The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-07
y MART Z. P. HATCH,
Copyright by Lee & Shepard, Boston, Mass.

convinced, possessed no such power.
The possibilities Of such a mans acts,
a man said to resemble Hamilton, tho
it might be ever SO slight, appealed
forcibly to the mind of young Osborn,
and set his mind careering into fields
of imagination far removed from the
columns and figures before him. He
had not called to see Mrs. Hamilton
since he carried her the ominous state
nlent of her husbands return to the
bank. Somehow he shrank from 60
ing there, but, when he CHANGED to
meet her he bowed with scrupulous
gravity and respect
The summer was wearing away. Au-
gust had come, with its whiting days,
and bathers often sought the shaded
river for a plunge in it's cooling wa
tiers. It was near the village; one
coming from the savings bank toward
Mrs. Hamilton's residence would be
walking straight toward it for half the
distance. Then to go there one would
be compelled to swerve to the right.
On the other side a new railroad had
recently been built. The billy portions
had been leveled, hollows filled UP,
and immense rocks blasted. Hun
dreds of men were employed. and the
different gangs were located five miles
apart It had been a period of exca
| ton to the toWnspeople on both sides
of the river, but happily the undertake
ing was now complete, and as remin
| ders there were the trains running
regularly and the boat left by the
workmen III the river. Many. Of them
were Italians, and four of them We're
drowned in crossing it in quest of in
toxicants, and it is said they were
buried in the dump, uncoff1ned, and
without service of any sort, by their
companions. Low. and degraded they
must have been, and it is no wonder
| eyo ofr u nf hot y, ory
might do, and We're glad when they
left.
! All this occurred to Osborn one day
in August, when, changing his bath
/ ing suit for his ordinary clothes, he
saw in the bushes, not two feet from
the place where he had deposited his
own suit, a six cap with weather
stained satin lining and an enlbro1-
dered monogram.
The letters certainly were Y. C.. H.,
however they might stand in order.
The G. or the H. was as likely to stand
first, perhaps, but Tony felt convinced
that the cap he held in his hand was
once the. property Of Vane Hamilton.
It was just such one as wives,
sweethearts and daughters make for
their masculine dependents to travel in,
and Tony thought he recolleeted that
| Mr.. Hamilton carried one in his over
coat pocket. His wife would know
and whether he took it on his last
trip. If SO, it proved his presence
afterwards in Grovedale as conclusive
~ as the gold shirt stud had. 1t was
q peculiar coincidence that in both in
stances he should be the finder.
But was not there an ominous sig
|nihcance in its being found on the bank
of the river SO near the spot where the
Italians were wont to land on their
excursions after liquor? Easily excited
malicious and revengeful, ready to bran
dish their knives at any provocation,
1T was not impossible. that they had
set upon Hamilton when intoxicated,
killed him and sunk: his, body in the
river. The cap might be the sole relic
of a terrible tragedy happening at this
! very spot. The Italians went in num-
bers of four or five usually; the place
was sequestered; in their ignorance,
| knowing he came from. the bank, they
] might have fancied that he had a large
! sum of money in his 1possessio ion. $ It
. | was just the time When disturbances
had been most frequent, and it was
strange the possibility had been over
looked. If his surmises should be
proved true, then it would not be
strange thing as to go to the bank,
and yet not to his own house after
ward. It would be seen that he was on
the way there when something hap
pened to prevent, something dreadful,
or he would have been heard from.
While acknowledging to himself the
tenuous nature of his surmises, he yet
felt that there was sufficient weight to
them, in view Of Hamilton's sudden
disappearance and the finding Of the
cap, to set on foot inquiries in this new
direction. -
to what would be the wisest course,
called after banking hours at the house
Of the president. Mr.. Hastings was
present and received him pleasantly.
AS soon as the young man was alone
with the president in the latters room,
he preached the subject of his call and
produced the cap as confirnatory of
a portion Of his statement.
"You found it by the river bank?''
I Yes, sir: lodged in the bushes. 1t
may have been washed ashore, but I
think, as the water has been low since
May, 1t was more likely tossed there
by some one"
we had small freshet the very
last of May, you reCollect."
Eyes, 50 we did! Well, it may: have
been washed there by the rise of the
water Anyway it looks ominous; do
not you think SO, Mr.. Hastings?'
Perhaps So said the president
Lets see. You saw Hamilton enter
the bank at about Z o'clock on the
2ad of May, why do you think he re-
turned %
II think it might have been to get
some negotiable papers which he had
found a chance to place satisfactorily
What! Without consulting any OF
the bank officers?"
That he could have done after.
wards
After he had taken the notes.
think you will have to try again
Tony"
Tony bit his lips. well, sir, it ma,
have been something of his own he
was after. He kept his own papers
and money in the safe. 1 know that
"Still hyrnry ute have ,,aasn,r !. IA