Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-06-20


precipitate fight; her terror at my ap.
pearance-all seemed to wear the look
of criminality. She had tainted dead
away, but she, soon began to come to
herself again. Thereupon I tied my
horse to tree, and drew her into the
woods, out of sight of passers She
was so weak and emotional / believed
her ripe for confession. Lamm.
fully expected at that moment to be
rewarded for my efforts by tremen-
dous discovery But I tell you, as
looked at the poor thing-hardly a
woman yet-lying there on the leaves,
pale. speechless, frightened nearly out
Of her senses, never felt SO sorry for
anybody in my life"
81 know the feeling" said Lamm
"I've had it myself. But go on"
well, when she came to l began to
talk to her. Of course there was a
scene. She broke down completely,
and at her first words I understood
what ought to have had sense enough
to have known from the first-that her
terror was not on her own account.
oh. don't let them arrest her.! she
kept saying. Don't, l beg Of you!
She's crazy! She must be. She never
could have done it in her senses!'"
ooh, ho!" exclaimed the detective.
SISTER Marion, eh?"
Come I said, tell me the whole
story; it's the quickest way out of 1t.
And give you my word of honor I'll
do what 1 can to help you Dut it
was long time before I was able to
bring her to the point OF trusting me.
don't know how it was, exactly, but
she gradually"
"Pshaw!" said Lamm. Don't en-
barrass yourself. Skip it. l know
what happened as we'll as you do She
was in deep distress. You were in
earnest She trusted you. Good. What
was her story?"
"She didn't tell me the whole story
at that time" said Thomas. Il stopped
| her when l knew the essential facts,
for realized her danger and inciden-
tally my own. impressed upon her
the necessity of obeying NE implicitly.
\
save either herself or her sister, or
both of ITEM, from the iCnominy OF
immediate arrest and all the attendant
scandal. Frightened to death, almost,
and shaking like leaf. she acquiesced.
| l slowed her as comfortably as l could
In the bottom of the carriage, and COW
cred her with rug. Overcome with
|
slept all the way to Vernon Outside
the town awoke her, made her get
out and told her to follow me at dis
lance, and to board the train that |
took, but by no means to speak to me.
She was yelled, and had enough money
to purchase her ticket"
Capital! You are a shrewd one,
Kingman. These precautions would
never have occurred to another man. "
"Ah! knew, you see, that the
whole police force must be on her track
by this time. AS soon as she was
missed from Swampscott, l knew they
would be in full chase, and she, in her
innocence, had left trail as plain as
the milky way"
"Of course" said Detective Lamm,
significantly.
"And so" Thomas continued. 81 laid
my plans accordingly. We rode. to
Boston separately, and she followed
me on foot on the other side of the
street to my house. She was whittier
than death when she came in; but II
you know my mother you can imagine
the reception she got. Five minutes
explanation to my mother was suf1-
cient. She opened her arms to the
fugitive, and Stella North has been un-
der her charge ever since"
"Ah! and you, of course, got the
whole story from the girl?"
THAT night. There is no question
about her frankness or her honesty II
you could talk with her ten minutes
you would be assured Of that"
Undoubtedly. And now for the
facts. What are they?"
We'll, Lamm," said Thomas, there
are two sets of facts-the immediate
and the remote. Whether the remote
have any relation to the immediate l
cannot tell. Nevertheless, you shall
hear them first. To go back to Richard
Fetridge-"
= "Of course" said Lamm. EVERY
thing in the case seems to have a pc
culiar trick Of going back to him."
! Still, am unable to say that he
has any connection with this murder,
Lamm. It's mystery, old man, as
you will soon see. Stella merely cor
roborated the facts that have told
you already about Fetridge's connec-
ton with the family. 1t was just as |
said; he was in love with Marion, but
how far they went whether they were
actually engaged or not, nobody
knows; not even Stella, for the fact
comes out that Marion is very pecul-
lar woman"
Peculiar? Do you mean eccentric?'
"Well, eccentric, perhaps" said
Thomas, doubtfully. "What mean Is
that she is exceedingly self-willed and
self-reliant; that she IS naturally Sc
crettve, dislikes to make contidants
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