Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1900-12-26
s 81 e 81 e 81 e $sg 81 $$::$ 8: s;

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the casual observer, would have been
noticed Be that as 1t may, no trace OF
! him was discovered, and as he did not
come forward of his own free will l
soon abandoned all hope of hearing of
him.
What also added a deeper mystery to
the crime was the fact that nothing
had been stolen from the house, though
my mothers cash box, which contain.
ed her jewelry and some f10 or ELS in
gold, stood on chair by. the dressing
table, absolutely beneath the eyes Of
the assassins. The egg shaped mark on
the forehead was thing to which the
police attached no importance. To
them 1t had no meaning, and they con.
sequently dismissed it with scant cere-
mony. 1t had been discovered that the
marks had been produced, by the appli-
cation of a powerful acid, but they had
no doubt that IL the brand meant any
thing at all it Ind simply been done to
mystify the Investigators.
And SO in time the sensation lost its
charm, and people began to forget.
The police were still supposed to have
the matter in hand, and recollect well
that they advanced some ingenious but
utterly erroneous theories concerning
the crime, and there their utility ended.
My uncle and / We're still convinced
that the man with the strange eyes
was at the bottom of the mystery and
that he could likewise explain the
meaning of the sign, for that the two
were associated implicitly believed.
II the police shared this conviction,
they made little Of 1t. Murderers never
took the trouble to mark their dead un-
less twas specially designed to throw
the authorities Off the scent. My fa-
theirs warning letter could not possibly
relate to the crime. His reference to
enemies could only mean enemies in
business, such as any man was likely
to have. II there had been n man or
any particular number of men to dread,
would he not have said who they were
and to what extent their hatred was
likely to carry them? AS for the story
Of the gatepost and the sign-well, l
was only boy, and it is SO easy for a
boy to imagine things. The mere fact
of the disappearance of the sign show
ed how little my evidence was to be
| trusted.
now went to live with my uncle,
and many and many time we discuss
ed the pros and cons of the case, trying
to build up some satisfactory clew to
work upon. But we always came back
to our original starting place, the man
with the strange eyes.
II believe" said my uncle, "if we
could only lay our hands on him we
should soon solve the mystery. Your
father has led strange life, Davie,
and should not be surprised to hear
that he had mixed himself up with the
secret societies of the far east. That
man with the strange eyes, whose ma
tiopality neither you nor your poor
mother could guess, must have been
either Jap or a. Chinese, and from
what l have read of those easterns
| and their societies know them to be
cruel and callous to degree. There
fore, my lad, we must be very careful
| for If it is as believe we have terri
BILE enemy to grapple with"
And SO for weeks at time he never
let me out of his sight. slept in q
room next to his. in the partition OF
4 which he had had door constructed
He saw himself to the locking of the
house, going the rounds every night
after dark with revolver in his hand
l know he inwardly prayed for meet
ing with the man with the strange
eyes. but that gentleman never put II
an appearance. And yet, though he
said nothing knew that he also fear
ed the coming, and with that end II
view he took me out in the fields every
day and gave me pistol practice until
became quite an adept. BE was a cap
ital shot himself, and he taught me tt
use the rifle as well as the gun. "Il
may be useful one day." he used tt
say, and knew what was passing II
his mind.
\ And SO in this way the next sil
months passed, and the winter hat
come, with its short days and Its long
4 cold nights. By this time the "grea
Windsor mystery" as it had been call
ed, had become thing of the past, ant
my youth enabled me to regard it will
equanimity. No further word hat
!: come from my father. Had he beef
Z living in any civilized city or town h
could hardly have failed to read of hi
wife's murder. But nothing cam
from him, and sometimes we suspecte,
that the same power that had strucl
down my mother had wrought it
vengeance on him. Be that as 1t may
he was to all intents and purpose
dead. My uncle now regarded me a
his child, and had he been my father
could.not have loved him more.
The grief through which he had late
ly passed had steadied him considera
bly,. The face was still kind, thoug
: robbed of much Of its ruddiness, Blu
the reckless, devil may care expression
: had entirely vanished. The man ha
J responsibilities now IL he had neve
known them before, and he scarcel
took the pains to hide the fact. The
J he had long fits of mental abstraction
which he shook off with a great effor
] We rode and drove necessarily, and
, noticed that he always peered into th
! eyes Of every stranger we passed
Sometimes he took me to town for
week, and together we haunted all th
3 most popular resorts of the metropoli.
We tramped the great thoroughfare
from the Marble arch to the bank, fro1
st. Paul's to Hyde Park corner. An
J. all for what? He never said, but
= knew it was for the man with th
: strange eyes. Time after time he use
: to say to me, "Davie, are you quit
r sure you would know him again
And then would go through minut
description of the man as he appeare
to me in the garden that day, and 6
often had repeated the story that
/ knew 1t as well as I. and If omitte
Q any particular he would say, you TO
q got to mention the black tie with til
y white spots" or Ellis boots were rattle
n square at the toes"
r. But nothing ever came OF our, wal