The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1897-01-23
THE WRONG MAN.

point OF law, ~ think thj III L thought
the chances against INC, no matter how in
uocent were, would decline the honor "
l had just dropped in for friendly chat
and smoke with my friend Richard Boyn-
ton, an old lawyer well known for an ex-
tensive clientele among staid and quiet old
Knickerbockor families. Turning to him,
said rs lighted a cigar, "What say you,
Dick?"
I'm theory agree with our young friend;
in practice, with you. I'll give you case
in point, if you like
''It was about ten years ago when was
aroused about O'Clock in the morning by
a messenger from police court the bearer
of n hastily scrubbed note from an old
client of mine. He was a childless widow
or, much interested in Egyptology, and
consequently spent much of his time in
Egypt. Being rich, he could afford this
expensive hobby.
1.-THE note j received ran:
"DEAR BoYNfoN-They have brought me
down here on some absurd charge or other.
Come and arrange for my release iihmedi-
ately. r. RowLEY
IL fastened to the relief of my client.
Now must tell you he was very fastidi-
Gus in his dress and particularly natty and
trim in his appearance. He wore brown
beard, cut in vandyke fashion.
Judge then, of my establishment when
| was shown man dressed in a particu-
larly flashy style, of the kind affected by
the sporting fraternity-a clean shaven
face, save for an inch or two of side whis-
kers.
"'Ah, Boynton, get me out of this
quick.
"'There Is some mistake said to the
policeman.
"'HowS' asked he.
"'Why, this is not Mr.. Rowley. This is
not the gentleman came to see
"'That soP Woll this is the man who
gave me the note L sent up to you
''At this looked up at the man before
me and said:
"'What made you use Mr.. Rowleys
name?
"He clutched me by the sleeve and
gasped out:
"'why, man, what do you meanp Do
those clothes so alter meY Speakr
Il looked at him very keenly, and grad.
uGlly there dawNed on me that, after all,
this was my old friend Rowley.
Heavens! Is it you, Rowley? What
are you doing here? Come, man, compose
yourself and let's get at the bottom of this. ;
81 sat down on the bench by his side;
but notwithstanding my cross question
ing all / could get from him was nothing
more than that he had arrived the previous
evening in New York, had engaged a room
at n hotel, had had some Welsh rabbit and
bottle of ale and had gone straight to
bed About midnight he had been aroused
by II violent knocking at the door and ON
opening it Eili been gruffly told that ,e
was under arrest, and that he was to dress
pretty quickly.
Hurried - the officers, he had hastily
dressed himself, protesting uselessly that
the clothes he was hustled into were not
his, and was hurried off to the station.
"No amount of cross questioning could
get him to vary or enlarge his story, nor
could he give me the slightest reason for
his arrest. AS to his beard, that had east
ly been explained in answer to u question
of mine. Owing to slight skin eruption
contracted in Egypt, he had it shaved of
| some time ago.
"The next step was to get him bailed
out. This, l found, was not so easy u task.
"My nonrccognition at first of my friend
was against aim. The police justice next
morning proteste that this prisoner was
u confidence man wanted for various Of
lenses, and chat he was u certain Wilcox,
alias Boucher, alias Palver, alias Moroney,
and scotfingly declared he would not let
him out under So, 900 bail.
Il did not stay to argue the matter out,
but in less than an hour was back with a
couple of friends of well known wealth
| and standing.
"Next morning my client was in state
of fever. l easily got certificate from
my physician e1aggerating the illness.
He remained in my house and in bed
for nearly week. During that time |
found out enough to solve the mystery to
my moral satisfaction, but not enough to
convince jury or even any outsider. The
solution of the mystery was this:
1.-The man with many aliases had conc
by the same train as my friend Rowley,
had registered at the same hotel and had
been assigned a room on the same narrow
corridor. BY some chance my friend, after
supper, had been given the key of MIR.
Wilcox's room and had gone straight u
bed
Mr.. Wiloox's keen mind, ever bent on
covering up his tracks, on finding that lie
had been given the wrong key, said moth
ing, examined my friends valise, and then
the idea evidently came to him that il
would be IA good thing if he could pass out
of the hotel US Mr.. II. Rowley.
| !
was in his room. To open the door was
an easy trick for the crook. Then he must
have taken my friends attire, leaving his
in its place. This effected, he paid his bill
as MIR. Rowley, saying he was going tc
catch the 1l:45 p. m. night express for
Syracuse and SO vanished.
"His resemblance in Wilcox's attire was
so like the photos sent ON to the people,
| and so unlike his own photos, that, with
the correspondence, papers, cards and odds
and ends which Wilcox had, either in
haste or Intentionally, left in the coat and
vest pockets, and which the police at the
station had seized when they had searched
him, l shudderingly felt the chances were
all in favor of speedy conviction,
What did you dor" asked tho young
lawyer.
what did doS' you ask. ~ SNUG
gled him off on u boat to Cuba and forfeit
cd the bail. He was, as l said, II rich man,
1t was the simplest way ont of the difficulty
and the surest. Still my client, though