Democratic messenger., 1881-03-19
A DETECTIVES STORY.


Everybody loves romance, especially
If there is truth at the bottom of it. So
/ take it for granted my readers would
ike the story OF a tragic affair that was
either q suicide or q murder-nobody
knows exactly which-but which was
town talk long, long ago, when neither
murder nor suicide was so common as
it is to-day.
The story is as follows A young
man named. Fairbanks lived upin Massa-
chusetts, near Dedham. He was re-
specially connected, and had some rela-
tives in New York who thought the
world of him. He was engaged to be
married to nice young woman called
Fales, and he visited New York to make
some purchases and presents for the
wedding.
Miss Fales was very fond of Jason
Fairbanks and he was very fond of her.
They were always together. Fairbanks
had rival, fellow IN the village who
worshiped this Fales girl, and kept on
worshipin' her. But Fairbanks, havin'
a sure thing of it, could afford to pity
rather than hate or fear his defeated RI
val, and he kept on sparkin pretty Miss
Fales day and night.
One mornin' Fairbanks and his old
aunt, with whom he lived, had long
talk together, and from that mornin'
the young man was never his former
self again. He had been light hearted;
he now became as gloomy as a thunder
cloud. He neglected his work, and,
worst of all he neglected his sweetheart.
Now, man may neglect his business
some time before 1t gets him into trouble.
but if he neglects his sweetheart he will
hear OF it in less than twenty-four
hours. So Miss Fales brought him to
task and reproached him, ard then he
took her out for walk into secluded
corner of the farm her father owned.
They were seen walking arm and arm
to this corner, and among others who
saw 'em was Fairbanks's rival, who was.
as usual, prowlin' round the farm.
Some hours passed and it was now
dinner time-noon and Miss Fales
hadn't been seen since about nine
o'clock that mornin', when she went
with her lover to the grove at the cor
ner of the farm. She didn't come to
her. She was found easily enough
found in the grove-but found dead,
stabbed several times with some sharp
instrument, her pretty body all disfg-
ured and bleedin' from the stabs.
In little while penknife was found
near the body and was identified as
Jason Fairbanks's penknife by the
young man who had been Jason Fair
banks's rival. All this looked very bad
for Fairbanks, but pretty soon he came
along, lookin' distracted, and rushed
right into the midst of the people gath
cred round the body. He looked like q
wild man he seemed nearly crazy with
grief, and he told his story to the crowd
with such simplicity and truth that
everybody believed him-everybody but
his rival. T loved her." said Fairbanks,
stoopin' down and kissin' the dead body
of his sweetheart, .and never did / love
her more than when I asked her to take
a walk with me this mornin'. But had
received bad news lately = news from
my old aunt that prevented me from
marryin' her for two years to come at
least. So [ told her when we reached
the grove that we must postpone our
weddln'. She reproached me, accused
me OF coldness, and said / had ceased to
love her. l denied her charges. God
knows they were not true; but she in
sisted ON my marryin' her, as we had
originally agreed, next week. 1 could
not grant the request, although my
heart bled when refused it, All of q
sudden she snatched from my waistcoat
pocket my penknife and stabbed her
self several times, although l strove
with all my force to restrain her. But
she was as strong as she was desperate.
She fell down bieedin' and dyin' at my
feet, and then I saw no more, I knew no
more, thought not of appearances, or
of consequences. / ran away, and now
don't care to live when she is gone. u
And once more he kissed his dead sweet
heart ON her cold, still face.
In many respects Fairbanks's story
was improbable, and in many points
Fairbanks's conduct had been suspi
cious. But innocence is often more sus.
picious lookin' than guilt, and truth is
more improbable than falsehood. And
the poor young fellows grief seemed Sc
genuine that the country people around
all began to pity him rather than tc
accuse him. Bnt the other young man
who had been Fairbanks's rival examined
the places where the body of the girl had
been stabbed, and then me turned to the
crowd and said, pointing to some of the
wounds :: "Those cuts there, and there
could never have been inflicted upon the
body by the woman herself. Let any.
body try if he or she could easily and
quickly, in a moment of excitement,
without takin' a good deal of time and
trouble, stab 'emselves as that young
woman is stabbed" Well, people be,
gan to examine the location Of these
stabs, and then they began to shake
their heads and look very grave, anG
when at last Fairbanks's rival said
pointin' to the body: '"Thls is mur
DER" and then, pointin' to Fairbanks
s'and there stands the murderer, I" sew
eral IN the crowd exclaimed, HHe speaks
the truth" and Jason Fairbanks wa
taken into custody.
If thS man Fairbanks really killed
| that eifi, what nerve ,ke must have
had 10 have kissed the body be bad iusl