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Show ! I I'M met aiuai new i'.i.i In " i i nil n n an ' I ,1 ;i : U r ' --- -- - mm , . . , . -r?rriy r The Skeleton in thVCIosei A TRUE STORY OF THE SECLlCl SERVICE n B y col. ii . c . w h i It i e y f " Vvn ( (J rarmer Chlel V. S. Secret i'v I c ) ) . ..'i-SVIIAn MKT tho Ju.Uo fre. V' J luii'titly ntid f'lt n'i'le iA ilJl "H nciunliili'd with ' tf k 1 him. Id' m a pollll- nil rlnn of mile and a mem- J r b,T "' ""' ' 1 ji Heenune f lua s.v Vjj priiiiiliii'iicn nn.l liln one-tl'Tio one-tl'Tio aliiiportimt cnntiec TjfjfL'.iir liim with tin- (iirern-nieiit. (iirern-nieiit. I ahull fiirhi-.ir the tnetition nf hl nniiH' It would lie fa-nilltnr fa-nilltnr lo every r-ndrr. one dny I received a tnenKiino from him r.-iii-Rtlni; n- to mil nl lil nfflce at my arll-Ht eonv.-nh nee. I'reaent-luK I'reaent-luK inyaelf I n Klv. ti a prliute In l.nl.'W. After n Utile preliminary rimviTi illnn the luilce mild thu he tiiiteit 1o talk to me In regard to a perminnl mntti-r. He ni-iil'-d tny nMlit-ntiee nMlit-ntiee In an affulr of inin-li runcern lo hlmmlf nnd tvlle. He ihi n relnjcd nt , tome length the MMory of hla fimiliy I Iroulilea. There was n nkeletun In hla climet. He hnd aent for mo believing ' Unit I inUhl hn alilo lo ilevlne auine ttienaiire of rolh-f. "My 'wife," he paid, "la very tuna-.. Hurried mid quite proniratid with grief. Hue la In Mu ll n ll"ivouii state of mind I fenr rhe v.l!l hreiik down l!l.-K-.l.T." Ills f)i'I llllnl Willi tears ! aa ho eiptnlned the mtiae of their I great trouble. "Hho na a widow with I an only aim when I ninrrUd her. Thla son, notwlihatiiuillng hla moral training train-ing and tender cure, hna turned out to be an unmitigated villain and a rem atnnt menneo to our peace of mind. Ho aeetna to be henrtleaa and devoid of decency and reaped for- our pout-tlon. pout-tlon. Ileeldea, ho la a thief Only a hurt time ngn he wna arrcated In Chi cago, taken to jlultlmoro and charged with committing a robbery In a house of III repute. I wae compelled to art-tie art-tie the caae or auffer tho dlagrace of an exrioauro. wtno and women are hla boliblea. He la reckleaa In tho use of money and will reaort to any menna to obtain It Kven now I am furnlah-lug furnlah-lug the money wherewith to gratify hla vicious appetite. God knows what bo will do next! We are living In con-atant con-atant fear that he will do something to publicly dlagrace us. Now, if there I any way that he can be got out of the country without publicity. If you can devise any plan to get rid of him without killing him or aendlng him to tha penitentiary. It will meet with my approval. I think It la a caae where severe measures would be entirely Justifiable. Just think of Itl The scapegrace ha gon so far In his depravity de-pravity a to eecort a woman of known bad character to hi niolhor' reception." recep-tion." My sympathies once amused and a promise made, I felt bound to take some action. It appeared a difficult undertaking. The fellow was to be got rid of, but lust bow waa th question that punled my brain. I had read of many atrange disappearances of persons who were never afterwards beard of, but the manner of their disappearance dis-appearance was not always clear. It may have been a voluntary act. mental aberration or tha reault of a crime. I prided myaelf upon my kill In devilling de-villing way and meane to acrompllah an end, hut the caae In band, after some deliberation, appeared somewhat like perpetrating a wrong deed for the purpoae of aecompllahlng a good reault If the slory told by the Judge wae true, there would be but little difficulty difficul-ty In landing the rascal In the penitentiary peni-tentiary for the crimes he waa committing com-mitting almost dally; but a meaaure of thla kind would mean exposure and dlagrace To put him away by foul means was out of the' question. He may have deserved a sharp medicine, and the world may have been better off without him. but there was no thought of doing him bodily harm. The Idea waa to dlapoae of blm and slid him out of the country tenderly. The Judge wanted to got rid of liim, but could auggeat no way. It wa j, delicate caae to handle. I knew that the Judge waa a conaclentloua and humane hu-mane man and that he meant no