Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-03-14
's*YELL0W LETTER
A Fascinating Mystery Story
ByWlLLlAM JOHNSTON
copYRlen1 leIl-rne eoees.r eRRlLl co.
(CHAPTER vIII.-(Continued)

almost invisible line on the goods
where there had once been a seam.
do you see that mark?"
eyes," l replied. II noticed that
long ago. It simply means that the
skirt has been heightened or shortened
but what of it?" s.r
ct means more than that" he an
swered almost severely as if reproach-
ing me for my lack Of observation. IT
means that a thirty-eight skirt has
been heightened an inch and half.
Look at this coat The sleeves have
been lengthend two inches. 1t Is
thirty-eight coat. Can't you see how
simple the problem has become?'
81 confess I can't see it at all. !
LET me state it for you: A woman
from somewhere in Connecticut buys
a black suit of a rather peculiar tex
ture from cloak and suit house that
receives a great many mail orders.
She requires thirty-eight coat with
the sleeves heightened two inches and
a thirty-eight skirt let down an inch
and half. That's enough to identify
any person.
Il must confess / still don't see how
that knowledge will help you.'
(TO be COntinued.)
Gin these days of system every
house that sells women's garments has
elaborate card indexes. The greatest
expense they have is In alterations.
They figure that roll Of cloth that
costs so much will make so many suits
of certain pattern which they Will
sell for so much in certain length OF
time. They figure on making so much
profit on the suits. If the cloth Is all
right, the pattern popular and the price
reasonable, they can figure to GER
tainty on their profits, except for one
Considerations. Alterations re-
quire the time of skilled work people
and also correspondence and frequent
ly extra express charges. The aim OF
the manager of every such establish
ment is to reduce alterations to min
imum. For that reason he keeps a
record of every alteration made. This
particular dress happened to come
from a store where I know the man.
ager WELL 1t is their busy season just
now, and I took a chance on finding
him in his office. l described the goods
in the suit, gave him the size and the
sort of alterations that had been made
OF, it and asked him to have his card
index locked up. I told him in all prob
ability the woman I wanted to know
about came from Bridgeport, Conn, or
near there. 1t happened that only
three of the eight suits they had made
from this piece of goods-at least the
only ones entered on the alteration
carlsbad gone to Connecticut. OF
the three, two were thirty-six coats,
so they could be eliminated at once.
The third one had had the sleeves
heightened and also the skirt. The
sizes correspondent, so there was very
little doubt that it had been this wom-
an who had bought it, Miss Sarah
Sackett, the, woman VINO committee
suicide here" No.
But even So" I protested, still
marveling at his revelations, how did
you get the rest Of your information
about her so quickly?"
"The address she had given was I'm
care of the express agent at Bridge
port. Such an address in large city
would mean nothing, but in place
the size of Bridgeport the inference
was plain that the agent was probably
an acquain ance. II she lived IN
the suburbs near Bridgeport. l called
up the express agent, and he gave me
the rest of my facts"
did he tell you she committed sui
cider" 49,
"He doesn't dream that she has"
the inspector replied. Il put my
questions in a guarded way and he
happened to be garrulous fellow, who
readily followed my leads. All l ask
ed him was where letter would reach
Miss Sarah Sackett, saying 1 had for
gotten which rural free delivery route
it was that she lived on. He told me
that she and her brother We're still
living on the old Sackett place, Route
No. 1. I explained that I wanted to
make sure of an important letter
reaching her at once. He told me she
was away, explaining that he had seen
her come down to the station with her
brother, and suggested that 1t might
be a good idea to send the letter In her
brothers. care, and told me the address
of the bank where her brother could
be reached. So you see it Is all quite
simple when you know how"
IT don't see, though l objected,
chow anything that you have learned
in any way connects this woman with
the Parrish mystery"
II told you there would be other
suicides, didn't II" M-.s.
1T looks to me like a mere coin
cidence."
''How about the yellow letter she
was reading?"
started For moment I had for
gotten the strange, tinted link that
seemed to bind the Parrish tragedy,
the Elser case and the Sarah Sackett
suicide together in the terrible chain
of mystery.
We've got to find Hugh Crandall!"
exclaimed. 81 will not be content
until we do. There is no doubt in my
mind that he is the author of those
letters. We've got to find him, Davis,
and make him explain. I promised
the girl love I would not rest until
l had cleared away the mystery, until
I had lifted the cloud that is hanging
so heavily over her father and her
sister. Nothing, nothing shall stand
in the way! Think what it means to
me! The one love, the one who is
dearer to me than anything else in
All ,,,or1d is Evipo in concfanf dread