The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1919-11-27
IA PLOT FOR A NOVEL
tiumeston Man Married q Dashjn0
Widow, and Then Her Dead
Husband Comes to Claim her.

In the life OF our felloW-toWns-
man, S. A. Norton, for the past
tniee-QuarIers OF year might We
found events Tor the construction
or a plot Tor a modern novel or the
scenario OF motion picture Illm.
AS an elderly WelI-to-do DacneloI'
Steve's ii1e has been quiet and un-
evenl1ul but a year or SO ago ne met
woman, supposedly WIDOW, MIS-.
hardin, who was here on WISH
from points southwest or TINS 10
spend some time with relatives IN
Humeston, On a visit by Mr.. Nor
ION with friends in Missouri they
met again and the mountaineering
uuimmaIed in their marriage feb-
ruary llth, last winter. MIS-. "l1al-
din brought several Oh her younger
cnllQren mere to make Lneii nome,
ana some Or the older ones as well,
came 1or more or less lengthy per
ious 1t will be remembered ny our
readers that last August Mr. anu
Mrs Norton departed Tor Il trlp 10
Long Beach, CailT., anu on the a@y
OF Ineir departure the yOuuS mar
dinS took ms big new overland car
out for a ride and wrecked lne car
and injured several OF the ten oc-
cupants. For over two weeks no
co lnecllon could be made with the
Noltons to inIolm theln OF the ac-
cioenv. In the meantime one OF IAe
grown sons of Mrs. Hardin had been
arrested and held i'll lall here on Il
charge OF obtaining money hnueI
false pretenses ny signing Mi. NOR
TONS name to checks without
authority. On their return, by the
that such authority had been given
the boy was released. The son-ln-
law of Mrs. Hardin had been look
ing after the teamwork here IN the
absence OF the owner, and there
were rumOrs Of negligence II not
worse
Omaha accompanied by a man
whom she announced was her hus--
band whom she thought was dead
when she married Norton. Her
statement was that he disappeared
from their home eight years ago
this coming 20th OF December and
she had not heard from him since.
years he was apparently demented
and unable to remember who ne
was nor where he belonged. Several
years ago he secured position as
hostler in a cavalry camp. A few
weeks ago he undertook to get some
information of his family and insert
ed. an advertisement in a paper re. OF
w
nation to be addressed to him at
Omaha. An employer of one of his
sons at Enid, Oklahoma, noticed the
advertisement and showed it to the
boy, who wrote his mother here; she
made an excuse of the need OF a trip
TO Omaha to buy clothing for the
children and secured money from
him for the trip, met the man and
he was recognized by the. children
on his arrival here as their father.
His having been living at the time Of
her marriage. to Norton without hav--
ing obtained a divorce complicated
things in matrimonial way and
negotiations were opened for a set
tlement of some sort.
1t ended by the granting Of a d.
vorce to Mr.. Norton last Friday in
the district court at Corydon, the
payment of $4,000 by him to Mrs
Hardin and her removal to Hutchin-
son. Kansas, with her children; the
household furniture and an auto
mobile she to transfer to him the
dwelling property here he had given
her. In the settlement. Attorney
Steele said he had nracticed law a
long time but the old saying that
"there is nothing new under the
sun" was out-done by the develop
ments in this case. Owino to the
unusual circumstances connected
with the case, the Judge granted the
divorce on such short notice to get
the affair cleared up Mrs. Hardin
willingly signed an affidavit the
circumstances were as set forth IN
the petition for divorce by Norton's
torney.-Humeston New Era.