The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1906-11-30

fresher events we're aIreaay crowding
this three da- wonder to the wall
Verdict III case of Wallace
Pfeiffer. found lying dead on the
hearthstone of the old Moore house Ii
brary.
Conclusion of the brain. preceded
by mental shock or heart failure
The body Went on TO Denver today
And below, separated By the narrow
est of spaces:
Mr.. and Mrs. Francis Jeffrey have
decided to give up their wedding tour
and spend their honeymoon in Wash
ington. They will occupy the Ran
some house on X street
The last paragraph brought me back
to the question then troubling my
mind Was it in the household of this
newly married pair and in the possible
secret passions underlying their union
that one should look for the cause OF
the murderous crime l secretly i'm
agined to be hidden behind this seem
fig suicide, or we're these parties IN
nocent and old David Moore the one
motive power in precipitating trag-
edy the result of which had been to
enrich him and impoverish them: Ger
taiuly a most serious and important
question and one which any man might
be pardoned for attempting to answer,
especially if that man was a young de-
tective lamenting his obscurity and
dreaming of recognition which would
yield him fame and the wherewithal
TO marry certain clever but mis-
chievous little mink of whom you are
| destined TO hear more.
But how was that same young de-
tectiye, hampered as he was and held
/ in thrall by a fear of ridicule and a
| total lack of record, TO get the chance
/ to push an inquiry requiring opportEni-
| ties which could only come by special
| favor? This was what l continually
asked myself, and always without re-
! suit.
| True, l might approach the captain
or the major with my story of the
| telltale marks / had discovered in the
/ dust covering the southwest chamber
! mantelshelf, and, If fortunate enough
! to find that these had been passed over
by the other detectives, seek to gain
hearing thereby and secure for my
self the privileges / SO earnestly de-
sired. But my egotism was such that
WISucu W DC Sui z VI tdC HILL
had made these marks before / parted
with a secret which, once told, would
make or mar me. Yet to obtain the
| slight concession of an interview with
any of the principals connected with
this crime would be difficult without
the aid of one or both Of my superiors.
Even to enter the house again where
but a few hours before l had made
myself so thoroughly at home would
require a certain amount of pluck, for
Durbin had been installed there, and
| Durbin was q watchdog whose bite
as well as his bark / regarded with
considerable respect. Yet into that
house / must sooner or later go, if only
to determine whether or not i had
been alone in my recognition Of GER
tain clews pointing plainly toward
murder. Should l trust my lucky star
and remain for the nonce quiescent?
This seemed q wise suggestion, and
decided to adopt it, comforting myself
with the thought that if after a day
or two of modest waiting l failed in
obtaining what I wished / could then
appeal to the lieutenant of my own
precinct. He, / had sometimes felt as
sured, did not regard me with an al
together unfavorable eye.
Meantime l spent all my available
time in lettering around newspaper Of
fees and picking up such stray bits of
gossip as were offered. AS no question
had yet been raised of any more Sc
rious crime than suicide, these mostly
related to the idiosyncrasies of the
Moore family and the solitary position
into Uhiab Miss TnftIa had boon
plunged by this sudden death of her
only relative. AS this beautiful and
distinguished young woman had been
and still was a great belle in her spe-
cial circle. her present homeless. if not
penniless, position led to many sur
misses. Would she marry, and, if so,
to which of the many wealthy or
prominent men who had openly court
ed her would she accord her hand? IN
the present egotistic state of my mind
/ secretly fattered myself that / was
right in concluding that she would say
yes TO no mans entreaty till certain
newly made widower's year of mourn
ing had expired.
But this opinion received something
of check when in a quiet talk with
reporter l learned that it was openly
stated by those who had courage to
speak that the tie which had certainly
existed at one time between Mr.. JEFF
frey and the handsome Miss Tuttle had
been entirely of her own weaving, and
that the person of Veronica Moore,
rather than the large income she COM
manded. had been the attractive pow
er which had led him away from the
older sister. This seemed improbable,
for the charms of the poor little bride
were not to be compared with those of
her maturer sister. Yet, as we all
know, there are other attra ctions than
those offered by beauty. l have since
heard it broadly stated tLat the Pc
culiar twitch of the lip observable in
all the Moores had proved an irresist
ible charm in the unfortunate Veronica,
making her a radiant image when she
laughed. This was by no means rare
occurrence, so they said. before the
fancy took her to be married in the i'll
starred home of her ancestors.
The few lines of attempted explana-