Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1898-12-02
CIRCUMSTANTIAL
EVIDENCE.

pOSSeSSluS dppcdAduCc, Soou-
looking, well made, well dressed.
Il want your help with regard to a
young lady," he said. 'Her name is
Margaret Dalton. She was engaged as
governess to the children of Lady
Decker, who lives at The Perches,
Avenue road. l first saw Miss Dalton
when my firm was putting in the cleo
trio light at The Perches-I am an elec-
trio engineer. AS am a distant cous-
in of Lady Decker l took occasion to
cultivate her acquaintance. l fell vio-
lently in love with her and soon pro-
posed. She refused me at first on the
ground of her poverty and position,
but l was determined, and, in short,
she consented"
what did Lady Decker sayY
"She was angry. AS it was no con-
Germ Of hers-our relationship being
remote can only imagine that she
must have intended me to marry one
of her own daughters. She treated
Miss Dalton cruelty, abused her vilely,
and ordered her to leave the house at
once.
"However, while Miss Dalton was
packing her box Lady Decker changed
her mind, and told her harshly that,
as the mischief was done and 1 was
a connection, 1t was better that the
marriage should take. place respect
ably from her house, and, in short, if
she liked, she could stay on till the
wedding day. We were to have been
married this week"
"And what has happened"
"a week ago Miss Dalton disappear.
ed. She posted me a wild note, in
which she said that, though it nearly
broke her heart to leave me, she had
determined never to see me again, and
charging me, if loved her, to make
no attempt to follow her."
"What did Lady Decker say?'
"Unluckily, by a most malign coin
cidence, Lady Decker lost most val
liable diamond necklace at that time.
1 would stake my life on her innocence,
but Lady Decker"
"Says that Miss Dalton has gone off
with the necklace"
Exactly, and 1 want you to find
Miss Dalton and disprove this odious
charge. She is an orphan and has no
relations that she knows Of. She had
a patroness who paid for her school
ing, got her place with Lady Decker,
and, dying soon afterward, left her
$3.50, but all that this lady ever told
her was that her parents were both
dead, and she had taken charge of her
on account of an old friendship for
her father, who, she said, was Cap
tain in the army"
'9Then, of course, you are sufficiently
acquainted with Miss Dalton's hand
writing to know whether she wrote
that letter of farewell or not; but still,
to make sure, will you let me have 1t
and some others Of hers to compare
withr
The young man flushed as he drew
from his pocket small packet.
''These are the last three that l re-
ceived from her." he said with emo
ton, "and the last is on top"
1 wished to hear an independent
opinion on the subject of Miss Dalton's
cldrdCIer, anu 50 ulSsulSeU myself
as a peddler, and in that character
made the acquaintance of one of the
maidservants at The Perches. She
told me that Miss Dalton was a nice
young lady, a perfect lady, but know.
ing her place and giving herself no airs
at all.
where was the necklace kept?"
at was in missis' bedroom. Missis
kept it has a rule hin a hion syfe, but
she took it bout ter look hat halter
lunch, and ses that she forgot to put
hit back agyne."
A few days after this 1 was going
through Broad Sanctuary in the after.
noon when heard a man and a WON.
an quarreling. At least to be exact,
the man was evidently In the quarrel.
some stage of drunkenness, and he was
abusing the woman violently.
"Why don't you go back to your
Lady DockerT cried the man as ]
! passed. why did you leave her Al