The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1903-04-24
Sergeant
Burr's
Adventure
By Howard Fielding
Copyright. 1902, bv Charles ". Hooke


was going on. He couldn't have told
how he knew it.
He was looking the other way. A
man whom he was interested to have
seen, whom he had never seen before,
had just passed by, and Burr was star
ing after him. If the sergeant had
clothed his thought in words, it would
have been like this:
"That man is Warren Prescott His
pictures up ON the elevated stations,
and I've seen it in the papers. He
wrote "A Pine Tree Shilling It's about
the county that 1 came from down in
Maine. They say he's made a fortune
out of it. He ought to. It's rattling
good, clean story. l wonder if it would
make him feel any better to know. that
policeman read his book and liked
it?'
AT this point a consciousness of trou-
BILE in his immediate vicinity obtruded
itself strongly. He turned toward the
pillared portico Just then the janitor
of the house, who had been leaning
against a railing in front of it, started
away and looked up as if he expected
something to fall on him. A woman
flung up window on the third story
and thrust out her head. She cried
"Murderr' in dazed, mechanical tone,
and she did not even glance downward
to see whether any one heard her.
Having obeyed her blind impulse to
scream, she disappeared from the win
dow.
Burr ran toward the house and en-
tered ahead of the janitor, who had
had but three steps to take, yet had
lacked the resolution to take them.
The sergeant ascended the stairs, be-
ing greatly impeded by some women
near the top who were undecided
whether to run up or down.
A door upon the right of the hall to-
ward the front of the house was open.
A woman stood in the doorway with
her back toward Burr. She was grip
ping the frame upon each side as if to
prevent her curiosity from dragging
her into the room. Burr gently lifted
one Of her arms and, having passed
her, replaced it, after which proceeding
she became a sort of bar to keep 9th
ers out, as he had meant that she
should. While he was doing this she
| called to some one within, Frank,
come awayw And then in a different
tone, lower pitched and hoarse, 'Is she
| deadf'
"Frank" proved to be tall, despond-
ent looking man whose visible attire
consisted of blue and white bathrobe,
which trailed behind him. He had a
towel wound about his head.
"Who are you? demanded Burr.
The man Strengthened up and looked
ut the sergeant with relief.
"My names Norris" he said. 81 live
across the hall. I've been SICK" he
added, touching the towel. "Grip,
guess. That's how 1 happened to be
in the house at this time of day"
"Who did this?' demanded Burr.
"Her husband, 1 guess" was the re-
ply. "They used to quarrel some, but
don't know as he ever struck her be-
| fore"
Burr bent over the woman. She was
under thirty, but looked much older
now that the face no longer cared to
hide anything. Her hair was dark
and very abundant. No doubt she had
thought it beautiful and had heard it
praised many a time with innocent
pleasure when she was a girl, with the
cold vanity of wasted womanhood in
later years.
"You go call an ambulance" said
Burr to the janitor, who had thrust
himself into the room. "Know me,
don't you?'
The janitor nodded and obeyed. Burr
looked again at the victim of this sor-
did tragedy. He recognized her, and
many of his professional brethren
would have had no difficulty in doing
So She had been marked during some
years as the consort of shrewd and
notorious thief. 1t was even said that
she had married him when she was
very young and without a knowledge
of his way of life. The man had died
in prison not so long ago, and the wo-
man had disappeared. The detective
was mildly surprised to find her and
yet not surprised to find her thus.
j "Who are these people?" asked Burr.
Parkinson" said Morris. ''That's the
name on the bell"
"Elbert Parkinson was his name,"
added Mrs. Norris from the doorway.
Her name was Annie. Is she dead?"
YES" replied Burr.
He put both hands to his forehead as
he leaned against the mantelpiece. He
was thinking of the man who had
passed him upon the street.
This is pretty tough" he muttered.
"Elbert Parkinson! That's what he
called the old fellow in his book, and
Annie was the daughter. Good Lord!
What can a man see in a woman like
that? And he an educated fellow with
the brains to make himself famous! |
call this tougher than the average"
, He stepped forward again and picked
up heavy cane that lay near the
body. 1t had head grotesquely twist
, cd of silver plate much furnished.
"One blow of this" he said to him
self "And it doesn't seem to have left
any scar on her. bur 1t left scar or
him all right. I'm sorry"