Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-09-14

of one of the rooms. No. sol, she had
received no reply and. opening the door
with pass Key. had entered 1t. found
il empty ana blood on the bedclotheS.
which were much tumhled. The clerk
remembered that No. $21 had been as
signed TO Mr.. Dingley He went at
once to the room and found the condi-
ton as stated 10y the maid.
Remembering his conversation with
pingley on the previous evening con
cerrinC the commercial traveller in the
checkerboard suit. he also recoleCted
that the man had paid his bill at
o'clock in the morning and taken 4
train leaving ut :. Referring to the
register, the clerk found the drum
mer'S name 10 be Burton and ut once
telegraphed the firm he claimed TO rep.
resent inquirinc concerning him.
reply was received that no such man
was IN their employ.
Meanwhile the clerk questioned the
hotel porter. who told him that wnen
he carried In the supposed drummer's
trunk he had remarked on accepting
tip that Il was very light. whereupon
he had been told by the owner that 1t
contained samples OF laCes- But he
noticed that On carrying the trunk out
in the morning ITS weight had been
considerably increased. The clerk ask
ed how much it had been increased.
but the porter could form no idea OF
the additional weight
The proprietor OF the hotel. having
received enough information concern
ing the case TO warrant grave sus-
piciou that a murder had been COM
mitted in his house, reported the mat
ter to the police.
An inspector came NJ once and was
shown TO No. 81. Taking away
sheet that had blood stains on il, he
submitted it 10 n test. which indi-
Gated that it had been shed by a hu-
man being With the other facts in
the case it was plain to the police that
DinEley had been observed to draw .
goodly sum from the bank, had been
followed and murdered. the murder
having been committed possibly in
self defense while the thief was. try
ing to steal the money.
Meanwhile before the murder was
published Il warrant was sworn out
for Dingley's arrest, and an officer
went to his house TO serve 1t. He
found there Mrs. DinEley, who told
him that her husband had not return
ed to his home as usual the evening
before and she did not know where
he had gone. He was to have brought
home considerable money, which he
f,lI 10, b., In, 1T
! tain payments. She feared that he
had met with foul play.
When the murder mt L. was pub
! lished it was supposed that in order to
| avoid arrest Dingley had absconded
! and that the murder story was fake
| to cover his flight. But gradually the
| fact of his having drawn a sum OF
/ money from the bank. which he had
! left in the possession of the landlord
! Of the hotel. and the other circum-
stances attending the murder came
out. and the opinion gained ground
I that he had really been murdered and
his body carried out In the supposed
! commercial travellers sample trunk,
and the opinion Of those who held that
he had taken 50 much trouble to
fake" his demise was pronounced
! ridiculous. At any rate. the police
| spent much time in endeavoring TO
find his murderer. aud 40 effort was
made to find Dingley himself. Mrs.
! Diuglcy put on mourning FOR her hus-
| band. which was evidence that she be
/ lieved him dead.
/ The widow took up the charges
! against her husband and spent much
! time in unravcling the conspiracy
/ through which he had suffered. Ding
/ leys removal rendered this easier than
I II would have been had he been pres
ont Little 10y little the energetic lady
laid bare the rascality Of the couspira-
! tors till at last they were obliged to
return their III gotten gains. and it
/ incidentally came out that Din%ley
was an innocent man. Then one day
/ he drove up TO his own house In cab.
and he and his wife were soon locked
/ in a loving embrace.
Then the method by which It was
/ made to appear that DinSley had been
/ murdered was explained.
| Mrs Diu@lcy had personatcd the
/ young man ia the chcckcrboar1 suit.
wearing also false brown beard.
| She had never been seen at the hotel
/ without u hat. under which she had
| tucked her hair The trunk had been
/ nearly empty whom taken 10 her room
at the hotel She had herself carried
! suit case. iu which were number or
/ heavy articles. which had been trans
! ferrch to the trunk before II was car
! ried ont. Uingi"y had with him q
| sharp knife. with which he made Il
! cash - his arm that haH produced a
( plentiful supply of blood md smcared
/ th" sheets He had refused the rooms
/ offered him til he found one from
/ which escape would appear difficult.
! Int from which. hy the ala Of short
/ rope he carried in his pocket. he could
| swing himself on to an a. Of the
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