Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1894-05-16

powerful friend and a most dangerous
adversary. 1t was entirely at her solici
tation that the poor sufferer in the al
cove chamber had been brought to tht
house. Miss Maxey listened to what he1
brother had to say with quick breath
and shining eyes. All, if DR.. Lamar hat
had the soul of an artist, he would have
found something more inspiring to lool
at than the icy river.
These are the facts continued
Maxey, tracing them all out on the toy
of the center table with paper cutter
as he talked. ''It is now the 10th of De
cember. On the 9th was the first sleigh
ing of the year. The evening Of that day
a belated sleighing party just after
nightfall discovered a woman's shaw
in the middle of a lonely road at point
where it runs along the borders of 6
rocky bluff. Investigation follows and
eventually results in the rescue of q
young woman who was caught by the
clothing upon point of rock half way
between the top and bottom of an almost
vertical section of the bluff. This young
woman is so badly injured internally
that she is incapable of giving the least
clew either to her identity or to the
strange position in which she was found.
Nothing remains but to make a careful
examination into the circumstantial
evidence i'll the case. This turns out to
be exceedingly meager, but such as it is
it all points one way.
Gone of the pockets of the girl s
clothes is Found inside out, and the rest
oro o,,o,o+r- S[o hoe no riOo 1,por hon. fiji
gers nor Jewels in her ears, although
the ears are pierced. The dress of the
unknown indicates that she belongs to
the middle class, but the refinement and
delicacy of her face and hands, which
are singularly white and free from the
trace of hard work, are even stronger
evidences that she is not an ordinary
shopgirl, to say the least. This turning
of the pocket and utter absence of rings
or ornaments lead naturally to the con-
clusion that she has been robbed and
thrown from the road. In substantiation
of this, the snow is trampled just above
the place where she was found and
smooth all along the roadside. One Of
the sleighing party is positive that she
saw man leap over fence and run
across the field on the other side of the
way. A close scrutiny finds footsteps
leading into the field at the point indi-
Gated. They are followed, and after a
short detour lead around in the direction
of the city into the road again, where
they are lost irretrievably In the alb
sence of all other evidence we must sup
pose then, that the girl was set upon
and robbed by person unknown and
thrown over the bank to get rid of her.
Let us suppose the police take this for
granted at the outset.
''It is all they are good for, taking
things for granted commented Miss
Maxey. 81 can't see that they ever dis
cover anything"
Every well. So far it is all plain and
natural. But where did the victim come
from, and how came she upon the cliff
road alone at that time? At this point
we find ourselves utterly unable to
form any plausible theory. There is not
a single clew to her identity, not a mark
on the underclothing, not even an ini-
tial ON the handkerchief. Suppose we
are the police under the circumstances,
what can we do? Nothing i'll the world
except what they did do. photograph the
girl and send her description, not omit
ting the smallest detail of clothing
which she wore, and including the curl
Gus fact that one of the toes of her left
foot is missing, broadcast over the COM
munity The result is that the first day
she is brought here the stairs are worn
out with the footsteps Of people whose
only possible inter est is that Of curiosity,
who come to see the victim under the
pretext of attempting to identify her.
''And who stare and gawk about with
open mouths until they have fairly to
be pushed out of the room," added Miss
MaXey.
I'm short, " continued the artist, I'VE
are in danger of being turned into
museum for the exclusive patronage of
all the idlers and deadbeats in the city.
This clearly will not do, and we must
get our medical adviser to declare a
Gus to the patient. I"
81 believe it did annoy her. said
DR.. Lamar. cat any rate, it did her no
good. "
"And this is the strangest part of the
mystery to my mind" continued Max
ey, that with all these precautions,
with the newspapers printing, people
talking and pictures and descriptions SO
available, nobody appears to claim her
in all this time. 1t is as if she dropped
down upon the cliff road from another
planet. Wherever she has been people
must have seen her; her friends must
miss her. Then why are they silent?"
Dr. Lamar was still watching the ice
blocks. Something suggested by Maxey's
last words made him frown. He did not
turn his head to remark:
"You e1aggerate, Julian. Because
this case seems all important to you and
your sister and-to me perhaps, and be-
cause a few policemen and reporters
call, and the rabble who read the news
papers flock to your door when the op-
portunity is given them, you Immediate
ly think that the whole world has be-
come excited over this curious affair.
All, let me tell you, is q largo word, and
everybody something which you don't
imagine. How many thousand people
in this very city today never read
newspaper and are too much occupied
in their own struggle for existence to
mind much about other peoples! In
spite of all that has been said and writ
ten, I'll warrant you not more than half
of the total population of this metropo-
lis has ever heard of the mystery of the
beach road
Ellen sighed.
1.-The doctor is right, Julian"
Perhaps. I am not disputing him.
1t is but a week yet, and there are Pc
culiar circumstances, I can understand
perfectly possible, under which person
might suffer such an accident as this
poor creature has and not be missed so
soon. Suppose, for instance, were to
announce to you that was going away
for week or two and were to fall