The San Francisco call., 1909-12-05
MOTHER RfGAINS
CUSTODY OF CHILD
Former Wife of Astr0 the Seer
Speeds Away With Her
Little Boy
WOman's Wit Puts a BIinker
on the Hypnotic Eye OF
Fortune Teller


AS a. climax to the complications
which have crossed the fate line of
Caude Alexander Astro. otherwise
known as Claude Conlin, erstwhile
vaudeville performer, was the apear-
ance yesterday of his divorced wife,
Mrs. Ethel Lyman Conlin, who, backed
by her mother love- snapped her fin
gers in the face of the mystic gifts of
the seer and succeeded in regaining
her year old son without Conlin be-
ing any the wiser.
1t was battle between a woman's S
wit and the hypnotic eye, and the hyp-
motto eye received a punch which, met
aphorically speaking, will neceSsitate
a long and fervid application of blink
ers. For, by the time the seer became
aware of the trick, his former wife
was speeding to Los Angeles with her
son.
FATHER KIDNAPPED CHILD
The news of Astro's arrest gave the
woman her first knowledge of his
whereabouts. II married him." she
said, when l was a little over IA
years of age. A year and a half ago,
when Estella Marten appeared on the
L
no longer. and left for my home in Los
Angeles, taking my boy with me. Last
October he visited me and asked to
take the child for walk. ] consented,
and never saw either of them again.
Later, 1 learned that he had secured a
divorce in Seattle. No papers in the
action were served on me.
Il hunted high and low for my child
but could find no trace of him. A few
days ago l saw by the papers that
Conlin had been arrested, and immedi-
ately left Los Angeles for san Fran
cisco to take my boy back home.''
The child, an exceptionally beautiful
youngster of years, was left in the
care of woman at the Malta apart
ments, where Astro was living at the
time of his arrest, but was taken to the
police station yesterday so that the
mother could view him.
In the face of the decree of divorce
granted to the mystic, Detective Red
mond. who was detailed on the case,
could not see his way clear to putting
the child in Mrs. Conlins custody He
had given his word to return the
youngster to the apartment house
after the mother had seen him.
MOTHER AND BABE
The interview between the mother
and the babe at the police station was
pathetic in the extreme. At first the
boy did not recognize his mother, and
it was all the poor woman could do to
refrain from breaking down altogether.
When he did so, however, he cuddled
himself in her arms with sigh of joy
and begged to be taken back home to
Los Angeles.
May ] go with you to the apartment
house?" asked Mrs. Conlin at the end
of the interview. Redmond assented.
At the Malta apartments he turned the
boy over to the care of the woman ap-
pointed by Astro to look after him.
The mother stood in the doorway her
face flushed, tears in her eyes. The
boy, crying bitterly. followed his
guardian along the corridor, Mrs. Con-
lin gazing after him. Redmond had
left the place.
At the end of the hallway the boy
turned and saw his mother standing
on the threshold, her arms held out in
pitiable appeal Quick as a flash he
sped back. The mothers arms closed
around him. The door was banged shut
and before the astonished spectators
were aware of what had occurred. the
mother and child were speeding up
Market street. The next instant she
had hailed car and was gone