The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1901-10-02
THE POLICE REPORTERS STORY.


Tor awhile and then turn novelist. An
thony Hope, Conan Doyle. Hail Caine
and these professional literary guys GIN
me pain. / think its about time for
them 10 60 way back and sit down.
They must put in all their time making
up plots Write? OF course. they can
write Anybody can write. But they're
shy on facts. L never could understand
| why novelist should write fiction.
There's no need Of it. There isn't dav
| that the Chicago police stations don't
turn mp enough material 70 make a
good book Most of = is never printed.
There's libel laws. and old subscribers p
and space limitations, 10 say nothing OF
the editors blue pencil. Most o the cal
good ones fan dead somewhere here be-
( tween the libel laws and the copy reader.
but they re true, just the same, and
| they're going TO weste
McDevitt rolled another cigarette and
put his feet on the sergeant's desk as he
| resumed:
For instance, a few days ago I wrote
a paragraph, that's all. about an I'M
known woman vto swallowed carbolic
cid in a Clark street lodging house. She
didn't amount 20 much, the neighhors
didn't know her and nobody identified
her. The Tatron took charge of her
year-oid child, and the mother got four
lines in the suicide column and grave
I
story, is it? You see EN- in the papers
every day
Wen, now, let me tell you Last
September a young woman, about %
years old disappeared from her home in
| Wells street. Her name was Josephine.
| She had lived with her younger sister.
Anna, and a brother, George. Their par
ents were dead, and the three voung
people worked pretty hard and maintain
l cd comfortable home. Josephine had
/ been employed in book bindery and the
others were factory hands whose earn
ings more than met their modest needs.
OF course. we didn't pay any attention to
the case till d Lincoln park policeman
I brought in an aStrakan jacket and q hat
which he had found at the waters edge
near Superior street. IN one Of the pock-
cts was a note which read. Good bye.
Anna and George. Forgive me. Josie
That seemed TO settle it. Anna and her
brother were sent for They identified
the jacket and hat as those of their sis
ter. and the case went on the books as a
probable suicide.
THE brother and sister used to come
around the station every day after that
for nearly month. 1 got pretty well ac-
quanted with them, and every time a
foater was reported. I'd go over 20 the
morgue with George or Anna TO see
whether it wss Josephine's body. It
seems she had some insurance. they
owned the house they lived in and both
Of them were considerably wrought up
about the settlement of their sisters 1T
lie estate. They never seemed to be able
to give an adequate reason fer Josphines
suicide, but it wasn't long before 7 had
satisfied myself that II was the old, old
reason.
They showed me half a dozen pictures
Of her, and I could see that she was
pretty. She had had sweetheart,
big. low-browed teamster who remained
friendly with them after her disappear
ance. He professed to be mystified about
her suicide. but 7 knew better, and
didn't like him. His name was Jarret, 2
bull-necAed vulgar giant with a lot Of
low cunning who was forever Ioafng
around the North Clark street saloons.
The lake doesn't give up many dead
bodies in winter, and I lost track Of this
case until along last April, when the
corpse of a woman was picked up In the
river near Harrison street. Next day the
papers said that it had been identified
as the body of Josephine Blank, the
young woman who had drowned herself
off Superior street the preceding Sep
TENDER. l met Jarret on the street a few
days afterward and noticed the crepe
band on his hat. He told me about iden-
tifying the remains and how difficult it
had been.
Georgia an Anna don't believe 1t was
her. he explained. but I'm sure. Y see,
Josie had a Dirt mark, a moley wart on
lrer ear, but it was gone, wore off by de
ice an waves. Dey wasn't much left OF
her clio es, an nobody I'D a knowcd her
Z it hadn't been fur de ring. de 'ngage-
ment ring on her finger. I Civ it TO her
we was engaged, y know-an' so 1t
was me identified her
His eyes twinkled as he thus clinched
his argument and 1 was walking away
more than distrustful Of him, when he
called me back.
Hey. dere. Mack he called, amt We
goin' t treat?
For whyg I asked
Me an Anna is goin' to be spiiced
mex Thursday
Il told him 1 hadn't the price. and
went away trying TO forget the whole
business Just imagine a big brute like
that marrying the little sister Of the poor
suicide after helping to collect her in
surance, I suppose
rs that ALP growled the desk ser
geant taking his pipe from his mouth
That's the last 1 heard of them till
well. I guess I'd better not tell the rest,
1 may be wrong, you know. But I've
got a guess coming" unused McDevitt.
What is it, Mack?" said the sergeant,
coming closer. interested in spite Of his
hardening years OF experience / II Keep
it dark. What's your guessf'
4 got a bunch that this woman who
swallowed the carbolic acid in Clark
street Wednesday nights was
Josephine"
Yep
But wasn't she drownded?7 asked the
puzzled sergeant.
"No, she Just had to disappear, you
know"
And what makes you think this was
the other wan?
she had the wart; she looked ike the
photographs
All. fiddle. Mack. you'd be a trouble
some copper. Is that all2 Sure they re
hundreds o. women wit warts
But Jarret's picture was in her al
bum"
"Oh. that. Indeed, said the old sergeant
shaking his head slowly. and then aG-
ding: II say. Mack. wuddent that make
a fine story If twas only in high lfe2 -
Tohr u battery