The De Soto County news. [volume] (Arcadia, Fla.) 1898-1924, 1905-11-10
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FOOTPRINTS
IN THE SNOW

Blk lueIta hiu putBldfth III lne euetetn
suburb Of the city, all evidently by the
same bond, and yet thu police had
not found the cuiprlt.
1 know that the police worked hard
on this case, aud that every seeming
clew was carefully followed, and that
they let boy fifteen years old take all
the credit away from them was not
their fault was that boy, and that
solved the mystery was owing 10
luck. The crimes began about the
middle OF September, aud gave them
no attention until about the LIST OF No
yember. Then I happened to be talk
ing with man who had had his push
cart stolen. This, In fact, was at the
beginning OF the thefts. lie mentioned
that the tire of one OF the wheels had
been wrapped with wire 20 tighten It.
on the night Of the talk another
house was robbed. IL was only two
blocks from my fathers house, and
went there, with others. The police re-
fused all Information, but during the
day l was told by son Of the house.
holder that they had found tracks un-
der window. II was an open fall.
and the ground had not yet frozen.
The tracks were those Of a boot, and
the sole OF one had been mended. l
wentup and down the alley In the rear
Of the house with this boy. and In
the dust we found the impress Of what
looked to be buggy tires. They were
something else, however-they were the
impress Of the tires OF that pushcart.
At every revolution one Of the wheels
left a sort Of smudge, and was jus
tifed In believing that It was the tire
that did IT,
My theory was that all the stolen
goods had been taken away In the
pushcart, but the case was blocked
right there. Where had they beep
taken7 Had l gone to the police With
my theory I should have been rldlcul
ed. The detective who can't find a
clew himself doesn't want any one else
to ind one. When had lain awake a
dozen nights trying to figure things |
out luck helped me. The streets were |
still dusty. A barn had been broken |
open and a lot OF bedding temporarily |
stored therein had been taken.
/ happened TO be passing the place |
when the discovery was made and the |
police telephoned for There were the /
tracks of the pushcart again. In the |
dusty road following the cart were
boot tracks. and one OF them had
patch on the sole. l followed them for
a mile straight out into the country
before they were lost.
IL was easy to figure that II tho thief
me- oil o. l. III. L..
was storing Il somewhere and that the
country offered a safer place than the
city. The idea now was to follow
along the road and spot OF any likely
looking place. had my mind made up
that II would be an old barn out about
two miles. walked out on the road
for five miles and found no one but
farmers OF honest standing. took
two crossroads and followed them for
a distance, but with the same result.
The thief had gone out that road with
the pushcart and the bedding, but
where had he brought up7 The wealth
or changed. the ground froze, and.
all at once the crimes ceased.
Then luck came again. | was buy
Ing a pair Of winter gloves in store
when farmer called and asked for a
pair Of mittens for a woman. Some
talk followed, and It came out that
she was widow who was living next
10 him, three miles out OF town. He
also asked where be could get a pair
II rubber boots for her
l got the Idea right then and there
hat the widow was the criminal. II
seemed absurd. but yet the Idea chung.
detective would have told me 10 20
lone and soak my head, and report
IT would have laughed me out Of his
Dom. chewed over the thing for a
week, and then something happened.
l had been sent on an errand directly
fter breakfast, and passed a house
which had been burglarized the night
efore. There were quite a number OF
eople about, and the owner was tell
az them how entrance had been effect
and what had been taken. What
unters and farmers call a tracking
now had fallen during the night, and
ne first thing | looked for was the
'ack Of that pushcart.
An alley ran alongside the house, and
lere they were. There were also
rlnts OF rubber boots. The alley gate
Dened rather hard, and sticking TO il u
ere some small threads OF blue yarn. a.
he farmer had bought blue mitteus u
II the widow. Taking up the tracks, I IT
allowed them for two miles before H
icy were obliterated by travel I kept
J to the house OF the widow and CO
und 1t small cottage. Between the de
ne and the road the cart tracks and la
e footprints We're as plain as day. st
had worked the case as far as of
uld, aud now went to the police. I eli
as sneered at and warned not TO tn
eddie with their business. l went TO bl
E sufferer by the last robbery, and as nj
was a man OF influence and anxious 70
get his property back he not only on
tened. but insisted that something a
done. A search warrant was pro- al
red, a couple OF detectives went out
the widows farm. and from an out at
n cellar enough stolen property was ms
n a. - a