Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1903-02-04
An ACCIDENTAL DISCOVERY
s[Origlnal.1

them up.
For twenty years l have been de-
tective. Soon after I entered the pro-
fession Father Vost, a Roman Catholic
priest, one of whose flock I was, called
me one day into his study and told me
the following:
What l am about to narrate hap
pened last night. know nothing about
law or justice or the workings of the
police force but as it is Your business
to track crime give the information to
you, and you can make what use of it
you think proper 1t was about II
O'Clock, and l, who had been up later
than usual visiting a sick parishioner,
had just come in and was preparing for
bed when the servant came to my room
and said that a carriage was waiting
at the door to take me to give absolu-
ton to one about to die. went down
stairs and out to the carriage I found
a masked man inside.
Il was driven for full hour. The
carriage made few turns, and l fancy
that I must have been driven to a
suburb of the city, for after leaving the
pavement we drove for time over a
dirt road, then again a pavement.
made an effort to engage my companion
in conversation, but he gave me no re-
ply. Finally the carriage came to a
stop, and he bound my eyes with
handkerchief, the door was opened
from without, and some one guided my
steps over aagstones, I think, and we
mounted steps. I counted six. Then
after going short distance we mount
ed more steps this time I counted
twenty--and we made one turn. In
another moment was led into a warm
er atmosphere, and the bandage was
taken off by some one who slipped out
OF door behind me. Before me, pale
and haggard, stood a man who sank
upon his knees.
Father he said, L am about to be
murdered. My murderers have been
brought up in our church, whose inf1u-
eHce, you well know, can never be en-
tirely overcome. When l begged fo3.
absolution before being put out of their
way, they could not refuse me. Shrive
me, father
"'Give me your name,' I said, and
even if can't prevent your murder I
may at least bring about the punish
ment Of your murderers'
"'Should l reveal the slightest cir
cumstance YOU, too would be put
where you cannot harm them
II received his confession and gave
him dissolution. All the while, l con-
fess, l was studying the room that I
might know it again. There was an
open fireplace, with mantel, such as
was used 100 or 200 years ago. l fixed
the beadworiH in my mind and made Il
drawing of it as soon as l returned. I
about the room, but there was nothing
else, unusual left the man Frustrated
and was driven home, as l had come,
over pavement, dirt road and pavement
again."
Father Vost went to desk, took out
the drawing and handed it to me-
l was young in my business and de-
termined to- make some reputation for
myself on this case l did not report
it at police headquarters, as l was in
duty bound to do, but spent months in
searching the newspapers to catch
notice Of some missing man. My eff
forts were without success, and at last
gave it up. That was ten years ago,
and since then have been accused by
my conscience for not at once reporting
the case. The only effort have contin-
ued to keep up is an examination of all
old mantels offered for sale, and l have
compared hundreds of them with Fa-
them different.
One day recently, while l was pass
ing through the very street in which
Father Vost had lived, not block from
the house I passed building which
was being converted from a dwelling
to store A crowd had gathered, and
some workmen were carrying out
skeleton which, was told, had been
found bricked up in a chimney. Such
things may at any time be of service to
a detective, and went up to examine
the room from which the bones had
been taken. The first thing to catch
my attention was mantel which had
been taken down and was leaning
against the wall. The moment looked
at it it seemed familiar. Taking out
Father Vost's drawing, which always
kept in my leather case for papers, l
compared the two. They correspondent
exactly.
Going downstairs, counted twenty
steps and from the front door to the
sidewalk six. At last l had stumbled
by accident on the room Of the murder.
The willy murderer had drawn Father
Vost out of the city and back to with
in block of his house, returning by
I the same circuitous route.
succeeded in getting the name of
the tenant on the date Of the murder
and hunted up people who had lived in
the neighborhood during his occupancy,
but as it was very short-only three
m0nths-they did not remember much
about it. One day when was examin-
ing the room, hoping might find some
concealed message from the murdered
man, a workman engaged there hand
| al mo a hit Of M nor which he said had