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About The Red Cloud chief. (Red Cloud, Webster Co., Neb.) 1873-1923 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 24, 1905)
WW iEWUWw'W i I ' I 77? mj JM & .S Holladay Case fci!i)nftr?tfbc (ONTINMT.I).) mi. . t ! .. JiM- jury uieu slowly out, and I -watched them airiloiwly. In fare of the con:irN ins' ructions, they er.ild bring In but one verdict, yet I knew from experiomo that a Jury Is ever an unknown qunntlty, often producing the most unexpected results. The dLstrlct attorney came down from his scat and shook hands with both of us. "That was a great stroke!" he said, with frank admiration. "Whatever made you suspect V" Mr. Iloyce hnmled him the note for .answer. He read It through and stared back at us In astonishment. "Why," he began, "who wrote this?" "'That's the note that was delivered to us awhile ago," answered Mr. Hoyce. "You know as much about It as we do. Hut It seems to me a pretty Important piece of evidence. I turn It over to you." "Important!" cried Singleton. "I should say so! Why, gentlemen," and Jils eyes were gleaming, "this was writ ten either by nn accomplice or by the Tvoman herself!" My chief nodded. Trcclsely," he said. "I'd got on the track of the writer without delay." Singleton turned and whispered n few words to a clerk, who hurried from the room. Then he motioned to two smooth faced, well built men who sat near by, spoke a word to the coro ner and retired with them Into the lat ter's private olllce. The reporters crowded about us with congratulations mid questions. They scented n mys tery. What was Uie matter with Sin gleton? What was the new piece of evidence? Was It the note? What was in the note? Mr. Iloyce smiled. "Gentlemen," ho said, "I trust that my connection with this affair will end In a very few minutes. For any- fur ther Information I must refer you to the district attorney. The case Is In lit.- bands." Hut those men he had summoned Into, mo to tlmnk you for ,10l. for (h(l Kront bis oilico were Karle and Johnson, the , work ym (11(1 thls Ilf((.rnooI1( Lostcr -cleverest detectives on the force. What . to,d ,icr lt Wil3 rpny ym, who ,,JMl lid he want with them? Mr. Hoyco , (lom t,vel.yti,B. Yes, it was!" he add merely shrugged his shoulders, where-1 C(1( iinsW0ring my gesture of denial, jit the reporters deserted him and j Wlil(. I was groping helplessly mussed themselves before the door Into uroUnd In the dark you found the way the coroner's room. It opened In u mo-. to tlie lif,hti nut t.omo. we mUHt get incut, and the two detectives came bur- J baci: to the olllce." rylng out. They looked neither to the right nor left, but shouldered their way cruelly through the crowd, paying not the slightest attention to the questions' showered upon them. Then the dis trict attorney came out and took in thu situation at a glance. 'Gentlemen," he said, raising his voice, "I can answer no questions. I must request yon to resume your seats or I shall ask the coroner to clear tho room." They know that he meant what ho said, so they went back to their chairs chagrined, disgusted, biting their nails, striving vainly to work out a solution to the puzzle. It was the coroner's clerk who created a diversion. "The Jury Is ready to report, sir," ho announced. "Very well; bring them out." And the jurymen filed slowly back to their seats. I gazed at eacli face and cursed the Inexpresslveness of the human countenance. "Have you arrived at a verdict, gen tlemen?" asked the coroner. "We have, sir," answered one of them and handed n paper to the clerk. "Is this your verdict, gentlemen?" asked the coroner. "Do you all concur in lt?" They answered In the afllrmatlvo as their names were called. "Tho clerk will read the verdict," said Goldberg. Julius stood up and cleared his throat. "We, the jury," ho read, "Impaneled In the case of Hiram W. Holladay, de ceased, do find that ho came to his denth from a stab wound In the neck, Inflicted by a penknife in the hands of a person or persons unknown." CIIAPTI3R V. TIIK coroner dismissed the Jury and came down and shook hands with us. "I'm going to reward you for your clover work, Mr. Hoyce," he said. "Why, yes; certainly. I'll bo glad to, win you uiku inu koou nu3 iu jim mi(1 wo jeft jt together. I was com- BUU" ,u"1 Ul-r muitM, whuih, hh quuu "wnat would n ooy'H nesenpiion no Holladay?" iotey uie dark as to my compan- certain, sho loved dearly. So what re- worth? It would bo at the best vaguoj My chief could not repress the swift jon. purn08e nnd yet It could havo but roaliiH?" nnd Indefinite Besides, they've not flush of pleasure which reddened his 'i...,.i..i ., i. nH "Only one thing." I Bald, deeply Inter- ,,vfin found the bov. Now. to return to cheeks, but ho managed to speak un- . m n Holladav case. ostud ,n UllH exposition. "Sudden paa-. Uie note." concernedly. IlnlesR-nnd I danced nt him again. H,on-" We had come to Uie coffee nnd c if you wish It," ho said. ' mn'uoven lf' uo waH( i Would rather "I do wish It," Goldberg assured him h advcnture. My curl08lty with n tact and penetration I thought h bnt u admirable "You may dismiss tho po- WoIl. X Bald. "I'll bo glad to liceman who is with her. I invitation, Mr." Our Junior looked inquiringly at tho '- -' j . i w , ' llySlery I f f T t X'.n u Contin BURTON S1EVLN. N Copyright, I'JO. by Henry Holt anil Conn Any -H '"""a.. district nttoroy. 