Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-03-06
A BIG STAKE.
A Fathers Plot to Secure g
Wealthy Son-in-Law.
A Mysterious Disappearance Family
Afflicted With l~sigamy-Some Very
Clever Detective Work Which
Restored a Missing SON..

The writer finds in his notebook the
subjoined story as related to him by the
detective, from whose diary many mar
ratives already published in these col
umns have been taken:
REV. DR.. Gleig was the son of aman
OF good family, but poor. DR.. Gleig
went into the church and had to con-
tent himself with a small living. He
married an amiablc but portionless
girl, and the result of the marriage was
one son.
"About a year before the beginning
of this narrative DR.. Gleig had been
smitten with paralysis, two strokes in
succession depriving him of the use of
his limbs, and leaving him an almost
helpless imbecile. The physicians We're
at first in hopes of his restoration, pro-
vided he could be tided over a year or
two without another attack, but at the
expiration of nine months an %unfavor-
able change occurred, and it was evil
dent he might be taken off suddenly at
any time.
.'When DR.. Gleig married he was
about the tenth removed from the heir
ship to a large estate. One by one the
nearer heirs died Off. The sickness of
DR.. Gleig had diverted his family's
thoughts from all other subjects, and
they were, therefore, somewhat aston
ished when they were notified that there
was but one person between him and a
vast property, ard that one an old man
sof s~eventy-nine.
A DISAPPEARANCE.
:'Georgc, the doctors son, was at
Oxford, where he had only recently
matriculated, being in his nineteenth
year. On February %, 1868, he disap-
peared, leaving behind him no clew.
His mother used every means to dis
cover the Whereabouts of the boy,
without, however, giving the matter
publicity. Three weeks later DR.. Gleig
came into possession of the estate worth
twenty thousand pounds sterling q
year, with a fine mansion in Yorkshire
and another in L~eicestershire. From
that time his wife spent large SUMS of
money to find out her missing son.
In June she employed me, through a
London attorney, to undertake the
task, and I at once went to work.
The first thing I did was to go to
Oxford and make inquiries among his
associates there, They knew positively
nothing, and referred me to the servant
who had waited upon the young man.
I found him living in a comfortable
dwelling, and answering to the name
of Binker. He had a shy way with
him and did not seem to enjoy my
questioning him.
A SPECIAL MAN.
"'To tell you the truth, SIR he said,
Il was very sick at the time Mr.. Gleig
disappeared, and had been for over a
month, SO that l was relieved from duty
and another man was put in my place.
That is to say, another man didhis own
work and part of mine, too, but as MI.
'Gleig was very particular, l employed
a special man to attend to him.
"'Who was hep 1 asked, thinking it
very strange at the outset that George
G1eig, whose father had had to scrape
sand hoard to send him to the Univer-
sity and who was described by all as a
youth of such modest and careful WAYS,
should have gone to the expense of an
other servant-for of course he would
have to pay him.
"'His name,' said Binker, 4 forget.
He was recommended by. a particular
friend OF mine, and that was all 1 knew
of him.
"'Who was the friend who recon-
mended him?' l inquired; perhaps he
might know more about the man.
":Ah,' said Binker, my friend went
to London, where he got a situation
about the docks
A SLIGHT DIFFERENCE.
"'Wha sort of a looking man was
this person who waited on Mr.. Gleig?'
z asked
"'He was short and thin, l believe
replied Binker, 'and about twenty or
shirty years of age, with red hair anda