Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-03-13

poisoning are always accompanied by dis
tressful circumstances; and I now had
only to inquire into the disappearance OF
the old gentleman's box of valuables.
The loss of these would leave Amelia and
the old lady in poverty, for the latter was
entirely dependent upon her brether-in-
law, who had no living relatives save
these two
The deceased had placed no faith in the
banks, and had always kept the small
steel bound box in his sleeping room. He
had shown the contents to has daughter
and her aunt upon various occasions, and
when they had demonstrated with MN
about keeping so much value in so in
secure a place, the old man had smiled at
their fears He had depended largely for
the safety of the box upon the fact that
all persons, save those Immediately con-
nected with him, were ignorant of his
having these treasures.
Several persons had been about the
house on the night of his decease. and the
larger number had been more or less in
the bedroom. Amelia, young Saxby and
several others were mentioned by the old
lady in particular; but she declared that
she would suspect herself or the other
of the neighbors. -.
They were entirely ignorant of the ex-
istence of the box, and this might be de-
pended upon, if their honesty were to be
set aside. Besides, it seemed impossible
that anything could have been removed
from the house without detection Oh that
night of sorrow. There was not an nour
that some one was not about, and either
Amelia or her aunt had remained in the
bedroom continually. Still the box was
gone, and it must have had some outside
means Of locomotion.
AS might have been expected, amost
instantly pitched upon Saxby as the thief.
/ felt convinced of it, although there was
nothing suspicious in the young mans
manner The difficulty before me was to
reach the truth in such manner that no
point of refutation would be left. ] must
not only show him to be the guilty party,
but also recover the stolen property, the
larger portion of which would be readily
negotiable, and could be disposed Of with
little risk OF detection.
Twas asked to remain for lunch. and
requiring some time for thought, i accepted
the invitation. Soon the elder lady, Saxby
and myself were seated at the table,
Amelia being too indisposed to join US,
and the most rigid silence prevailed for
some time. l was employed in secretly
watching Sa1by, who, soon discovered,
enjoyed the entire confidence of our kind
hearted hostess. She had already ac-
Guainted him with the secret Of who was,
and the occasion Of my presence at the
cottage.
When the meal was over and the old
lady had gone to look after her niece's
comfort, Saxby entered into lengthy
conversation with me. He talked well,
but was much too ready in his suggestions
as to the missing securities, and the longer
/ remained with him the stronger became
my prejudice against him. After much
agitation / decided that it was only neces-
sary to give the suspect ''rope enough and
he would hang himself" / must be on
hand however, to see that he did not slip
his head from the moose. / conceived q
plan and began to act upon it at once. |
assumed a confidential manner, and in
formed the young man that Ihad thought
OF some circumstances relating to the miss
ing bonds, in which / thought he could
assist me.
''If you will go into the city with me-"
/ continued, 81 will tell you more.h
Saxby consented to this proceeding with
out the least show Of reluctance, and we
set out together. While upon the way
feigned a story to amuse him, and limited,
IN distant way, that | was inclined to
think that Mr.. Holmes sister-in-law knew
more of the missing valuables than any
other person. l concluded by requesting
him to watch the old lady's movements.
To do Saxby justice, he defended the
good woman warmly and grew quite in
dignant at my ''veuomous charge" which
l excused by telling him that it was neces
sary to take every precaution. When we
reached Chicago took the young man to
the central police office and prepared to
carry out the real motive for my action.
While l caused Saxby to be detained in
conversation by brother officer, photog-
rapher with his camera placed behind
screen for the occasion skillfully pictured
the mans features. Then / dismissed
him, but was careful to keep him in view
until he left the city. Before another day
had rolled around q photograph Of the
young man was in the Office of nearly
every broker in the city.
Time passed, and the scheme bore no
fruit; Mr.. Holmes had been in his grave
nearly a month, and his daughters for
tune was still undiscovered / had been
playing a waiting game heretofore; but
now | decided to commence a decided
action. l had not lost sight Of Saxby
during this interval, for Skillful shadow
had kept his movements continually I'M
der inspection; but he had remained
quietly at the farm and it had come to
nothing But one day the shadow came
to me in person-Saxby was in town. he
only made a few purchases and returned
at nightfall. Evidently if Saxby was the
thief he was upon his guard.
1t occurred to me to take advantage of
his absence to visit the cottage. Both
ladies received me very cordially and had
a long story to tell of their pecuniary em-
Their little home could
not readily be coverted into cash for any
thing like its value, and, if it could, the
idea Of parting with it was unbearable.
Saxby, the elder lady told me, during
q short absence of her neice from
the room, had lately received a re-
mittance from his relatives, and
they depended upon him for the present.
But the old lady told me. with sad
shake of the head, that the young man
had manner quite foreign to what she
had hitherto known OF him. He had pro-
posed marriage to Amelia. stating to her
that he was in daily expectation of a sum
Of money from his friends, which would
place him in a condition to provide for her
aunt as well as herself of a pleasant home
Amelia had rejected his JfTer however
and SaNby's usual k,ndliness had not been
proof against the rebuff. IL was plain
from the old lady's manner of telling the
story that she did hot exactly coincide
with Amelia in her action; but she,was
much troubled at the difficulties before
them.
..If Miss Holmes would consent 70 fol-