'Before I jo," he said, "may I ask what you hit hid doing, sir?" "I intend nndlng the writer of that note," answe.'cd Singleton, smiling. "Hut, about Miss Holladay?" Singleton pipped his lips thought fully with his pencil. "Before I nnswer," ho said at last, "I should like to go with you and ask her one question." "Very well," assented Mr. Hoyce In- Btautly and led tho way to the room where Miss nolladay awaited us. She rose with flushing face as we en- tered and stood looking at us without speaking; but, despite her admirable composure, I could guess how she was racked with anxiety. "Miss Holladay." began my chief, "this Is Mr. Singleton, the district at torney, who wishes to ask you n few questions." "One question only," corrected Sin gleton, bowing. "Were you at your fa ther's olllce yesterday afternoon, Miss Holladay?" "No, sir," she answered Instantly and emphatically. "I have not been near my father's olllce for more than a week." I saw him study her for n moment, then he bowed again. "That Is all," he said. "I don't tii.nk the evidence Justifies me in holding her, Mr. Hoyce," and he left the room. I followed him, for I knew that I had no further part In our Junior's errand. I went back to our table and busied myself gathering together our belong ings. The room had gradually cleared and at the end of ten minutes only the coroner and his clerk remained. They had another case, It seemed, to open In the morning another case which perlums Involved Just as great heartache and anguish as ours had. Five minutes later my chief came hur rying back to mo and a glance at his beaming eyes told me how he had been welcomed. "Miss Holladay has started homo with her maid," ho said. "She asked We found a cab nt the curb and In i moment were rolling back over the route we had traversed that morning ages ago, as it seemed to me! It was only a few minutes after y o'clock, and I reflected that I should yet have time to complete the papers In the Hurd case before leaving for the night. 1 Mr. Graham was still at his desk, and he at once demanded an account I of the hearing. I went back to my work, and so caught only a word here and there enough, however, to show me that our senior was deeply Inter ested In tills extraordinary affair. As for me, I put all thought of It resolute- I ly from me and devoted myself to the ' work In hand. It was done at last, I and I locked my desk with a sigh of ' relief. Mr. Graham nodded to me kindly as I passed out, and I left the oiilee with the comfortable feeling that I had done a good day's work for I myself as well as for my employers. I A man who had apparently boon j loitering in the hall followed mo Into ' the elevator. I "This Is Mr. Lester, isn't It?" ho asked as the car started to descend. ' "Yes," I said, looking at him In sur- , prise. He was well dressed, with alert eyes and strong, pleasing face. I , had never seen him before. "And you're going to dinner, aren't , you, Mr. Lester?" he continued. I "Yes to dinner," I assented, mora and more surprised. "Now, don't think mo Impertinent," he said, smiling at my look of amaze ment, "but I want you to dine with me this evening. I can promise you as good a meal as you will got at most places in New York." "Hut I'm not dressed," I protested. "That doesn't matter In the least neither nm I, you see. We will dine 'without others. " "Where?" I questioned. "Well, how would the Studio suit?" Tim jiir Imrl ronchrwl the lrrnnncl flnnr. a... - ...... .,....w. ..- r,. .. ... , Vn ,. inK. ,, wnH nnt nnnflrt.ne He nodded npprovlngly. "There spoke tlio man of bouso. Well, you shall not go unrewarded. Godfrey Is my nnmo-no, yon don't know me, but I'll soon explain myself. Here's my cab." 1 mounted Into It, lie after me. It seemed to me that there was an un usual number of loiterers about the door of the building, but we were off In a moment, and I did not give them a seeond thought. We rattled out Into Broadway and turned northward for the three mile straightaway run to Union square. 