San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1895-06-23

When two weeks had passed without
the slightest word from Carl Wittner, a
! new cause of anxiety arose. Inquiries
sent to his house were answered that it
was not known when he would return.
Nothing had been heard from him for
week. Ordinarily this would have been
cause for alarm, but Wittner had taught
his wife never to feel misgiving even
if she failed to get word from him for a
much longer period His situation was
often such that il was indiscreet for
him to send anything through the mails.
she may not be alarmed for her
Husband, remarked Sandhusen, but
am.
"Why?"
Those East Indians are as PREACHER
Gus as the cobras of their own country,
and there is none subtler and more dan
gerous than this Howard. "
But if any i'll has befallen Witt.
ner, " said |, more disturbed than | was
willing to admit, something would
have been known Of it by this time. "
| Ordinarily you would be right, but
| recall how many crimes of that kind
have been committed which did not
! come to light for years. Wittner has
probably used some sort Of disguise,
which, if harm has cone to him, Las
prevented his Identification. 1t T!ay be
that his fate will never be known.
II am not prepared to give up hope.
Nor am |. but cannot conceive that
he should remain all this time as utter
! ly lost to the world, or at least to Us, as
if he had never existed.
/ Greatly depressed, left the home Of
my friend and went to NY own. man.
aged 10 conceal from my family the trou-
bic that was with me in my dreams as
we'll as waking hours Somehow or 9th
er could not rid myself of q certain
! feeling that l was responsible to par
, tial extent for the misfortune.
II ought to have known that that
man was miscreant when he offered
me priceless raby for nominal sum.
should not have dallied, but refused to
have anything to do with him when /
, knew something was wrong.
If it lie really the matchlesS stone
which Mana Sahib carried with him
into the junC,os Of the Himalayas, it
has we'll preserved its character. 1t was
associated with one of the greatest
crimes Of history and now has been the
means Of bringing about the death of
! another innocent person. When will its
career of evil end?"
Every time | entered my store in
Quired whether Wittner had been seen,
and the answer was always a negative.
glanced over each envelope that was
received, hoping to recognize his hand
writing, but was disappointed. 1 ven
tured even to call at his house, though
with much hesitation. His wife told me
that she had not had a word from him
for more than two weeks.
He was once absent in the west,
she said, for a full month without
sending me so much as a telegram, and
yet l am beginning to grow anxious, "
she added, with sigh which told me
her grief was deeper than she would ad-
nit.
If he has been away SO long before, "
said l, making a brave effort to play
the role of comforter, I'VE must wait
as long before giving way to any mis-
giving His profession is very pecul
lar one. "
Il have tried to persuade him to give
it up, ard he has half promised, but
there seems to be fascination in it
which no other presents.
Undoubtedly, and then he is so
skillful that it pays better than any
thing else that he could take up. "
Eyes, but what is that compared II
ones peace of mind?"
"If he succeeds in this case, he will
be paid well enough to enjoy good va
cation"
do you think he has succeeded
suddenly asked the wife, turning so
sharply on me that flushed.
~ hope so, but must admit that he
has most difficult problem to solve.
Then, noting the expression Of alarm
on her face, FASTENED to add: 8
"Inean difficult, but not necessarily
dangerous. He has not been set to trace
murder, but simply to find out the
facts about a certain robbery"
But in such cases the criminals
would not hesitate to become murderers
to protect themselves.
could not question this truth. Had
I said what / believed it would have
been that no murderer could be more
dangerous than the two East Indians,
for | include the woman whose beauty
might prove tenfold more effective than
the cunning Of the man, but had striv-
en-, however, to give the wife few
words CT consolation. and much doubt