wrong, and It waa difficult for me to underatand the course I could safely pursue. A I turned to - leave the Judge's office bis wife entered the room. I was Introduced, sud cast my eyes upon her' race.' tt did not appear quite pew to oie. ..Could I be mistaken? Ilai I met her before? Aa the possible recognition rec-ognition did not appear mutual I was unable to place her. The Judgo turned away to converao with hie dlaburstug clerk. The wife, wbo bad evidently been Informed In regard to the purpoae of my Interview with the Judge, requeated me to be sealed. - Placing her band upon in.' arm sbe smiled pleaauntly, while aa surlng me of her faith In my aullltjr to do something to help them out of the deep trouble they were In. Hhe spoke bitterly of her eon and of the many Indignities In-dignities be had heaped upon bar. Bhe wanted to be freed from him. The manner, io wblch he waa to be disposed of did not seem to give her much concern. Bhe wlahed ilia bn-labed bn-labed In aome far-away country; If h war dead, she would feel relieved. While relating her trouble h ehanced to mention the name of her flrat huaband. On the Instant I rsosg-nlied rsosg-nlied ber as aa old aoqualntanoe. i hail known her h-n she was a rony i-ll eki'il itnlist wiimnn some twetlty-llve twetlty-llve yt'iira before. She wna then IIviiik with her hiifhaiid In n little 1omi In niirlheaatern Ohio. Thla wna Inline i-he I nine the wile of the JiiiIkc Her II ret tuiiriliiKe wna auld to lie t runaway runa-way mnti-h Hlie wna n n-iunrkilily liiiiutlful woman thin, hut there w-ia a cloud haiiKlng ou r her Die. I can not any what It uilt'hl have hern Hint i "liiaed Ronalpltig 'vnuieti to ahuke their bi-atla mid wblnper aa phe i:iu(-l by. Shortly nfter he gave birth to a aon alio left the vllhtp.. I do not know Juat wh'-re ahe wml. Iiul It wna nhort-ly nhort-ly afterwards rumored Hint rhe bid hern itrniifod a divorce. bhe wna now rutiliiK n Intgn figure In aorleiy upd oil, u nki-n of aa tlu haiidMiuii-at woman In the cnpllol i-liy. Her hual'iitifl, the Jinti'.e, wua up lo thla time quite mm- .mill In piillllinl life, roxaeaaed of ron.,ili'lalle drain torce nnd tnurfli nmlnhllliy of character, charac-ter, he might have rhteti sit tit higher hiul not the IntiiKura aet on fool by hla nnibltloiia wile contributed to pu.i liim down. She planned erhetnea to exalt Ii lut nnd to ncqulro wealth. In mnkliiK these efforts she aroused the jrn!ouiea of in here and niniln I he Judge unite unpopular with the leading I'olltlclana. Her mlaillrecled teal not only cruahed llio tuilitlcal proHpecta of her huabnnd. but llnnlly resulted In eg-pelllng eg-pelllng her from WnahltiKton society. I wna furnlahed a photograph nf her profligate alepaon. lis waa a fine-looking fine-looking young man, with wavy hair, keen blue ryea and rosy rheeka; In fact, much like hla mother In her youth. 'l!la face waa Indicative of orlmlnal tendunele. I wa told that he waa a difficult man to approach, that ha did not car for th companionship compan-ionship of men. Thla being the caae I waa at a loaa to determine bow to reach him. It waa necessary to Introduce Intro-duce a etrangor In order to. carry out the plot I had In view. After pondering over the matter for aome dnyu I hit upon an expedient that I believed would dlapoae of the young man without public espoeure or i resorting to crime. There wa In my employ at this time a man whom I shall call Heed. If ever there wa a born confidence man he wa th one; an actor that could aaaume a part, live It and play it through wllh a face aa aolemn a the graveyard; never vl-cloua, vl-cloua, but ever apparently In earneat while practicing a deception for misleading mis-leading only thoae who ought to be mlaled. I had found blm on all ncca-aluna ncca-aluna to -be a valuable assistant In furthering the ends of Justice. Itved hailed from tbe south, bad Just srrlved In the city and wa In queat of a private lodging place. The Judge' stepson was now occupying an elegant suite of rooms In a fashionable locallon. Ho was so omplotely captivated capti-vated by Reed's assumed manner and apparent wealth that he waa delighted at th opportunity afforded to aecur a roommate. Th detective accepted the offer made by hla new friend and eoon found blmaalf in quite a novel and dangerous situation. Ha waa th companion of a thief who exploit war liable to Involve both In trouble. He had led hi roommate to believe that he waa blmaalf engaged In questionable ques-tionable transactions and that New York waa th plao to operate In. "Thar,' ald ha, "are chance to ig liniila." The Jui'g.