The Forrest City times., 1912-12-20

over me that some part of my brain was trying to tell me something. It came more and more forcefully. My eyes were seeing something which they were trying to compel me to mo- tice
 What was 1t?
 pulled myself together with a 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 l had been sitting, was the body of a woman.
 Other suicides, other suicides"- Davis remark of two days before kept jigging through my brain. Other sui eldes. Katharine. Elser, the woman at Ardway-his prophecy had been right-and was this another in the terrible chain?
 ran like 9 madman toward the park entrance, where I remembered l had passed a policeman. It was with relief that found him still there.
 There's woman--drowned- the lakei' l gasped. pointing over my shoulder.
 lie 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 I had not stopped to note her appearance, nor could have told whether she was young or old dark CT fair.
 looked at her now with more than lnterest-with feeling of sorrow. of understanding. The deed of Katha- rine Parrish had brought me to a closer sympathy with unfortunate per sons influenced to seek death. As saw that this poor girl was young and lair l sadly wondered what tragedy had driven her to drowning.
 Never shall l 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, l observed, was we'll made. and though wet and soiled as it was by the water it still gave the i'm pression of neatness.
 We grasped the body gently by the arms and drew it in to the bank, where We lifted 1t 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, guess" he said after a nasty examination. They generally try to hide their names."
 Yes, l suppose they do," said alphabetically.
 I've got to go over to the arsenal and report this and send for the wag- on. Will you wait till come back? l won't be long
 I'll wait" l said
 He disappeared up the path and was left alone with the body As sat there. meditating on the mystery that had caused Sc many other trag- edies. became conscious Of the fact that enc of this girls hands was closed. s if even in death. she was striving 10 conceal something.
 Stopping over. gently pressed back the stiffenrg fingers.
 An exclamation of horror came 10 my lips as l saw what had been con cealed there.
 Ii was little scrap of yellow paper
 l could hardly believe my eyes. It must be that this poor girl here was another of the victims in the baf1;ne chain of crime 1 was seeking to un. rayel I held the water-soaked frag- ment up to the light, but there was nothing on it-not a word Yet there was no mistaking the color and tex ture Of the paper. It was undoubtedly the same that Louise and I had found in katharine's room after she had tried 10 Eill herself. IL was the same that the police had discovered in An. drew Elsler's room. There was m question in my mind but that it was the same that the woman in Ardwav had torn up before she hanged herself in the little hctel. But what was the tie between then? What could be the mysterious import of this yellow let. ter that 9ye i,s recipients to death?
 Here was enc fragment. Perhaps I could find other scraps-perhaps the whole letter. l ran down to the bank of the lake and began a systematic search of the water along shore. Foo, by foot 1 studied it carefully. For ten minutes searched unavailingly and then l caught glimpse of something yellow half hidden by an overhanging tree. Carefully l parted the branches Sure enough. submerged in six inches Of water. were more of the yellow