davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times., 1905-06-25
" X The Musgrave Ritual

deep and four feet square lay open to
US. At one side of this was a squat,
brass-bound wooden box, the lid OF
which was hinged upward, with this
curious oId-fashioned key projecting
from the lock. It was furred outside by
a thick layer of dust, and damp and
worms had eaten through the wood, so
that a crop of ivid fungi was growing
on the inside of 1t. Several uses Of
metal. old coins apparently, such as
hold here, were scattered over the bot
tom Of the box. but il contained nothing
else.
AT the moment, however, we had no
thought for the old chest, for our eyes
were riveted upon that which crouched
beside it. 1t was the figure Of a man,
clad in suit of black, who squatted
down upon his hams with his forehead
sunk upon the edge of the box and his
two arms thrown out on each side of it.
The attitude had drawn all the stag
nant blood to the face and no man
could have recognized that distorted
liver-colored countenanee; but his
height, his dress, and MS hair were all
sufficient to show my client, when we
had drawn the body up, that it was
indeed his missing butler. He had been
dead some days. but there was no
WOuIlu DTGISS UPON HIS EGISOO TO
show how he had met his dreadful end
When his body had been carried from
the cellar we found ourselves still ceia-
fronted with a problem which was al
most as formidable as that with which
we had started.
II confess that so far, Watson, 1 had
been disappointed in my investigation
had reckoned upon solving the matter
when once I had found the place re-
! ferred 70 in the ritual: but now 1 was
| there. and was apparently as far as ever
| from knowing what II was which the
| family had concealed with such elabo-
| rate precautions 1t is true that I had
| thrown light upon the fate OF Brur-
| ton, but now I had TO ascertain hsw
that fate had come upon him, and what
part had been played Il the matter by
! the woman who had disappeared I sat
down upon a key in The corner and
thought the whole matter carefully over.
You know my methods in such cases,
| Watson. l put myself in the mans
place and, having first gagged his in
| telligence. l try to imaigne how should
myself have proceeded under the same
/ circums tances. In this case the matter
was simplified by Bruntor.'s intelligence
being first rate, SO that IL was unneces-
sary to make any allowance for the per-
sonal equation, as the astronomers ave
dubbed il. He knew that something
valuable was concealed. He had SCOT
| ted the place. He found that the stone
which covered 1T was Just too heavy
for Il man 10 move unaided. What
| would he do next? He could not get
help from outside. even if he had some
one whom he could trust without the
unbarring Of doors and considerable
risk OF detection. 1t wcS better II ne
could, to have his helpmate inside the
house. But whom could he ask? This
girl had been devoted TO him. A man
always finds it hard to realize that he
/ may have finally lost a woman's love
however badly he may have treated her.
lie would try by Il few attentions to
i Continued on Page 9. this Sectionl
The Washington times., 1905-06-25
In the Shadow of Crime.

Wickes lives at 81 West Seventeen
street. New York He has entertained
In his home most or the prominent
jurists of the State. He is fifty years
old. and has grown children A daugh-
ter not long ago was bridesmaid at the
marriage of The daughter of Justice
Francis NJ Scott. A married son is the
proud father of two months old boy.
About two years ago he himself married
q second time, and some three weeks
ago his wife presented him with a son.
So that his grandson is older than his
youngest son. And the blight of Lewis
Jarvis is upon all these
II was under Judge E. II. Lacombe.
now of the United States Circuit Court
that Wickes was assistant corporation
council He has long been fayorite in
the best legal as in the best social cir
Giles Judges and prominent lawyers
have been his intimate friends. So
highly did the justices of the supreme
court of the State think of him, that
for wears scarcely a week has gone by
that they have not appointed him
referee in one or more cases. And the
blight of Lewis Jarvis is upon all this.
But Jarvis has been very useful to
Wickes. When Wickes wanted some
client to know of his high standing the
client would receive d letter from Jar
Wis telling him what great man Wickes
The Washington times., 1905-06-25
Continued From Second Page.>

