Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-04-13
DAILY SHORT STORY
A Case of Suspicion.


the year past to regret. A young man
named Albert White and 1 had been
rivals for the affections of a girl named
Ida Walters, and on several occasions
had had hot words, but when l with
drew from the race we became friends
| again-at least, there was no enmity
between US.
Ore night in midwinter when 1 had
returned to the store to post up the
books White raped ut the back door,
and l let him in. He had seen my
| light through the shutters and called
in friendly spirit. The door sagged a
little, and when White opened it there
was resistance, and his nose got q
bump. 1t was bleeding as he entered,
but l got a handful of snow and as
sisted him to check the flow.
Before noon next day it was known
all over town that Albert, White was
missing. Before night men were look
ing for him in every direction. A oiti-
zen had remembered seeing him at the
store door, and, of course, was ques-
toned. 1 told of his visit, but did not
mention the trifing accident at the
door. They asked no questions to bring
it out. That night was arrested on
warrant sworn out by his mother as
the murderer of Albert White, and cir
cumstantial evidence piled up against
me at the examination. A week later
satisfied everybody except my employ
er that I was guilty of the crime. Mr..
and Mrs. Walters swore that White
had told them that he feared me, as 1
had threatened his life. Miss Ida swore
to the same thing and added that she
had always feared 1 would shoot him
when we met at her house. They
found blood on the store floor, and that
meant that 1 had killed White as he
sat by the stove.
This young man, this red handed
murderer shouted the prosecutor,
''had asked the girl in marriage and
had been refused. Fired with jealousy
and burning with desire for revenge,
be began planning this deed. We know
that White feared him, and he would
not have gone to the store unless he
was lured there"
All of which was false-every word.
The great question, of course. was
what had become of the body. 1t was
supposed that l had carried it to some.
hiding place. Around the, town were.
as many as fifty old coal and iron
shafts from fifteen to forty feet deep.
Some were covered up and some open.
All about us We're huge snowdrifts,
and the idea was that l had buried
White under one of these or flung the
body into an open shaft. More than
500 people searched for the body for q
week or more. but no trace of it could
be found. When told about the nose
bleed, no one believed me. The saloon
keeper could have set things right, but
he maintained silence, afterward ex-
planning that he feared White had been
overcome by drink and perished in the
storm. Those who came to the store
to question me testified to all sorts of
false things, of which this was typicaE
1.-THE prisoner hesitated to admit that
he had lately seen the missing man.
He was nervous. and it was very evil
dent that he knew more than he was
willing to tell"
Three young men swore to having
heard me threaten Albert Whites life.
What had become of Albert White?
All the searching had failed to get
trace of him. After had been held to
CURED TO me for the first time l re-
membered that White carried a basket
of groceries as he came into the store.
remembered that he~said he must go
straight home when he left. He lived
a mile beyond the saloon where he had
stopped, but he could shorten the dis
lance by cutting across field. l had
never crossed this field, but felt sure
there were three or four old shafts
scattered about. 1 thought it all over
as 1 lay ON my cot in Jail one night,
and next day my employer was direct
ing search. AT the bottom of a thirty
foot shaft which was not over go
feet from Mrs. Whites front door and
the mouth of which was almost con-
cealed by a snowdrift, they found Al
bert. This was the seventeenth day
after my arrest. He had attempted a
short cut going home. Blinded by the
storm, he had fallen into the pit. The
five or six feet of snow at the bottom
had broken his fall. In his basket were |
a loaf of bread, two or three pounds of |
beef, some sugar and a dozen eggs |
He had consumed everything and was |
a very hungry young man when finally |
saloon keeper would give notice of his |
leaving there at 1O:45, because both |
had remarked the time. He reasoned |
that search would be made and that |
the old pits would speedily be exam
lned.
1 was at once restored to liberty, as a |
matter of course, but I want you to
note curious phase of human nature. |
Neither the prosecutor nor the town
marshal took me by the hand and ut
tered a word of congratulation. Not
one single witness who had testified
against me evinced the slightest desire
TO rejoice. So far as / could judge at |
least one-half the population of the
town felt q grudge against me for
spelling the case. This feeling also ex-
tended to White. After he had been
murdered and a good case made out
"a Il ~