Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1908-09-10

hair an intense blue black, his slngu-
lar personality alone had anywhere
and at all times attracted special often.
ton to the man; but coupled with this
distinguished personality. and sin.
Cling him out as remarkable in the
highest degree, was the fact that he
lived in duplicate.
Thus-if on Monday he arose early.
breakfasted on coffee. toast and eggs,
afterwards retired to his rooms TO
occupy himself until noon at his desk:
then. after partaking Of lunch, quit his
rooms to ramble about the city. giving
aims TO the old blind organ woman.
going up and down particular streets
and through particular quarters, thence
back to his hotel. to his dinner, to his
desk after dinner, and finally to bed
ON Tuesday he would go through
precisely the same regime.
On Wednesday he perhaps would
spend the day quite differently, arising
late. going out on horseback for the
entire day, attending the theater at
night. and to bed at midnight or later;
but howsoever he spent Wednesday,
Thursday--or the day following-was
sure to he a repetition down to the
smallest detail
Friday would see commenced a new
series OF action for Saturday TO dupli.
cate.
lie was the echo---as II were--of
himself and consummate echo at
that, for time and time again he had
been watched to see whether he would
not make some mistake or fail In his
series of duplication. but whenever II
was possible for an act to he dupli.
Gated he never hal been known to fail
in its duplication; and indeed. he
had grown so shrewd in the matter
that he never did on one day what
could not reasonably be duplicated
upon the neXt-if that succeeding day
was to be a duplication OF the pre-.
ceding one, and not the beginning Of
new series OF action.
Living his own life IN his own re.
served way. cultured and studious.
troubling no one. offending none:
doubly liberal in his expenditures and
never pressed for means steadfast ia
his chosen eccentricity-if such Il were
and In his face and manner no ques
| tiOning doubt OF himself, perhaps In
| time Henry Hobart had been accepted
liEe any other man. the curious had
ceased to be curious. and his mysteri
GUS character, without any further or
deeper scrutiny. had become one OF the
mysteries of human life. had not the
man been suddenly struck down as by
an invisible hand and the appalling
mystery OF his death heightened ten.
fold the mystery of his life.
On a Tuesday morning, at Is min.
utes Of ten o'clock, an attendant YVES
summoned by the call.bell 10 room
63 Of the Sumner house. and upon
obeying the call found Henry Hobart
struggling in the throes OF a strange
and unnatural death.
The Man Who Did Things Twice.
half dressed standing In the center
OF his outer room. was battling with
the invisible air about him for breath.
or. as the attendant put II later. Like
he was fghtll' with something that
weren't there"
The hotel was aroused. DR.. Thlel
was hastily summoned from his office
on the next floor and everything was
done that science could suggest or
despair persuade. yet in less than ten
minutes Henry Hobart lay dead on the
floor, within his stilled brain hidden
the profound mystery of his life, and
still echoing In the death room his
one strangled cry ere death sealed his
blue lips-"To-morrow."
II was strange case. a questionable
case, a frightful case. but beyond ali
II proved a banning case, for the police
came, removed the body TO the morgue,
intimating death by poison or other
foul play, and examined the rooms and
Overhauled the possessions of the dead
man. but who the deceased was. who
hts kindred or what his former resi-.
dence, or the cause Of his death, they
could not discover. The scholarly tones
that filled his shelves bore no sigma.
lures or bookmarks. and private pa.
pera Of any kind there were none. The
autopsy made the same day-after-
noon-upon the body of the deceased
failed to discover any poison, and DR..
Thiers belief that the man had been
strangled seemed without support. as
no foreign substance or growth Of any
kind was found in the windplpe or air
passages.
One thing only seemed certain. one
thing only was undisputed-The Man
Who Did Things Twice. with severed
wlndpipe and autopsy body,
would not duplicate his own death
upon the morrow. He had come to his
death on a Tuesday. a Tuesday with
whitehead he lived--he would have
begun a new course OF action to be
duplicated on Wednesday. But he had
died. and. now for once The Man Who
Did Things Twice would fail In his &C.
centriclty. Perhaps for that his spirit
would be troubled
Next morning. while the attendant