The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1897-09-26

II Is a legal axiom that there can he no
murder unless dead body IL found
Fletcher was held TO the assizes ss
murderer. He alone had the motive to
kill Miss Jones. n he didn't KIN her
what had become OF herr Out Of n thous-
ana people not over fve doubted the young
mans guilt and they doubted more be-
that they believed IN him. In the course
OF fortnight Ave hundred people entered
into the search for the body, and had
dead cat been covered within three
miles Of Fern Castle" they must have
found H.
Up TO the time the search was aban-
doned the case was IN the hands Of the
local police. When they could make no
beadway detective from London was
called down. This man was expected to
accomplish great things at once. and he
stirred the whole country Up by finding
clue within an hour after taking hold
Of the case. He boldly declared that
Fletcher had conveyed the body to STRAIT
ford river. and had then driven back to
restore teh horse and wagon TO the owner.
Everybody fell In with the idea at once.
and az a consequence the river was
dragged for miles until II gave up It's last
snag. The body was not to be found. The
detective then suggested that the victim
had been burned by fire In the woods, bur
that was going too far and he was dis
charged from the case. Fletcher was ar
raigned at the asslzes, and according TO
law nc should have been sct at liberty.
but popular feeling was 80 intense that his
rase was adjourned TO give the crown
more time TO complete its search. A re-
ward Of e2JO was offered to anyone who
should discover the body. and people liy-
ing hfteen or twenty miles from the scene
went about looking into bitches and beat
ing up the woods.
have not mentioned that Fletcher had
relatives in London who were wealthy
and influential. They believed in him
from tire first and employed counsel for
him. and by and by a first-class private
detective was cert down to work In his
interest. People wondered what he could
DO but he didn't worry over that He
started In by believing the young mars
story. photograph Of Miss Jones was
shown him and he sized her up speedily.
Fletcher and the domestic agreed exactly
as to the queer expressions Miss Jones
had used-dragged In for the benefit OF
the girl. She must have been planning
when she did that. and what more nat
ural than TO believe she was planning
a revenge on Fletcher? She had sug-
gested a queer walk after dark: she had
shrleked out with needless energy: she had
brought him home by another route. All
these things counted with the detective
and all counted in Fletcher's favor. As
a first step in the actual work Of unrav-
cling the mystery the detective drove to
tine surrounding towns around stratford
and in each case his business was with
men who sold clothing. After few days
he found his clue. At cdtain date
woman Of Miss Jones' description had
bought suit Of mems clothes at GER
tain store. saying they were for her
brother. II was a working suit. and now
as the detective began to ride back and
forth across the country. he called at all
the roadside inns and looked carefully at
all the stable boys. Meanwhile Fletcher
was taken sick with brain fever, and
though given the best medical attendance
he grew worse and worse and finally
died. When first taken i'll be declared
his Innocence Of the crime imputed TO
him, and an hour before his death. when
the coming of the grim destroyer brought
him a lucid interval. he reiterated his
declarations.
As the hearse with Flethcer's body
took its way to the depot to ship the re-
mains TO London for burial. the detective
drove up to the county goal with stable
boy on the seat beside him. That stable
boy. arrested at an inn sixteen miles away
was none other than Miss Nancy Jones,
very much alive and in the flesh, though
masquerading in male attire. She had
plotted to revenge herself on Fletcher,
and she gloried in the fact that she had
caused him great trouble and driven him
to his death. For weeks and weeks she
had worked as a stable boy and her sex
had been unsuspected but it needed de-
=. 81 II,
ravel the case. 1 do not recall the tech
nical offense with which she was charged
but she was put on trial. convicted, and
sent to prison for seven years. 1t was
accounted one of the most singular cases
in legal Jurisprudence and it was the gen.
eral opinion that had Fletcher lived and
the woman remained undiscovered for a
few wweks longer he would have been
duly convicted and executed.