The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-01-25

her own counsel and await develop
ments. which meant confiding the sto-
~ to several intimate friends. canton
ing each to ~ nothing about it. for
Il Mrs. Hackstaff was still alive she
would appear In the flesh
But Mn. Hackstaf did not appear
because she had sailed for China. Mrs.
Ward. thinking that she might have
gone on one Of her trips. cautioned
those shs bad tUed a the buried gar
meut 10 keep quiet I'LL q proper time
bad elapsed for her return. Mean.
wh1ie che tosk Q number Of other per-
sons into hsr confidence and by the
time ArR HAcksta6 should have 70
turned from m ordinary trip all Ather.
ton was acoG When q month more
bed passed Ma Ward was sure Mira
HackstaR bad been murdered; many
q those she bad told Of her boys dis
covesy felt that Il was highly prob
able. while few poohpoohed the whole
matter.
Many believed that the authorities
should be given the evidence Of the
buried dress. but they all considered
that It was the duty of some one else
than themselves to bring forth the In.
formation. There was no certainty
that Mn. Hacksta6 had been murder
Cd. and no one cared to be the finder
Of mares nest" Meanwhile Hack.
sta6 began to show worriment. When
asked about what was troubling him
be said that his wife was absent and
be had not heard from her since her
departure. Then he was asked where
she had gone. and at this he baked
Turning, be walked away without re-
plying to the question.
One day he went to the bank with
check for $500 payable to himself. 1t
had been written in his own handwrit-
ing and bore bis wife's signature. The
paying teller bad heard the whisper
ings about Mrs. Hackstaff's suspicious
d1saDpearance and. asking Hackstaff
to wait a moment, took the check to
the cashier. who carried 1t to the pres.
nent. After q conference 1t was de-
cded to pay Il but this had no sooner
been done than message was sent to
a. expert who came, examined the
check and pronounced II q forgery.
A match had been touched to these
various items Of kindling. and a brisk
bhse started A suspicion Of forgery
other experts disagreed with the first
brought out the story Of the buried
dress, which brought out the fact that
no one could be found who had seen
Mn. Hacksta6 leave Anterior. that
Hscksta6 had looked quite 40 uneasy
- e he had committed murder, and
, various other incidents, all Of which
combined warranted / grand Jury In
6hding IN Indictment against him.
though de pFepondsrance Of evidence
, Of the experts being that the signature
, to the check was genuine caused me
charge Of forgery to b dropped.
Hackstan told bis story 40 It has
f., been told here. with a few additions
not bearing on the case. This was
, that his wife was q cotton Spectator
! and used, with his occasional assist
ance, to examine the crops in the south.
where they were grown. A condition
Of the cotton market had occasioned
visit to Bombay. and she had gone
there. expecting to buy largely. What
had worried him was that the steamer
on which she had sailed had not been
reported since Issuing from the Red
sea into the gulf Of Alden.
There were several missing links In
his explanations. His wife's dress,
which had been exhumed had become
deodorized; the ticket agent at Ather-
ton, who knew Mrs. Hackstaff we'll. had
no remembrance Of having sold her q
ticket on the date claimed, and owing
to her catching the steamer at the hast
moment her name did not appear On
the passenger list
Opinion which had long been grow.
ing against the accused and the fact
that the prosecuting attorney was
showing great energy In convicting
criminals previous to q campaign be
was about to make for an important
judgeship prevailed over this nimsy
evidence, and Hacksta6 was given a
death sentence.
Mrs. HaekstaR. meanwhile having
crossed tho Atlantic and traversed the
Mediterranean and tho Red sea, was
wrecked ON the Persian coast She
reached the shore with 10 money and.
being penniless In strange land, went
through various adve4tures before
meeting q fellow countryman who
| helped her oct and enabled her to
, reach Bombay.
All this took time.
| A few days before HackstaR was tc
! be hanged a cablegram was handed
/. him from his wife. Presenting that hl
had heard Of the wreck. she announced
her safety and that she had arrived al
Bombay. The Information contained
in the cablegram was limited. but II
was enough to save her husband from
swinging at a ropes end. He wal
not set at liberty, however. till the
court was satisfied that the cablegrau
was genuine and then only after ht
had been pardoned by the governor
which was the simplest way out Of tn,
difficulty.