Omaha daily bee., 1896-12-20
THE COURT REPORTERS STORY.

We were sitting in the private Office
| which adjoined Judge Smiths court room
in the county court house waiting for the
! jury to bring in verdict in the will con-
! test which had occupied the court for the
past three weeks 1t was just after dark
Of the day before Christmas The day
had been bitterly cold and the wind
| whistled about the nooks and corners of
The sturdy old stone building in ftful gusts,
piing the feathery snow in huge drifts
| Jackson and l had taken supper at a near
by chop house and had returned to the
cosy private office TO await developments
The judge had notified the jury that he
would receive verdict any time before
midnight, there was nothing for us to
do but to be on hand--Jackson to read the
verdict and | to see that the thousands
OF readers of the Morning Tribune were
given the latest news in the celebrated
case. We had been discussing the case
just about to be ended and conjecturing
as to the verdict, and the transition was
easy to "reminiscences in our own expert
ences. Jackson had been a court reporter
for nearly twenty-three years, and had
served in that capacity in several of the
judicial districts of the state. | had grown
had great deal of the varied experience
that falls to the lot of a newspaper man
but that's another story.
As the shadows deepered in the room
and the street lights tickered coldly and
ftfully through the snOw-burdened air, the
conversation Jagged and finally ceased alto
gether. The mOurnful bowling of the wind
sounded like the wall Of some tormented
spirit, and the ghosts of forgotten memories
seemed to fill the room. 1t was jackson
who broke the silence.
1T was just such night as this, seven
years ago this very day" said he in SLOW
reminiscent tone, that formed one of
little party anXiously awaiting the out
come of will contest involving an estate
worth many thousands Of dollars The par
ties to the contest were both women one
the daughter. the other the mistress OF
the testatOr The daughter was the only
living relative, and all the property had
been willed to the mistress, The legal
battle had been one of the iierCeSt | ever
witnessed, and the jury had been out five
days when we sat in the court room that
cold, cherries Christmas eve waiting for
the verdict"
After a few moments silence during
which | sat motionless. waiting for him to
resume. he exclaimed: Il wonder If
am to be an eyewitness to any further
developments in the history of the stuart
family? DO you know" hc continued.
turning to me. II have been an interested
'l'NAANbi' NlthNAN utlliS Nllttlly tOUltcleu
with II, Of one Of the strangest eases that
has ever come TO my know1dge?"
Being pressed for an explanation, he
rested his feet on the long table and settled
back in his large armchair while he told
me the following story, which | give in
his own words;
= was born in a little town in New York
state. The name of the town Is not ma
terial so | will omit 1t. When a hoy I
frequently heard mother and father speak
surmises as TO what had become Of him.
soon learned that he had been one OF
the well known boys in the little town
and had suddenly left home about nine
teen years before the time | speak Of. He
had been very attentive to Madge Ascot at
that time the belle Of the town, and rumor
had It that they had quarreled and that
Stuart mad gone away in a hun. How
ever that may have been. he had not been
heard of since he left home Soon after
he went away. Ma1ge Ascot married John
Barker. a worthless sort Of n fellow, who
was not generally credited with being over
burdcncd with common sense. They had
one child a boy named Richard. and he
resembled his father In the matter OF
brains At the time my story opens this
boy was about Is years old,
"One day the little town was startled
by the report that Lorn stuart had re-
turned. 1t developed that he had come
for visit to his old home and had brought
win MN ms NIte ana daughter 1ney
stopped al the best hotel ana we're evil
IDENTIFY In easy circumstances. 1t seemed
that Stuart had been living In Cleveland.
o. and had become prosperous merchant.
His wife was ono Of the hanasomGst women
! had ever seen, and TO my untntored eyes
she looked like a queen. with her regal
bearing and elegant clothes. Their daugh-
ter was a beautiful girl about l3 years old,
aud was the Image Of her mother. They
in town about two weeks, ana )
Stuart visited all his old familiar haunts
and renewed his acquaintance with old
friends.
During the year following this visit Of
the Stuart family Stuart was in our town
four times. remaining several days at each
visit. lie announced each time that he
was on a trip TO New York City TO buy
goods, and had stopped to visit old friends.
II was soon noticed however, that the {
greater part OF his time was spent at the :
home OF John Barker, and the village gos.
sips were soon rolling sweet morse! over
their tongues
at wasn't long after stuart's last visit
hat the news flew about that Madge
Barker had disappeared or course the
sossips soon connected her disappearance
with Stuart's visits, but when her son.
Richard Barker. disappeared few days