The stayer., November 07, 1901, Image 4

About The stayer. (Canyon City, Tex.) 1896-1903

Image provided by: University of North Texas; Denton, TX

                
''IjKXisM
. - rCopyrtrtit. sft. by Frederick A. Stokes Company. ( '
C1IAPTEU V. to have wen itci.t-cted in its course by
A FOUNDATION' OP PACTS. J it contact with the rib. for, as far as I
V hen the two run wore comfortably ; have been able to judge by probing
ettlrd in the reporter's study, Sturgis ! the two wounds with my pencil, their
produced pipes, tobacco and writing
materials.
"There, now," said he, a he prepared
to write, "I begin with what 1 shall
call the Cab Mystery. Tlie!nta in this
ease are already plentiful and curious.
I shall read ns I write, and you can
interrupt for up .rrstiors and criti
cisms, a the points occur to you. In
the first place, the dead mnn is about
fifty years old, and was employed iu
some commercial houfe or financial in
stitution, prounbly bookkeeper, - at n
fairly fcood salary."
"Hold on there, fturgis," laughed
Thurston. "I thought you were going
"HOLD ON THERE, STL'RGIS.
to build up a solid foundation of facts
before you allowed your imagination
to run riot!
"Well?" inquired the reporter, in ap-
parent surprise.
."Well, the only fact you have men
tioned M the approximato age of the
dead man. The rest is pure assump
tion. How can you know anything
certain about his occupation and the
amount of his talnry?"
"True: 1 foryot you had not followed
the steps in the process of induction
Hi re they are: the dead man's sleeves,
.n the. under side below the elbow.
were worn shiny. This shows that
ins occupation is at a desk or some
hind."
Or behind a counter, suggested
Thurston quizzically.
".No. Your hypothesis is untenable
A clt-rk behind a counter occasionally
it is true, leans upon his forearms. Iiut
inceesaut contact with the counter
loaves across the front of his trousers
an unmistakable line of wtar, at a
level varying according to the height
of the individual. This line was not
present in the case of the man in the
cab. On the other hand, his waistcoat
is frayed at the level of the fourth but
tod irom mc top. iiierelore 1 main
tain that he was in the habit of work
ing at a desk. ow the trousers, al
though not new, are not baggy at the
knees, though free from the scams
which would suggest the effect trf press
ing or of a trouser stretcher. Conclu
sion, the desk is a high one; for the
man stood ct his work. Most rien who
work Etariding at high desk.-.ve book
lieeer of one kind or another. There
fore, as I Bsid before, this r:an was
probably a bookkeeper. Xow.ns to his
salary: 1 do i:ot pretend to know the
exact amount of it, of course. Iiut
when a man. who was evidently not a
dude, has his clothes made to o:der,
of inurted material, and when his
linen. Lis hat and his shoes are of good
quality, it is fair to infer that the man's
income was comfortable.
"I proceed with the arrangement of
my data:
"Secondly: the man in the cab died
of a wound caused by a bulb t fired at
very close quarters, indeed, the weap
on must have been held either against
the victim's body, or, at any rate, very
near to it ; for the coat is badly burned
by the powder."
"On them? points at least," assented
lr. Thurston, "1 can agree with you.
The bullet probnbly penetrated the
upper lobe of the left lung."
"Yes," added Sturgis. "and it passed
out at the back, far below where it
went in."
"What makes you think it passed
out? The wound in the back may j
have been caused by another bullet I
fired from the rear."
"That hypothesis might be tenable
were it not for this."
With thfse words the reporter pulled
out his watch, opened the case, and
with the blade of a penknife took from
the surface of the crystal a minute ob
ject, which he handed to the physician.
"Ixok at it," said he, pushing over
magnifying glass.
Dr. Thurston examined the object
carefully, ,
. .,...-111 nt bone," he said, at last.
"Yt-s. 1 found it on the surface of
the wound in the buck. How did it get
there?"
"You are right," admitted the physi
cian; "it must have come from with
in, chipped from a riband carried out
by the bullet which entered from the
front."
"I thit.k there can be no doubt ns to
ljtst. Now, the bullet ilois not tetnj
r i
.1 .
