The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1913-03-07
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luSly. 1t PROMISES lululeuldle dlu. IL
pledges secrecy. At last he sees an
honorable way out. He hastens to
send reply to Lock Box No. II,
Ardway. N. j., as directed. Can't you
imagine what happens then? Young
communicates with him at once. You
used the telephone, didn't your
Sure" he said. "the telephone ev-
cry time 1t leaves no records behind
it and the Bertillon system can't
identify voice.
Now" the inspector went on,
what does Young say over the tele-
phone to Elser? Something like this
You're an old thief. I've got the
proof. You are stealing somebody's
money Steal some more and give
it to me or I'll tell Unfortunately,
in old Elser's case there was no more
money left to steal, so he killed him
self. Am l right, Young?"
Again the prisoner nodded, and
again he demanded another dose of
morphine. His muscles were again
getting beyond his control. AS Davis
fixed the hypodermic, asked: But
where does the old maid from Con-
necticut come in? Surely she wasn't
defaulter."
Il suspect it was the brother with
whom she made her home" said the
inspector.
Damn her." said Young bitterly, 1T
was she who queered the whole game.
We tackled her brother for five hun
dred and it came so easily we de-
cided to make another try. The weak
kneed old thief, in his terror of us.
told his sister all about it. She in
sisted on coming down here. She
saw Rouser and tried to find the sign
er of the letter. Rouser denied know
ing him. She was a wise old creature
and pointed out that as postmaster he
must know who got the mail. Her
suspicion Of Rouser scared him stiff.
He wanted to give her the money
back, but at first wouldn't hear to
it. She was threatening to commit
suicide if We didn't. He was SO
scared that finally consented to let
him square her. / wanted to use him
still further and wasn't ready to have
| money, and he went to the hotel late
in the afternoon to see the old girl.
He slipped up to her room and found
her hanging there. 1t gave him such
a shock that he dashed back to the
post Office, grabbed his bicycle and
hustled out here as fast as he could
come, where / was waiting to meet
Katharine Parrish"
With difficulty I suppressed an ex.
clamation of establishment | could
not doubt that he was telling the
truth, for his story dovetailed so we'll
with what Louise had told me. Yet
it seemed impossible to believe, it
surely was preposterous to imagine
that General Parrish, wealthy and
honorable as he was, could have
been a thief / refused to believe it.
decided to demand an explanation
from Young of why he had sought a
meeting with Katharine
It's too bad Rouser was so easily
frightened" Davis was saying sar.
castically. "He was so scared that he
left behind in the cash drawer five
thousand he had just received from
Henry Eberle."
The accursed fool" screamed
Young in a frenzy of rage that he had
| failed to get his hands on this bit OF
plumber. THE sneak didn't tell me
that. All he said was that Dora Hast
| ingS. who was a restaurant cashier
had insisted that it was utterly i'm
| possible for her to pay up. The dirty
| damned sneak"
| In fit Of madness he cursed and
cursed again his dead associate, fou
oaths rolling in streams from his
parched lips. Anxiously l waited fol
his fury to subside to ask him about
Katharine and Hugh Crandall. II
seemed a dissertation of her woman
hood to mention Katharine's name il
the presence of such a man, so as he
subsidized 1 merely asked: But wha
| about Hugh Crandall?"
Damn him." he cried, that wa.
another of my mistakes! I knew
Crandall in college. When | got tn,
goods on old Parrish thought l could
rely on Crandall to help me to turf
the trick. l didn't know he was il
love with the daughter. When | toll
him about it he refused to have any
thing to do with it and rushed off ant
squealed to the general Much thanks
he got for it! The naughty old gen
eral ordered him out of the hous,
and wouldn't let the daughter hav,
anything more to do with him
tried then to get him in on tn
scheme. but it was no go. For week
he kept trying to worm my secre
from me. l fired yellow letter afte
yellow letter at the general. but h
kept defying me. and all the Will
Crandall kept after me to make m
give up the papers. / was afraid L,
weaken There are times the dop
gets me and hardly know what II
doing, so | vanished. 1t struck m
that if the general wouldn't com
across maybe the daughter would
put it up to Crandall and we arrange
meeting. l was to put the papers i
her hands and she was to pay owe
J the money. / slipped up on the f1rs
appointment and l guess you mus
have spoiled the second"
J l still was puzzled What could b
the terrible mystery in proud oil
General Farrish's life that gave thi
} miscreant such q hold on him?
: was beyond my imagination to col
lecture, so put the question bluntl
/ to the prisoner.
/ why ask me?" he snarled. "You'v
got the whole thing-eYerY paps