1 noticed in a moment that we were going at a rate of speed rather exceptional for a cab, and It steadily Increased as the driver found a clear road before him. My compan ion throw up the trap In the roof of the cab an we swung around Into Thir teenth street. "All right, Sam?" be called. The driver grinned down at us through the hole. "All right, sir," he answered. "They couldn't stand the pace a little bit. They're distanced." The trap snapped down again. We turned Into Sixth avenue and stopped In a moment before the Studio, gray . and forbidding without, but a dream within. My companion led the way up- stairs to a private room, where a table stood, rendy set for us. The oysters nppeared before we were fairly seated, "You see," he smiled, "I made bold to bollovo that you'd come with me, and so had the dinner already ordered." I looked nt him without replying. I was completely In the dark. Could this be the writer of the mysterious "Of couruc you're puzzled," he an Id. note? Hut what could his object be? Above all, why should he so expose himself? He smiled again as he caught my glance, j "Of course you're puzzled," he said. "Well, I'll make a clean breast of the matter at once. I wanted to talk witli you about this Holladay case, and I decided that a dinner nt the Studio would be Just the ticket." I nodded. Tho soup was a thing to marvel nt. i "You were right," I assented, "i no j Idea was a stroke of genius." 'T knew you'd think so. You see, j since this morning I've been making rather a study of you. That coup of i yours at the coroner's court this after noon was admirable, one of the best things I ever saw." j I bowed my acknowledgments. j "You were there, then?" I asked. "Oh, yes. I couldn't ufford to miss It." "Tho color blind theory was u slmplo one." "So slmplo that lt never occurred to any ono else. I think we're too apt to overlook the simple explanations, which are, after all, nearly always the true ones. It's only In books that we meet the reverse. You remember It's Gaborlnu who advises ono always to distrust the probable?" "Yes. I don't agree with him." "Nor I. Now take this case, for In stance. I think It's safe to state that murder, where It's not tho result of sudden passion, Is always committed for ono of two objects revenge or gain. Hut Mr. Holladay's past life has been pretty thoroughly probed by tho reporters, and nothing has been found to Indicate that he had ever made a deadly enemy, at least among the class of people who resort to murder, so that does away with revenge. On the other hand, no one will gain by his death many will lose by It In fact, the whole circle of his associates will lose by lt. It might seem, at first glance, that his daughter would gain, but I think sho losos most of all. She already had all the money she could possibly need, und He nodded exultantly. "That'B it. Now, who was the wom an? From the first I was certain it could not be his daughter the very thought was preposterous. It seems almost equally absurd, however, to suppose that Holladay could be mixed ..1.... I-...- I ,.! . ..!.. lit.. ....ti .. . . . ... .11 up with any other woman. He cer-1 talnly has not been for the last quarter ; of a century- but before that well, It's not so certain. And there's one slrlk-! Ing point which seems to Indicate his . K'ullt." I "Yesyon mean, of course, her re semblance to his daughter." I "PrccNely. Such a resemblance must exist a resemblance unusual, even striking or It would not for a moment , have decehed Rogers. We must re-1 member, however, that Rogers' olllce was not brilliantly lighted and that be merely glanced at her. Still, whatever minor differences there may have been, she had the air, the general appearance, the look, of Miss Holladay. Mere facial resemblance may happen In a hundred ways by chance, but the air, the look, ' the 'altogether,' Is very different-It In-1 dlcatcs a blood relationship. My the ory Is that she Is an Illegitimate child, perhaps four or live years older than Miss Holladay." 1 paused to consider. The theory was reasonable, and yet It had Its faults. "Now, let's see where this leads us," he continued. "Let us assume that uonauay nas neen provming ior mis illegitimate uauguier IOr years, ai last, for some reason, he Is Induced to withdraw this support, or, perhaps, tho girl thinks her allowance Insufllclent. At any rate, after, let us suppose, In effectual appeals by letter, she does the desperate thing of calling at his olllce to protest In person. She finds him Inexorable we know bis reputa tion for obstinacy when he bad onco made up his mind. She reproaches him she Is already desperate, remem ber and be answers with that stinging sarcasm for which ho was noted. In an ecstasy of anger she snatches up the knife nnd stabs him; then, In an agony of remorse, endeavors to check the blood. She sees at last that It Is useless, that she cauuot save blm, and leaves tho olllce. All this Is plausible, Isn't It?" "Very