The daily Alaskan., 1909-06-08
The Man Without a Grave

The question was, What had become of the body? That Dick Sturtevant was dead was not the question or q question at all. He had been visiting the electrical works of Peter Robin son & Co.,, was shown through by the electrical engineer, had grasped live rod, receiving some 10000 volts of cleo triclty, and passed from life to death so quickly that he hadn't the slightest consciousness of the transition. New ertheless an effort was made to resus- cltate him, but after half an hours constant application of all sorts of stimulants without the slightest sign of improvement the work ceased.
 All this happened about 10 o'clock in the morning. The undertaken did not appear till in the afternoon. when the key to the room in which the body lay was handed him, and he went up- stairs. He returned to the office, say Ing that there was nobody, dead or alive, in the room and there must be some mistake. Several men declared that they had put Sturtevant's corpse In that very room and there was no mistake about 1t, but they had never been in that part of the building be- fore and didn't know there were sev- eral vacant rooms there. Anyway, | there seemed to be some doubt as to which of the rooms had been used. This doubt grew till the matter was lost in confusion. The only plausible theory of the disappearance was that the body had been stolen by medical students for dissection. Since there was q surgeons college in the neigh borhood, this finally came to be the accepted explanation.
 The heartrending part of it all was that Sturtevant was engaged to be married. Every one sympathized with the girl he had left behind him, espe- cially that she should be prevented from paying due respect to his re- mains. No one else was especially in- terested since the deceased had been m only child and both his father and mother were dead. The wedding was to have come off in few days, and the cards were out. The bride to be put on mourning, shut herself up and would see no one.
 A year passed, and Miss MintOn- that was the girls name-threw of her mourning, and 1t was reported that she was again engaged to wed. Then everybody said that she had been shamming about her grief for Sturte- rant, had had another lover most of the time since his death and had only waited the conventional year allotted to widows to marry another man. These reports were repeated to the lady, and they made her very angry.
 It was supposed to be on this ac- count that she did not give the name of her new lover--that Is, if she had one. which must be since she did not deny the reports of her engagement. Besides, 1t was known that she was having certain articles of her trous- scau of q year before altered to meet changes in fashion, doubtless to be used as an outfit in her marriage with the man who had taken the first lov- CTS place. This set everybody talk Ing. Its shameful" said Mrs. Goudy, the way that girl has treated poor | Sturtevant-going to wear the same things she was to have worE on her honeymoon with him. Why, she hasn't even given him q headstone."
 "Where would she put It." inquired Miss ReasOner.
 "Oh, yes; l didn't think of that. At | lll events, it's shocking about the rousseau. And think how soon she has been cOnsoled The courtship must have begun as soon as Sturtevant died, | If not before"
 Kind friends-there are always kind friends to tell us dlsagreeable news kept Miss Minton posted as to all this | talk, and In the meanwhile there sprang up n universal desire to know who it was that was to replace the un- fortunate Sturtevant. But the more | the criticism the further every one seemed to be from getting at the facts. Miss Minton gave out through friend that she had been so outraged at all that had been said that "Whats-his- name or Where's s-hls-home" should never be known till she and he stood up to be married.
 | This announcement started the talk Ing social world upon such chatter as had never been heard before about any wedding. Of course there could be no advance cards since the name of the groom would not be given. Doubtless the marriage would take place at home before few of the brides family. What was the surprise, to say nothing of the shock, when 1t was announced that the same wedding arrangements had been made as the year before. That was to have been at q church, with a large invitation list for the re- ceptIon at the house.
 It was now conceded that Miss Min. ton was resentfully flying in the face of good taste and society. Many of her acquaintances vowed openly that they would not attend the nuptials, though