Williston graphic. (Williston, Williams County, N.D.) 1895-1919, 1898-11-18


ted by personal enemy Of his, but at the
last moment I was unable to face it ALL
That you may forget me is the last wish of
ARTHUR GtELOW.''
Don't you see that it is the letter of
an insane man." asked the he!ress, her
eager gaze resting on the face of the
detective as he lowered the letter. 1T
is not at all like him.
SIS it his hand ?" asked Hendricks, his
broad brow still wrinkled.
Undoubtedly, know his handwrit-
ing well. See, his name is written ex-
actly as he signs his drawings"
Hendricks glanced at the signature,
his mind wandering to other things.
eve must submit it to handwriting
expert" he said. Il know a grapholo-
gist who has never made mistake.
Will you kindly send me something else
that he has written, and will you let me
retain this?"
Certainly" answered the girl; then
she nerved herself to ask and hear the
reply to leading question: do you
doubt his insanity, Mr.. Hendricks?"
The detective put the letter in its en-
velope.
II have seen nothing in this letter to
indicate insanity on the part of Gielow,"
he said, after moments pause.
"You don't? Well, it is not at all
such letter as he would have written
if himself, besides you have only to hear
Henri describe how he acted when he
confessed to the murder to know that
he was insane that night"
Hendricks smiled.
81 was behind screen in the studio
when you and your aunt came in that
night. 1 heard Henri's description"
Miss Huntington shrank back, white
and startled.
"You were?" she gasped, and then,
while Hendricks was nodding with the
slow movement of toy donkey's head,
she added: "And-and you still see no
proof of-of insanity?"
u must say that do not" was the
deliberate reply.
The girl sat motionless. It was as if
he had deprived her of her last hope.
Her great eyes seemed to expand. Then
she raised her gloved hands half way to
her eyes and held them there as she
said:
"You must believe him out of his
mind! Look at the address on that en-
velope. He has directed it to me at the
general delivery, Charleston, S. c. He
knew I was not there. Surely you
see"
81 noticed that" remarked Hendricks
when he saw she was going no further.
"And also saw that the envelope bore
the postmark of a railway-the Atlantic
Coast line. The letter was mailed on
the train. You see that road runs from
New York to Charleston, and, from this
postmark, it would be difficult to prove
whether letter were mailed on the
train of that road near New York, or
rear Charleston"
II can't possibly see what you mean" "
said the heiress, helplessly.
"If the letter is forgery" explained
Hendricks, "the writer of it would de-
sire two things strongly. First, he
would want it to bear the Charleston
Eostmark to guarantee the belief that
it came from that place; and, second,
he would want you to getit. Now, how
would man without confederate in
Charleston succeed in gaining his point
If this letter is forged, the writer of 1t
is an experienced villain, for he knows
that the government prevents its post
masters mailing letters sent to them for
that purpose. It was found to be an
avenue for much secret rascality, so a
law was passed prohibiting it. Well,
we will grant, for the sake of argument,
that this forger knew that, so what did
he do but direct this letter to you at
Charleston and then drop note to the
Charleston postmaster requesting him
in your name to forward your mail to
your street and number. I am conf
dent there is something shady about it,
for, as you can see from the postmark,
nearly two days elapsed before it
reached Charleston, as is shown by the
postmark of that office. So you will
sec that I have good reasons for believ-
ing the letter was mailed near New
York"
"You must pardon me-" said Miss
Huntington, the languid largeness of
Ter eyes accentuating her despair; "but
as I cannot believe it is not Mr.. Gielow's
writing I am unable to enter into your
deductions"
Che had risen and Hend ricl.s he1d ont
his hand.
"If you will post me the specimen of
his handwriting at once, I'll promise
to tell you something more definite as
soon as I see Prof. Westcott, the hand
writing expert
II will send it to your office at once"
she replied, despondently.
Hendricks went to the window and
watched her as she descended the steps.
He fancied she had left abruptly to keep
from showing her emotion. AS she was
crossing the pavement she swayed to
one side and he thought she would fall,
but she regained herself, stepped firm.
ly into her carriage and was driven
Lcmeward.
Poor girl he muttered. "When
agreed to take the case she was almost
happy, but now she has lost heart en-
tirely. If 1 had told the poor little
woman what I half suspect she SsorA
not sleep wink tonight"
fro BE coNz1Nuro.l