The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-06-27

not believe that he has really aud truly disap-
peared, never to be heard from. Its one Of his
larks, you may depend upon it. For underneath
the benign exterior that always attracted you
and other light minded people, old Crosby had
lurking devil in him that would lead him pref
ty dance If he only once had his way"
Arthur protested that could not mean what
l said, and, TO pacify the youngster, dressed
myself as quickly as possible. and, without as
much as q cup of coffee to keep away the chills,
went straight to the Crosby family mansion.
Mrs. Crosby. with an air of injured and betrayed
confidence that nettled me, spoke calmly OF the
mysterious disappearance OF her husband Inc
story that Arthur told me was substantially
true. 1t differed from that Of Mrs. Crosby in
one particular: Mr.. Crosby, on that fateful
Wednesday night, had gone around the corner
after cigar, not to the All-night Club But.
thinking that Arthur knew more about some OF
Crosbv's habits than Mrs. Crosby did, forebore
remark.
1t was a clear case We dallied with hope and
fear for few days Then we concluded to let
the thing get into the newspaper 1t had been
hushed up among Crosbys friends until that
time. When the news became public property,
it was surprising to find how much more other
people knew about old Crosby and his ways than
we did I sure if the missing man could
have read the newspaper accounts OF Els disap-
pearance and his past career, as now spread be-
fore a greedy public, he never would have recog-
nized himself Some OF the writer's made him
out eort of dual man who had lived in wanton-
ness and riotousness one side of him, and like
decent and well-meaning citizen on the other
Another queer thing about the business was
the vast number of missing men that appeared
to be drifting about the world as soon as we sent
out hue and-cr for poor Crosby. We were
continually striking trails-'clews," the detect
ives called them-that led to other mysterious
disappearance, but never to the man we were
hunting for. Why the families of these missing
men had never made known their losses until
We began to vex the public ear with our clamor
for Crosby, could not understand But, as
Bert Stryker humorously put it, there seemed
to be no household howsoer defended but had
one missing man.
Search was unavailng. The rivers were
dragged. the harbor explored, and even the
morgues were shudderingly visited. Detect
ives were engaged by the brigade, and ad-
refreshments. with tempting rewards offered,
were inserted in the newspapers. All was
vain, vain, vain. By the middle of May,
we had settled down to the fixed belief that we
should never see or hear of poor old Crosby any
more Nor did we. Once in little while there
was vague rumor Of his having been seen in
California or Alaska, or some other far-oh land,
and there were even men who were ready to
swear that they had met him in Central America
had even spoken to him. And there were not
lacking those foul minded gossips who circulated
mysterious hints about "a woman" But nothing
came of all this, except that Arthur got himself
into trouble with knocking down man who had
said that of course there was a woman at the
bottom of the mystery, which was an indiscreet
thing for the boy to do, as l had to rise betlmes
and attend the Police Court to go bail for the
hot-headed youngster 1t was only q burst OF
the old Chester chivarv, however
Mrs. Crosby and her daughters, in due time
put on the customary suits OF solemn black.
will found in old Crosby's wrting-d desk, was
probated. and the world trotted along Just as if
there had never been such a man as Theodore
Francis Crosby
1t was hard. as Arthur was won't to say, that a
man should go under SO utterly, leaving not a
ripple on the surface to show where he went
down. But by midsummer Crosby's name
was never mentioned by his old friends, except
in an indoent, half-inquiring way, as if the
speaker wondered where Crosby had van
ished to and was too Indifferent to the
Arthur did mourn for poor old Crosby. He
took morbid satisfaction, it seemed to me- in
taking over the case, discussing its probabilities
and possibilities. ] see him now, the prema
turely sobered young chap, sitting on the foot OF
my bed while make up my mind to rise and
Dress nursing mis- leg in a quaint old fashioned
way, like an elderly man, and suggesting va
riety of, curious theories to account for Crosbys
absence
We are not an imaginative family we Chesters,
and am inclined to think that Arthur got his
fertility of imagination from his father Arthur
Spenser, senior, was political writer. 1t did
not seem to me wholesome for the young man
that he should dwell so much on Crosby's
mysterious fate, now that We had all
settled down TO the belief that he was
as good as dead. And 1 did not like the
way in which my granddaughter greedily alb
sorbed all the stories of mysterious disappear
ances that he found in the newspapers. And,
come to think of it, there were great many.
do not know that there were more disappear
ances unaccounted for then than had been usual.
But 1t did seem, now that we had one of our
Every own" on hand, as if there were nothing
but mysterious disappearances going on about
us. As Arthur gloomily said, 'The woods were
full of them"
One night, or rather morning, for it was we'll
on towards the beginning of new day, found
Arthur in my chambers when returned from
late dinner. / had given him a pass-key since he
had been thrown more than usual on my hands
by his morbid dislike for society. l felt that
there was something wrong in young fellows
giving up much of social pleasure as he had
since Crosby's departures; and could not under
stand why that event should have made SO deep
an impression on the lad But l submitted to
his varying humors and waited.
'Halloo you disreputable old uncle" cried
Arthur, when I appeared. "Where earth
have you been with that white tie under your
ear like hangman's knott And there's great
blob of something red on your shirt-front. Bur-
eundy,. he said. examining it critically "Clos
de Vougeotl Or Musigny? / know Bond gives
good dinners; but that is no reason why you
should stay out SO late.
''You young scamp" retorted sit is due to
of my respectable lodging tonight, instead of
rampaging round into all sorts of don't know
what places. Disr-putable, indeed"
But Arthur soberly protested that he was done
with the vanities of this life "I've an ideal" he
exclaimed.
lis it possiblep
'Now, honest Indian Uncle Bob. have an
idea that MIR. Crosby has gone to Switzerland"
''And what put that into your headT
See here. You know how old Crosby used to
49, &l~.. e.
q mind distraught, their cheerful and solemn
and all the rest. Wel1 he has
been ovorburdened with worry and has fed to
the fastness of some mountainous country for
refuge from his own kind"
IA fine theory and not wholly unreasonable,
Arthur"
Thanks, awfully."
s'But what were the worries with which poor
old Crosby was overburdened, as you say, my
boyr
s.Princinallv that old cat his wife,