Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-04-07


Mr.. Prier took out the anonymous
letter. He examined it with care. He
looked at every word, at every letter
at every stroke and curve. Was it dis
guised? He had thought so. He had
quite know. There was a lurking
doubt in his mind-a haunting Suspi-
cion-that when he found the hand
writing of the one who had written it
found it somewhere else, found 1t undel
common and everyday sort of circum-
stances. he would find it a perfect
match for this.
What of it? Just this. Mr.. Pricl
had searched his memory for some
hint of writing looking like this, and
had found nothing to help him. He
had no doubt that when he compared
it with another specimen written by
the same hand he should be sure OF
that fact: no matter how much care
had been given to the production OF
this letter, no matter how much art
had been used in the effort to make its
authorship an impenetrable secret, he
never feared for a moment that the
problem would be too great for his
powers. He had only to take care
lessly and thoughtlessly written speci-
men, produced by the one who had sent
him this letter, put the two side by side,
give them a thorough study, taking
more or less time according to the
skill the author had expended upon the
letter warning him of the questions IT
would be we'll to ask Aldrich, and Miss
Webb. and-Shall we say?-Kane, and
he would be able to go to the one who
had written this letter. saying: Some
one knows more Of the tragedy of Con-
stance Craig than he has told. AnOny-
nous letters hint. but tell nothing.
Whoever knows must tell. And-thou
art the man." 1t might be difficult;
il might take long study: the similari-
ties to be considered, and to be re-
ferred to accident, coincidence, or To
undoubted and valid evidence, as the
case might be. might be sli ht-very
slight-and not visible to one less
acute and less experienced than he
But he could solve this question; he
knew he could. And so-if the hand
writing were disguised, it might be that
any one of those most closely connect
ed with his Boomville experience had
written it. While, if it were free, and
the usual handwriting of his unknown
correspondent, he had to find some
one whose writing he had never seen.
1t was not the ordinary writing of
Aldrich or Sem, or Mrs. Sem, or John
Kane. that he was certain of. For he
had seen the writing of all these per-
sons, and the general characteristics of
a persons penmanship was something
he never forgot.
Prier'S first work was an endeavor to
find who had written the anonymous
letter. Don't ask me why. | do not
know. l doubt whether Prier did. He
had not been 4 tenth part so anxious
before his interview with John Kane.
Up to that interview he had had the
asking of the questions suggested by
that letter uppermost in his mind as
the most important work to be per-
formed in his immediate future. But
now-with the mystery Of the letter
deepened and intensified by that break
fast hour spent with the clergyman
he put aside the question he meant to
ask Miss Webb-everything- the
end that he might know who wrote the
letter if he could.
1t was not Il difficult matter to obtain
specimens of the writing Of the diff
fcrent individuals who naturally Sug-
gested themselves to the mind of the
detective He did it without exciting
question or comment or suspicion. He
examined the work he obtained-eX-
amined it carefully and eXhaustivcly-
comparing it at every step with the
unscholarly insult he SO much treas
ured.
He began with the writing of Johr
Kane don't know why. hope Priel
didn't. When a man has said that
knowledge of a certain possibility as g
fact would destroy his faith in hu-
man nature it must be a terrible thing
to sit down in deiberation to deter
mine whether it is Il fact or not. Oi
course. prudence made it necessary t
examine Kane'S writing. | grant that
And. equally of course. there is Il grea'
gulf fixed between honest prudence an(
wild and breathless suspicion. But
don't know why Prier began will
Kane. and l say again that l hope Il
was accident.
| scarcely know whether you would
call the result Of Prier's investigation
by the name of successor by that O.
failure Perhaps it would depend OF
the standpoint from which the resul
was viewed.
one night he knew that Rev. Johr
Kane WAS not the writer of the lette>
which so puzzled and annoyed him
| The next night he knew that Walter
Aldrich had not stopped to anonymous
writing. The night following he wa!
sure that Mrs Elsie Sem, was equal
| ~ innocent. One more day of work
and he was certain it was not Sem.
He couldn't have said clearly, l fear
why he had examined into the pen
manship of any of these persons. Kane
had been frank and candid. 1t w0ult
have been strange. indeed, had Aldricl
been 50 foolish as to turn suspicion 50
directly toward himself. He doubted
whether Elsie Sem would have com
municated with him at any or unde
Iany CirCumStanceS-nO matter how
great her need And had not Sem de
MED him any aid toward the solution
of the mystery of the murder Of Con
stance Craig-the mystery which over
ShadOwed his life?
He could have given no more definite
reason for looking upon one of them a.
the possible author of whom he was il
search than the fact that some on
must have written the letter.