The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1885-12-22

OF maker OF appliances Tor distorted
limbs and went to the hotel. l saw
the lady first without her seeing me
through a half opened door, ard like
h man in the song, L seq to myself.
seq T. .ifyou're a thief James X. Price
doesn't know anything about honest
faces Then 1 was admitted to her
presence, and I have seen, very few
such gracious and admirable women.
She had my sympathy at the outset,
and she was so wrapped up in her girl
and spoke so tenderly Of the little
cripple's cherries life of agony that a
dozen times 1 was about to betray my
self before the proper time came. Then
I asked her to sit and listen to me for
a minute. told her who I was, and
stammered out the story Of the rob-
berry and our suspicious. Had I had
any suspicion left it would have been
swept away by the manner Of the lady.
Her hands went up, her face changed,
and If had put a dagger in her she
could not have shown more pain. No
crying out or showing off, but real,
dead earnest grief, as if a sorrow too
great to get through her ideas had
come upon her.
"After a while she said: And do
you believe me guilty?'
":No, ma'am,' I replied, bluntly and
honestly.
"Then she asked what she should
do? The thief must be found, she
could not rest under suspicion that
would be a blot not only IN her but on
her unfortunate little girl. She did
not need to beg me to clear up the
mystery, and I put in some heavy
work on the case, after telling DR..
- that | did not suspect the woman,
and being told that no one else could
be suspected. A couple of days after
the lady. her child, and the physician
went back to Cincinnati. She was
broken down; her features had chang
ed under the keen sting of suspicion.
Next day I found who was the thief.
I had gone over the list on the slate
many times, and was compelled, little
by little, to narrow my field of suspic-
ion, when I discovered that one of the
patients was accompanied by his son,
a youth Of 20. Iwent to work on these,
and found I had to deal with a clergy.
man whose name is recognized every
where in New-York, and of whom few
educated Americans are ignorant. 1
had made only a couple of inquiries
about the boy when I started for the
pawnshop and in a few hours 1 had
the watch and chain and knew who
pawned them. I had, too, an inter-
view with the mother of the young
man, a kind, pleasant lady, whose
faith in and anxiety about her son and
husband when I inquired about them.
were touching. I was pretty we'll sick
of the case when I told her the truth.
After her agony was over she said l
must see the father. l called on him
later and came near breaking down.
Yet, he met me with outstretched
arms, took me by the hands. and. with
tears streaming down his cheeks. said:
Brother, this is a hard blow, a harder
one never was dealt me. I thought I
was sorely stricken a little while ago,
when [ laid my daughter to rest for
ever, but this tries me more I sat
with him for an hour. I had such dis.
erection as is proper in such cases and
could promise = Ut to make an arrest
until ordered to act harshly by DR.. -,
receiving a promise that the delinquent
should be ready for me if the com
plainant decided to punish him.
"Of course he was not punished
When I laid the watch and chain on
DR.. IS bed and named the thief he
said, price, stop right there But
said Price. Frightening uI, II took
from that room and mailed a very sat
isfactory letter to the Cincinnati lady
which was penned at my suggestion.
"How about the young man?"
Well it's a question Of reform O,
coming my way. Guess he'll quit
funny business for a time. But Tn
glad about the lady. I've had a lesson
thatTl last me some time."-New Yorh
Times.