The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1892-04-01
A MAN MYSTERY.
THE STRANGE CASE OF WILLIAM
HENRY SOMERVILLE.

A Story from Actual Life, Showing How
Easy It Is to BE Mistaken About
People You Know We1l-How a Guilty
Man Got Free.
copyright, 1892, by Charles B. Lewis.]
Your name is Thomas White, for in
stance. That is, you have always been
called Thomas as your given name, and
your parents have always been referred to
as White. There isn't the slightest doubt
in your mind that you are Thomas White.
You have lived in the town of Ridgeville,
state of Ohio, for thirty years, and every
man, woman and child knows you as
Thomas White. Your mail has been re-
ceived under that name, you have signed
it to all papers, and if L should deny that
you were Thomas White you would call
me a lunatic.
Nevertheless, Thomas White, do deny
your identity and challenge you to prove
it in law. Hunt up the family Bible,
gather up receipts and other papers, call
upon your own father and mother and yet
what do you prove? Simply that they
believe you are Thomas White 1t might
do to establish your identity at bank, but
it would not establish it in law if there was
a life depending
Every man, woman and child in the town
of Grafton knew William Henry Somer-
VILE 1t was town of only 1900 inhabit-
ants, and he was the principal or superin-
tendent of the Union school and had held
the position for three years. He was a
single man and a gentleman. They said
he was gentleman because he was edu
Gated, dressed well, had no vices and car
ried himself according to the popular idea
of a gentleman. The men respected him,
their wives admired him and at least a
dozen manageable girls would have been
happy at the knowledge that he was in
love with them.
There was only one odd thing about the
superintendent. Every Friday night he
took the train and went away, no one
knew where, and returned every Monday
morning at o'clock. He should have ex-
planned where he went, whom he went to
see and all about it, but for some reason
he didn't. 1t may be that some of the
village gossips plucked up the nerve to
ask him the question direct, but if so they
got-no satisfaction. What made the mys-
terry deeper and gave the gossips an add.
tional pang was the fact that on one Fri.
day night he would take the train going
west and on the next the train going east.
Those who argued that he went to see
sweetheart or mother were thus non
plussed. After q time it was decided by
certain parties to follow him and solve the
mystery. This may seem a curious step to
you, but you never lived in "a country
town." where everybody is bound to know
all about everybody else, even to how
much soap grease or how many carpet
rags have been saved up to certain date.
The superintendent was Swallowed" but
alas! he gave the self constituted detectives
the slip and caused additional gossip.
Just how long it would have been be,
fore committee of "many taxpayers or
indignant citizens" would have waited
upon Mr.. Somerville and demanded an ex-
PLANTATION l cannot say, but such a move
had been suggested when a strange thing
occurred. This was along toward the last
OF his third year. He was boarding at the
house of widow named Rives She had