Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-04-27

| II KNOW ne ola nOC,s sQe SalQ LeuSely
"Not only. that; know who did it. It
was Schwartz-Henry Schwartz"
Schwartz! But what on earth" !,
"You don't know Schwartz" she
said grimly.
II was married to him fifteen years.
I took him when he had saloon in
the fifth ward, at Plattsburg. The next
year he was alderman: I didn't expect
lin those days to see him riding around
in an automobile-not but what he
was making money-Henry Schwartz
is money maker. That's why he's
boss of the state now"
"And you divorced him?"
"He was BRUTE" she said vindic-
lively. "He wanted me to go back to
him, and I told him would rather
Idle. I took big house, and kept
bachelor suites for gentlemen. Mr.,
Fleming lived there, and-he married
me three years ago. He and Schwartz
had to stand together, but they hated
each other"
Schwartz" l meditated. do you
happen to know if Senator Schwartz
was in Plattsburg at the time of the
mur-- of Mr.. Fleming's death?"
"He was here in Manchester"
"He had threatened Mr.. Fleming's
life?"
HE had already tried to kill him,
the day we were married. He stab
bed him twice, but not deep enough"
! looked at her in wonder For this
woman, not extraordinarily handsome,
| two men had fought and one had died
according to her story.
II can prove everything I say" she
went on rapidly. Il have letters from
Mr.. Fleming telling me what to do in
case he was shot down; have papers
1-canceled notes-that would put
Schwartz in the penitentiary-tha Is"
she said cunningly, 81 did have them.
Mr.. Fleming took them away"
| Aren't you afraid for yourself?"
asked.
Eyes, I'm afraid-afraid he'll get me
back yet. 1t would please him to see
me crawl back on my knees"
"But-he can not force you to go
back to him."
| Eyes, he can" she shivered. From
which knew she had only told me a
part of her story.
| After all she had nothing more to
tell. Fleming had been shot; Sch
wartz had been In the city about the
Borough Bank; he had threatened
Fleming before, but political peace
had been patched; Schwartz knew the
White Cat That was all.
Before she left she told me some
thing had not known.
II know lot about inside politics"
she said, as she got up. II have seen
the state divided up with the roast at
my table, and served around with the
dessert, and can tell you something
you don't know about your White Cat.
A back staircase leads to one of the
upstairs rooms, and shuts off with a
licked door. It opens below, out side
entrance, not supposed to be used.
Only a few know of it. Henry Butler
was found dead at the foot of that
staircase"
HE shot himself, didn't he?''
"The police said So" she replied,
with her grim smile. There Is such
thing as numbering man by driving
him to suicide"
! She wrote an address on card and
gave it to me.
"Just minute" said, as she was
about to go. Have you ever heard
Mr.. Fleming speak of the Misses
Maitland?"
"They were-his first wife's sisters.
No, he never talked of them. but be-
lieve, just before he left Plattsburg.
he tried to borrow some money from
them"
"And failed?"
''The oldest one telegraphed the re-
| - lSv,ev
family.
There is something else" said.
did you ever hear Of the number
eleven twenty-two?"
"No-or-why. yes" she said. ut
is the number of my house"
It seemed rather ridiculous, when
she had gone. and sat down to think
it over 1t was anticlimax, to say the
least If the mysterious number meant
only the address of this very ordinary
woman. then-it was probably her
story of Schwartz was true enough.
But I could not reconcile myself to It,,
nor could imagine Schwartz, with his
great bulk, skrlking around pinning
scraps of paper to pillows.
| It would have been more like the
fearlessness and passion Of the man
to have shot Fleming down In the
state house corridor, or on the street.
and to have trusted to his influence to
set him free. For the first time 1t oc-
Cured to me that there was something
essentially feminine in the revenge OF
the figures that had haunted the dead
man.
wondered if Mrs. Fleming had told
/, me all, or only half the truth.
That night, at the most peaceful
spot had ever known, Fred's home,
occurred another inexplicable affair.
one that left us all with racked nerves
and listening, fearful ears.
| CHAPTER XVIII
Edith's Cousin.
That was to be Margery's last even
ing at Freds. Edith had kept her as
long as she could, but the girl felt
THAT her place was with Miss Letitfa.
Edith was desolate.
II don't know what / am going to
i do without you." she said that night
when we were all together in the IL
ibrary, with a wood fire, for light and
Ioo,;nacc mora than heat Marpery