-BY- 0;f
i 3r
iUDGAR.MORETTE
direction is the same. This is impor
tant nnd brings me to point three,
which is illustrated by these diagrams,
drawn to scale from the measurements
1 took this afternoon."
As he said these words, the reporter
handed to his friend a sheet of paper
upon which he had drawn some ge
ometrical figures.
"The first of these diagrams shows
the angle which the course of the bul
let made with a horizontal plane; the
second represents the inclination from
right to left. The former of thewe an
gles is nearly nnd the lntter not far
from forty-five degrees. The inclina
tion from right to left shows that the
shot was fired from the right side of
the dead man. Now then, one of two
things: Either it was fired by the man
himself, the weapon being held in his
rifcht hand; or else it vas fired by an
assassin who stood close to the vic
tim's right side. The first of these hy
potheses, considered by itself, is ad
missible; but it involves the assump
tion of an extremely awkward and un
usual position of the suicide's hand
while iiring. On the other hand, the
dead man is tall six feet one inch i
nnd to fire down, at an angle of sixty
degrees, upon a man of his height, his
assauani woum nave io oe a colossus, ;
or else to stand upon a chair or in some i
equally elevated position, unless the
victim happened to be seated when the ;
shot was fired." I
"Happened to be seated!" exclaimed .
Thurston, astounded, "why, of course
he was seated, since he was in the
cab."
"That brings up point four, which I
is not the least puzzling of this in-;
teresting case," said Sturgis, impress
ively; "the shooting wa not done in
the cab." - ,
"Not done in the cab!"
"No; otherwise the bullet would'have
remained in the cushions; and it was
not there." j
"It might have fallen out into the
street at the time of the collision," sug
gested Thurston.
"No; I searched every inch of space
in which it might have fallen. If it
had been there I shmild have found
it, for the spot was brilliantly lighted
by an electric light, as you rcmem-!
ber.'
The physician pondered in silence for
a few minutes.
"With all due respect for the accu
racy cf your observations, and for the
rigorous logic of your inductions.
Sturgis," he asserted at last with de
cision, "I am positive that the man
died seated, for his limbs stiffened in
that position."
"Yes,"nsserted Sturgis. "and forthat
matter, I grant you that he breathed;
his last in the cab; for in his death!
struggles he clutched in his left hand I
the cushion of the cab window, a piece !
of which remained in his dying grasp. ;
1 merely said that he was not shot in i
the cab,
"Thin how did he get there?" asked'
the phvsicinn. j
Your question is premature, mv
dear fellow," replied Sturgis, smiling;
it must remain unanswered for the
present. All we hnve established as
yet is that he did get there. And that
being the care, he must have been as
sisted; for, wounded as he was. he
could not. I take it, have climbed into
the cab by himself." .
"Certninly not," agreed Thurston.
"Paint five." resumed Sturris. "the
right arm was broken just above the i
wrist."
Yes." said the physician. "I thomrht
at first that the arm might have been
oroken in the collision with the cnble
car; but the discoloration of the flesh
proves conclusively that the fracture
occurred before death."
Precisely. Now. it is possible that
the man broice his arm when he fell
after being shot; but the contused
wound looks to me as if it had been
made by a severe blow with some blunt
instrunirnt."
"Possibly." admitted Thurston.
"This broken arm. if we can nlace
it in its prop, r chronological position,
may prove to be of some importance in
me cnam or evidence," mused Stur
gis. If the frarturc occurred hpfnr I
the man was shot, that, of course, tie.
ludcs the possibility of suicide: hut.
u me omer liana, it also brings in an
obstacle to the hypothesis of mnr. 1
der."
"How so?"
"Because we have settled, yoti will !
remember, that thcihnt ,i .
the right of the victim, and clone to him
Now. if he did not fire the shot himself '
the person who did must have reached :
over his right arm to do so. In that
care, unless the victim was asleep or
stupefied, would he not instinctively '
have raised his arm ir.self-defcne and !
thus deflected the weapon upward?"
Evidently."
"Weil, it i"B idle to speculate on ihi I
line for the present. It
poini fcix. iou remember I called
your purticular attention to the cab
man. Do you still think he was only
drunk?"
