The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-10-16
THE ALTENBURG CASE
By GEORGE DIRE ELDRIDGE
(COntinued)


 My mothers brother had been
 cashier in the bank, but my father had had to discharge him and there
 was ill-feeling between them, just as | there always is between 2, man and sneak! There, he's dead. and I do hold | it a towards act to speak i'll of a
 man who can't defend himself. For
 get I said it and I'll try not to forget again." | Beckwith was watching the lad as 1 intent as was Trafford. though he had | resolved from the start not to inter
 rupt or caution him, unless it became
 manifest that what he might say
 would damage his case worse than to create an impression that he had some | thing to conceal. At the same time,
 he could scarcely refrain from smiling
 at the suggestion that Trafford was
 likely to forget anything. especially
 anything that marked the attitude of l the lad toward the dead man.
 After my father took the treasurer ship my mother patched up a peace
 between them.'' Calden went on. "and father took her brother into his office, | and at last came to leave him practi- cally in charge when he had to be
 away on business. Really to be fair.
 John Altenburg behaved first-rate, made himself almost indispensable to father. and. when the trouble came,
 stepped in and carried us through it,
 or seemed to. thought as the others did at the time. and-and-well. don't think so any more. and yet I'll try to be honest and own up, I haven't got the first scrap of proof to the con- trary.
 What I'm certain of is that twas he
 who devised and carried through the scheme of having father declared in
 sane. just before the trial was to come on. How or why he did it I don't know. for he was no more insane than -than-Mr. Trafford here" apparent ly regarding him as the sanest thing available for. comparison. My father fought the scheme with all the force ! man in his position could exert. but 1 her brother won my mother over with 1 the plea that he would thus escape trial and conviction, and that my sis- | ter and I would in this way be saved that disgrace.
 My fathers position was that only l through a trial could he have. the chance to establish his innocence, and when the decree was issued he broke down completely. losing hope for the 1 first time. There was a bitter scene between him and my mother. the first 1 within my memory. In the course of l it he declared that John Altenburg had carried this scheme through for this own protection. that he dared not al- | low the facts to be brought out in a court of law, and my mother accused | him of ingratitude to the one man who had saved him from a fe1on's cell. l Thus the cup of our misery seemed
 finally filled for whatever had happen l ed before we had. at least. stood to- gether in love and faith. 'I think it was in repentance for 1 having yielded against his wish that my mother finally consented to leave New York aud bury herself with her
 brother in the country. My father
 urged her to take her maiden name l and to call myself and sister by it also. I have always thought it an ac- cident that she came to be thought John Altenburg's wife. and I am still l certain it was. so far as she was con 1 cerned. but I've come to feel pretty sure that, so far as he was concerned,
 it was one of those accidents which, | as we used to say. happen on pur- pose.' He had his reasons. which l | haven't fathomed yet. for making as | wide as possible the gulf between us I and our old life and when she had once consented she was too nearly | prostrated to care much how far it I went This was his opportunity and he took it.''
 I DO you say that on evidence. or is
 it merely your guess?" It was the | first time Trafford had interrupted the
 narrative, which he allowed Calden to
 tell in his own way.
 "Oh. as my guess.' the younger man
 admitted. in a tone that indicated his 1 disgust. 'I own up he's been too shrewd for me. for all of us, in fact
 I'm giving you the story as it's grown
 up in my mind: that's all I don't | even know to this day why my moth
 CT kept sister and me at school as she | did, just as long as it was possible, l denying herself the relief of having us
 with her in her dreary life. For I do l know that her brother. moody and SllonC Dy nature, grew HlOTS HiOouy and silent after coming here, until at | last days passed without his speaking a word. so that the only soul with
 whom she could exchange speech was 1 the deaf old servant. It's one of the | wonders of this affair. as I look back on it, that both my father and my l mother haven't gone actually insane" "How did he happen to come to Lanceboro?" asked Trafford.
 Because twas the jumping-off place. Actually he sought a place to bury himself. He took the railroad and came the whole length of it and. find- ing this place for sale. bought it. It's the judgment my mother formed dur | ing the ten years of this death in life. and I see no reason to doubt it.' "But,'' Interrupted Trafford. There was a man who had lived an active life among men suddenly become prac- tically a hermit among strangers. with no visible object in life but just to grow old and die. It's inexplicable! There must have been something be- hind it all. This mere existing couldn't