The Springdale news., 1912-10-11

Impossible. To avoid interruption, took him at once to my room and or dered our supper served there.
 While we waited for it summarized as briefly as l could the new features of the case, beginning with my finding the post office deserted, the name missing from Lock Box r, the suicide of the woman, the calling up of the Bridgeport police, the testimony of the maid that the woman had been crying over 8 yellow letter, the dis- covery of the five thousand dollars in new hundred-dollar bills in the cash drawer. the coincidence in the initials Of Cook and Crandall that had first attracted my attention to the missing guest in the hotel, his peculiar con- duct the minute I mentioned the yel. low letter and his flight from the town behind the fastest horse obtainable.
 While l was only an amateur in criminal Investigation, prided myself that l had followed everything as far as Davis himself could have done. I doubted if even he, with all his shrewdness. could learn the identity or the dead woman or could explain what the postmaster was doing with such an unusually large sum, left so carelessly hid in the cashdrawer. My private opinion WAS that the money was probably counterfeit and that when We had solved the mystery we would find that Hugh Crandall was at the head of band of skilful rogues who were defrauding the government. More than likely they had headouar- ters somewhere in the vicinity Prob ably with the connivance of the post master they conducted some sort of green-goods or other swindling game through Lock Box IT. It seemed to me more than possible that Crandau. taking advantage of Katharine Far. rlshs love for him, had snared her father into some nefarious scheme. Such theory would explain her sud. den break with him and might even account for her fathers terror at the sight of the yellow letter that had re- vealed to her his error. The knowl. edge of her fathers plight, too, might have driven her to try suicide. Old Elser possibly was one of the gangs dupes or agents who saw exposure coming. through Katharine's activity and feared to face It. The one flaw in my theory, it seemed to me. was that 1t in no way accounted for the second woman's suicide. and in spite of Da. wis prophecy that there would De more suicides, l was inclined to be Heye that perhaps, after all. 1t was only coincidence. Learning hef identity. I did not regard as half sc important as to locate Crandall. al most wished that I had gone in pur suit of him alone. would have felt an unholy joy in rounding him up sin gle-handed. while Davis followed oth CT minor clues. felt considerably annoyed that Davis apparently was more interested in learning who the dead woman was than Tn discovering Crandalfs whereabouts
 T have no idea what they have done with the clothes" I said almost cross. ly T suppose they are still In the room. The inquest was adjourned un. til tomorrow morning. Maybe they have been taken to the undertaker's. He came this afternoon and took the body away. l forgot to tell you that Crandall called up the Parrish house this morning and asked for Katharine right from this very hotel'
 What did he say?" he asked apa thetically.
 repeated the conversation with Louise word for word as she hac told 1t to me
 That" said I. 'is definite evidence that Crandall, the man whom We sus. pect. was here in the place where you sent me-here under an assumed name. What greater proof of guilt can you have, unless 1t IS actual con. fession ?"
 The man you suspect" he correct. ed with some asperity. turning ab. ruptly to the waiter. who had entered with our supper.
 Tell the proprietor to come up hers