"No." replied Thurston; "while he
had unquestionably been drinking
hcai!y, he also showed symptoms of
narcotic poisoning.' . . . -
"Then the presumption Ih that he WP a mnn w!tlnff nt your door n
hud been drugged by those wnd wished ; thls inhospitable way,' when ho is in
to place the wounded man in his cab.'' hy," interrupted a voice whose
T observed him closely nnd 1 urn satis. ' timbre was not that of the house
fled that he knows as little about his j keeper, Mrs. O'Meagher, . .
dead passenger as we do. He prob- "Ob! is that you. Sturgis?" laughed
ably knows less about him, at all he artist- "Aren't you ashamed of
events, than the young mnn In tne
scnlfckin cap who gnva the police, tha
slip during the excitement which fol
lowed the overturning of tae cab."
Sturgis paused n moment.
"This, 1 think," he continued, "cov-
ers all the evidence we have thus far
collected in the Cab Mystery. It is
quite satisfactory, cs far an it goea,
for it is circumstantial evidence, and,
therefore absolutely truthful. In the
Knickerbocker bank mystery we have
as yet no satisfactory data whatever;
for everything we bive heard concern
ing it has its origin in the fallible evi
dence of witn'.sses, . and has, more'
over, reached us third or fourth hand
There is. however, one fact that may,
or may i.'ot, prove to be important. Have
you iioticed that these two mysteries
are contemporaneous, nnd, therefore,
that they may be related?"
"Do you think there is any connec
tion between the two?" inquired Thurs
ton, interested1.
"I do r.ot allow myself to think about
it at ail as yet, replied Sturgis; "I
simply note the fact, that, so far as time
is concerned, the Cab Mystery ctuld be
the sequel to the Knickerbocker Hank
Mystery that is all. Facts, my dear
boy, nre like words. A word is only
an assemblage of meaningless letters
until it becomes pregnant with sense
by context. So, a fact, which, stand
ing by itself, has no meaning, may,
when correlated with other facts, be
come fraught with deep significance.
"And now," he continued, after a
pause, "I think our work is concluded
for the present. I shall be abie to lay
it aside for the night. Let me offer
you a glass of sherry. Pleasant evening
we spent at Sprague's to-night. I have
a great admiration for him as an artist,
and a great fcr.dness for him as a man.
Most of his friends are strangers to
j though. Yoti know 1 have very
iniie xime to indulge in social dissipa
tion. Iiy the way, who is that Dr.
Murdock with whom I have made this
bet?"
"Oh! he is a physician, though now
retired from practice. He devotes him
self entirely to scientific research, es
pecially in the domain of chemistry.
He has made some important discov
eries in organic chemistry, and they
say he has succeeded in proving some
of the supposed elementary metals to
be compounds. He has quite an envi
able reputation in the scientific world.
I understand he is a remarkable man."
"That is evident nt a glance. Hi
showed himself this evening to be a
clear thinker and a brilliant speaker.
I should say he was something of a
genius, and I should judge, moreover.
that he was a man of magnificent nerve,
cpable of the most heroic actions,
or
j Sturgis hesitated.
j "0r ?" aked Thurston.
ur OI lne most infamous cruelty
I n crime. It all depends upon wheth
er or not his great mental attributes
are under the control of a heart; a
point upon which I am somewhat In
doubt."
CHAPTER VI.
THE ARTIST.
Sprague was a dilettante in art as
he was in life. If he had not been
rich, he might perhaps have become
a great artist. But, lacking the spur
of poverty, he seemed incapable of
sustained effort. Occasionally he was
seized with a frenzy for labor; and
for weeks at a time he would shut
; himself up in his studio, until he had
creditnb,y acpomPIlshed soe bit of
worI- Hut the fever was soon spent,
ana a reaction invariably followed,
during which palette and brush were
taen up only in desultory fashion
Thus it was that at the age of eight
and twenty, Sprague had painted
few pictures which had attracted fa
Torable attention at the annual exhi
bitions of the Academy of Design, and
which the critics had spoken of as
"promising;" and thus it was that
the promise was as yet unfulfilled.
and that Sprague, though a man of
undoubted talent, was not likely ever
to rank as a genius in his profession.
