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

they saw this man in the garden at half
past twelve o'clock last night"
Eyes"
"Are you aware that there was light
fall of snow last night?"
Yes, what then"
at showed from half past eleven un-
til a quarter past twelve o'clock Atthe
hour when Mrs. Howe and DR.. Barton
say they saw this man, the snow had
ceased to fall. Is it not singular that
in walking from this window to the
rear of the garden the man left nO foot
pTints?"
What do you mean?" DR.. Howe cried
his face paling.
Simply that there was no man in
the garden last night. As soon as |
looked out of the window this morning,
L noticed the absence of footprints iT
the snow. Knowing the exact hour of
the snowfall, l saw that the story of
the unknown mans visit must be
| false"
DR.. Howe rose quickly and for mo-
| ment l thought that he was going to
spring upon me. Then he sprang into
his chair.
"GO on, sir, go onp' he cried hoarsely;
"but be careful to say nothing that you
cannot prove"
"This man who calls himself DR.. Bar
| tOn," l said, "came to you several days
/ ago WIFI lGIl6I5 VI lullOuuCllOll, DuI-
| porting to be signed by several prOmi-
nent western cleTgymen. His business
in New York, he said, was to collect
! funds for a certain charitable institu-
tiOn in the West. You believed this
story and extended your hospitality. l
telegraphed to l., Michigan, to-day,
and learned that DR.. Barton, pastor of
the Presbyterian Church, is at home, and
| that the man whom you have received in
your house is a swindler, and his letters
of introduction fOTgeries."
But my wife! Why did she deceive
meP" the clergyman cried.
"Mrs. Howe" ITeplied, " is as you are
aware, sir, eXtraVagantly fond of dress.
Unknown to you, she contracted dress
makers bill of nearly two thousand dol
| lars. You suspected nothing of this and
she dared not tell you. Mrs. Howe had
just returned from an interview with
this dressmaker last evening, when she
overheard the cCnV. rsatiOn betwC en-
you and the gentleman who paid you
the five thousand dollars, and saw you
put the money in your desk. Rendered
desperate by the fear that you would
discover her folly, she determined to
take two thousand dollars from the desk
and pay her creditor. believing that
suspicion of the theft would never rest
upon her. At half-past twelve o'clock
last night she nOiselessly descended to
the room and took the money. She was
surprised in this act by this DR.. Barton,
as he calls himself, who was also aware
of the presence OF the money in the desk
and whose errand in the room was to
gain possession of 1t. He comprehend
ed the situation at once, and demanded
the remainder of the five thousand dol
lars as the price of his silence. Mrs.
Howe, greatly terrified, acceded to his
demand. The couple were surprised in
| EnII ~ 20, GnI l.
morning that she saw them. They pre-
| tended not to see her and busted them
} selves in the examination of bolts and
. locks. Then the scOundrel invented the
story which he and Mrs. Howe told this
{ morning, and which they believed would
> satisfactorily account for the presence
in the hall, if the girl should tell what
| she had seen, and would also prevent
I suspicion resting upon any one in the
Y house. Feeling that he could not de-
pend upon Mrs. HOwe's continued ST.
: lence, BartOn-Or Ransom, for this is
: his true name-prepared for flight, and
: was in the act of bC arding westward
= bound train this afternoon when l ar
s rested him. He told me the whole story
Q and threatened, of course, to expose
: Mrs. Howe If proceedings were taken
against him."
r "YOur wife, sir, paid the dressmakeI
/, this morning, and one of the bills she
;, gave the woman was the very one you
+ mended last night. Here it is. Do you
identify it, sir?"
Yes, yes; it is the same" gasped the
1 clergyman. "Rut, this dressmakeT, is
2 she aware"
; "She knows nothing. 1 got the mon.
r ey from her on a plausible preteXt
2 Only you and and the two persons who
: took the money know the truth"
Q "This wretched affair must not be
4 made public. l would make any sacTi-
{ flee rather than have it known" grOan,
t ed the unhappy man
!, A few minutes later left him, prom
: ising to do all in my power to prevent
{ the story from becoming public proper
! ty. succeeded; the affair was husheC
/ up, and the world has never suspected
0 that the man in the garden was myth
g Queer case, wasn't it?"