The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1900-09-21
CHAPTER Xxx.
THE LEAD-L1NED VAT.


into the only chair, began his narrative.
As he talked, he carelessly whitfield
the cover of the wooden box with the
knife which he still held in his hand.
He began with an account of his in
vestigation at the Knickerbocker bank,
and explained the result of his observa-
tions and differences down to the time
of his visit to Murdock's house, omit
ting, however. to mention any of the
names of the actors in the reconstruct
ed drama.
80 you sec" he concluded, 1--WE have
established the identity of the body
in the cab, and of the young man who
disappeared after the cab was upset.
But one of the most salient features
of the case, from the start, was the
fact that neither of these two men
had derived much, If any, pecunary
profit from his crime. The bookkeep-
er, as we have seen, was a mere cats
paw in the control of the accountant,
and his posthumous confession has
given us the explanation of the power
exerted over him 10y his accomplice.
1t was not so easy to establish the
UlOllNt WHICH, confirmed lllt uNAlbIS VI
| the accountant, who was himself only
a tool in the hands of higher intelli-
gence. The deus eX machina of this
crime is n man of genius who has hardly
appeared upon the scene at all. but
whose traces | have found at every
| turn. lie was the brains of the whole
! scheme: the other Wcn In his hands
! were mere puppets. Through the ac-
countant. this muster spirit managed
the bookkeepcr: and the accountant
himself was controlled by him more
directly, but ho less surely. If he held
| the former through his fear Of expo
sure and consequent ruin. he in Huenced
! the latter through even more potent
motives. lie is the father of beauti-
| full girl, whom he did not scruple to
use as decoy. The price agreed upon
! for the accountants assistance was the
hand of this daughter, for whom the
| young man had doubtless conceived Il
| passionate love. Whether or not the
leader would hive had the power to
carry out his part of the contract mat
tiers little; for it is highly probable that
he never had the slightest intention of
so doing He evidently realized very
early in the game that the bookkeepor
could not long escape the clutches of
the law. But as he had taken every
precaution to prevent him from know
ing anything of his very existence, the
fate of the unfortunate bookkeeper
would have mattered little 20 this
heartless villain, had not the probable
! ity remained that, when brought to
! bay, the bookkeeper would denounce
the accountants connection with the
crime. This would have been extreme
| ly awkward, since the accountant was
very likely in possession of some dan
gerous secrets. The safest way out OF
the difficulty was to quietly suppress
the now useless bookkeeper. This plan
was decided upon. and would doubtless
have been carried into execution, had
not fate otherwise decreed. After the
| bookkeeper's death under the circum-
stances which have related, ii became
! quite probable that the accountants
connection with the case would be dis
covered for luck had been against
! him from the start, and he became
more and more entanglcd in the chain
of circumstantial evidence Of whose
/ existence his leader was soon fully
! aware. In the first place, he account
ant was wounded; and thus not only
! partially disabled, but also-what is
! far worsc--conspicuous marked. A
man who carries his arm in sling can
/ hardly fail to attract attention, espe-
/ 81.
is accompanied by another equally
glaring one in the form of a head of
brilliant red hair
Hold on, Sturgis!" interrupted
! Sprague, who had been listening with
growing interest; don't you know the
accountants name?"
Yes" replied the reporter; 'his
name is Thomas Chatham"
Thomas Chatham!" exclaimed
Sprague, as the image of the miserable
young man came to his mind.
Yes" replied Sturgis, answering his
thought. 1.-THE man you met only a few
hours 0So."
There was brief silence, broken at
last by Sprague, who asked:
| mas ne escaped
Sturgis hestated.
THAT depends upon how we look at
IT," he said, gravely, at length; "he has
paid the penalty of his crimes"
"What do you mean?"
"He is dead" answered the reporter.
Dead? But | tell you / saw him"
81 know; but he has died since"
"Suicide?"
mo-" the reporters voice sank to a
whisper; murder"
MURDER" repeated the artist, star
tied. But how do you know that?
This lump of lead tells the story"
said Sturgis, holding up the sbapeless
piece of metal which he had taken out
of the vat.
"What is it? A bullet?"
Eyes; the bullet which Chatham car
ried in his arm from the time that he
| Il Il AL a. 4