The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1891-05-22

young iady's height. As proceeded
observed that his keen eyes seemed to
grow larger, while the thick beard that
covered the face of this singular man
kept twitching, as if every hair was in
stinct with life.
"Give me time," he said solemnly,
when / had finished, t.and / will solve
this mystery. In few days 1 may be
able to do it-perhaps not for week"
1 left him and went on deck. Tom
was there, looking SO downcast and for
lorn that resolved to acquaint him with
the presence of the detective, and tell
him what he said, and so. perhaps,
brighten him up a little.
did so, but my words had an effect
had not expected. Rejecting a moment,
he cried out: Father, believe that man
is humbug! But whether he be de-
tective or not, L now suspect that he is a
thief and murderer; that he knew of
Miss Merwin's having that S., 900 bond,
and that in order to possess himself of it
he has killed her and thrown her body
overboardr
/ stared at him in anazement, and
told him feared that his grief had dis
turbed his reason. How was it possible,
asked him, that the man could have
got the body overheard without our
knowing it?
He could have choked her to death,
carried her to one of the open cabin win
dows, and dropped her through that"
he replied.
Impossible" l answered, without
the splash being overheard by the man
at the wheel, or by some one on deck.
Besides, l doubt if he could have
squeezed the body through either of our
cabin windows. which, you know. are
very small"
Tom, however, seemed to think it
could have been done, owing to Miss
Merwin being so slender, and in spite Of
all my efforts, could not entirely rid
his mind of that horrible idea
Days passed, for we had headwinds,
which kept us off our course; but as yet
the detective had nothing to tell me,
though he said he soon might be able to
explain the whole affair.
A strange affair enough. Never before
had l such an experience, or anything
approaching to it, in any craft I COM
manded. The passengers were equally
puzzled: it was the talk of all aboard
the ship. AS for Tom, he grew paler,
thinner, wilder every day. At last, one
afternoon, when we had entered St.
Georges channel, he came up to me and
said, in husky voice: 1T is as l thought!
Quicki I have something to show you'll
Make no noiser'
l followed him. We both wore light
slippers, and without noise entered the
room Miss Merwin had occupied. He
pointed to a crevice, which he had evil
IDENTIFY made in the partition, and look
ing through it l saw the detective in the
next apartment, kneeling by his open
carpet bag, from which now protruded
the identical buskins-I could not mis-
take them-which Miss Merwin had
worn. Spread out before him he held a
5000 bond-evidently the one which
my son had given to the young lady!
"You see," he whispered. .Was not
right? He has murdered and robbed
herr
Low as the whisper was the man evil
IDENTIFY heard it, for he pushed the bus
kns, and after them the bond, hastily
down into the bag, which he then closed.
Before could hinder him Tom rushed
out and threw himself against the de-
tective's door with force which broke
the lock and admitted him into the room.
He flew at the man, clutched him and
shook him, when the fellow drew a dirk,
but in his futile struggles to use it-for
held his wrist and soon disarmed him
his beard fell off, showing it was a
false one. and at the same time his shirt
bosom was torn away about the throat
Then both Tom and uttered a simulta-
neous cry of surprise on perceiving that
this pretended detective was a woman
over thirty-fve years of age-or, in other
words, it was Miss Merwin herself de-
prived of the cosmetics and other appli-
ances which had, while in the natural
attire of her sex, made her look so much
younger than she was.
The whole truth broke upon me at
once. This woman l suspected was in
reality Mary Youngson. the murderess,
for her face and height now answered to
the description l had of her, and we
found, while looking for my sons bond
in her carpet bag, some articles bearing
her name, and others marked with that
of her victim. In fact, afterward, while
i'll, she confessed to being Mary Young
son.
Her motive in Disgusting herself was
apparent. She had feared, after l dis
covered the strange shortening of her
stature, that l might suspect who she
really was; and besides, the ruse would,
she thought, enable her the better to
escape from Tom and get off with his
$1,000. The mystery of her having as
Miss Merwin looked SO much taller than
she really was we found explained by
her buskins, which proved, like those
sometimes worn by actors on the stage,
to be provided with very thick cork soles,
to give an appearance of elevation to the
stature.
On the night she So asfnnishad me hv