unknown alge-
braic quantity. Let represent the miss
ing person, and the method for unravel-
ing the equation and finding may be
sought from the given facts by pure log
ical reasoning. Nearly every great dis
covery in science has been wrought out
that way, gentlemen" pushing the to-
bacco into his pipe and looking at all of
us appealingly. " If we could only have
one or two detectives who in their pro-
fession were great geniuses, like Kepler
or Newton, on one would be able to find
an undiscoverable place in the world.
Why, they'd hunt him out even in the
African Desert"
"But there is the sea-" suggested one
of our associates, named Manette.
d" How could they strain that?"
"There would be no need of strain
ing it. No, no. If they could determine
conclusively that the missing person was
in it, it would be enough, Think
Then, running his fingers through his
struggling gray beard and coloring
little: "There are many, SRA great
many-who might be thankful even for
that discovery"
On the occasion referred to, at the end
of six months, a brief telegram came in
one night, among several others, stating
that an elderly lady, fashionably dress
ed, had died on the street in fit and
been taken to the nearest police station.
"Name, Armitage. Nothing more yet
known about her," the message con-
cluded. One after another made note
of the fact in his slips devoted to casu-
alties and passed the telegram ON to the
next man. When it came to Snedekor,
however, he stared at it as though it
were quite an unusual item, turned very
pale all at once, and then startled every
body by falling on the floor in a swoon.
We all sprang toward him. Durand
made haste to bring the water pitcher
and some one else hurriedly threw up
the windows; but the old gentleman re-
covered himself Immediately. ... .
"It's all a mystery now, sure enough"
he said, sitting up and holding his head
with both hands. "Dead! Dead!"
After few moments he managed to
stand, buckle on his pistols and put on
his coat, Notwithstanding he was all of
tremor.
"I'm bothered little sometimes with
a diseased heart, gentlemen, looking
from one to another. s'It's an old enc.
my. But don't let me disturb you. All
l need is the fresh air. will go out
and walk little.''
A half hour later, it occurred to Du-
rand-perhaps by way of professional
zeal, perhaps not-that it might be
worth while to ascertain fuller particu-
lars respecting the death of the lady
named Armitage; and, having made a
significant nod to me, / fastened to ac-
company him on his walk to the police
station where she had been carried. We
both suspected that Snedekor had gone
there, and we were not mistaken. AS
we went in under the red and blue light,
he hurried past us into the darkness,
with surprised and frightened face.
From that moment none of US saw or