Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-08-15
THE MAN WITH THE WOODEN
LEG.


wooden leg. That sort of a misfortune is
not rare. and yet the victim. especially in
a country town. always attracts consider
able attention. The stranger registered as
John Gcrdan of Chicago. and. when he
gave out that he might remain in Blissfield
fer several weeks. everybody wondered
what business could have brought him
there. No one liked the man at first sight
ard even the village cooper. who was the
most curious and persistent resident of the
town. failed to get up much of a converse
uor with him or 10 find out anything
about him. However. after three or foar
Gays. 1t leaked out that the man was a
government agent who had come to watch
the men who had been stealing timber off
certain lands. That gave him increased
respect. and yet even the schoolboy WHIP
Eoticed the mans steel gray eyes. firm set
| Jaw and thin lips. could have told that he
was cruel. IL not bad hearted
ne had lost the left leg at the knee and
| the substitute was not a cork leg but a
| crotch ana stick-the plainest and cheap
est sort OF an affair. His dress was also
| very plain. his speech that OF the COM
| mon order and people who thought gov
ei hiheht agents We're superior beings were
very much disappointed in Gordan When
| the village cooper. who was dying to know
all about the stranger, boldly asked him
| how he lost his leg. the reply was: 1T fell
on while l was kicking foolr" That set
| tied the cooper and several other curious
| minded citizens, and there was no further
| attempt to pry into Mr.. Gordan's history.
| The man with the wooden leg" as he
| came TO be generally spoken of. had been
| In town about 4 week when one of tn.
| leading merchants was robbed of about a
thousand dollars in cash. He had the
| money In an old-fashioned safe which
| opened with key. and the safe had been
| unlocked. Entrance 20 the store had been
If fha %, 1f.yh. A.,
'front.' DOORS No suspicious characters had
been seen about the town, and as the mer-
chant and his son We're the only ones hav-
| ing keys to the safe. the affair was a puz-
gle. The local constable did q great deal
| oil taikirg, but struck no clue and in his
| desperation he asked Gordan to assist him
| believing. no doubt. that a government off,
| Ger Of any sort ought TO he more or lc.s
posted in detective work. Gordan seem I'd
70 think the matter over for a while and
then replied:
THE case is plain as the nose on your
face. The merchants son took the money
| and after this thing duiets down he will 90
| on TO st. Louis TO have a good time. I'd
sta Ike my life he's got every dollar of the
missing cash securely hidden away some
here"
| The constable couldn't believe 1t OF tho
young man. having known him from child
hood. but Re was bound by a promise not
| to mention the matter. and after several
| theories had been worked out and exploded
| the matter was allowed 10 drop. or rather
| IT was relesated for another sensation.
| Seven or eight days after the store rob-
| berry the post office was entered. That, too,
| had an old-fas hioned safe. but it held some
| thing like 5000. OF this sum about 500
| belonged TO the postmaster the balance To
the citizens.
The lock on the back door was bored off
| with a brace and bit taken from a carpeu-
| ter's shop. and this safe was also opened By
| means OF 4 false key. The excitement IN
| that small town-was intense. and men
.f...s
| ores and suggestions. The robbery did not
| take place until after ~ O'Clock at night.
| The postmaster and his assistant could
| prove themselves clear. The general idea
was that the burglars had driven into the
| village from a point perhaps twenty miles
| away. and this was strengthened by tine
| tale of n farmer as to having seen buggy
| with two men in it pass his house twice
! that night. He saw othing of the sort. hut
| told the story from desire to mix in
and furnish clue
The sheriff rode sn over the county in
| search of his men. but the days passed and
| the theory that the robher was living
| among us. and if any enc had he would
| have been laughed at for his words. Cor
dan. the government agent, was the only
| stranger in town, ana who could suspect
| him? He had little to say about either job
| but when pressed for an opinion on the post
Office affair he replied:
| Gentlemen, my line is not detective
| work. though / have seen a good deal of it
| and know something about criminals. Who
| ever did that Job came from distance.
There was likely two of them. They MAY
| have come fifty miles for all we know. but
| you can bet they We're old hands and slick
ones
| 1t was decided that the ROBBERY had been
| committed by strangers. and after a search
| lasting three or four days the officers gave
| IT up. 1t was a big loss to the postmaster
| and several citizens but they had to bear II
| the best way they could. The postmaster
l nj hoI l;,tIn %
| worlds goods. and Gordan offered 10 be one
| of the ten Ia chip in SD and make good his
! loss The other nine did cot come forward
| hut everybody in town said il was more
| than kind of The man with wooden leg
and dozen or more of the most prominent
| men shook hands with him over il. Ten
| or twelve days passed. and then came a
| terrible tragedy.
| The richest man in Rlissfeil was Squire
| Higgins. He owned the wooden mills a
| store and several houses. and had money
| TO lend. He WAS a widower. but lived with
| his son and dauChter-in-law. His room
| was on the ground floor. while all the 9TH
| ers slept upstairs. He had no safe but
| kept his money in tin box on shelf in a
closet He had a bank account over al
| Medina. ten miles away. but often had a
| thousand dollars or more in the house. One
| evening, when the others We're ready to &c
| to bed. he announced that he had some
| business to attend to, and was seated a.
| his desk In the sitting room when the 9th
| ers retired. About midnight the daughter
| in-law heard fall and groan down stairs
| and when her husband went down to in.
| vestigate the squire was found dead on the
! floor, having been stabbed no less than five
| times in the body.
House and grounds were searched, but the
murderer had escaped. and he had also
taken with him the cash box which con.
| tanned about 500. The murder had taker
| place in the bed room. Having finished hi.
| work, the squire had retired to bed and
| had. perhaps, fallen asleep. Some noise
| made by the murderer he hunted for the
| cash box had aroused him. and he had
| sprung out of bed and grappled with the
| unknown Any one of the sta bs would have
| disabled him. but it appeared that the mid
| night intruder had held on to him and used
| the knife again and again, as il he thirsted
| for blood. When / heard men speak OF
this next day the cruel eyes and thin Inns
| Of the man with the wooden leg was the
| next thought. Boy that I was, he seemed
| to be man who would do just that thing
and l found myself wondering II he was
not the guilty party in all three instances
Gordan seemed to take a lively interes,
| In the murder, which he promptly declared
to be the work Of strangers again. Wher
| something was said about getting a detec
| tive he opposed the project on yariou,
| grounds. in which he was backed by IN,
local officers. No outside help would hav,
| been called in and the murderer Nigh
have gone his way. but for the arrival O.
| another stranger. He was as il hammered
| frst-class detective, who was lust tber
| employed IN tracing a missing man Tn,