The Carlisle independent., 1917-08-30

and thzn on a tab of paper of the dry details I gave him of the Ludington affair. 1 had brought the folder with me. the dossier in which the credit department was supposed to store up everything concerning a client and keep 1t up to date. AS closed it he l asked the question:
 That is all you have?"
 Except the newspaper clippings re. ferrfng to the death of Mir Luding. ton,' l replied.
 The newspaper story was simple and plain. It was only because the circumstances were out of the ordi. nary and the decedent an apparently successful business man, that the pub lie prints had given any space to the death of the exchange trader.
 It was chill March evening when he had been found dead, lying against building. There was no evidence whatever that he had been assaiIed. The contents of his pockets were un- disturbed, There were no marks of violence on his body. He carried no life insurance, but an autopsy was held by the coroner The inquest developed nothing new. According to two expert physicians Royal Luding- ton had died from heart failure. He had been ailing and depressed for some time preceding his demise. There was not the slightest hint at suicide.
 The police, tracing the movements of the decedent previous to his death, testified at the inquest that Luding- ton had been one of a small party of friends who had met at the home of Abel Vandamann. The latter was an apparently reputable business man of the city of some wealth and social standing. The occasion of the social function was the grouping up of number of business men to whom Vandamann wished to present a stock selling scheme to float a copper mine in Northern Michigan. A pleasant evening had passed, few cigars, not too much wine, and the guests had departed in pleasant humor and seemingly all in the best of health. Two of the guests had walked some distance with Ludington, and had bade him good night about square and half from the spot where his body was later discovered.
 Mrs. Ludington had testified that she knew her husband to have had business dealings for long time pre- vious to his death with MT. Wanda mann. The latter she understood had loaned her husband money. This was not new phase of the character Of Vandamann. His business was that of a high interest rate note shaver, but he had been always shrewd enough to conceal his usurious trans actions under the guise of expenses, commissions and the like.
 This was the story told by the newspaper clippings I handed to Resi- Illus Marvel. Pasted to it was a briefer item dated two days later. It had been preserved in the folder be- cause it mentioned the name of Royal Ludington. It covered strange hap pening On the evening of the funer- al of the dead trader, a man had been detected in leaving by the win dow route the room Ludington for merly occupied at his home. A watch i man had trapped him as the mid night marauder dropped to the ground. He was held until the police were summoned and was sent to the near est police station. Upon searching l him nothing whatever was found up on him. He seemed to be some home less tramp, be had taken nothing from the room he had entered, and when questioned declared with fool ish grin that he had been looking for something to eat, struck sleeping chamber instead of a pantry, and was too honest to steal anything more than bite of food
 The contention of the man was car ried out in the main by circumstances. The room he had entered had not been at all disturbed. Upon the bu- reau lay the traders purse with some money and papers in it. This had been opened. but nothing removed. A l suit of clothes in a closet had been N
 l looked over, it seemed, but not even | the pockets had been searched.
 The marauder, giving the name of Edward Briggs, had been brought be l fore police magistrate, charged with vagrancy. and sent to the house of correction for sixty days.
 I noticed that my friend read and re-read the little clipping telling all this. I noticed him mark on the pad | the name-"Edward Briggs" I saw also that he copied the names of the two guests who had left the Wanda. mann home with the trader the night of his death. Theu he arose, and could tell by the expression of bis
 eye that he was ready for work. Further. I regarded him with the ad
 miration his ability always evoked within me. for although I could not guess how. I was sure that out oi the bare skeleton fabric of sn uapaid note at bank, a weeping girl and two