The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1889-05-11
PLoTTERs FoILED.

IIaAf i fire Insurance company. al.
hugh fhey ne becoming sflsrperI
plx9fy year; but IA gel ahead of j life
france company there nlnst be b
tlo1pse as proof positive thai d death
occurred Only fhe keenest fas-.
< Of honest men driven 10 despera-l
tIQ for the want Of money attempt
III sWindIe, and It is rare that a
lid pany has been beaten. ] worked
a. " uoizble cases as 4 detective.
lat an1 certain that the details will
ay sA 81 klie general reade
istel in furrii 4. -, aI,;ss merchant
. - t0wB, wfi0sWds supposed
~ E[Jsolid business man. took out
VttVoHcy of $4,000 in a well.known
IElstern life insurance company. He
wss In the best of health and was
readily ,assed by the examiner.
Eighty d,ys later he was dead. The
local agen called as matter of form,
the doctOrin attendance certified to
the death, and hosts of people atten-
ded the fureral. The remains were
viewed by It least five hundred peo-
pie who hal known Mr.. Harris, as
we all call lin, in his lifetime, and
the coffin wa deposited on slab in
a vault for week previous to burial.
There could not have been the slight
est cause for Suspicion, and it was not
until several weeks after the money
had been paid hat anything came to
the surface. l was sent down to in
vestigate, and the pointer l got was
this: A servant girl in the doctors
family-the doctor who had attend.
ed Mr.. Harris-had seen the doctor
have lots of money, and the family
we're making extravagant purchases,
They frequently quarrelled. and dur.
ing one of these Quarrels the wife
said;
"You dare not refuse me money
Don't 1 know how you got it?
Wouldn't you be sent to prison if il
came out :"
got an interview with the girl
and she repeated all that and more
The doctor was poor before Mr.. Har.
ris's death. After that he suddenly
had plenty of money and was very
Sxtravagant. She did not connect
4kS{m money with the insurance, bu
MI got It into her head that the doc
tolhad killed and robbed some one
About this time it was found that
MI Harris was head over heels ir
debt, and that his wife repudiateC
eyay obligation. l believed from
the first that l had case, but 1 had
togo slow. One hasty move would
set an alarm bell to ringing. shall
owed the doctor until ] found that ht
was flush. He was also addicted Il
drink, and after little mannuver
log got him to the point of boast
ing of his cash. He claimed that hi
had about $4,000 in ready money
His practice scarcely brought him s
living. and 1 felt sure that his money
had come from the life insurance.
1 called, as real estate speculator
to offer the widow an Investment,
found her to be very reserved an(
uncommunicatiye. She was nervous
and ill at ease. and I judged she hat
a fear of me. She did not want any
Investments, saying that she wa'
thinking of going to q town in In
diana where she had relatives. Th'
doctor had certified that Mr.. Harris
died of rheumatism of the heart
When I began to question the wifi
about symptoms she was much con
fused, and made poor show of an
swering my questions. When l lef
the house 1 knew that she was
party to the conspiracy. She ha(
been told what to say and what tt
avoid saying. but the burden wa
proving very troublesome. My mex
move was to hunt out and interview
parties who had attended the funeral
l did not let my object be known, bu
reaching my point in a roundabou
way. / soon ascertained that a mum
Der of those who attended the funers
had been surprised at the change il
the facial expression of the deceased
His whiskers had been trimmed to
different shape, had more gray il
them, and his face seemed fuller an
broader They would not have rec
ognized him at first sight. but it wa
Mr.. Harris, of course who else coul
it be-?
l spent a full month In maxim
cautious inquiries. and I was the
perfectly satisfied that Mr.. Harri
was alive and in hiding somewhere
1t was not to be expected that h
would write directly to his wife, bu
was satisfied that some agency ha
been appointed before his death, an
that she was informed as to hi
movements. I could have had tn