Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-06-29
CHAPTER XIX.

these days OF Sldrp news ConapoIA.Aon'
occasionally clogs the wheels Of JUS
tice in the effort to supply the public
with the latest news in great criminal
affairs lin little ones, where the In
terest is not great, there is little fault
to be found, 1t must none the less be
said that in most cases the extreme
publicity given to the details becomes
dn itself a mighty engine OF detection.
Possessed of all the facts. the entire
public is resolved into detective
force. The salient points of the case,
which in other countries are kept pro-
foundly secret among few men. are
An everybodys mouth. The people are
made familiar with the appearance,
the histories, the peculiar facts in the
lives of the victim, and of those sus-
pected of completely in the crime. The
result is that few hours after the
publication of the important details OF
mysterious crime people begin to
dock to the Offices of the great news
papers, eager to contribute the mite
OF information which they possess. AS
time goes on, and the facts gain a
wider and wider circulation, even that
ever-lessening circle which poverty,
ignorance or stupidity isolates from
the fountain-head of general informa
Mon, the newspaper, is reached, and If
there is any suspicious fact known to
any disinterested person tn the COM
munity 1t is more than likely to be
brought to light through the same Pc
culiar channel
The North case was certainly not an
anomaly in this respect. North &
Etackhouse were too well known
Through their dealings with the public
mot to have left all sorts of "clews"
and suspicious circumstances In the
past, which were sure to come out as
soon as the dreadful crime set every
body talking about them. To Thomas
were referred daily several people who
came to the Globe Office for the pur-
pose OF affording, through that jour
nal, some assistance in carrying on the
important investigation, which, though
as yet SO little successful, had set
everybody agog with wonder. From
these people the reporter learned that
North and Stackhouse had many enc
miles, more or less bitter and personal
rising from their questionable business
TRANSACTIONS; but there was nothing
which impressed him as sufficiently
promising to be important until the
morning Of Saturday, June 25, gen.
tleman called who related little cir
curlstance which seemed to him preg-
nant with possible significance It
certainly lacked no element Of roman
tic and mysterious interest.
It was an episode in Boston bro
ker's Office in which a very pretty
woman figured. The man could not
recall all the details, but he recollected
that this woman had preceded him in
the occupancy of an inner Office, and
that while he was waiting for her to
come out he heard scraps of a very
animated conversation of which North
e Stackhouse were the subject In the
partition between the outer and inner
office were series of large windows,
which were generally In various de-
grees OF openness. AS he stood with
his back against the partition, the mar
rator could not we'll avoid hearing the
conversation between the broker and
his fair Client and after the glimpse
he had caught of the latter his curios-
ity was considerably aroused. The
broker seemed to have been defending
the reputation of North & Stackhouse,
on the ground that it was necessary to
expect just such phenomena in the
stock market, but the woman, who
seemed to have been a heavy loser in
the Nicaragua Midland, was unsparing
in her denunciations Of the firm, which
she delivered in not especially choice
English with slight foreign accent,
but in the bitterest and most vindic-
tive tone imaginable.
"Hush!" said the broker, suddenly:
''there Is Mr.. Stackhouse now" And
sure enough, the junior partner Of the
aforesaid firm was crossing the of1ce
at that minute. Immediately there
was suppressed scream, followed by
a rustic of silk, and the door between
the inner and outer offices closed with
a violence that caused the listener to
rebound from the partition. The
clerks looked up from their writing.
Stackhouse himself appeared slightly
startled, but he seemed to be in a
hurry and transacted his business and
fastened out in short space of time.
Meanwhile in the inner Office the bro
ker was addressing his client in tones
of solicitous alarm. What was the
matter?
"And do you mean to tell me that
that man was this Mr.. Stackhouse, of
North & Stackhouse?" the woman said,
hurriedly.
"To .e sure he isl answered the
broker.
"And it is to that man that I was
intrusting my money!"
There was such a dangerous infec-
ton in the woman's voice that the
broker was apparently surprised into
silence, and Immediately she broke out
in the most violent imprecations and
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