Connecticut western news., 1907-10-24
MYSTERIOUS DEVOE
 AT CAMP GROUND
HIGHWAYMEN AND MURDERERS

HlGHWAYMEN AND MURDERERS The House of Mystery From Which
 ''Biood" 0ozed and Into Which "Cof- fins" Were Carried-The Strange
 Liquid, the Woman and the Saucer
 Crawling on all Fours-The lden-
 tificatien-CaIm Follows Storm.
 When we told the story of the arrest of the Italians who sold liquor in North Canaan we promised 'more anon" rela- tive to the erratic occupancy of a cottage at the camp ground by "Mr. Devoe' alias Merrll s. Louks.
 Why MT. Louks rented that cottage we don't attempt to tell but the fact re- mains that he did rent it. Neither do we attempt to tell why he didn t dress up each afternoon in his best bib and tucker take copy of The Christian Advocate, sit out on the front piazza, look sancti monious, admire the beautiful scenery and do many other things in keeping with the air of peace, quiet and solem- nifty of this camp meeting spot. He didn't however.
 When he left the building he drew the shades. locked the door and put the key in his pocket. Sometimes he returned at meal time and sometimes he didn't. He didn't spout information as to his past and present. He simply represented that he was Hartford photographer en- toying an outing and if the campers didn't see fit to believe the story it was all the same to him. As 8 mingler they pronounced him dismal failure.
 Soon it became whispered about that he entered the cottage late at night and left it before the other cottagers aresei in the morning. This looked suspicious. The women folks began to lose their in terest in fashions, in the beauties of the camp ground as vacation spot and in the various other topics of small talk so dear to the feminine heart. All atten- tion was centered on the mysterious man with the strange ways And in this mystery the men folks also became in- terested.
 It occurred to the feminine mind that perhaps this man was a burglar. From this snpposition to fixed opinion was short jump. Thereafter in the minds of the campers he was bold, bad house breaker. The women all slept with one eye open and their valnables under their pillows and they do tell as how four of them tied to their toes, strings which connected with one main string out side the windows and having its end in the cottage of a particularly nervous woman who proposed to pull this string as soon as the burglar" entered her house thereby waking the others and producing commotion that would scare him into fits.
 But nothing was "burgled" and then in the minds of the cottagers be became a highwayman and it was deemed dangerous to be on the road after the sun went down.
 The suspense finally became almost unbearahle and curiosity increased apace. Nothing else was talked of at the camp ground.
 Things remained at this stage for several days or until the morning follow ing the evening when ''DeVoe'' accom- panied by a poorly dressed, disreputable looking fellow was seen to enter the cottage, close and lock the door and draw the shades. The meanness of those men in keeping their doings a secret was unanimously judged to be unprece- dented- While in other cottages the shades were raised and the light of publicity allowed to shine in, here were two strangers who, in addition to car ing nothing about the business of the other cottagers, absolutely refused to let folks know what they were doing, how they were doing it and why. The reader can imagine what consternation this caused in a community where the fair sex predominated.
 On the morning in question one of the women cottagers rose early. She had not slept we'll during the night. How can one sleep while expecting every moment to be kidnapped by pair of desperadoes and carried off to desert isle in Twin Lakes and there held for ransom? Such horrible contemplations would keep anyone awake.
 This lady opened her cottage door, peered cautiously out and as the coast seemed to be clear, took look around.
 Everything connected with the house of mystery was quiet as the tomb Suddenly she made discovery that caused her to clutch a. convenient tree for support. Out of the corner of the mysterious cottage small stream of something resembling blood was slowly