Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1912-07-03

that every new clue points to Hugh
Crandall."
The post office inspector shifted.
What have they done with the
dead woman's clothes?" he asked. 81
want to see them at once"
had been anyiously awaiting Davis
arrival, not without some little feeling
Of triumph, TO tell to him the startling
developments In the mystery since
had left him hardly more than twenty
four hours before at the ferry. | was
st the station awaiting him. and led
noise CT his coming had been bruitcd
about by the village gossips, and as
his fame had penetrated even to the
obscure Jersey village, there YVES q
curious crowd gathered at the station.
Some of them oven followed US as
far as the hotel lobby, pressing so
close that private conversation was
impossible. To avoid interruption.
took him at once to my room and or
dered cur supper served there.
While we waited for 1t 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 II, the suicide
Of the woman, the calling up OF the
Bridgeport police, the testimony Of
the maid that the woman had been
crying over a 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 yell
low letter and his flight from the town
behind the fastest horse obtainablo
While ] was only an amateur in
criminal investigation, prided myself
that had followed everything as far
as Davis himself could have done.
doubted II even no. with all his
shrewdness, could learn the identity
Of the dead woman or could explain
what the postmaster was doing with
such en- unusually large sum, left so
carelessly hid In the cash-drawer. Ny
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 skiIful rogucs
who were defraudlng the government.
More than likely they had headpuar-
tors somewhere In the vicinity. Prob
ably with the connivance OF the post
master they conducted somo sort OF
green-goods or other sWindllng Came
through Lock Box II. II seemed to
NE more than possible thar Crandall,
taking advantage Of Katharine Far
rish's love for him, had shared her
father into some nefartous scheme.
Such theory would explain her sud-
den break with him and might oven
account for her fathers terror ut the
sight Of the yellow letter that had re-
vcaled to her his error. The knuwl-
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 Kntharino's activity,
and feared to face it. Tho one flaw in
my theory, It seemed 10 mo, was that
It in no way accounted for the second
wOman's suicide, and in spite of Da-
Wis prophecy that there would be
moro suicides, was inclined to be-
lIeve that perhaps, after all, it was
only a coincidence. Learning her
identity, did not regard as half so
important as to locate Crandall. ! al
most wished that / had gone IN pur-
suit Of him alone. I would have felt
an unholy Joy IN rounding him up sim
gle-handed. whilo Davis followed 9TH
CT minor clues. l felt considera bly,
annoyed that Davis apparently was
moro interested in learning who the
dead woman was than in discovering
Crandall's whereabouts,
Ito be continued