The Lynden tribune. [volume] (Lynden, Wash.) 1908-current, 1914-12-31

felt sure that Jennie Brice had had
no such scar. and Mr.. Graves thought
rs did. Temple Hope, called to the
inquest. said she had never heard of
enc, and Mr.. Ladley himself, at the In
quest, swore that his wife had had
nothing of the sort. 1 was watching
him, and did not think he was lying.
And yet the hand was very like Jen-
ME Brices. 1t was all bewildering.
Mr. Ladley's testimony at the in
quest was disappointing. He was cool
and collected; said he had no reason to
believe that his wife was dead and less
reason to think she had been drowned;
she had left him in a rage. and If she
found out that by hiding she was put
ting him In an unpleasant position she
would probably hide indefinitely.
To the disappointment of everybody,
the identity of the woman remained a
mystery No one with such a scar was
missing. A small woman Of my own
age. Mrs. Murray, whose daughter, a
stenographer, had disappeared. attend,
ed 'the inquest But her daughter had
had no such scar and had worn her
nails short because Of using the type
writer. Alice Murray was the missing
girls name. Her mother sat beside me
and cried most of the time.
One thing was brought out at the in
quest-the body had been thrown into
the river after death. There was no
water in the lungs. The verdict was
death by the hands of some person
or persons unknown"
Mr.. HolcOmbe was not satisfied. In
some way or other he had got permits
sion to attend the autopsy and had
brought away tracing of the scar
All the way home in the street car he
stared at the drawing, holding first one
eye shut and then the other. But, like
the coroner, he got nowhere. He fold
ed the paper and put it in his note
book.
None the less, Mrs. Pitmap," he
said, that is the body of Jennie Brice.
Her husband killed her. probably by
strangling her. He took the body out
in the Boat and dropped it into the
swollen river above the Ninth street
bridge"
why do you think he strangled
herr"
"There was no mark on the body
and no poison was found"
'Then. If he strangIed her, where did
the blood come fromY'
81 didn't limit myself to strangula-
tion,' he said irritably. HE may have
cut her throat"
'Or Drained her with my onyx CLOCK"
I added with a sigh. For missed the
clock more and more.
He went down in his pockets and
brought up key. I'D forgotten this -
he said. ut shows you were right
that the clock was there when the
Ladleys took the room. l found this
in the yard this morning."
1t was when l got home from the In
quest that l found old Isaac's basket
waiting. l am not a crying woman,
but | could hardly see my mothers
picture for tears. Well, after all, that
is not the Brice story. | am not writ.
ing the sordid tragedy of my life.
That was on Tuesday. Jennie Brice
had been missing nine days. In all
that time, although she was cast for
the piece at the theater that week, nc
one there had heard from her. Her
relatives had had no word. She had
gone away, if she had gone, ON a cold
March night, in striped black and
white dress with u red collar and a
red and black hat, without her ful
coat, which she had worn all winter
She had gone very early in the morn
ing or during the. night. How had
she gone? Mr.. Ladley said he had
rowed her to Federal street at hall
after 6 and had brought the boat back
After they had quarreled violently al
night, and when she was leaving him
wouldn't he have allowed her to take
herself away? Besides. the police had
found no trace of her on an early
train And then at daylight, between
and 6, my own brother had seen q
woman with Mr.. Howell, a woman
who might have been Jennie Brice