Show Master sl Strokes I ok s of TL u uG Great G at Let I tI s By GEORGE BARTON BAETON Detective Hogan Detective and the I Mystery l Nicholas wealthy and a awas bachelor was one of the best known citizens of San Francisco He was eccentric and rich but regarded as fully Cully capable of taking care of his affairs For years he lived with two good friends Mr and Mrs Samuel Dl Dixon on One day he left home and after that was never again seen alive Detective Robert Hogan of or the local force was placed on the case cue and tho the first 1 t thing that was as handed to him was vas a telegram which ch Mr Dixon received from Sacramento It read a Have made a c clean ean sweep of my myreal myreal myreal I real estate to part parties es from Colorado Colora Going there to complete sale Have one-half one in ill hand La Rue will take charge favor him he Is solid and re re- re liable This was signed by Nicholas itt Ut The La Rue mentioned in the thc message was a man who had hid called caned on about a week before It seemed strange that ritt should his affairs to a 51 stranger Moreover ho had sent a t telegram legram worded in the thc same manner to three different persons in San Francisco FrancL A fresh sensation occurred when it was found that deeds had already been flIed filed in the courthouse transfer transfer- ring all of the proper property y 0 owned ed by to La Rue Detective Hogan was suspicious and d determined on on some stra strategy gy of Of own He managed to get possession of a a. specimen of or La Rues Rue's ing Then he went to Sacramento in Sn order to ro see the originals of the three telegrams They confirmed his sus sus- sus The telegrams signed with name name were In the handwriting of Francis La Rue After that he Investigated the past life of the telegram forger He found that he had served a term in prison But it was impossible to do anything anything any any- thing until they had proved the murder murder mur mur- der of or Mr One thing they learned was that La Rue had purchased purchased purchased pur pur- chased a mattress and a set ut of or blankets blan blan- lets at a a. store near the home on the day that disappeared Hogan now determined to make a personal inspection of or all the properties prop in the city owned by at least of or all the vacant properties In a second story of or the thc eleventh home they found a dead man sitting chair covered with a blanket in a Nicholas I It was vas the lifeless body of chair and anti huddled in the gazing into into space with unseeing eyes I blanket that enveloped the thc The proved to have been purchased corpse from a a. secondhand dealer by Francis Fran Frail i cis La Rue The tolls toils were gradually closing around the adventurer Hogan nov nOVI turned to another Mother possible source or of Information The personal effects of oc ocLa La Rue had been taken from him hInt himat himat at the time Ume of his arrest these included in included in- in eluded a number of keys All AU of these keys had been accounted for except one which was evidently Intended for or a Yale lock What was the meanIng meaning mean mean- ing of or this mysterious key to the Yale lock Did it belong to La LB Rue and anti If It so roo why did cUd he refuse to account for Cor It In this emergency Hogan and his associates a. a I hit upon a n. novel scheme They had a number of or duplicate du du- du plicate keys made and distributed them to detectives and officers in all parts of the city While leaving the Grand hotel ono one night Hogan decided to visit somo some of the lodging houses of the neIghborhood neigh and try the keys in the locks They very first house brought results In the room used by La Rue he found a a. quantity of or goods stolen from itt Also there were twelve cans of or chloride of or lime He Ho felt that the tho case was solved But as if to make Blake assurance doubly doubly dou doum bly sure he resolved to make an another another another an- an other visit to ro the room He Be lifted the tho mattress from the bed and there between the wire bottom bottom of of the bed anti and the mattress he ho found Cound a a. quantity quan of o legal papers l-papers papers owned by SkeI Others consisted of deeds to certain i of or his properties The trial was a notable one Th testimony was overwhelming The Thc I Jury found Francis La Rue guilty ot of I murder and he was hanged by the 1 neck until dead y Copyright by br Public Ledger Ledge j |