Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-03-01
VAN wi Vi:
"A Cha. a 3 F,;i.nee, II Glue" The Maxwell My'ttry, Ee.
Mrs. Reeves handed her !etter oS1 e.
to the coroner, and he read ~ Out
ran:

.r.. p.e,es handed her letter over
ia he prone and he read IL ou'' ~
ran: e.
NY Dear Mrs. Reeves:
you have always been sucn d
eood friend to me that I'm VIII
inr YOU lust a line. You are ey-
erything that is good ana klau.
and nov I'm going to ask you DO
a final favor to forget VlcKs van
at once and forever. l am goias
away and l shall never re.ulm
Don't think of me any eho.v
hardly than you must, put u W.
can keep any LOVING llttle 70
DRY Of the hours we spehe
rether. I want you to do SC. ANU
20 a remembrance, I want you 10
have my little electric coupe. II
is in Rennard's garage, n l
have written him to turn 1t over
to YOU. | shall miss u happy
times together, butt can never
come back. Do not worry about
me, I am safe.
Vicky Van.
"You are sure this is from Miss
! Van Allen?" asked Fem.
ooh. yes" replied Mrs Reeves
| "There's no mistaking that writing
p Nor was there. ] knew Vicky's pen
ma nship. and it was most peculiar
| Never have I seer such a hand. Angu,
lar slightly backhanded, and full O.
character, it would be difficult to iml'
tate it. and, too, no n Would nave
any reason to forge that !etter &c
| Mrs. Reeves. She had verified Vlckys
statement, and found hat a letter te
the garage owner had mn
to give up the car to MRS. reeves
and he had already done so, that very
morning.
The letters had both been mailed in
New York the night before. the posi-,
mark showing that they were malleo
in the district that clud Vlckys
residence.
Was she, then, even now in hiding
near her home? Or, had she sent tne
letters to be mailed by some one else
BY Julie, perhaps, who, l felt sure,
was with her mistress, wherever tina
might be. :,
My leaping thoughts took in al
this, and by degrees the slower going
coroner, put it in words. 49,.
Lowney, the detective, bristled witt
interest. A clue, he had, he thought
! but what a clue! Two letters posted
in the city. What did they show o.
the whereabouts Of the missing girl
Lowney scrutinized the one to Mrs
Reeves Ordinary paper, such a!
might be bought in II stationery o.
department store. no monogram O.
initial on it. nor was there any max
er's name under the flap.
But a dozen people present testified
to 'Vicky's handwriting. and the cor
oner eagerly took possession Of tn
letter.
Sherlock Holmes, I thought to my
it through his good old lens. smell il
and then walk out, and return in
half hour, with Vicky Van in tow!
But for my part. I could see moth
ing illuminating in that plain pape
and envelope, and the letter in tn
well-known penmanship.
All I gathered was, that whereve
Vicky was. she was not only safe bu
comfortable. The tenor of the not
breathed leisure and composure
Clearly. she was not b%reathlessly hur
rying from one place to another, O
vigilantly eluding pursuit. She was a
ease with opportunity to indulge i
thoughtful kindness to a friend, an,
Eto write at length about herself.
At length, yes. but with no hint Q
her hiding-place nor n clue to i
Poor, little Vicky! She seemed S
alone-and yet-how did I know
She may have gone to friends or
somehow I hated to think that 81
had any man who was her legal
even willing protector.
Yet she said she was safe, and HI
letter showed no fear of the futur
And then again l was tabled by tt
thought that perhaps there was !
earthly future for Vicky Van. 1 didn
want her to kill herself didu
want her to be found and arrested
what did l want? I wasn't sure in n
own mind, save that I wanted h
safety above all else. I suppose I b
lieved her guilty. could belle
nothing else, U even so, I didr
want her brought to bay.
I gave my own testimony, viii,
was all true. and all frank, except tn
I said nothing Of my nocturnal vi.
to Vtcky's house or Of our telepho,
conversation. If my conscience smo
me I combated it with my chiyal,
which would not allow me to betr
a woman into the hands Of the law.
The later witnesses, who we
mostly the working people WHIT
Vicky employed by the day, told not
ing of her or of her home life. Tn
all spoke of her as a kind ladv>
work for, though. as a rule, they h
not seen her, but had been engage
directed and paid by the maid, Jul
It seemed to be tacitly assum
that wherever vicky was Julie "
with her. I had had this informant
from Vicky herself, but others to-
it for granted, in the absence Of a
reason to think the contrary,
The whole days session, to ,
mind, achieved little of useful inf
nation. Mrs. Reeves letter urov
conclusively that Vicky was aware
the search being made for her, a
showed her determination not to
found. 1t was Saturday, and when I
inquest was adjourned until Mond
morning, I couldn't help feeling II
it might as we'll have been perm
nently adjourned, for all the. furtf
conclusions it would lead to.
I went home at last, thrilling "
the thought that that night I wal