Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1903-05-29
Mystery Of the
Bayou Woods
BY WALKER KENNEDY.
Copyright. 1903. BY IN. Kellogg sorsp.porCo.
CHAPTER XVIII.

| SOAuSS HuASt az IAlO oCbOCtlSC fClCuTCO
his throat, and, at the instigation OF
Mr.. Everett, continued his testimony:
"Franklin's letters were of course
ingenious Misrepresentation, de-
signed to secure money, with which
lie hoped to be able to suppress all
the testimony against his ownership.
had no trouble in satisfying Mcri-
vale that the statements contained
In the letters We're almost entirely
false. / came back to Nilus resolved
to play bold game with Franklin.
He, knew, did not wnnt to see much
of Merivale just then, SO he had my
coming made as public as possible
and limited that had come to invest
money. This of course took me off
his hands a great deal, but managed
to see him considerably. In my con-
yersations with him was impatient
over the delay, but he had all sorts
of gaudy excuses to offer. After
worrying him right smart / said to
him one day: Franklin, do you know
I have found you out?'
What do you mean2' asked he,
turning a bit pale.
You have deceived me from the
start in this matter said l, and by
SO doing you have lost my assistance.
If you had let me entirely into your
confidence from the first, we would
have been operating those mines to-
gether by this time; but by your
cursed dilatory policy, your scruples
of fear or conscience, you allowed
things to drag along, and all the
while the millions were slipping be-
tween our fingers. You are entirely
too squeamish to suit me-
HE smiled at the idea of being
squeamish, as If did not know him.
-" i have picked up continued,
some of the threads of the case, and
you might as well tell me the whole
truth and let us work together
He was skittish OF me at first, and
wanted to learn how much knew,
so l startled him with few facts,
and then he frankly admitted that he
had been scheming to get possession
of the agreement. To test me he
asked my advice as to the best way
to get possession. replied thai
there was only one way, and that
was to take it.
/" How would you take it,? said he.
In the good old way replied I.
Pay some handy ruff!ian to do it for
yep.'
aHe smiled and said: THAT is
what shall do II do not succeed in
getting 1t from the person who now
has it,
II pretended to have handled sew
eral little difficulties like this and in
timated that If we were out west it
would not be difficult to get rid OF
such an obstacle as human life.
persuaded him that was willing to
commit any crime, even murder, in
order to secure my object; and en-
boldened by finding me congenia]
spirit, he grew more confidential. He
told me that he had hired Morris to
steal the agreement from Wright's
safe, I worrned from him all the de-
tails of his association with Old Tom,
Bob Padgett and him Of the red fan
ael shirt. ] also managed to become
acquainted with them and learned
how and where to find them when /
wanted them. / convinced Franklin
that / was such cold-blooded scoun-
drel that he took me completely into
his affections and made me his con-
fidante. He was charmed with my
affable yillainy, and he spoke with a
good deal of pride of his scheme to
shut the mouth of Herbert Wright
and his little arrangement for the
removal of Irving Warde. One day 1
told him that had the ingenious
theory that he made away with John
I. Wright. He looked scared Mt that
and changed the subject. tried to
appeal to his pride in his criminal
achievements, but on this one sub
iect--while he never made any posi-
tive denial-.he was entirely uncom-
niinicative. The intimate association
7 had with him leads me to believe
that there is no sort OF cowardly
crime which James Franklin would
not commit provided his personal
safety was assured.
"One OF the hardest jobs I under
took was to win over the three
rufiians whom Franklin had employed
so often to our side Of the case, or
rather to induce them to tell the
truth. suggesed to Mr.. Everett that
he should call upon the mayor and
tell him plainly that by the action in
dismissing me from the force and
giving Peters Rest immunity he had
played into the hands of the real
murderer OF John T. Wright by pre-
venting the arrest of three very sus-
picious characters who were doubt
less implicated in the murder. also
suggested that he should hint to the
mayor that this sort OF thing if con
tinucd would not look very well when
brought out in court. Mr.. Everett
adopted my suggestion and carried 1t
out so well that on the day upon
which this trial was begun these
three men We're all quietly arrested
by the mayors orders and taken to
Jail, where the jailer was told to place
them in separate cells and allow no
one to zee them except such persons
as he should designate. The jailer
was given to understand that they
We're witnesses in a very important
case and That it was imperative that
they should not be allowed to com
mphicate with each other. ! knew
that the first thing these rascals
would do would be to try to send
word to Franklin. Permission was
secured for me to visit them, and