The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1905-06-30
JAMES HOPE,
INSPECTOR

! LIS Iduic wien lie WAS given the case
of ''The Brown Eyes" to work up. The
/ beginning of the case was a murder
| committed in London omnibus.
! While the vehicle was rolling along
/ with only two passengers in it-one
! banker and the other lady-the bank
! er was stabbed to the heart, and the
lady swung herself off the step and dis
appeared among the crowd The bank
er lived long enough to say that she
! was young and handsome woman
richly attired, and that she had large
! brown eyes. She had not robbed him,
! nor could he tell why she had sought
! his death. She sat near him, but they
! had not spoken a word when she sud
! denly drew dagger and plunged it
] into his side. Fifty different people
saw the young woman leave the omni-
bus, but five minutes later, when the
! alarm was given, no one could say in
which direction she had disappeared
Even in his dying hour, as was after
! ward ascertained. the banker had lied
Many years previously and in another
! city he had wronged a trusting girl
and left her to die in shame and dis
grace That girl had q sister, and the
murderesS OF the omnibus was I'M
doubtedly she. The banker had two
SONS, both Of them young men. One
held a responsible position in large
| jewelry house, and the other was just
setting up as barrister The police
thought it would be an easy matter to
pick up the woman with the brown
eyes, but they found to the contrary.
She did not have half an hours start
Of them, and yet they failed to dis
| cover a trace. For weeks and weeks
they were looking for brown eyed wo-
! men and keeping them under surveil-
| lance, but nothing came of it.
One day three months later a young
woman who spoke French fairly we'll,
| but who was undoubtedly English, call
! ed at a jewelry house in Bond street
/ and looked at lot of valuable gems
and asked that they be sent to her
rooms at certain hotel at certain
hour. She would then pay for what she
finally selected. 1t was the house in
which the bankers son was employed,
and he was selected to go with the val
uables. He reached the hotel, was con-
Quoted to the lady's rooms and two
hours later was found dead there. He
had also been stabbed. AS none of the
gems had been taken and as the WON
an had mysteriously disappeared it
was set down as a case of revenge.
According to the clerk and the servants
of the hotel the murderess had large
brown eyes, and her general descrip-
ton fitted that Of the woman of the
cab.
At this time two events happened in
the life of Inspector Hope. He was
given the case of the brown eyed wom-
an to work out, and his wife had par
tial stroke of paralysis and engaged
young woman to act as nurse and COM
panion. She had advertised, and in an
swer came a stranger who knew good
deal about nursing and who brought
the very best of characters. Inspector
Hope saw and talked with her himself
and was pleased to find her intelligent
and anxious to please. She freely an
swered all questions and took the place
on probation. The inspector was to
write to certain parties in regard to her
recommends. When two weeks had
passed she asked if he had written. He
had not His wife was so we'll pleased
with her nurse that he decided to take
chances
For five weeks the nurse never left
the house, and for five weeks Inspect
or Hope brought all his luck logic
and acumen to bear on the last MUIR
der case, but he made no progress. He
was in despair, but still at work, feel
ing that his reputation was at stake,
when third mysterious murder was
committed. The son Of the banker
who was in law had received as
client one afternoon a young and
! handsome woman wearing a half veil.
She was in his Office an hour. During
the first half hour two people saw her
there. No one knew when she de-
parted, but when a caller opened the
door the young lawyer was found
breathing his last. He had been stab
bed as his father and brother had
been, and by the same dagger and the
same hand. Again the murderess had
disappeared and left no trace.
AS member Of the family, almost,
the nurse heard a great deal Of talk
about the strange murders and seem
ed interested to an extent. She knew
how fervently the inspector desired to
make a capture and was kind enough
to hope that he would succeed. Two
days after the murder of the lawyer
Mrs. Hope and the nurse went to the
country for a two months stay, and
the inspector set to work as he never
had before. Spurred by the rewards
offered, a thousand detectives and
constables were on the lookout for the
woman with brown eyes. When six
weeks had passed and their ardor had
begun to cool Inspector Hope received
word that his wife's nurse was
strangely missing. He went down to
the farmhouse and found that such