Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-01-06

employer that my mother was dying
and left town within an hour. My
secret has preyed on me. but / never
dreamed it would involve another
life"
The man had given the key to the
circumstances that had convicted an
innocent man ms I had concocted II
for nv novel. l saw at once that IL
was fate and not who had been writ
ing a detective story, the parts OF
which fate had evolved in its way.
not mine.
In a distant town the drug clerk
had picked up a copy OF our paper
containing that installment of my sto-
~ which gave my concocted Key. II
being identical with his own act.
Later his eye met a newspaper item
that the man who had poisoned Mid
dleton for his money would be exc
cuted in three weeks He had come
to me as the author OF the story. sup
posing that had his secret.
In this sequel TO the product OF my
brain / saw what the story itself
would not produce. / am newspaper
man. and my newspaper instincts
came TO the front.
"You come with me-" I said. Put
yourself in the hands OF our paper,
and we'll give you the best outcome
70 your fatal mistake one can secure
for you"
He assented. and. taking him TO the
office. l told the story TO Heaton.
Shake he said. thrustins out his
hand and grasping mine in an iron
grip. THE papers made
Then 1 called the drug clerk in and
introduced him TO the anaging editor.
Heaton gave him what money he
wanted and told him to go where he
liked-leaving his address, of course
and keep his mouth shut. The next
morning ont came scare heads an
nouncinS that a remarkable combina-
ton detective-fction exploit had led TO
the discovery that George Barton, the
man who had been convicted of the
murder Of Banker Middleton. was in
nocent This set everybody agog for
the next issue.
In the morning we announced that
the paper had produced a drug clerk
whose mistake had caused the poison
Ing of Middleton. A hint was thrown
out that an author-detective who wrote
exclusively for the paper had built a
theory of his own as to the cause Of
Middleton's death and had written the
story with the intent of bringing out
the real culprit.
And so 1t came about that an limo
cent man was saved from a hanging
because people like to read about such
tragedies and because | was instruc-
ed TO hang an imaginary character.
But, after all, did it not come about on
the principal of an ad.?
We got the drug clerk off with light
punishment and had Barton up in our
editorial rooms, where | was intro
duced to him as the man who had
saved him from a felon's death. He
asked me If I had really written the
story on the theory that Middleton had
been poisoned by the mistake OF
drug clerk The look of noncommittal
wisdom | put on was stroke OF
genius 1t claimed nothing for me, but
helped the paper.
There was another coincidence which
l have left TO the last, for IL is the
touching part. Barton was engaged to
very lovely Sirl. she nau Stoou Dy
him during his trial. confident in his
innocence. Barton asked me to go to
see her, and I did so. The interview
was very affecting. She told me that
II her fiance had been executed she be
iieved she would have gone mad. As
did the heroine OF my story. Then ]
realized that better things had been
accomplished by my serial than the
building up Of n newspaper.