Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1917-08-31

your breath 81 ''"n and sa
At glance l knew the nr,.
was Edward Briggs. He 70. .'oaef Il
unkempt, savage looking sor nOvsy
the worse for drink. ana of I oIat
brow and set pugnacibus Inns '"eflng
What's all this ~ Sc grnn,i.,
You have been asfested fn ~ out
assault upon one certain Vanda ueaoly
observed Marvel. ''lsnn,"
1T would have been mora oo-.
I'd had the show" retorted no sa'a
low. Tue lei
Did you hurt him mueb?'.
Worse luck, no. The nert IL.
the man glared across his k I,o.e
fist. AHotted
"on top of your last EXHIBIT.
marked Marvel, ''it may be sly No.. re-
or year this time. Unless von T ha
left a case of mayhem behind 1--we a
down at Vandamanns. / can nro,! you
you a chance to get out of tbis n o'liiSs
-on conditions"
What conditions?" mutterAd 81,
fellow, an evil eye fixed Oh both no
us-suspicious and leery. !"
"As the Fourteenth Man,
What's that" calculated p,iu.
with start, and then he sbranL h sss
within himself, the barrier IN liz a'A
man in trap.
LAS the Fourteenth Man von
course knew Royal Ludington." W
Suppose l did,"
What did you take to his hons.
the day of his funeral?"
Briggs bored into the ouestiono..
face with his shrewd ferret ewes Hs
shook his head. This is some kins,
of a frame-up," he declared az dom
say a word till know what's doings
After some persuasion the man toIt
1t amounted to this; ScoundreLheartod
Abel Vandamann had seen an onno,.
tunity in the sudden death of one q,
his victims to press fictitious claims
He had utilized the Fourteenth Man
in his plot. This had been to have
Briggs visit the Ludington homs
surreptitiously, place the Dhotograps
in a pocket of Ludington's coat, an,
in his desk a card bearing notation.
of various amounts. These, cores
ponded in amounts TO alleged notes d,
the decedent, were later presented to
his widow for payment.
The willy schemer had convinced
Mrs. Ludington that he held notes
they were forgeries-to a large
amount, given him by her husband
He had further persuaded her to be-
lieve that the borrowed money they
represented had been squandered in
gambling and in financing the extrava.
CANT whims of the woman, Idalia
The notations, the photograph, all
seemed to verify the foul misrepre.
sensations that brought sorrow and
dread to the wife and daughter of the
dead trader. Mrs. LudingtOn was
proud woman. The fear of disgrace,
publicity, had made her the easy vic.
tim of the arch swindler, Abel Wanda.
mann.
The demands of the broker wee 50
extensive that his black-mailed victim
found that after she had sacrificed her
personal belongings to satisfy the
notes, there would be no hope Of
liquidating the indebtedness at the
bank.
ReciIiue Marvel hold n bripf hut
productive interview with Abel Wanda
mann the next day. Then he carried
to the bank twelve forged notes for
$4,000, and a like amount in cash al
ready extorted from Mrs Ludington
on similar forgeries. The bank there
fore, lost nothing, and the Ludiagtons
were restored to fortune and llttea
from the shadow of great grief.
There is such a thing as earthly
retribution," observed Resilius Marvel
to me one day.
A column in a daily newspaper was
the basis of the remark. 1t told Of
the murder In cold blood OF Aoei
Vandamann. A stiletto had dealt MIN
his death wound, so it might nave
been a woman. But his strong DOH
was rified, so 1t might have been
man. The police never found out, lot
the woman, Idalia, and the Fourteeh'n
Man hal disappeared as completely a.
though the earth had opened and swan
lowed them up.