Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1890-02-28

s. Co. y NJ lNany practical i use
MiiffT7y J the detection of
s Ss}sAsss sgfzssI1 ssssssSRs~ crime. One case
a"sl af1iiiuRRaD that came under
.niy w observation, however, contro-
ys&as this statement. l have a morbid
haads of imagining the crimes that Ger
txin persons of my acquaintance might
commit, if given the temptation and
,oyy,ortunitv. No doubt this mental
7mauliarity Of mind is due to my occu-
patton, that of q detective.
/ had been sent to Paris upon bust
anss connected with a bark robbery,
anfl having no charge upon my return
xnyage was at liberty to employ my
leisure time in studying my fellow-pas-
s~eayers.
Z was especially fascinated by a
ysnng husband and wife, of whom i
sA,8ld not learn much except that they
wE,e NEWCOMERS and bore the name
81 Tracy.
Though I never exchanged a dozen
words with the lady, yet she won my
deepest sympathy, from a certain visit
fni expression of her beautiful eyes-a
Book which / imagine often character
szes q neglected wife.
The gentleman was always affable.
a,sa a general favorite; still, [ could
npt rid myself of the conviction that
NE would help his gentle, delicate wife
put Of the world if he had any power
fal incentive. to the crime.
III those days than they are now. Ours
WIS at first a prosperous one. The
good ship sped on, through bright days
and starry nights, until we were near
ing New York; then a fierce. storm
aaroye us out Of u course, and for a
week most Of our passengers were too
saGk to care whether we ever reached
our destination or not. Then the gale
abated, and we resumed our occupa-
sions.
Mr.. and Mrs. Tracy did not appear,
however, and l was shocked and star.
f1el to learn that the lady had died
during the storm, supposedly from
gaeart disease, aggravated by sea sick
Tess, and her body had been consigned
to The watery deep. The funeral had
been hurried, in compliance with the
demands of superstitious sailors, who
az o111 way 1CdIilCu VI 1llS. IldCS 5
death. and insisted that a corpse on
board would sink the ship.
OF course the explanation Of the
sa0y's sudden death seemed reasonable
enough to everybody except myself
Grave suspicious haunted me that the
Es1or. sad-faced little wife had beer
Gonlly murdered, without a hand hay
zng been raised either to help O.
syenge her.
But I kept my own counsel, for if {
crime had been committed all evi
aences OF it had been swallowed u,
by the sea, and bringing the gull
home would be a hopeless undertaking
SO [ tried to dismiss the affair from
zay mind; but at night, in my state
room, a pair Of soft, dark eyes SCENE,
70 haunt me, pleading for help. I hat
40 opportunity to see the widower, 70
ne remained constantly alone in hi
state-room, evidently in too deep aflic
t5on to come among us.
We arrived in New York two week
behind time, and I found a great dea
81 business waiting for me at the Blu
xea1,. My attention was occupied by
hundred new cases, still [ was ofte.
haunted by Mrs. Tracy's sad eyes, an,
the old suspicious would arise as to til
causes that led to her mysterious deaf
AT sea-.
This was a case in which [ had men
tally volunteered my services, vet S
lar could see "no thoroughfare" t
AXE end desired. And now, strangel
enough, | frequently encountered MI
Tracy, the widower, in my wander
lngs, and I occasionally devoted som
Of my leisure time to shadowing him
10 that [ became pretty we'll %acquaint
ed with his mode of life, which was no
at all that of a sorrow-stricken man
it was, in fact, a decidedly gay caree
i'll which he was indulging.
Time rolled on, until it was nearly
year since my returnfrom Europe, an
with all my experience not q ghost {
aplan for bringing the gay widower t
Justice had Il presented itself to IN
mind. La this emergency 1 one even
ing confided the story to my siste
Rose, whose quick intuition had ofte
thrown light upon some obscure poin
ia cases ! was studying.
She was interested at once, and afte
q little reflection said:
If YOU will contriye some way t
bring that man here o few times in
social way, / think L will find out SON
plan to force a full confession frol
him"
I smiled a little doubtfully at thi
As L answered: 81 hope you will, si
ter mine, yet remember, we have NJ
a particle of evidence against hin
iisea the ships surgeon was i'll at IL
3me OF Mrs, Tracy's death and un;
BE 10 attend her"
les. 1 know all that" answer
Rose, "but you bring him here and
shink we will force a full confessio
from him beto"e many weeks roll by.