The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-02-05
CHAPTER III.
A BUNDLE OF LETTERS.

tbe last three weeks or Whereabouts. For a
fine, Goldiug paid no attention to them,
bevond directing his secretary TO keep them.
IA has been threatened, anonymously and
Otherwise, before; and you are probably
aware that there has occasionally been a
strong popular feeling around against him
in the city. But he is something of fatal
ist. and takes everything very coolly, as
said | suppose if a bomb were to explode
behind his chair, and blow hole through
tha floor of his Office, he would hardly trou-
lie himself to turn round. 1t was only by
accident that he mentioned the affair to me
at all. was asking after his wite's health
she had been a little indisposed-and he
said that her nerves had been upset by the
last letter she received. l asked what it
meant and he finally showed me the collec-
ton"
Has he, or any one, taken any measures
to discover the writer"
"None whatever. Golding thought he
might betray himself after a while, and did
not consider it worth the trouble of investi-
cation. If it had not been for his wife, he
would have refused to act entirely. But it
began to have an effect on her health, not
50 much because she herself was threatened.
as because she feared for him. After seeing
the letters, | advised him to have something
done at once. He laughed, and pooh poohed
the suggestion; but finally he yielded. That
was this morning; and | sent down for you
Immediately"
The Inspector removed the elastic band
from the letters, and glanced at the super
scriptions. There were upwards of half-a-
dozen envelopes, all addressed to either Mr..
or Mrs. Maxwell Golding The chirography
was the same in ala compact, small, IT.
regular hand, as if the writer had either at
tempted to disguise his own style, or was an
awkward and impractical penman. Paper
and envelopes were of the same size and
quality. cheap and ordinary; the postmark
showed that they had all been posted in New
York city. The letters were without date
or signature. Any one Of the million in
habitants of the metropolis might have
written them, so far as their external APP
pearance were concerned.
"Tll begin at the beginning, ~ said the In
spector," and he unfolded the first letter,
which was as follows
MAXWELL GoLDING-Sir: You must
prepare to leave this world, in which you
have done so much wicKednesS. Your hour
is at hand. Your contemplate race is run.
You may think yourself great and power
full, one of the mighty of the earth; but
you are mortal and you are now to die.
Make your peace with God if you can, for
he has commanded Inc to kill you-to shoot
you down like dog. | am the chosen instru
rnent of his Providence. The Lord giveth and
the Lord taketh away. He gave you your
riches, but you have misused it, and now,
by my hand, he is going to take away your
worthless and wicked life. | must do his
bidding, and shall smite and spare not but
] am willing to give you time to prepare
your mortal soul for the awful change.
Probably your wife and children will have
yl,Dfh
the Lord requires this or not. 1t is better
that you be cut off root and branch. shall
write to you once more, and then you will
not hear rom me again till you lie weller
ing i'll your blood at my feet. l long to be
at the Lords work, but / will spare you
vet few days All men will applaud and
justisy the deed | shall be called a hero
and hberator. But desire no glory for
myself-only to kill you, as the Lord COM
mands. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Say good-by to your wife and children, and
settle your affairs, for | swear before God
that you will be corpse in few days"
How does 1T strike youY' asked Mr.
Owens, as the Inspector folded up the letter
and replaced it in its envelope.
"Well it isn't the sort of thing to give a
man an appetite for his breakfast" the other
returned But don't think-judging off
hand-that it is genuine letter. 1t has a
false ring to it, 1t reads more as if the fell
low were trying to initiate what he supposed
a religious crank would write than like a
religious cranks writing. OF course may
be mistaken"
But what can be his object-supposing
him to be an imposter!'
"Oh, it would be object enough to scare Mr..
Golding. There is a great deal of merely
idle mischievousness i'll the world. But |
{ol- ba hos AlAiarf oaI anH
cal one-though it doesn't appear in that
letter"
What do you mean"
81 mean that think he wants to extort
money"
"Why doesn't he say so then?'
Perhaps he will later on. He is pro-
ceeding methodically. This letter tells Mr..
GoIding that he will be corpse in a few
days; and yet it was written over three weeks
ago, and Mr.. Golding Is not corpse yet.
That is suspicious
"Well, look at the other letter." said Mr..
Owens
The Inspector resumed his examination,
and during an interval of fifteen minutes
there was no sound in the library except the
cracking Of the logs on the hearth, and the
low ticking of the bronze clock on the man
lei piece. The detective did not simply read
tie letters; he Investigated them in the mi
nutest detail. He compared words as writ
ten In one with the same word in the Others.
He noted the kind Of ink used, and the pat
tern Of pen that had probably been en-
ployed. He contrasted the purport of one
letter with that of the rest, weighing the
phrases and expansions, and striving to pen
citrate beneath their literal form to the mind
and character of the writer. He considered
The grammar and the style of composition,
10 determine whether the author were all
qheducated man trying to appear educated,
on an educated man trying to appear ignor-
ant. AT length he replaced all the letters in
table.
= Have you modified your opinionF' Mr..
Owens inquired.
In some respects ! have" replied the
other, slowly. I'm the first place, | think
thoSe letters were written by a man of cul
ture-by what would be called gentle
man."
, i have come to the opposite conclusion.
Leaving the handwriting aside, a gentle
man, or one holding that position, would
NOT use language so crude and awkward
Not If no were writing, so to say, in bis
own person; but he is acting part. He is
a Sever, wide-awake of-the-world,
studying TO appear like half-crazed re-
hBious enthusiast. The assumption is very
well done; but there are lapses here and
ulere; there are some sentences, and espe-
clally some ideas, in the letters that the kind
VI man he is aping would never use or think
OIL OIL, And apart from that, there is too much
sol -consclousness throughout"
49,. GU may be right; but admitting that