Have you any old eims?' 1 asked
g There used to be u very old one over
yonde-, but it was struck by lightning
ten years ago, and we cut down the
stump.
You can see where it used TO be?'
oh, yes
There are no other elms?'
6 No old ones. but plenty of beeches'
e I should like to see where it grew.
eve had driven up In a dogcart. and
my client led me away at once. without
our entering the house, to the scar on
the lawn where the elm had stood 1t
was nearly midway between the oak
and the house. My investigation seemed
to be progressing
i suppose it is impossible to find out
how high the elm was7' l asked
I can give you II at once It was
siXty-four feet
asked, in surprise
When my old tutor used to give me
an exercise in trigonometry, 1t always
took the shape of measuring heights.
When l was lad I worked out every
tree and building in the estate
This was an unexpected piece OF
~ than l could have reasonably hoped
% Tell me, 1 asked, did your butler
ever ask you such question:?
Reginald Musgrave looked at me in
establishment. Now that you call it tc
my mind he answered, Bruntcn die
| ask me about the height of the tree
some months ago, in connection witt
some little argument with the groom
Va
| it showed me that I was on the right
/ road. l looked up at the sun. 1t was
low in the heavens, and 1 calculated
! chat in less than an hour it would lii
! just above the topmost branches of thu
| old oak One condition mentioned in tn,
Ritual would then be fulfilled. And TIT
| shadow CT the elm must mean the far
Their end of the shadow. otherwise tn
| trunk would have been chosen as tn
| guide I had, then, to find where tn
far end of the shadow would fall wheI
| the sun was just clear of the oak"
! THAT must have been difficult
Holmes. when the elm was no longe
| there.
We'll at least l knew that If Bruntol
could do it, 1 could also Besides, Their
was no real difficulty. / went wit
Musgrave to his study and whitfield my
self this peg, to which l tied this lon
string with a knot at each yard. The
| took two lengths of fishing roc
which came to just six feet, and L wen
back with my client to where the elT
!, had been. The sun was just grain
the top OF the oak. l fastened the TO
OF end. marked out the direction of tn
u shadow, and measured it. 1t was min
feet in length.
: .'Of course the calculation now we
a simple one. II rod of six fe'
threw a shadow of nine. a tree of 81!
ty-four feet would throw one Of ninet.
r six, and the line of the one would
course be the line of the other. l mea:
:: ured out the distance. which brought n
almost to the wall Of the house. ar
el thrust a peg into the spot. You CO
The Washington times., 1905-06-25

have entertained me very handsomely
in the past. and l would be glad to do
you some service
May write that many of your
friends think you have pursued this law
suit with DIR. Grinnoll long enough?
You must know you can never win the
case. You admit that you caused the
arrest tat least that is the statement
made in the answer, sworn to by you,
which Mr. Mitchell prepared for you);
the Seeti9n aSS Of tie Code v6 of
had no right to make the arresI, or to
cause it to be made; therefore, DIR.
Grinneil becomes entitled, in any event,
to have compensation damages; and,
also, II the jury should find from the
evidence that you acted careiessly, or
without due regard to the rights OF an
besides The other Jury gave 81, 500.
This jury gives $1,000. Would it do
any good to appeal? Suppose you should
succeed in setting this verdict aside
also. would DIR. Grinncll be thereby pre-
vented from getting another verdict?
Commodore, as long as your answer re-
mains what it is. the case cannot be
changed, and you could not alter your
answer so as to make it really differ
emit effectively and legally different,
without running the risk OF a prosecu-
ton for perjury?
Then, why not make an end of the
case, Commodore? You have put up a
| better for you than Mr.. Osborne.
heard nine-tenths of this last trial, and
could not but admire his wonderful
management of the defense, in spite OF
your absence. You were favored by
good fortune, too. DIR. GrinnelI was
very kind and generous toward you in
his testimony, and then Senator o. Sulli-
van summed the case up on the plain
| tiff's side; if Mr.. Wickes had made the
| final address to the jury, / believe that
| the verdict would have been at least
$4,000 against you. But the publicity
| given to the matter hurts your good
name-al your friends here are saying
| So The newspapers were full of it in
| March, 1901; again at the last trial they
| published columns about ii, and today
| every one CT the morning papers has
| an Item about the verdict 1t is not
a matter Of money with you-of course
know that. but would il not be better
| for your reputation to stop the case
here?
pray think of these suggestions. my
| dear commodore, for your own sake and
! consider them. Talk them over with
your good wife. or any other disinter-
! ested friend. | would be very glad &c
| write you again. If you would like Il
have me; and | will answer any ques.
I-tions you may put as fully as possible
J But l rather imagine that / need only
| TO give you the hint; your own gooo
sense and excellent judgment will dc
the rest. Very truly, yours,
LEWIS JARVIS.
| Hon. Edward Weston
That was comparatively mild. Tn
reference 10 what Wickes would hay
The Washington times., 1905-06-25

