The Springfield herald., 1899-03-10
ONE-ARMED WOMAN,
rlnSs the I.u!e of Pretty. Clever
Nlvacluus Thief.

rlnyH the l.p!e of Pretty. Clever
vIvacious Thief.
Somerville IN. j. Special to the New
York Sun: Never since old Farmer
Pendergast was gold-bricked out of
$4,000 has the Watching Ridge section
been visited by as clever an impostor
as recently let herself loose among the
hills. She was young and vivacious
with pretty oval face and dark eyes
topped with a wealth of bleached hair
Her form was slender and graceful
and she walked with a jaunty air She
wore tailor-made gown, stylish hat
and fur cape, all of the best ma
terial. The most striking thing about
her appearance was the absence OF her
left arm, which was off at the shoul-
der. One stormy night she knocked at
the door of Garret C. Brokaw, we'll
to-do farmer living on the ridge near
White House. She gave her name as
Miss Leona Deminar of New York
City, and said she had got OFF the cars
at the wrong station and had lost her
way. Her destination was Fleming
ton, sixteen miles away, and she
wanted shelter for the night. The
sight of this pretty miss in the storm
appealed to Farmer Brokaw, and he
gladly gave her shelter. Her manner
was that of a woman of culture and
refinement. She said she had lost her
arm in n wreck on the Philadelphia G.
Reading railroad, near Trenton juno
tion, and had got verdict for $25, 900
damages against the company, and
oh To hn
made at Flemington by her lawyer, o.
P. Chamberlain, of that place, and the
agents of the company.
The Brokaw family were charmed
with the stranger, and invited her to
remain at least a week. She protest
ingly accepted the invitation. On the
day alleged to have been set for the
settlement of her claim Brokaw, with
his best span of horses, drove the fair
stranger sixteen miles to Flemington
She alighted from his carriage in front
of the county clerks office, where she
said she was to meet by appointment
her lawyer and the agents. Brokaw
saw her enter the building and drove
to Humphreys hotel, where he was to
take dinner with her an hour later
He waited in vain. Hours later he
searched the town for her and inquired
at every railroad station, but could get
no trace of her. At the office OF o. p.
Chamberlain he learned that he had
been duped, as the lawyer was without
knowledge of the fair damsel. Brokaw
then whipped his horses into a run
and started for home. After taking an
inventory of the family cash and val
uables he told his wife never to harbor
another strange woman, even If she
had both arms off. Mrs. Brokaw retort-
ed that the stranger would never have
been harbored at all If Mr.. Brokaw
had not been SO taken with her. Bro
kaw's loss is believed to be heavy, but
he refuses to tell about 1t, as he has
recently been laughing at neighbor
who was goldbricked Information has
been received here recently OF the ar
rest Of woman giving her name as
Miss Giberson and answering the de-
scription of the swindler at Westches-
ter, Pa. She is held by Chief of Police
Jeffries Of that place, charged with
stealing jewelry from people at Bristol
and Wilmington, whose confidence she
gained through a story about her lost
arm, a railroad wreck and a verdict OF
100000 against the Pennsylvania rail-
road yet to be collected.