Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1908-01-03
CHAPTER w.
CECILY SAYS GOODBY.

-
CECILY SAYS GOODBY.
The cold light of the morning brought
with ii a profound skepticism. Cod
freys theory no longer seemed SO con-
Vincing; in fact, it did not seem con-
Vlncing at all. Many objections oc-
CURED to me; | saw that the whole
elaborate structure was built upon
qulcksand-there was no proof that any
OF the clippings referred to Tremaine
or Thompson; there was no truth that
Thompson had gathered them with
elaborate care and of set purpose, there
was no proof.
Hes-there was one point susceptible
of proof; by it the whole structure
would stand or fan.
"Mr. Royce" 1 said to our junior in
the course of the morning, II wonder if
l could be spared this afternoon? I've
some business Of my own which I'd
like very much To attend to-"
Why, certainly" he answered in
stantly; so when / left the office at
noon, | took the elevated to the Grand
central station and bought a ticket to
Os2ining. Once there, / went to the
grey old prison and stated my errand
TO Mr.. Jones, the sub-warden, whom L
found i'm charge.
i've come up from New York" | he
gan, after giving him my card, ito
see if you can identity this man." and
/ handed him the photograph Of
Thompson.
He looked at it long and searching
ly, seemingly for a time in doubt, but
at last he shook his head.
NO, l don't believe / can" he said.
There's something familiar about the
face, but | can't place it
How long have o been connected
with the prison, Mr.. Jones?' / asked.
Il began thirty years ago as guard.
But what made you think l could iden-
tify this fcllOw?"
We've rather imagined" I answered,
that his real name was Johnson and
that he served a term here for rob
berry, beginning in 1885"
He looked at the photograph again.
with a sudden flush Of excitement in
his face.
Il believe you're right" he said.
Lets look at Johnson's photo"
He consulted the index, then turned
TO one Of the wall cases.
Here he is" he said. opening a COM
partment and pointing to a photograph.
It's the same man., sure, only changed
a lot. 1t would be easy to prove it.
! suppose they toe his Bertillon meas
urements at the morgue, and we've only
to compare them with ours. They'd be
the same, no matter how much he'd
changed"
And he had changed, indeed, The
johnson of the prison photograph was.
of course, smooth shaver: his face vas
alert, intelligent; there was no scar
upon the temple, nor did the features
shoW he subtle bloating OF Ions con
tinued dissipation. But it was the same
Undoubtedly it was the same. There
was no need to apply any finer tests.
Il remember him now" said Jones,
looking from n photograph to the
other" very well. lie was a quiet. well
behaved chap-had been captain of a
little tramp steamer. / believe. Had a
perfect mania for cutting pieces out
of newspapers and FASTING them in a
scrap book. He spent all his leisure
time that way. Oh, yes: / remember.
TOO, he tried to escape, but his pal
went back on him and left him layin'
out yonder by the wall. His nal was a
bad one, he was: he got av.ay and
I've often wondered what become of
him. Here he is.
He swung open another compartment
and | found myself staring at Ire
maine!
Not until | was quite near New York
did / recover sufficiently from the eff
fects Of this discovery to heed the cry
OF the train boy as he went through the
coaches with the evening papers.
"All about tn Edgemere MURDER"
he was crying, n the name caught
my ear.
"Edgemere," / repeated to myself.
"Edgemere. I've heard that name
somewhere"
Then in a flash / remembered: and
in a ONE more the whole story of
the tragedy of the night before-the
murder of Graham and the theft of
Mrs. Delroy's neCklace-lay before me.
With what intensity of interest / read
1t can be easily imagined. / was shaken.
nervous horror-stricken. That there
was some connection between this sec
ond tragedy and the one in suite four
teen | did not doubt; and / read and
re-read the details with the greatest
care, in the effort to find where thas
connection lay.
But it was impossible to see how
Tremaine could be implicated I'm the
Edgemere mystery even in the least
degree-his alibi was perfect. On the
other hand, the evidence against young
Drysdale seemed complete in every
link. Certainly, none Of the papers
doubted mis- guilt, and they handled his
past career n his family history with
a minuteness and freedom which must
have been most trying TO his friends,
Coroner Heffelbower came in for the
lions share of praise-everyOne agreed
that he had conducted the case with
rare skill and acumen. OF course. the
Record had his photograph, as we'll as
those of his wife and six children, and
as | looked at his round face, l fancied
him strutting back and forth in his sa-
loon, inflated with pride. and listening
~approvingly TO the constant ringing of
the cash register. It's an i'll wind-but
certainly there was no denying thai he
had handled the case adroitly.
Drysdale, IL appeared, had been
lodged in the Jail at Babylon, and
steadfastly refused TO make any state
1872 &c.
the house. No reporters had been ad-
mitted to aforementioned that fact
did not prevent two or three OF them
from writing minute descriptions OF h
condition OF affairs there, and publish
ing interviews with the members of the
family. Marvellous accounts were given
of the exquisite beauty and immense
value OF the missing necklace, and the
Record published a drawing Of II from
q description by Tiffany"
We pulled into the station. and I took
q car down TO INV --a~- turning this