-'a eft n lt a suggestion of Hi'a bind Hl-e i ' ato water and waa Ii iJily i-u.t il ""iim llf Hie MO I'll d trip le 1't Imagim-d a hum, I. r ll.-id lor "eln- of hi. on n p. oilier tnleiil. i r arrival nt N. w Vmk liiey "!ied under i.mi:u. d luilliea III 'M k'rch.inia' hmel on foul tlnml ,ir T'lievral dava following they e ! el out the city, hiking 111 IH iil!''md walling lor roim ihltia lo nf" I. , While walking II long HioiiiI U ar the eld Al..r hotel. Ihey r"4 to puas a mill. Hi- uged iiinn ' s gazing iiliiuit In nn iiiuertiiln lefilwiiy. Ilia dress and manner if '3m I he appearance of a green ec i.m the rural illattlcl. pre-an pre-an ty from some plncu out weal. "!e," snld Heed In nn undertone. H every fellow we are looking for bM Mry a hnnd on him. I will make ilfi Ink 1 havn met blm before ' Rn-luw stepped up and nci oated the r"im with nn air of assumed fa nil In y. Holtltig him by Die hnnd st J: "llow do you do. Mr. Illlck? , latin alnd to ate you." The verdant 'sunaspotided: "v,m l,r0 "ilatnken. sir: n name Is Jones, and I live at i'oru'ayne, Indiana." "Never mind tbe inie." anld Heed. "I got I lie I nse mixed, but I remember now eh'M met you. You used to run a UtclsUilile at Kokotno." "V. did." "n of courae you remember me I en he man that sold pumps nnd keptif team at your tabl. You a I have taken many drlnka toil to-il ier." b, yea." drawled Mr. Jonea; ' at on earth ar you doing In Now kr uet looking around and having a r '1 time. Let's go sud take aome- tl ome along, Jonea. It us go md to our hotel," said Heed. The r went to the Merchante. June ac-j ac-j ted an Invitation to go to the room d il friends. A'bst Is your favorite drink?" ul d Reed. Plain brandy," said Jones. I will go down and bring up a hot-ii hot-ii A Heed moved away be winked a) y to the Judge'a alepaon. After an nc of some thirty minute or tl r Heed returned wllh the brandy. pulled th cork. Whll Jonea waa l king out of the window be slipped m mail vial out of bla pocket and, glv-II glv-II hi partner an opportunity to see II be turned tbe contents Into the to tie of brandy. He gave the bottle n bake and set It down on tbe table. 'I Judge' stepson' far flushed and II ra wa a tromor In bis voice. He a tned to comprehend the noxious If ver of the veuomoue Ingredient that l I been poured Into the bottle. Heed leared aelf-poaaeaaed and proficient U Ifae art of deceiving and bold and If enough to commit any crime, i I tba young man wa evidently g1 atly frightened not because of any c npunctlon of conaclenc. but for 'tit reaaon that he wa. aa wa after-m after-m rd ahown, a natural born coward li poaaeaaad Don of th element m I rugged force of an assassin. II s mod to have a nervoua apprehen-ni apprehen-ni a that he waa wading In water too O ip and dangerous, ti waa heart- U-a er.e'rh. teit sotl.ehuw wi-!;ed lb" j rit- p hy it- p Jones bocan:e drowsy I I lie sitpron i trove to rally ntm to hla irii-ea Ji.ni-s Con d hL. ev.; V. CM ! i.in-i.t have I .; ti n i-ii.iiitotu u' over' Ii" it- .1 Im c u il'"i now t . ci"t e II ,' t' .iltiil reality llu- sti'l-'On waa no -i air o t p.irnl.-.-d wi'b fear r Jor.. nl'pp'd lioni h. cluili le ih.' r. or Was Ii,. ili-n.l or n!IV'? Ho uttered J .1 lort utid aiipprei'i-cll e o:i'l l"i h'a lank I'i'il bolv wna Inl'l tineii the bed) in. I ati!-t.i-.l el fill ltii:il.lHj. TM, .I. i i ti. Hi' im -iib'y In en neat, wanted to ril.