plausible," I assented, look ing at him In some astonishment. "You forget one thing, however. Rogers tes tified that he was Intimately acquaint ed with the affairs of his employer and that ho would Inevitably have known of any intrigue such as you suggest." My companion paused for a mo ment's thought. "I don't believe that Rogers would so Inevitably have known of lt," ho said at last. "Hut, admit that then there is another theory. Holladay has vat been supporting his Illegitimate child, who learns of her parentage and goes to lil til to demand her rights. That fits the case, doesn't lt?" "Yes," I admitted. "It also Is plausi ble." "It Is more than plausible," ho said quietly. "Whatever the details may be, the body of the theory Itself is un impeachable it's tho only one which fits the facts. I believe It capable of proof. Don't you see how the note helps to prove lt?" "The note?" I started at the word, and my suspi cions sprang Into life again. I looked at him quickly, but bis eyes were on the cloth nnd he was rolling up innu merable little pellets of bread. "That note," he added, "proved two things. One was that the writer was deeply Interested In Miss Holladay's welfare; the other was that he or sbo knew Rogers, the clerk, Intimately mow than Intimately; almost as well as a physician knows an old patient." "I admit the first," I said. "You'll have to explain the second." "The seeond Is self evident. How did the writer of the note know of Rog ers' Infirmity?" "His Infirmity?" "Certainly his color blindness. I con fess I'm puzzled. How could any ono i else know lt when Rogers himself didn't know It? That's what I should like to have explained. Perhaps there's only one man or woman In the world who could know. Well, that's the ono who wrote the note. Now, who Is It?" "Hut," I began quickly, then stopped. Should I set blm right, or was this a trap he had prepared Tor mo? His eyes were not on the cloth now, but on me. There was a light In them I did not quite understand. I felt that I must bo sure of my ground before I wont forward. "It should Ikj very easy to trace tho writer of tho note," I said. "Tho police have not found it so." "No?" "No. It was given to tho doorkeeper by a boy Just an ordinary boy of from twelve to fourteen years. Tho man didn't notice him especially. He said there waB no answer and went away. How are tho police to And that boy? Suppose they do find him. Probably, nil ho could tell them would be that a man stopped him at the corner and gave him n quarter to take the note to tho coroner's ofllce." I "Ho might givo a description of tho mnn," I ventured. be ilgars, nnd I felt it time to protest. "BeforJ wo return to Uie note, air. Godfrey," I said, "I'd like to nsk you two direct questions. What Interest have you in the matter?" "The interest of every investigator, 0f crime," be answered, smiling. "You belong to tho Uetectlvb force, then?" "I have belonged to lt. At present I'm In other employ." "And what was your objoct In bring ing me here this evening?" "One portion of my object hns been accomplished. The other was to ask you to write out for mo a copy of tho note." "Hut who wns It pursued us up Hroadway?" "Oil, 1 have rivals!" he chuckled. "I flatter myself that was rather neatly done. Will you give me a copy of the note, Mr. Lester?" "No," I answered squarely, "You'll have to go to tho pollco for that. I'm out of the cane." He bowed across the table to nm with a little laugh. As I looked at htm his imperturbable good humor touched j me. "I'll tell you ono thing, though," 1 added; "the writer of the note knew nothing of Rogers' color blindness. You're off the scent there." "I am?" ho asked nmnzedly. "Then how did you know lt, Mr. Lester?" "I suppose you detectives would call It deduction. I deduced It." He took n contemplative puff or two as he looked nt inc. (To be Continii"d ) Do You Eat Mfeat ? Wlion you aro hungry nnd want somothig nice in the meat lino, drop into my market. Wo luivo thonicost kind of Home-mado Sausages and meats, fish, and game in senson. Wo think, nnd almost know, that wo can ploiiso you. Give us a trial. Koon Bros., Successors to ROBINSON & BURDEN. OYSTERS in every style. Ca tering to parties and dances a specialty. Fresh Bread, Pies, Cakes, Candy and Cigars. The Bon Ton W. S. BEN SB, Proprietor. I HO LUSTER & ROSS All hinds or PRAYING Piano Moving, Furnlturm Moving and other Heavy Work our Specialty j jt No. 52. ...PHONES... N: 79 FEELING LIVER-ISH This Morning? TAKE WHI.1.IIMHI.U1 A Gentle Laxative And Appetizer rheumatism cured in a day. Mystic Cure for Rheumatism and Neuralgia radically cures In 1 to 8 days. Ha action upon I the system is remarkable and mysterious. It removes at once the cause aud tho disease ha- meau.e.y rSTlUZrTluV. Qrice Drugg-lst, Kef Cloud, !j