The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1908-03-11
A Mystery Solved.
loriginall

they've got sensation down at L
nngham, and | want you to go the
and write 1t up, It's a mystery, al
nothing will sell papers like somethir
no fellow can find out All sorts ,
crimes-incendiarism, cattle KILN
damaging water mains--are Commits
at night and the people OF the tow
can't find out who Is the culprit."
j reached Effingham that afternoo
and concluded to get the facts inco,
None Of the people suspected was
reporter and talked freely with m
about the case. They were all YER
much excited over It. / asked ther
why they didn't set a watch. and the
said they had. but the crimes wer
committed at such long intervals tha
the watchers got tired and gave 1t up.
One Of the citizens OF the place, 4 Mr.
Harrison Barker. felt sure l had seer
BEFORE. That clean shaven face, those
ached brows and high cheek bones
were certainly familiar to me, but his
eountenance was serene, and 1t seemed
that when I had seen the man before
y had been in trouble. In vain l put
ny mental machinery In motion to
recall the circumstances under which
] had seen him. The mental cogwheels
worked well enough, but nothing was
ground out ! chatted with him and
asked him II he remembered having
net me before He looked me over
carefully. but said he had no remem-
hrance Of me whatever.
Nothing bothers one so much az fail.
mg to recall what he is sure he has
Deem familiar with. 1t makes him feel
g Il something Is wanting in him. ri
uied to get a starter for my remem.
Drance BY finding out all about Mr.
Barker and learned that he was one of
me most respectable citizens Of Effinc
nam. had lived there a long while, had
an excellent wife and sons and daugh. |
ters, who were a credit to him. Fur.
mermore. he had never been to the
CITY IN which ! lived, had never been
% trouble and had thus far passed
% uneventful life. My inquiries gave
me no clew whatever.
Why | connected Mr.. Barker with
ne mystery had come down to write
lp ! cannot even imagine. Perhaps itl
ms something In his eye. But II III
Noticed anything peculiar in It no one
zee did. One Of the things l learned
lDout him was that he suffered from
insomnia and would often get up when
'thers were asleep and walk the
meets Possibly these two facts TAX.
n together may have given me a
'ague impression.
isent In couple Of columns of copy
my paper full of incidents connected
nth the mystery and wrote that i
Fculd remain at Efingham for awhile
nth view to sending some explana-
on A detective was expected, and /
'as curious to know what he would {
" about it. Meanwhile there was no {
.pedtion Of the mysterious crimes. q
On, think, the third night Of my I
ny In Efingham I was sitting alone q
every one but myself was In bed--on
le porch OF my hotel smoking. heard t
'otsteps, and presently a light fixed j
the porch showed me the face Of Mr.. c
arker, who was walking along the Q
fewalk. The expression was not only Il
at Of one suffering from insomnia; q
was strained look as Of one in men b
distress AS soon as he had passed n
arose and followed him. o.
Not person except he and I was p
the streets. saw him pass to the
tskirts OF the town. lost him In b,
shadow Of barn, and he did not d.
lerge for several minutes. When he th
ne turned to come back, and / hid pl
self behind fragment of a fence al
passed very close to me, and / was tf
out to follow him when saw a al
ht In the opposite direction. In an OF
Ter moment a small fame appeared en
the base Of the barn. Instead of M
lowing Mr.. Barker / rushed to the
n, to find that it had been set on
at three different places. | ex-
guished the incipient fires, then
Mt to my hotel. The mystery was -:
we'd. CIV
'efore retiring | telegraphed stick Ii
OF news to my paper, merely stating ant
7 prominent citizen of Efingham prt
the guilty person in the matter of Ca
mysterious crimes and solution pis
the mystery would be given in the
7 issue-Sunday morning.
ow Harrison Barker proved to be
Inc, his insanity appearing only In
insomnia; how he was sent to an mn
lum, so far as this story Is concern. cal
is unimportant, but there is one fri,
ure of the case that gives remark dol
ending Several years before a tbo
ng man named Gawtry had been 2
] and convicted of committing these sno
crimes. He was torn from a hin
lg wife and babe and sent to prison /"
term OF fifteen years. When Har- Z"
Barker came into court ! was wa,
?. A man standing by me said to oan
her, Hes the image of Gawtry.
was convicted of the same crime"
twinkling it flashed through my a,
! where | had seen or fhnnnht 1 did,