Cut Bank pioneer press. [volume] (Cut Bank, Mont.) 1909-current, 1916-06-30

The body vas discovered, the de-
tectives got on the trail of the mur-
derer, and he vas arrested on the ar
rival of his ship at Auckland and
brought back to st. Louis. While in
Jail he employed two lawyers to de-
fend him, and it was then that l came
into the case.
A few days after Brookes had been
lodged in Jail Mr.. Ashley C. Glover,
circuit attorney of st. Louis, and his
assistant. Marshall F. Mcdonald, drove
out to my residence. ] was then spe-
cial agent for the Missouri Pacific
Railroad company, and my visitors
were well known to me.
"Furlong," said Mr.. Glover, at
looks as though Brookes will go Free"
"How is that?" I asked.
Because" replied the other, while
there is scarcely any doubt that Max
well caused the death of Preller by
chloroform, yet he may have done it
innocently, and if such is the case
he could not be convicted of the muir
der. Now, Tom, l want you to get
the facts in this case for me-"
I asked for a day to think the mat
ter over, to which suggestion they
agreed. When my visitors returned
l said:
Gentlemen, I have been thinking
about the case in question, and have
become satisfied that there were but
two persons who knew the whole facts
connected with the case. One of these
persons is now in Jail, and the other
is dead. In my opinion Maxwell is
the only living person who knows the
facts, and therefore he is the only
person from whom these facts can be
obtained. I believe l can get these
facts from him. I shall be glad to do
anything that 1 a to assist you in
~unraveling this case, with the under
standing that I am not to receive any
compensation for what l do myself,
but l expect you gentlemen to pay
the operative that I may use in this
work the same amount of salary that
we are paying him, and his actual ex-
penses."
This being agreed, l te~legraphed to
Philadelphia for a man in my employ
there named John McCulloch, a truth
full, honest man, but a little thick
headed: just the nan who would in
terpret his instructions to the letter,
and carry them out in this way
which was what / wanted.
1 began by obtaining possession of
a few blank checks from the Office of
ID. S. H. Smith, who was local treas
urer of the Missouri Pacific Railroad
company in st. Louis. My chief clerk
was a good penman, and l set him to
practice until he could not only initiate
Doctor Smiths signature, but could
initiate it just badly enough to arouse
suspicion in the mind Of a bank cash
Ter. 1 next had my clerk fill out a
blank check for the amount of
$~1,188.10. This check I gave to Nc
Culloch, ~instructing him to present it
to the paying teller of the Mechanics
bank, which was then on Fourth
street. I had received a genuine
check from DR.. Smith a few days be-
fore. and had purposely held this out,
and was waiting across the street
from the bank when McCulloch, who
Is now to be known as Frank Ding
felter, entered to cash the forged
check. AS soon as Dingfelter entered
the bank I followed him.
The paying teller examined the
check curiously, and then, seeing me
excitedly motioned to me to come
to the window. AS I approached, the
teller, in an excited voice, commanded
me to arrest Dingfelter. "He has pre-
sented a large fake check bearing the
name of DR.. Smith, for nearly twelve
hundred dollars" he said. "Why, you
know DR.. Smiths signature"
"Yes. Here is one of DR.. Smiths
checks" / answered. II know this is
genuine, for I saw the doctor sign it.