The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1889-07-20
THE FATAL POTAI9.

IHE FATAL PUlAIL'
'fone OF the queerest cases lever had, y
said the old detective, occurred some
thing over twenty years ago. Then /
still had much TO learn In my business,
and, fortunately for me, knew that |
had 1t was memorable as an illustra-
ton of the Importance of small things,
and l have pigeon holed it in my memory
as the affair of the fatal potato
"A red headed servant girl, so scared
that her eyes stood out like Holsters,
rushed into the station house early one
morning, bowling that all the police
were wanted around at Mr.. Morton's.
The sergeant at the desk, supposing there
was probably just some row among the
servants, grinned at the sight of her
and asked what was the matter.
"She gave whoop of 'murderp that
raised his hair and startled every one in
the station. The idea Of murder in the
aristocratic mansion of Mr. Samuel Nor
ton. on Fifth avenue, within five blocks
Of the station, naturally rather excited
us. Two detailed men and myself
was then ward detective-ran around
there as quickly as we could.
"Sure enough, there had been a muir
der. The cook, a sturdy built, middle
aged Englishwoman named Harriet
Wardrop, lay ON the kitchen floor, in
the back basement, with dirty cotton
handkerchief twisted and l1notted about
her neck, stone dead and quite cold.
When she had not sent up her employ
er's coffee, which he was accustomed to
taking in bed, or answered the bell, the
red headed girl came down to see what
was the matter, and that was the plight
she found her in.
1.-THE last seen of Harriet alive was at
near 10 o'clock the night before, when
the two upstairs girls left to go to their
room In the attic. Her room was in the
basement, and she said that she was going
to bed in few minutes. She had had
no visitor, never, indeed, had any, was
perfectly sober, and seemed to be always
q woman Of perfectly correct habits
Really, however, not much was known
about her, further than that she had come
there from Philadelphia seven or eight
months before with good references, had
behaved herself well and made no con-
fdantes. But she must have admitted
to the house the man who choked her.
"There were no signs of any struggle,
and there had been no robbery. Her
gold watch was onthe kitchen table, two
months wages In her pocket and no at
tempt seemed to have been made at
plunder in the still richer field up stairs
Why had she been killed? It was mys-
terious. One of the cops with me was
so puzzled that he declared it must be a
case of suicide.
"I saw that she had been strangled,
and wondered what a strong fellow the
murderer must have been to have twist
ed, with fatal effect, so soft band as a
handkerchief about so big and solid a
neck and to do it SO deftly and power
fully as to prevent an outcry or even a
struggle. 1t takes good deal of pres
sure to squeeze in a whole neck so tightly
as to cause death.
"But when came to examine more
closely found that novel and inge-
nious device had been employed to make
the job easier. Folded into the handker-
chief and placed SO that it would press
directly upon the windpipe, was potato
about the size of hens egg. While
turning the tuber over in my hand, ]
noticed that there were two deep curv.
ing cuts in its smooth, creamy skin, such
as would be made by finger nails scratch
ing it, and each showed a thin line Of
blue color. AT first thought nothing
of that, for knew that some potatoes
such as the Neshannocks, have delicate
skin of violet tint under the white out
side. But when l looked more carefully
l saw that this potato was not Neshan
mock, but an Early Rose, which-as
soon proved by scratching it-had nj
such colored second skin, and observed
that the blue color seemed to go deeper
than merely the surface.
"Who, asked myself, would be like
ly to habitually carry under his finger
nails such an abundance of color al
would leave deposits like these? Well, 1
dyer, for one. Yes, of course, a dyer
but there were more dyers in the city
for aught know, than one could SHAKE
a stick at, and it would be ridiculous L
seek blue handed dyer, since hand
that were blue one day might be red o
green the next.
"The newspapers, the next day, il
their sensational treatment of the Incl
dent, characterized it as a profount
mystery, and said that the police ha'
absolutely no clew to the murderer.
"As / had hoped, that encourages
some person who had known Harrie
Wardrop to come forward. A small
neatly dressed, respectable looking, mid
die aged man, with keen, furtive eye
and an habitually deprecatory manner
presented himself at the inquest. II
came to see If the woman, whose deaf
he had read of in the morning paper
was his wife, from whom he had sepa
rated in Philadelphia year before, an
had not seen or heard from since. hi
name? John Wardrop. His occupation
Dyer. Where did he work2 With Hem
Detaille & Co., Partisan dyers, o
Bleecker street. Yes, the dead woma
was his wife. He recognized her pei
fectly, and the sight made him weeI
Poor woman, she was hard to get alon
with, but she had a good heart.
81 made an excuse of his signing
formal recognition to get him to take o.
his gloves. His hand was of brilliar
orange tint. While the coroner keI
him In attendance at the inquest 1 hui
ried to Detaille & Co.'S dye house to as
some questions.
"Yes, John Wardrop worked Their
He was quiet, steady man and an ei
cellent workman. They had employe
him about ten months. Did they kno
anything more about himf No, excel
that they fancied there was likely TO
. match between him and Jane Blair.