Sturgis, with his keen insight into
human nature, fully realized the po
tential capacities of the artist, and at
times he could not control his impa
tience at his friend's inert drifting
through life. But, with all their dif
ferences, these two men held each
other in the highest esteem, each ad
miring in the other those very quali
ties which were lacking in himself.
ihe artist lived in a fashionable
quarter of the city, in n bachelor
apartment which included a large
and commodious studio fitted up ac-
coroing to the latest canons of artis
tic taste.
On this particular New Year's
morning, after waking and , observ
ing, by the filtering of a few bright
sunbeams through the closely drawn
blinds, that it was broad daylight, he
stretched himself with a voluptuous
yawn and prepared to relapse into the
sensuous enjoyment of that semi
somnolent state which succeeds a
n'P Calm nnd ref!V,,,li',fiT sleep.
JuRt 08 hc w8 settling himself
comfortably. however, he was startled
by a knocl nt tI,e bedroom door,
Most nI''n, vnArT the circumstances,
woxM have betrayed some vexation
nt MnS tuu unceremoniously dis-
urDe"- "nt there was no suspicion
or annoyance in Sprague a
voice- ns ,1C "claimed: .
cheery
"if-u cannot come in
j-et. Mrs.
O'Meagher. I am asleep, and I shall
be asleep for another hour at .the
least. Surely you cannot have forgot
ten that to-day is n holiday. Happy
New Year! You have time to go to
several masses before-" r
"Get up, old lazybones; and don't
j younsrtf to come routing honest men
l " . ...
out of bed at this unseemly hour?
Wait a minute, till I put on my court
costume, that I may receive you with
the honors and ceremonies due to
your rank nnd station."
A couple of minutes later the artist,
piturenqiiely attired in a loose ori
ental dreving gown ami fez, opened
the door to hin friend, Ralph Sturgis.
"Come in, old man," he said, cordial
ly extending bit hand to the reporter;
"you are welcome at any hour of the
day or night. What is it now? This is
not your digestion call, I presume."
"No," replied .Sturgis, "I merely
dropped in to say that I should be un
able to take our projected bicycle trip
this nfternoon. I shall probably be
busy with the Knickerbocker benk
case nil day. By the May, if ycu would
like to come to the bank with me, I
shall bo glad of your company. I am
on my way there now."
"I should like nothing better," said
Sprague, "but I have made an ap
pointment for this morning with a
er er with a sitter."
"What, on New Year's day, you
heathen!"
Sturgis observed the artist closely,
and then added, quizzically;
"Accept my congratulations, old
man."
"Your congratulations?" inquired
Sprague, coloring slightly.
"Yes; my congratulations and my
condolence. My congratulations on
the fncf that she is young and beauti
ful, and possessed of those qualities of
mind and heart which and. socn and
so forth. My condolence because I
fear you are hit at last."
"What do you mean?" stammered
the artist, sheepishly; "do you know
her? What do ycu kr.ow about her?"
"Nothing whatever," replied Sturgis,
laughing, "except what you are tell
ing me by your hesitations, your reti
cence and your confusion."
The artist spoke after a moment of
thoughtful silence.
"Your inductions in this case are
premature, to say the leas. My sitter
is a young lady, so much is undeniably
true. And there is no doubt in my
mind as to her possession of all the
qualities you jocularly attribute to
her; but my interest in her is only
that of an artist in a beautiful anil
charming woman.
"At any rate," he added, after a mo
ment's hesitation, "I hope so; for I
have heard that she is as good as be
trothed to another man."
The reporter's keen ear detected in
his friend's tones a touch of genuine
sadness of which the artist himself was
probably unconscious. Laying his
hand gently upon Sprague's shoulder,
he said, gravely:
" I hope so, too, old man; for von are
one of those foolish men whose lives
can be ruined by an unhappy love af -
fair. I suppose it's useless to preach
to you more'8 the pity but, in my
humble opinion, no woman's love is
worth the sacrifice of a good man's
life." "Yes, I know your opinion on that
subject, you old cynic," replied
hprague, "but you need not worry on
my account; not yet, at all events.
am still safe; the portrait is almost
finished; and I should be a fool to wulk
into such u scrape with my eyes wide
open.
