The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1903-03-28
CLOSET FIRES POPULAR

ma hasn't had anything much mace
since we come. That there black Jet
evening gown was made in New York:
Let's see if we can find any scrap of
it left"
Down again into the pile OF scraps
Gigwell plunged his hands and pres
emily came up again with a scrap OF
black velvet, burned about the edges
and bearing the tag of fashionable
and high priced New York dress
maker.
There It's he said, as he handed
the bit to Jackson. Nothing cheap
about that there dressmaker."
So Gigwell went through the whole
list, digging up from the collection of
ruins something to identify every ar
ticle on his list of goods destroyed.
Then Jackson got affidavits from every
member of the family, setting forth
what they claimed were the facts in
regard to the fire and the amount of
property destroyed.
They are pretty foxy he said to
himself, as he noticed that none of
ton of the cause of the fire, contenting
themselves with the perfectly safe
statement that it was unknown
IT'S a plain case of steal" Jackson
reported to the office, but 1 can't
prove it. We'd better settle
The Gigwen family got a check for
5000 in full settlement, consenting to a
compromise at that sum after Jack
son had declared he'd let them sue
rather than pay the full amount
claimed.
Two months later Jackson was called
to adjust the loss on another closet
fire in a different part of the city. The
list of property claimed as lost was
almost exactly identical with that
handed in by the Gigwells. He went
out to the house and the man who
was claiming the insurance fished out
scraps of sealskin, bits of velvet and
silk, just as Gigwell had done. These
evidences of the work of the fire BOXED
familiar to Jackson.
by George" he said to himself, 'it
looks to me as if these were the same
that the Gigwell family
used"
When the people who had suffered
from the second fire were not looking
Jackson put some private marks on |
the scarps of sealskin and on all the |
other fire relics. The proof of loss |
from the second fire was full and COM |
plete and was backed up by an array |
Of affidavitS that was hard to dispute. |
Against his convictions Jackson set |
lied the claim for Is per cent of the |
irSt demand, and then waited for his |
'evenge.
A few weeks later he discovered in
,identally that Mr. Gigwell and the
second claimant were brothers-in-law.
That deepened his conviction into abb
iolute certainty.
Only six weeks after the second clos
It fire Jackson got notice of third
,loset fire of the same kind, with
schedule of losses containing the ia
niliar sealskin coats and jet and vel
ret gowns. He went out at once, ac-
by one of the officers of
he agency. The man of the house
eceived them and led them at once to
he badly damaged closet, from which
e proceeded to extract the same pieces
f sealskin and other remnants. Jack
on gave them a careful examination.
IN most of them he found his own
rivate marks, put there at the time
f the second closet fire.
by the way" he said, have you
cen your cousin, Peter GigweIl, re-
ently?"
"Gigwell is no cousin of NINE" said
he man.
well, then, I suppose he's your
rother-in-law. 1 see you're using the &
anne props that both he and his
used at their closet
res
w nat 10 you mean =. QeuldHueQ Ine
ian Indignantly. You see these I
larks?" replied Jackson. 81 put them l
here just after the second fire. This
the third time we have been called .
n to accept them as evidence in +
oset fire. Now, 1 simply want to t
~ that we shall refuse to pay one s
ent. What is more, 1 shall recon-
END that criminal action be taken in
lie premises Good day" {
Jackson and the official who accom-
anied him walked out of the house 6
ithout a further word s
They'll skip over night" said the
fetal n
LET them, said Jackson. cat any
tie it'll have a tendency to make
Iese closet fires less popular. And as
We got the pieces of sealskin and vel
It in my pocket we'll not be troubled
gain with Them
Next day a call at the house found
vacant, and when Jackson sent out
the Gigwell fiat he found that that 9
teresting family had also disappeared. 7
=