will drawn up. Because of super
stition'' she asked him 20 write it by
hand instead of having it typewrit-
ten, and Wickes wrote it out himself.
The woman distributed hundreds of
thousands of dollars worth of property
Wicikes named himself one OF the exec
utors and his Office staff served as
witnesses. There was no doubt that
the will was written by the man who
wrote the Jarvis letters.
Since then Evan Shelby. another law
yer acting for Mr.. Weston, has been
advertising for other recipients of let
tiers from Lewis Jarvis. He has heard
from quite a number. They took their
evidence to Jerome, and Jerome thought.
as Osborne had, that they were crazy.
But Jerome investigated and was con-
WINGED. He took it to the grand jury.
after examining the evidence. and.
questioning Wickes. returned an in
dictm-nt. Wickes, it = said, admitted
the authorship of the Jarvis letters to
the grand jury. but calmly said. What
Of it? No harm in that. or words
10 that effect
The Washington times., 1905-06-25
Settling With Jarvis"

1t Is said that on Wickes' bills. writ
Ing letter to Jarvis. I" reading letter
from Jarvis settling with Jarvis"
We're not infrequent items.
The beginning of the lawyers down.
fall dates from the first letter he wrote
Weston. To fully appreciate the story
1t is necessarg- to go back TO the begin
ming of March, 1901, when Weston. a
millionaire inventor and manufacturer.
called upon the New York police TO ar
rest one Edward Raynor, a notorious
crock, by whom he had been swindled
One day man resembling Raynor
was seen in the Waldorf. and Weston
asked the house detective to shadow
him until he could call up the detective
bureau The man supposed to be Ray
nor was traced to the Grand Central
Station. where. as he was about TO board
train with a woman, he was arrested
by Detective Sergeant McConviIIe. and
locked up at police headquarters over
night. The next day it was positively
established that it was not Raynor, but
Dr. Grinnell of the University of YER
mont who had been arrested
Realizing his mistake Weston wrote
g long letter of apology to Dr. Grin
nell, anu offered to compensate him for
the annoyance to which he had been
subjected. AT the time Dr. Grfnnen ac-
cepted the apology and declined com
pensauon, saying that he believed the
mistake was an honest one He com
pialhed bitterly. however, of the treat
inent TO which he had been subjected
by the police, and saw the then DEPUTY
Commissioner Devery Deyery while
he said he would, of course. entertain
lint tie
that the doctor cared to make. advised
him not to make any. DIR. Grinneu has
testlhed that the best chief of police
that New York ever had advised him
TO squeeze this man Weston. who is a
mllhonafre,' for in that way he could
get bunch of money out of the affair.
whlie u he made trouble for the police
he would only antagonize some yalu-
able witnesses
The Washington times., 1905-06-25
TIP N1CKE5- OxVzZEl 4T Sc 8zHDZB SZ
Indicted Man Stood So High in Gotham's
Legal Circles That a Warrant Was
Issued Only on Absolute
Proof of Guilt.

was When 1t was necessary In a trial
10 nave the jurors know things which
could not go into the evidence, one or
more OF them would get letters from
Jarvis enlightening them. When services
were to be rendered for Wickes' clients.
jarvis was recommended for the job
And he usually got it. And those who
have been investigating the case say
that the most important of Jarvis.
duties was to write letters to various
persons, some of them Wickes' clients.
threatening to expose them. Wickes. il
is said generally advised his clients 10
settle with Jarvis. And they, as rule,
took his advice.
The Washington times., 1905-06-25
Jarvis and Wickes.

Thomas Pr Wickes, of the Lawyers,
University, New York Athletic. Mendels-
sohn Glee, and a score of other exclu-
sive clubs; Thomas P. Wickes of "a
West SEVENTEEN street and 81 Beaver
street. AID Lewis Jarvis. of nowhere in
particular and Lock Box iGo4, New York.
Thomas p. WiclScs and Lewis Jarvis-as
wide apart as the poles, Yet the twain
are one flesh The two characters are
the evolution of the one brain. the oc-
cupants of the one body, with the same
blood flowing through the same veins.
What wonder that Gotham-even
Gotham. the great and the impertura-
ble-is gasping?
Stranger than any tale of dual per-
sonality that has appeared in the realm
of fiction for many years is the story
which was revealed ten days ago by the
arrest of Thomas P. Wickes, and is even
now unfolding itself in the New York
courts The arrest of the eminent law
year shocked the entire legal fraternity.
The arrest of Lewis Jarvis. the alleged
blackmailer. would not in itself have
raised a ripple. But that the one should
be the other. the soul of honor and a
rascal who by the insidious method of
threatening letters sought to accom-
piish ends to which the other would not
StOOp.
The Washington times., 1905-06-25

