The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1912-07-06

which the sensitive girl-hltherto
| jealousy shielded--would never re-
cover. II she should not recover-Doc-
tor Wilcox and 1 We're trusting 10
chance 10 find way OF explaining her
death. The seryants-all Of them
trustworthy and long in servico-had
been cautioned not 20 talk TO anyone
about the afternoons events. The
doctors aides and nurses, OF course.
had been silent. This is part OF their
business. How, then, had the papers
obtained the news so quickly7 /
could think OF but one possible way.
More than likely some telephone Girl
who had heard Louise calling Doctor
Wilcox had given II TO the press. Even
In the half-darkness OF the middle OF
the block where ! stood I could read
the word SUICIDE" stretched
across the page in letters OF red. I
FASTENED TO the corner where the dou-
bic globes shed down a brilliant light.
anxious yet dreading to read what the
paper said. At the first glance |
breathed a sigh OF relief. The article
was not about Katharine Parrish.
had not thought of the possibility OF
there having been another suicide that
day. but there IL was:
Mystery In seIf-murder Of Aged Law
'ssas'E.s s-~ss-s-f YER.
Ordinarily pay little attention to
stories OF crime. But the afternoon
had given me new and bitter appre-
citation of the meaning OF suicide.
Standing there under the light OF a
Fifth avenue corner 1 read the hastily
written article Word by word.
Andrew Elser, the article explained,
had lived for many years In West
Twenty-third street clearinghouse.
Little was known about him there ex-
cept that he was lawyer. Several
years ago he had given up his down.
town Office. Most Of his income was
derived from his fees as custodian OF
an orphan boys estate. About four
o'clock In the afternoon the landlady
had heard a noise in his room like that
OF a body falling. On entering she
had found him lifeless on the floor
She had called a policeman, who sent
for an ambulance. The ambulance
doctor found that Mr.. Elser had taken
poison.
IL struck me as a peculiar coinci-
1ence that two persons so far apart In |
he social scale as Katharine Parrish !
and Andrew Elser should have chosen |
he same hour OF the same day to seek |
ieath. Was there something In as
rology after all? Had the stars de- |
reed that both should die? Had
some conjunction Of the planets, some
Evil aspect in the Zodiac driven both |
II them-the young heiress, in the /
bloom OF joyous youth, and the aged |
awyer, in his decrepit poverty-re-
entlessly, helplessly, TO self-destruc-
ion?
So deep was the impression made on
ne by the coincidence that took the
'aper with me and read the account OF
1lser's suicide 10 Louise. Even as /
cad II aloud, this inexplicable thought
anne TO me with startling force:
Suppose that these two suicides al
he same hour were more than mere
coincidence. Was It possible that the
anne shadow had fallen on both these
ives? Had the same mystery driven
hem to death-pact?
II seemed absurd. II was unlikely
hat Katharine Parrish had ever heard
I Andrew Elser. If the family hed
nown him Louise would have men
Toned Il. And yet--why had these
wo persons sought to die on the same
our OF the same day? The question
'ould not let me sleep that night.