The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-02-28


ty. Bruce got the account from Mr..
Hayes himself, who was only too glad
TO relate it when IL might be Of use
in tracking the swindlers.
We fought shy of them at first"
said Mr.. Hayes, but when. Ashley
came II changed everything. You never
would suspect him of being scamp
never. such an open, honest counte-
nance. and that wife of his was lit
tie beauty, if her hair was green!"
was she really his wife, do you
| think?'
He introduced her as such, and she
appeared to worship him. l joked my
wife about it afterwards. I told her
| that was all that made me doubt it.
| They took handsome furnished house
on Main street. and went to keeping
house. They gave big party and we
| all went. Such a crush, Well, after
that all was plain sailing for the new
bank You can't mistrust man after
you have eaten his bread. We
can't here in the West. De-
posts began to pour in on them.
All OF the solid men banked
there. Well, the upshot was in ten
days after Ashley came we found we
had been swindled, our notes sold or
deposited in other banks as collateral
security for cash paid TO Scoville,
Brown, and Ashley, and in at least a
dozen instances the figures had been
altered so that the scamps got ten
times the actual value of the notes. 1t
was gigantic swindle!" and Mr..
Hayes got up and paced the apart
ment nervously.
Shall tell YOU" he asked, resum-
ing his seat, how the forgery was de-
tected?'
YES" said Bruce.
1T was in this way, and by mere
accident. The cashier of the Somerset
Bank is an amateur photographer. He
is bewitched with the art, and will
| photograph anything from a cat TO n
footstool. Well, what did he do but
photograph the note Ashley gave him.
You know different colors have differ
| ent effects on the Photographic plate.
| The moment the picture was
| developed the cashier said he could see
where the figures and letters had been
altered with different ink from the
| original, though to the naked eye
there was no perceptible difference. He
| studied the matter thoroughly, and
| turned it over in his mind great
many times before giving reins to his
suspicious. But he did at last, and
| they proved correct. Scoville and
Brown must have got wind of the
! matter somehow, for they were no.
where to be found, but Ashley was ar
rested
"And escaped?"
Yes, and escaped in a curious man.
ner. Perhaps you have heard or read
the particulars"
| No"
well, Ashley is peculiarly gifted in
more way than one. He allowed him
| self to be quietly taken to Jail, but es-
capped that very night by hypnotiZing
the jailer. In the morning there was
| no jailer to make the rounds, and he
| was discovered in Ashley's CELL hand
| cuffed, and firmly impressed that he
was Ashley himself. None of the 9TH
er prisoners were released. Ashley
| just walked off by himself, and the
key was tossed back into the yard. 1t
| was a long time before the jailer
| could give an account of himself, and
| he has never been quite himself since.
| OF course, he lost his place. although
| he was not to blame. Ashley and his
wife got clear. and could never be
tracked an inch of the way
| Strange! Hypnotism applied to
crime! And the woman Do you think
her hair can be natural?"
| 1T never occurred to me to doubt
it," said Mr.. Hayes, looking startled
but 1 have always wondered why a
woman with such hair could not be
| traced"
1T was most likely artificial" said
| the detective. Have you no photo
| graph of them-of either of them?"
mo, I haven't. But l can tell you
| something stranger than you ever
heard in connection with this very
| matter: Whether 1t will help you in
identifying Ashley 1 can't say. You
know / told you they took a house on
Main street. Well, shortly after they
left it, and before q new tenant was
found, the story got afioat that on one
of the windows from the outside could
be plainly seen the photograph of a
mans head and shoulders and those of
a woman. The panes are large and the
outlines are said to be very distinct.
They are said to be photographs of
Ashley and his wife, and the theory is
that they were looking through the
window at the river during a storm
and a flash of lightning photographed
them indelibly on the glass. The pic
lures cannot be seen from the inside,
but that they can from the outside is
vouched for by a good many people in
town. / don't understand photogra-
ply myself, and I haven't been up to
see the pictures but the cashier of the
Somerset Bank has, and he says they
are excellent likenesses of Ashley and
his wife,"
81 should like to go up" said Bruce.
$50 should /, said MIR. Hayes, and
If you will call again after business
hours-for I must go to my Office now
Il will take you there behind my
bays"
Bruce gladly accepted the friendly
offer and in few hours was rapidly
driving through the principal streets
of Valparaiso after the handsonnest
span of horses in the city. Calling a
boy to hold them after a short drive,
Mr. Bruce and Mr. Hayes approach
ed a handsome house on Main street,
and easily got permission to examine
the window which bore the photograph.
1t was on the first floor, and light
ed the dining room. The Ashleys din
ed late, and they, perhaps, arose from
the table, probably after dark, or it
may be they turned down the lights the
better to watch the storm, and stood
looking out at the river. Be this as
II may, the outlines of two figures a
mans and a woman's, were plainly
indicated on the pane. His arm ap-
peared to be about her shoulders, her
head rested lightly on his breast, and
a glorious veil of hair reaching down
out of sight covered her right shoulder.
The curves of her features, the droop OF
her form, showed her to be both pretty
and graceful.
mora Ashley, as I livel" calculated
Mr.. Hayes with great excitement.
Mora, did you say?"
Yes, that is what Ashley called, her,
and that is Ashley himself"
Bruce scanned the figure with more
interest even than he had the beauti-
full Nora, but never having known
Hamilton personally. he could not tell
whether IL closely resemhled him or