Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-04-03
DAILY SHORT STORY
A WoMAN'S WAY.


copyright. 1906. by Mcclure, Phillips & Col
Harry SHELTON passed q vacation at
Wolverhampton, where he met Awna
Saunders. who was poor. Somehow
she heard that Shelton had some mon
ey. Her father was supposed to be
rich, but was insolvent. She resolved
to marry Shelton. and he resolved to
marry her. Both succeeded. When
the secret was out they tried TO make
the best of 1t.
Shelton rented a modest house and
moved in. and for a few months the
couple made the best of things. Then
the woman's blighted ambitions made
q termagant Of her.
One morning, after the newly mar
ried couple had been occupying the
house about nine months. Skelton ar
rived home after having been out all
night. He had passed the night at the
village inn, going to bed at 10 O'Clock
and getting up at g. He admitted that
his absence from home was on ac-
count of quarrel Ten minutes after
entering the house he issued forth and
spread the alarm that his wife was
not within and that there were evil
dences TINT she had been murdered.
OF course there was instant excite
ment Among the numerous people adj
mitted to the house was an understood
man of middle age who had reached
the village the evening Before and was
supposed to be IL government official OF
some sort What was found i'll and
around the house resulted ia Skeletons
Nod
evidences of terrible struggle. There
was blood on the walls; there was
blood on an aX lying on the floor; there
was lock of the wife'S hair that had
been pulled out by tie roots; there
was blood on the stairs and in the hall
and on the back door step. y body
had been dragged over the grass and
dirt to the river, a distance of over 100
feet.
The police and others saw all these
things, but it was afterward remem-
bered that the little stranger seemed
more interested than any one else.
Mrs. Shelton had been seen alive and
well the previous evening. The huS-
band could show that he arrived at the
White Swan at 8 O'Clock, played bill
lizards until 10 and then went to bed.
Unfortunately for him, he had been
given d room on the first floor anG it
would have been dead easy for him to
have opened the window and stepped
out. He could have gone home, COM
mitted the deed and returned without
anybody being the wiser
The little man went with the oficers
| to examine the room at the hotel, ana
here again it was seen that he was
| more critical than the officers. Mid
way between the house and the river
was sandy spot The officers follow
| ed the trail across this. The little man
| did more. When the officers retired he
took plaster casts Of some footprints
| Then he returned to the house and
! quietly possessed himself of wom-
ans shoe When Harry SHELTON was
| removed to Jail there was not person
belonging to the village that did not
believe him guilty Two days later,
when arraigned for examination he
| was promptly committed to- the assizes.
OF course the river had been dragged
| for the body of the victim. Not being
found after d days search, word had
been sent on downstream. thou
sand people perhaps looked for the
body along the banks as far down as
Bridgenorth. but 1t was not TO be
found. A woman's dressing sack with
one Of the sleeves torn out was dlscoV-
cred hftched to bush and was identi-
fed as belonging TO the missing VIE
Skeletons lamentations and protesta-