Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-07-14


lance. for he was keeping his uncle.
Thomas Fletcher. out of the property.
The latter saw at once that his best
chance to secure it was to prove his
nephew dead. He put detectives to
work on the case. who found stains Of
blood W clothing that Frank had left
behind when he went away. This was
really of no Importance. because the
boy haJ been constantly cutting him.
self wSt.i the sharp instruments he
used in the articles he made. but it
was quite enough to bring a charge OF
murder against the Longmans, espe-
cially since an analysis of the stains
showed them to be human blood.
Longman and his wife were brought
to trial for murder. The detectives
employed. paid literally by Thomas
Fletcher. brought testimony from
neighbors that about the time Frank
disappeared they had heard cries, in
the voice of q boy, emanate from the
Longmans' abode. This. together with
the blood stains and other corrobora-
tive manufactured testimony, made a
strong case against the accused. Thorn
as Fletcher sent a messenger to them
to say that if they would give him evil
dence that the boy was dead he would
see that the charge of murder was
withdrawn. This meant that they
should make affidavit that Frank had
been drowned and his body never re-
covered.
The Longmans, although they saw
the gallows staring them in the face.
declined to testify falsely to save them
selves. Besides. they had no reason
to suppose that Frank was dead, and If
he could be found they wished him to
come to his own. When the trial was
over and the case submitted to the
jury there was a disagreement. The
accused had been in Jail for long
while and had the prospect Of remain
ing there for an indefinite time. But
attorneys who We're interested in pro-
ducing the heir to the estate had been
advertising largely for Frank. and
when after the trial the prisoners were
| Jail they were astonished to meet their
foster child coming in.
All three were at once locked in an
embrace
This ended the murder trial, but did
not restore Frank Reynolds to his own.
! The attorneys of Thomas Fletcher en-
| tered a denial that he was the son of
| Phoebe Fletcher, and he was required
! to produce proof that he was. His
| foster mother had years before put
| away the garment in which the baby
! had been brought to her house and
! the description of him, including the
marks on his body. During her i'm
! prisonment she had been much broken
| down. She had remembered where she
had placed these articles of identified
! ton for a number Of years, but since
10 one came to claim the founding
and she had come to regard him as her
son she gradually let the place Of
safe keeping pass away from her. In
her enfeebled condition she found 1t
| impossible to recall where she had
| put them.
However. she remembered what arti.
| cles she had put away. and she was
sure she had never destroyed them.
All depended upon their being some
den them she also remembered. for she
had feared that If she put them with
other articles in ordinary use they
might be destroyed or given away
without its being known what they
were. The house was searched from
top TO bottom, but the proofs were not
found. 1t seemed that, after all. the
boy must lose an estate that was his
by right for the want of a child's shift.
At times memory requires starter.
Daniel Longman was in the garnet
looking for the lost articles when in a
corner he stepped on a board that
creaked. That creak brought to life
the germ, so to speak, of a memory. II
came slowly, but it came surely. II
was so vague that at first he considered
it as nothing. But that creak contin
ued to work in his brain. The same
evening while at supper he told his
wife that he had a faint remembrance
of his hiding the articles for her. Latel
he said he believed he had taken up {
board in a floor, she had put the thing!
in and he had nailed the board down
Suddenly he arose from his half fin
ished supper. seized a screwdriver ant
hammer and. taking a lamp. went VI
into the garnet. His wife and Franz
followed him to the corner where b.
had stepped on the board that creaked
In a minute the board was taken ul
, and there lay a bundle wrapped Il
brown paper. Opening it. he took ou
baby's garment, to which was plnne
bit of paper.
For n second time the three en-
, braced.
The next morning the proofs wer
taken to the lawyers who had COZ
: Quoted the case for Mrs. Fletcher. con
: plotting n chain of evidence which e.
} tablished the boys identity. and in du
r time he was put into possession of hi
2 estate. He took his foster parents I
] live with him in the house where hi
D own mother had been born. and q
e they had suffered greatly they needle
= rest. of which they got a-plenty,