imagine my exuItation, Watson, when
within two inches of my peg 1 saw a
contcai depression in the ground 1 knew
that it was the mark made by Brunton
in his measurements, and that I was
still upon his trail
From this starting point I proceed
ed 10 STEP having first taken the car
dinal points by my poclzet-compass Ten
steps with each foot took me along
parallel with the wall of the house, and
again 1 marked my spot with a peg.
Then 1 carefully paced of I've TO the
east and two to the south. It brought
me TO the very threshold of the old door.
TWO steps 70 the west meant now that
l was to go two PAGES down the stone
tagged passage, and this was the place
indicated by the Ritual
Y ~
Never have 1 felt such a cold chill
of disappointment, Watson. For a mo-
| ment it seemed to me that there must
be some radical mistake in my caicu-
| lations. The setting sun shone full
upon the passage floor, and I could see
that the old, foot-worn gray stones with
which it was paved were firmly cement
ed together, and had certainly not been
moved for many long year. Brunton
1
upon the floor, but it sounded the same
all over. and there was no sign OF any
crack or crevice. But, fortunately, Mus
grave, who had begun to appreciate the
meaning of my proceedings, and who
was now as excited as myself, took out
his manuscript to check my calculations
Ana under he cried. You have
emitted the land UNDER
II had thought that it meant that
we Were to dig, but now, of course
saw at once that l was wrong. There
is cellar under this them I cried.
Yes. and as old as the house Down
here, through this door
We went down a winding stone stair
and my companion, striking a match, Ii
a large lantern which stood on a barre
in the corner. In an instant II wa:
5obvious that we had at last come upor
the true place, and that we had no
been the only people 10 visit the spo
recently.
TT had been used for the storage O.
wood, but the b.llets. which had evi
IDENTIFY been Uttered over the floor, wer,
now piled at the sides. so as to leave
clear space in the middle. In this spac,
lay large and heavy fiagstone with
rusted iron ring in the center to which
a thick shepherds cheek muffler wa
attached
by Jove." cried my client. That
, Brunton's muffler. L have seen it Oh
: him, and could swear TO it. What ha
the villain been doing here?
AT my suggestion a couple of tn
county police were summoned TO b
present, and I then endeavored to rails
s the stone by pulling on the cravat.
t could only move 1t slightly, and it wa
: with the aid of one of the consta BILE
: that l succeeded at last in carrying it I
I one side. A black hole yawned peneat
: into which we all peered. while Mus
e grave, kneeling at the side pushed dow
d the lantern.
n "A small chamber about sever fee
The Washington times., 1905-06-25
Brought Suit for $4,000.

Grinneil decided to take this advice
ana began suit against Weston for go
wv damages, employing 'Wfckes and for
ner state Senator Thomas c. O'Sulliyan
as ms counsel. He was awarded sl2-
ooo, but Weston appealed the case and
the decision was reversed When the
case came up again former Assistant
District Attorney james w Osborne
was acting for Weston, and he amended
the answer which Weston's first LAWYER
had lid. Instead of admitting that he
hac caused Grinnell's arrest, Weston in
the amended answer averred that II
had been made by the police department
Of the city and that he was not respon-
sible- Ii was this change which inspired
the threatening Jarvis letters
The second trial was held before Jus-
tice Dpgro and resulted In verdict of
$4,000 for Grinnell. Justice Dugro, how
ever, announced that the sum was too
large. and unless the plaintiff was WILL
ing tG accept half that amount he would
set il aside. The plaintiff declined and
a new trial began several weeks ago 1t
was halted by the illness of juror. The
case came UP for the fourth time on
Wednesday, jane 7. 1t was then that
the threatening letters were intro
duced in the evidence, and the case
was adjourned for investigation. When
it was resumed the following Monday
Wickes failed to put in an appearance,
and Thomas OSulliyan announced that
because of the action of his associate
he begged leave 10 withdraw from the
case. DIR. Grinnell asked permission to
drop the suit. and Mr.. Osborne, consent
ing TO the dismissal, said that not a
breath of suspicion attached to either
O'SullivaE or Grinnen. and that he did
not believe they had any knowledge OF
the sending of the letters.
Thus ended the case of Grinnell VS..
Weston, to be superseded by the case
of :t,e People VS.. Wickes, alias Jarvis.
The Washington times., 1905-06-25
Watched the Box.

