Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1902-06-05

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man with bent brows, seemed to be
saying something unpleasant, but a
reply from the other seemed to stop
him suddenly, and they moved on.
The door closed on them, and that
was the last seen of Jacob Garland.
'"The next morning Bronxville re-
ceived a shock, and a severe one. At
about seven in the morning the door
denly thrown open, and Luenshy, her
eyes ~protruding, hurried to the sher-
ifs house. she found shat official
engaged in the simple but useful
occupation of ehopping wood in the
backyard, but her news brought his
work to a sudden end, and hastily
DOMINIC his coat to emphasize his
official status, as it was not a gar
ment he usually wore, he accompan-
led Luenshy on her return to the
Garland home. From her excited
words he gathered the following
facts:
''The stranger who had arrived the
day before was Il distant relative of
Jacob Garland's, she understood, but
belonged to a branch of the family
with which he had ~quarreled. He
had supped with Garland and his
wife, and then the two men had re-
paired to a room used By the old man
as a den, where he shut himself up
at times, and was not disturbed eX-
cept for meals.
"That evening the door closed on
the two and the smell of tobacco
made itself apparent later. Garland
did not smoke, so it was evident that
the relative was making himself as
comfortable as circumstances would
permit.
"Mrs. Garland and Luenshy retired
at their usual hour, and at that time
voices were still to be heard in the
room and apparently in amicable
conversation. The next morning
Luenshy was aroused by her mis-
tress, who said that the old man
had not slept in his bed. Together
the two women went down stairs, and
finding the door of the o closed,
knocked timidly at first, then loudly,
but without response. Summoning
up courage, they opened the door,
and there in the dim light, sat Jacob
| Garland dead, stone dead, with one
hand on the table, the other hanging
by his side.
mo marks of violence were on the
! body, but on the table were two
tumblers which smelled of whisky,
the only difference being that the
one next to Garland had, with its
smell of spirit, another odor of some
foreign substance.
"This was the first real case of
mystery which had occurred since
| Sheriff McGowan's inauguration into
office, so he proceeded with as much
state and dignity as he could sum-
mon upon such short notice. AS few
people lived in that part of the town.
l1o oHC Iluu IotlCCd tllC IdllICo dS-
parture of the colored woman, nor
did they meet anyone upon their re-
turn.
CLOSING the door after him and
turning the key solemnly--a quite
unnecessary precaution, as no one
would have thought of entering the
house-he asked to be shown into
the DOM where the body was. The
hall into which the front door led
ran the entire length of the house
and contained the stairs, a hat rack
on which hung &. dilapidated coat and
hat, Garland's outdoor apparel, two
plain chairs, a long sofa and a small.
mirror.
son either side of the hall doors
led to four rooms, and it was to the
first on the left that Luenshy ush'
cred MCGOWAN. There sat Jacol
Garland, eyes staring, jaw dropped
one hand on the table, the other by
his side. A small Undiscovered trunk
was on the table, of the kind useG
in the eighteenth century, highly
studded with brass nails, the lie
open, the contents gone. On a sliI
of paper in front of the trunk, pinned
to the table with a small, beautiful
ly made and highly-engraved dagger
were the following words in a clear
bold hand:
""The contents of this trunk viii
be returned to the person from
whom they were taken by force, ant
to whom they rightfully belong. The
instrument used at the time is re
turned. AS no one except jacob
Garland and the persons concerned
know to whom the contents belong
and as Jacob Garland is dead, there
will be no use in attempting to trace
or discover the whereabouts of thai
owner or of the avenger of the
wrong
Beyond this there was no trace Of
any description which would lead to
even following the perpetrator. Not
a mark was on the floor of house,
stable or ground. The latter was
hard and the horses feet had evi
IDENTIFY been covered. He had gone
more ~mysteriously than he had come
His name had not been mentioned by
Garland; he had simply referred tc
him as Henry and Mrs. Garland ha6
inferred from something that hat
been dropped in conversation thai
he belonged to the branch of the
family with which Jacob Garland
had quarreled.
"Jacob Garland was buried in the
old graveyard back of the, house
The matter drifted and passed out
of mems minds. Mrs. Garland, tax
ing Luenshy with her, moved away
and the house was closed and re