Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1903-05-01

piece OF news published in the Jour
nal. When Warde sat down to break.
fast and picked up that paper he was
cold with amazement at what he
read, for in large. glazing headlines,
he saw that Herbert Wright, "stung
by guilty conscience, had endeav-
ored to take his own life.' The at
tempt, it seemed, was discovered by
the ssa1ert and tireless jailer,'' who
had promptly sent for physician,
and the young mans life was saved.
Wright had taken morphine. but the
who had arrived prompt
ly, administered an emetic. and SO
cheekmated the would-be suicide.
Warde was in despair when he read
this. 1t was the virtual confession
of u guilty conscience, and it would
be useless to continue his. inyestiga-
tons. AS soon as he had swallowed
his breakfast he jumped on street
car and went to the Jail.
Wright was very glad to see him,
and the jailer allowed the newspaper
man and the prisoner to have an In
terview in the rotunda of the jail.
+ You have read the Journal?" said
Wright, with SMILE.
Yes, and it knocked me cold!''
But I am prepared to astonish
you
sWhat do you mean?"
why, that account is lie from be-
ginning to end. =
well, I am certainly glad to hear
that
'.The fact is, an attempt was made
here in, the Jail last night to poison
me-
To poison you'll"
Yes, to poison me. The drug was
put into my food. and of course ate
it. j noticed peculiar taste, and
shortly afterward found myself grow
ing very drowsy. / called for the
jailer at once and told him thought
I had been drugged. Fortunately he
had q doctor here in five minutes who
detected the evidences OF morphine
and Immediately took steps to relieve
me. The eructation was preserved
and examined at my request, and the
doctor found that the poison in il
would have rendered me corpse in
Hess than an hour"
Have you found the man who nude
this attempt?"
mo, and ! fear 1t will be impossi
BILE. It was agreed by the jailer, thu
doctor and myself to say nothing
about it until a thorough investiga
ton could be made. The poison coult
not have been put in accidentally b,
the cook, for no one else in the jai
Twas effected. The food must hay,
been poisoned after it was put int
the bowl-my supper was a sort o
gruel-and it must have been don,
by the man who handed me my bowl
I could not tell who did this, as sew
,eral Of the prisoners volunteer eacl
day to. act as walters =
"Of course 3 said Warde, you coul,
not have personal enemy anon,
these men,"
Certainly not
" It is evident that this poisonin,
scheme was designed outside Of tn
i Jail, and that some one of the prison
ers was bribed to slip the drug int
slyour portion of the food =
1T looks that way beyond doubt
Irving Warde felt that the unsec
$ antagonist was again at work. Il
/, shivered when he thought Of the +,
a sources Of his adversary, who coul
affect the changing of the pistols
4 the suburbs south Of the city, an
the attempted murder Of prisone
in the jail in the northern part Q
the town. He realized now that
was no ordinary foe that youn
Wright had to fight. Shrewd INTEL
Il gence, an abundance Of money, a con
mand of ready tools, perfect .sur
scrupnlousness, and murder itsel
we're all pitted against the man.
The attempt on Wright's life ha
T one reassuring quality, it convince
Warde that the mind engineerin
these operations was not Statistic
with the case already made on
against the young man, otherwise I'll
law might have been allowed-to tai
its course. There were flaws in tt
evidence, fatal weaknesses whic
might lead to the discovery of the re-
II criminal; and somehow the life I
Herbert Wright stood in the way I
the accomplishment of q yelled pu
pose. The same motive which d
handed the life Of John T. Virgil
now demanded that of his son; aI
Warde could not help thinking tn.
! some tremendous issue was ut stalk
or some far-reaching programme W,
in jeopardy from Herbsrt's beil
alive.
: These thoughts We're running rapi
" through his mind while Wrigl
I continued to discuss the affair of Il
! night BEFORE and finally the report
( asked: 81
!. II you three made up your min
' to keep this thing secret, how did
r leak out
: THAT cannot say. The jailer So
/. the only person who left the jail Ia
4 might was the doctor. The doctt
e who was here quite earlys tells
u Irather curious tale. He says that
i the nearest corner he was saluted
1 q rough looking fellow who wore
Htred flanel shirt and whose face W
d covered with stubbie. II he dea
. doctor? asked this man. sWho?' so
/ the doctor. Why, Wright. Iheard
niger say thatshe had taken poiso