Weston did not reply to this letter,
but when he received several more. each
one more insistent than the last. he took
them to Osborne and decided with his
approval to find out who was writing
them. He really expected to find that
the mysterious Jarvis was none other
than his old friend Raynor. He watched
Lock Box 1904 and after While
saw a man come up and open the box.
He could not believe the evidence of his
own eyes. and followed his man TO q
stronger light to make sure that the
man who carried the key to the Jarvis
letter box was really the distinguished
attorney who had been fighting his
case.
When he told Osborne, Osborne told
him he was crazy. But the letters kept
on coming. They grew more insistent,
and finally d threatening note crept into
them. The last of them, dated May 10,
read, in part:
Il wrote you two or three friendly
letters in February. but you appear 10
have paid no attention to them at all.
Look what a spectacle you make of
yourself with your two answers, both OF
which you Swore to, on 6le in the court,
because l see that they are both on file;
and some one has obtained from the
county clerk a certified copy of each.
Maybe they are to be laid before a police
magistrate, and an application made for
a warrant for your arrest on the charge
of perjury. l do not know that any
such thing is in contemplation, but u
pretty good criminal complaint could be
made against you-now, couldal IT,
rather better than the complaint which
you got McConville to swear to foul
years ago when you had Grinnell ar
rested.
do you want to have 1t go out il
the community, after you have beer
licked to the tune of $l2, 500 by one jury
and $4,000 by another, that in order /,
escape. if you possibly can. a third yer
: dict against you, you have resoTted L
| perjury? Both answers can't be true
! Commodore, yet you have sworn t
| both. In one you swear that you dix
| cause Grinnell's arrest: in the othe
| you swear that you did not have hin
| arrested
! do you want it to get out in you
| patent suits that you are not to be be
| lieved under oath. or that YOU will swea
| To papers according to your convent
ence instead of according To the truth
| Il tried to tell you all this in Febru
airy. but you wouldn't listen TO me
| What you have done. you seem 10 hav
The Washington times., 1905-06-25
Postoafce Inspectors Called In.

The postofice inspectors plugged the
keyhoie to the box which Jarvis used
so that the next TING he came he would
have to ask for his mail in person.
Then they stationed people who knew
Wickes near the box. These saw him
insert the key and try to open the box
Failing, he applied TO a clerk for his
mail, which included a registered letter
from Weston, for which he signed,
Lewis Jarvis"
All the Jarvis letters had bsen writ
ten by hand. and the second trap was
to get a standard Of comparison by
which to judge them. 4 clevec English
woman was sent to his Office 70 have a
The Washington times., 1905-06-25

TN the same framework of flesh and
bones there has been dwelling for
possibly the last decade-for GER
tainIy six or eight years-two such
different Municipalities that New York
is simply gasping at the shock of the
discovery Of their identity. New York,
be 1T observed, does not gasp at moth
ing.
On the one hand there is Thomas P
Wickes. Yale graduate, former assistant
corporation counsel. one of the best
known lawyers in New York, an init
mate of judges, an attorney of promi-
nence, large practice, and social posi-
uon-in short. an eminently respectable
and sedate member of the New York
bar-a cfubman and man of family.
On the other hand there is Lewis Jar
Wis, stealthy back-door cadger after
dollars. a writer of matchmaking letters,
using the information gained profess
sionaily by Thomas Wickes. the respec-
ia Bile, to forward his schemes of extor-
ton.
The Washington times., 1905-06-25

done deliberately. There is only one
chance for you to get out; will you be
man enough to take ii and be quick
about it,, or will you continue to be led
like blind man. upon advice which I
still believe must be against your own
good Judgment. but which. just as sure
~ as you live, will take you TO Sing
Sing2 Sincerely yours,
LEWIS JARVIS"
This was a little too much and they
took it to the postal authorities. and
two traps were set that there might
be no mistake as TO Wickes' identify
He fell into them both.
The Washington times., 1905-06-25

done had be made the final address to
the jury was the sort of casual remark
that carries weight. 1t was character
istic of many letters which have since
turned up in which Jarvis has hawked
Wickes legal wares.