Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-03-12
doing with five thousand dollars care
lessly concealed thus?
Where did he get 1t?
Where was he?

leS6ly concealed thus! a#
Where did he get 1t?
Where was he?
CHAPTER VIII
$50 Davis" concluded, you see that
every new clue points to Hugh Gran
DALI" &1
The post-offlce inspector shifted.
what have they done with the dead
woman,s clothes?' he asked. II want
to see them at once.
had been anxiously awaiting
Davis arrival, not without some little
feeling of triumph. to tell to him the
startling developments in the mystery
since I had left him hardly more than
twenty-four hours before at the ferry.
was at the station awaiting him, and
led him at once to the little hotel. The
noise of his coming had been bruited
about by the village gossips, and as
his fame had penetrated even TO the
obscure Jersey village, there was a
curious crowd gathered at the station.
Some of them even followed us as
far as the hotel lobby. pressing so
close that private conversation was I'M
possible. To avoid interruption, took
him at once to my room and ordered
our supper served there.
While we waited for it summarized
as briefly as could the new features
of the case. beginning with my finding
the postoff1ce deserted. the name miss
ing from Lock Box II, the suicide or
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 at
tracted my attention to the missing
guest in the hotel, his peculiar conduct
the minute | mentioned the yellow let
ter and his fight from town behind the
fastest horse obtainable.
While l was only an amateur IN
criminal Investigation, I prided N.Y.
self 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
of the dead woman or could explain
what the postmaster was doing with
such an unusually large sum, left SO
carelessly hid in the cash-drawer. 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 a band Of skillful rogues
who were defrauding the government.
More than likely they had headquar-
tiers 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 II. 1t seemed to
me more than possible that Crandall,
taking advantage of Katharine Far
rish's love for him, had shared 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 hid re-
vealed to her his error. The know
ledge of her fathers plight, too, might
have driven her to try suicide. Old
Elser possibly was one OF the gang s
dupes OF agents who saw exposure
looming. through Katharine's activity.
and feared to face 1t. The one flaw In
my theory, it seemed to me, was that
it in no way accounted for the second
woman's suicide, and in spite Of Davis
prophecy that there would be more
suicides, I was inclined to believe that
perhaps, after all, it was only coin.
cidence Learning her identity, did
not regard as half so important as TO
locate Crandall almost wished that
had gone in pursuit Of him alone. l
would have felt an unholy JOY in round
ing him up single-handed, while Davis
followed other minor clues. felt
considerably annoyed that Davis ap-
parently was more interested In learn
ing who the dead woman was than In
discovering Crandall's whereabouts
II have no idea what they have done
with the Clothes" said almost cross
". 81 suppose they are still IN the
room. The inquest was adjourned until
tomorrow morning. Maybe they have
been taken to the undertaker's. He
came this afternoon and took the body
away. / forgot to tell you that Gran
dali called up the Parrish house this
very morning and asked for katharine
right from this very hotel"
What did he say?" he asked apath-
etically
I repeated the conversation with
Louise word for word as she had told
| it to me.
"That," said l, sis 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 it is actual confessions"
'The man you suspect" he cor
rected with some asperity, turning
abruptly to the waiter, who had en-
tered with our supper.
"'Tell the proprietor to come up here
at once" he said, land tell him to
bring with him the garments worn by
the woman who killed herself"
II I had sent Mahlon Williams such
an order am positive he would have
paid no attention to 1t, but Davis was
obeyed. So quickly that 1t almost
seemed as If Williams had been listen
ing outside the door the landlord ap-
peared carrying the black coat and
skirt the woman had worn. Perhaps
It was something in Davis authorize.
tive manner, perhaps it was due to re-
cpoct for hie Docition hrt at any rate