The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1882-05-25
A QUEER CASE.


the other evening. l give it in his own
words as nearly as l can remember
them.
| was summoned one morning. last
winter" said Tom, "tO the residence of
prominent uptown clergyman, whom
L will call DIR. Howe, although that is
not his real name. found the gentle
man pacing the floor of his library, evil
IDENTIFY much excited"
All, MIR. Griggs, you are here at last!'
he exclaimed, as entered. BE seated,
sir. You have been informed already
thai / was robbed last night, and want
the particulars of the affair. l can give
you them in a very few words. MIR.
Hugh Willis, a member OF my cOngre-
cation, died fortnight ago, leaving me
in his will the sum of five thousand
dollars. This legacy l received last
evening in cash-ten five hundred dol
lar bills. L locked the money in my
desk yOnder, intending to deposit a
portion of it in the bank to-day, but
during the night the money was
stolen"
"Was the lock of the desk brOken?"
"NO; it was picked or key used. 1t
| child could pick it,"
"Was anything beside the money stOl-
en?"
Nothing"
Have you the numbers of any of the
bills?"
81 am sorry to say that 1 have not.
| Then you have no means of identi-
| flying any of them"
81 have not. Stay! l Accidentally tore
a corner off one of the bills while was
| counting the money. mended the bill
| from sheet of paper which I hastily
| tore from sheet on my desk. Here is
the remainder of the sheet. The paper
is, you see, of rather uncommon tint,
and perhaps may be of use to you. But
it is very slight clue"
"YOu have no reason to suspect any
| inmate of your house"
"Oh, no. There is no reason to doubt
that the theft was committed by man
who was seen in the garden by at least
two members of my household, my wife
and gentleman who is spending few
days with me, the Rev. DR.. Barton, of
l., Michigan"
"Ah, man was seen In your garden.
This may be an important clue"
"I am afraid not; for. neither my
wife nor DR.. Barton would be able to
identify the rascal. Perhaps you would
like to question them, and hear from
their own lips exactly what they saw"
eff you please"
DR.. Howe summoned a servant, whom
he directed to request Mrs. Howe and
| DIs Dbl W JO1u U.s. w ll16 uWdlglLS
their appearance, l stepped to the win
dow and looked out. The clergyman's
study was situated in the rear of the
house, and the window commanded q
view of the garden. The dwelling stood
quite alone-it was the only building
on the block-and access to the garden
could have been easily gained by seal
ing the low fence which surrounded it
Once In the garden burglar would
| houa hoH HiHianlfU in nntnTinoG thl
study, for the window was but five fee
or so from the ground.
al suppose there can be no doubt bu
that the thief entered by this window,
DR.. Howe said, joining me. 1.-THE fast
ening, you see, is an ordinary one.
am angry with myself for having beer
so inexcusably careless. Ah, here the.
areW
AS he spoke tall, handsome, elegant
= ly dressed woman entered the room, fol
lowed by portly elderly man in cleri
cal costume. The lady DR.. Howe intro
duced to me as his wife, the man a.
the Rev. DR.. Barton, pastor of th
Presbyterian Church, of M, Michi
gan.
"You are the first detective eve
saw in my life, sir" said DR.. Barton
with a laugh. al have, fortunately
never required the services of a membe
of your class. You want what infOrma
tiOn can give you about the burglary
[ suppose. | cannot tell you much I'm
sorry to say, but what little | know Il
| quite at your service. Last night l wa
unable to sleep, and sat in my chamber
reading until after midnight. Tirinl
finally of this occupation, extinguish
ed the gas and seated myself by th
window. l had scarcely done so wheI
l saw the form of man in the rear o
the garden. A moment after | caugh
sight of him he spTang over the fence
and walked rapidly up the street. Fear
ing that he might be burglar, l wen
quietly down stairs and took hasty
| survey of the premises. In the hall
met Mrs. Howe. who, 1t seems, had ais
\ seen the man, and was down on tn
y same errand. Together we made an eX
animation of the doors and windows
and found everything secure except tn
n window of this room, which was un
% fastened but not open. AS nothing ap
peaTed to have been disturbed, and a
10 neither Mrs. Howe nor were aware tina
n the Doctor had received the fiV
Is thousand dollars, we concluded that W
a had been unnecessarily alarmed, ant
S,+ returned to our rooms without disturb
Z ing any other member of the house
hold"
az had a raging tooth ache last night
n and could not Sleep" added Mrs. Howe
,r ana while seated at my WINDOW say
n exactly what DR.. Barton told you h
ID witnessed. My first impulse was t
awaken my husband, but l reflecte
that he had retired unusually fatigued
. and 1 did not disturb him. 1 wen
g down stairs alone and in the hal
met DR.. Barton; the rest you know.
''Can you give no description of tn
's man you saw in the garden?" l asked.
u az only saw dark form; it would b
C, simply impossible for me to identify tn
person." the lady replied.
"And /, unfortunately" added Dl
: Barton, "am no better able than Mrs
Howe to describe the scOundrel."
- cat what time did you see him"
1 "At about half past twelve O'Clock,
replied Mrs. Howe.
y "Before left the house I questiOne
the servants closely. One of them az
knOWledged that she had entertained
friend in the kitchen, unknown to he
mistress, until after midnight, and thI
while stealing up stairs to bed, she ha
seen Mrs. Howe and DR.. Barton engage
in the examination of the door an
window fastenings, but had not bee
A seen by them.