Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1911-12-14
CHAPTER l..


That was q rather peculiar crime,
the robbing Of my Uncle Abner's safe.
It was cleyerly planned, opportunely
timed and successfully executed. 1t
was a good haul too Forty thousand
dollars IN crisp coin of the realm is
pretty high pay for almost any Grim
inal for a few hours work and risk,
and that is what the phrpetrator got
out Of it.
You will notice that said Grim
inal" I did that TO distinguish it from
the operation Of a gang Of thieves;
for as It turned out it was the work
Of a single individual and not the
combination of effort Of a coterie.
That made it still more difficult to
solve AS a chain is no stronger than
its weakest link, so is the cunning
Of a combination of men no keener
than the wits Of its dullest member.
That is why conspiracies generally
come to gTief-somebody turns out to
be weak. In the matter CT which l am
speaking there were as many battling
points as there are to a hedgehog, and
for a time it seemed impregnable. AS
for the sleuth hounds of the police,
they came up to it with caution,
smelled about it discreetly and then
drew away, looking wise. to ponder
over it, and for all I know are look
ing wise and bordering yet. But with
William LeDuc the case was differ
ent
LeDuc had been something Of
friend Of mine ever since we were
schoolboys together, and he did real
ly brilliant work on the case. Every
thing conjured up by the human mind
IS capable Of human solution if we
go about it right, and LeDuc found
the way. Just because a dog is help
less before a bristIing porcupine it is
no sign that all animals are The wild
cat isn't. He is too quick for the
bTistleT. He feints him out of his de-
fensive posture by lightning play
and eventually gets him by the I'M
protected nose-which is the begin
ming Of the end of the problem. Just
what LeDuc did has never been made
public up to this time for the reason
that none but he or is competent to
give the inner particulars of the run
ming down of the thief. and up to this
time neither of us has cared to tell.
But I feel that I must do so now.
That happened to know more than
anybody else about certain incidents
connected with the affair and was
able to supply LeDuc with the proofs
of guilt was due to the fact that 1
lived with Uncle Abner at the time
the crime took place. l. also, was the
one who found him lying bound and
unconscious. Also it was myself who
reported matters to the police and in
troduced LeDuc to my uncle. AS for
the time when the burglary took
place, I happened to be away from
home, having stayed at a hotel in the
business district quite a few miles
from where I lived.
And now at the outset l am going
to emphasize one fact. While it is an
unpleasant thing for me to do So
am going TO tell everything l know
regarding this crime. l am going to
spare nObOdy's feelings, faults or repu-
tations. That l have not done so be-
fore was because of a reason which
will be apparent when all the other
facts are known. But now that a
certain event has happened I feel
free to make everything known.
In writing this account l have
thought best to do so chronologically
when possible. Therefore, I must go
somewhat into matters which pre-
ceded and were more or less directly
connected with the crime in order
that the motive may be shown and
that there may be the proper per
spective. To do this I must tell more
or less about people not absolutely
connected with the burglary, but who
are necessary to the narrative by
reason of their propinquity How
ever, they are simply the shading
and side lights that go to make up the
picture. And while LeDuc may disap-
pear for considerable periods in the
telling. the mistake should not be
made of thinking he is nowhere
around. That is what he did in the
actual ferreting out of the case, and
that is what misled the criminal But
when his fine Italian hand did appear
at the finish, it wore a glove of mail.
Right at this point I find myself
somewhat at a loss to decide just
where to begin the recital This is
for the reason that l am not a writer
trained in the art of building up a
mystery with such skill that it stands
intact until the time comes TO demol-
ish it; when with one deft blow the
keystone is removed and the whole
fabric comes down with a crash.
Therefore all can hope to do is to
simply and plainly outline the char
actsrs which seem to me to be per-
tinent to a full understanding of con-
ditions. and then so on and relate
events as they happened. Perhaps I
had better begin with a brief descrip-
ton Of Uncle Abner, his peculiarities
and meannesses.
When you look at that last sen
tence again you will begin to under
stand that I meant It when l said l
was going to spare nobody. Neither
do I believe any one will think as l
proceed that I am artempting to spare
my own feelings. What an idiot l
vast I think when the fates were
making the worlds supply of fools,
after they had constructed me they
broke the mold. Having turned out