San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1889-07-25

NUMBER 30.

Detaille & Co.. Parisian dyers. on
Blocker street. Yes, the dead woman
was his wife. He recognized her per-
fectlv. and tho sight made him weep.
Poor woman, she was hard TO get along
with, but sho had good heart.
~ made an excuse Of his signing q
formal recognition TO get him TO take on
his gloves. His hand was Of brilliant
orange tint. While tho coroner kept
him in attendance at the inquest I hur-
ried to Detaillo & Co.'s dye house to ask
some questions.
Eyes, John Wardrop worked there.
He was quiet, steady man and an ex-
cellent workman. They had employed
him about ten months. Did they know
anything moro about him? No, except
that they fancied there was likely to DO
o match between him and Jane Blair, d
good looking, plump woman about 30
years old, who had been their cashier
for several years. Had they done any
dark blue dyeing lately? Yes, only tho
day before yesterday. Who did the
work. John Wardrop. s
~ saw Jane Blair. With good deal
Of hesitancy she admitted that she and
John Wardrop were engaged to be mar
ried rs soon as he got q divorce from d
bad wife who had left him, and expect
cd that he would soon DO free. Was sho
we'll informed as to his habits9 Perfect
ly. They boarded In the same house, ON
West Washington place, and he very
seldom went out In the evening. Did he
go out the night before lastf No; they
parted OH the stairs going to their respec-
two rooms at twenty minutes before 10
o'clock, their usual hour for retiring. Ho
could have gone out afterward without
her knowing it9 Yes, but Of course no
didn't. gd 49,
When 1 got back to the inquest tho
coroner's jury had just returned a ver-
dict that the deceased had come to her
death by violence at the hand or handsof
some person unknown. I had made up
my mind to arrest John Wardrop on sus-
picion, but was in no hurry about II. As
| had not been on tho stand did not
have to tell anything Of my suspicious
and the potato could not give anything
away, for had II safely In my pocket,
wrapped in tissue paper. Tho reporters
went away to write the case up as a pro-
founder mystery than before. John
Wardrop went to borrow somo money
from his employers to give his poor wife
decent burial. And !, having taken
time to get warrant for his arrest, fol-
lowed him.
"He paled slightly and showed some
embarrassment when entered the dye
room, where he was doing some work
that had to be done by him and could
not wait until the morrow. Still he con-
trolled himself, and sought to cover his
nervousness by talking. ! said little,
and let him talk on, which was the worst
thing he could have done, for thinking
up so many words led him away, now
and then, from the straight story he had
made up. At last, when ! deemed the
time ripe for 1t, slipped the potato OUT
Of my pocket and, suddenly holding IL
up before him, said:
"You should have washed your hands
before you grabbed this potato out Of
the dishpan on the table,
HE threw up his hands with slisfek
and sank down OH bench, all limp and
broken up. Before he could recover him
self he confessed. He and Harriet had
quarreled for years and1inally separated.
Then after time she had made UP hor
mind to get possession of him again,
found where he was and sent him word
that he must visit her late atnight, when
sho would be alone, to discuss tho situas
ton. He went, but the sight Of her and
thoughts of Jane Blair, with whom ho
had fallen I'm love in the meantime, since
parting with his wife, made him des-
perate.
II asked him how he had managed to
strangle her so quietly and without
any struggle, when she seemed to have
double his strength. lie explained that
he possessed sufficient mesmeric force
to render her passive, and had employed
it OH that occasion.
"Having rendered her completely un-
conscious by mesmerizing her, the rest
was easy. could not help feeling some
sympathy for him when no said sho was
a tartar still business was business, and
when I had heard him through told
him:
"'Now, John, get your coat on and
come along
"'In a moment, sir. Let mo wash of
some of this dye first
~ assented. He washed, pouring
some stuff over his hands from bottle,
to take the color out, as / supposed.
Suddenly he turned the bottle up to his
lips and took big swallow Of Its con-
tents before could jump TO him and
grab him. AS I seized him the bottle
dropped to the door and smashed, while
no dropped into my arms as dead as q
maui. Cyanide Of potassium. as sub
sequently learned, was his final nip, but
it was the fatalpotato that killed him.
Cinrinuafi poat