- ,..ii s overcoat, but rtct'd anld It uirild le i!i ni:ero is. as ,11 mltfht I. nd lo iMi i-tlnii. .... I new leave the horrors of this occa-, occa-, ,.n io tiM. itrir glnnllon of the reader llu- two aurvlvora suddenly left the hulel anil ciiMs.d over In Jersey City and took loilglng nt Taylor hotel, win-re they registered under naiiincd nan e. na they hnd done previously al the Merchants' It was Inte lu till e. i-.'ng when Ihey went to pen. i 'Ih.y hnd left ibe Merchain- hotel line In the iifiernoiin. Junes, the sup-tio-nl drugged c.iiintrytniin. was not r ile na dead na the Judge'a alepaon thought htm lo be. He. too. was a skilled prelemler. j Hron nfter hla enlerlnlnera hnd ta-ki ta-ki n their depnrlurc he. peaaum like, came to life, g.fl up and took a drink fiom tho lirniiily bottle that waa left men Hie ladle, and made hla wny nt once to the government aecret aervlc oin.e, where bo told the slory of his idveiiture and received further Instructions. In-structions. Thla so railed Jones was a deteeilve of marked ability. He could nsioime almost any character and deceive de-ceive Ibe l est educated criminal, yet wlthnl nn honeat. fnlihful aervaut to the iivernuieiil. At an early hour on the following miming nl Taylor' hotel Heed pretended pre-tended to be Inken suddenly sick with a cramp In hla ,tomach. He left hla roommnle nnd went below. A ahort time afterwards ho rushed back Into the bedroom and Informed the Judge' I alepaon with a trembling voice that they muat get out of the place In a hniry or Ihey would be arrested. Heed snld that while downstair 'le bad torn la slip from a newapaMT He handed It to the .Judge'a alepaon. wtto, on glancing at It baallly, at one sprang out of bed. Il was a sensational article and bore the appearance of having been clipped from a newspaper. Aa a matter of fart, however. It had been printed at the New York Tribune Job olflce. It was a nlco piece of deception and read as follows: A Brutsl Murder and Robbery. Another of those outrageous and dastardly murder which bav so recently atartled th community occurred In thle city yesterday afternoon, af-ternoon, th particular of wblch ar follow: It appear that . aliorUy after dark last . evening a .. well dressed man, apparently thlrty-flv year of age, wo found by th police lying near th foot of Courtland street in an Inaenal-ble Inaenal-ble condition. He waa taken to lb police datlon, wher reatoratlvee were administered, and when be bad revived aufflclently be Hated that hi nam waa V. It. Jones and Hint he wa from Fort Wayne, Ind. Mr. June wa removed In the city hospltnl last evening where be became be-came dellrloua and died about nine o'clock. Th police a re on the track of the murderera, who ar aupposed to be from llalllinnr or Washington, aa the clerk at the hotel elates that Ihey came In Juat after the arrival of Ibe Washington Washing-ton train. The clerk I posltlv he csn Identify them. A (rightful ghost bad risen and wa standing In It most horrible form before be-fore the now hslf crsied stepson. Th rope of th hangman wa looming up before bla eyec. He did not even lake time to waah bla face, so great waa his anilely to leave New York behind be-hind him. Kven tba very air he hn.nthed seemed tainted with tbe foul odor of bis crime. It wa thought to be dangerous to travel by rail at first, and tbey started away on foot, and finally concluded to make their way lo New Orleana. Ileed waa. of eouiae, the ruling aplrlt and waa carrying out the plan Ihey had agreed upon. They doubled hack and furih with the object of putting put-ting Imaginary purauer off th track. Heed wae seeking delay for the purpose pur-pose of gaining time. When tbe pair arrived at New Orleans about tbe Brat thing that met their eyea waa a handbill hand-bill poated In th depot describing the fuglllvee and offering a reward lor Ihelr arreat and conviction. Htarlng t th bill wllh beada of praplrtlon Blurting upon hi brow th Judge' alepaon nearly collapeed. He waa careworn, downhearted and ready to peed away a wlft a team could carry blm. In the coure of time the fugitives arrived at llrownavllle, Tex. From thl point I received a note from Ileed aaylng that they Intended lo cross the Hlo Orando and work tbelr way to the City bf Mexico. To the mlnda of the detective who plnytd tholr part III tbla caa th whole ffair pprd a fare. Alter a tlm Red, returned from Mexico. He bad given hla companion the ellp nd wa quit poaltlv In bla opinion that th Judge' stepson would never dare show his face In tb United Uni-ted Btates. He declared th man wa bout th gretst coward he had ever met wltb. Keed wa correct In hi opinio, a tb fugitive, so far as I know, ha nver boon heard of. He certainly did not appear In Waahlaxton to furtbw annoy th Judg and bla wlf. H may still b running from a Nemesis thai will never overtake blm. Cpyrllit UUi. by W. O. Chaaa. |