The Springdale news., 1912-10-18

eyes were seeing something which they were trying to compel me to mo- tice
 What was it?
 pulled myself together with start and looked about me.
 With an exclamation of horror I sprang from the bench and gazed into the lake just in front of me. Floating on the surface, not fifty feet from where I had been sitting, was the body of woman.
 Other suicides, other suicides"- Davis remark of two days before kept digging through my brain. Other sui cides! Katharine, Elser. the woman at Ardway-his prophecy had been right-and was this another in the terrible chain?
 l ran like a madman toward the park entrance, where I remembered I had passed policeman. It was with relief that found him still there.
 There's woman-drowned-ln the lake" l gasped, pointing over my shoulder.
 He ran back to the lake with me and together We waded out In the shal- low water where the body lay. In my horror at the unexpected sight 1 had not stopped to note her appearance, nor could I have told whether she was young or old, dark or fair
 I looked at her now with more than interest-with feeling of sorrow, of understanding. The deed of Katha- rine Parrish had brought me to closer sympathy with unfortunate per sons influenced to seek death. As saw that this poor girl was young and fair l sadly wondered what tragedy had driven her to drowning.
 Never shall forget the impression the picture of this suicide made on me! She lay on her back, with long blonde tresses of well-kept hair float ing out on either side of her shapely head Her eyes were closed, but her shapely brows and long dark lashes made her face comedy even in death Her clothing, 1 observed, was we'll made, and though wet and soiled as it was by the water 1t still gave the im- pression of neatness
 We grasped the body gently by the arms and drew t in to the bank, where we lifted IL to the park bench on which l had been sitting.
 T wonder if there Is anything about her to identify her by? said the po- liceman. and together we looked.
 Apparently there was nothing There were no rings on her hands, though the fingers were those of a woman of refinement. The officer turned back the collar of her coat but the name of the maker had been cut away.
 She didn't want nobody to know who she was. I guess" he said after a hasty examination. They generally try to hide their names"
 Yes, suppose they do." said apathetically.
 I've got to go over to the arsenal and report this and send for the wag on. Will you walt till come back? I won't be long,"
 "Ill wait,' said
 He disappeared up the path and was left alone with the body. AS sat there. meditating on the mystery that had caused so many other trag edies, l became conscious of the fact that one of this girls hands was closed. as If, even in death, she was striving to conceal something
 Stopping over. I gently pressed back the stiffening fingers.
 An exclamation of horror came to my lips as I saw what had been con- cealed there
 It was little scrap of yellow paper. I could hardly believe my eyes. It must be that this poor girl here was another of the victims in the baffling chain of crime I was seeking to un- ravel. l held the water-soaked frag- ment up to the light, but there was nothing on it-not a word. Yet there
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