"Humph:" ejaculated Sturgis, skep
tically, "when a mnn makes u fool of
himself for a woninn, it matters little
whether his eyes be opeu or shut; the
result is the same."
Sprague laughed somewhat uneasily;
ana then, as if to change the subject :
"Come and see the picture," he s.uid
"I should like your opinion of it."
The reporter consulted his watch.
i suau nave to come back- some
other time for that," he replied:; "I
musi nurry on now to Keep my ap
pointment with Mr. Dunlap."
He started toward the door; but
suddenly facing Sprague again, he
held out his hand to the artist, who
pressed it cordially.
"Good-bye, old man," he said, of
iecuonuiciy, "oe as sensible ns you
can, and don't wantonly play with the
nre.
And before Sprague could frame an
answer, the reporter was gone.
The artist remained thoughtfully
standing until his friend's footsteps
had died away in the distance. Then
he turned and walked slowly into the
studio. Here, in the middle of the
room, stood nn easel, upon which was
the portrait of a beautiful voung
girl.
Sprague gazed at it long and earn
estly. Then he heaved an almost in
audible sigh.
Sturgi is right." he said to lilm-
self, turning away nt last, "andand
I am a confounded idiot!"
CHAPTER VII.
AGNES MURDOCfC.
In a quarter of the city which is
rapidly surrendering to the relentless
encroachments of trade, there still
stand a few old-fashioned houses, the
sole survivors of what wag once an
aristocratic set lenient.
One by one their fellows have been
sapped and swept away by the resist
less tidenf commerce, until these an
cient dwellings, stubbornly contest-
ng a position nlready lost, now rear
Heir sepulchral brownstone fronts in
stiff nnd solitary grandeur huge sar
cophagi in a busy mart.
One of these houses stands well
back from the street line, the tradi-
lonal backyard of the ordinary New
York dwelling having been sacri
ficed, in this instance, to make room
for a tiny garden, which is separated
irom me street by a ta'I spiked iron
railing, behind which rrows nn ar
bor vitae hedge. The former serve
. T. JONES
M
DEALERS IN
long leaf yellow pine lumber.
DOORS
WINDOWS :
MOULDINGS
BUILDING PAPER
Absolutely Pure Lincoln Mixed Paint
Sold under an Iron Clad Guarantee
, M. NEWMAN, MANAGER, ,
as a defense against the marauding
of the irrepressible metropolitan
gamin; while the latter confers upon
the occupants of the warden a sm.
joinnce oi protection from the
rious gaze of the passers-by.
' .
cu-
Fine September 1901 catch
Mackerel at Smith, Walker &
Ojmpany.
' The following 1st n portion cf the
law on ginning tahk's:
Article S82. That if any per
son shall keep or exhibit for the
purpose of framing-, any gaming
table nr bank of aoy name or
description whatever, or any
table or bank used for gamin";
which has no name, or slot tna
ehite, any pigeon hole table or
jenny lind table or nine or ten
pi a alley, table or alley of any
kind ' whatever, regardless of
the number of pins, balls or
rings'used for gaming, and such
pigeon hole table or jenny lind
table, or nine or ten pin alley,
table or alley of any kind what
ever regardless of the number of
pins, balls or rings used or slot
machines, shall be considered as
used for gaming if the table
fees or alley fees, or money or
anything of value is bet thereon,
or shall be in any manner inter
ested iu keeping or exhibiting
any such table or bank, or nine
or ten pin alley, table or alley
of auy" kind whatever, regard
less of the number of pins, balls
or riugs used, or slot machines,
,'ac any place he shall be punish
ed by a tiue of not less than
twenty-live dollars nor more
than one hundred dollars, and
imprisonment in the county jail
for not less than ten nor more
than niuety days,' regardless of
whether ony of the above men
tioned games, tables' banks or
aneys are ncenseu by law or
not.
Article 383. Table or bank in
cludes what. It being in tended
by the fore going article to in
ciuae every species oi gaming
device known by the name of
table or bank of every kind
whatever, this provision shall
be construed to include any and
all games which in common lan
guage are said to be played,
dealt, kept or exhibited.
Article 3S1. Games specific
ally enumerated. Lest any
misapprehension should arise as
to whether certain games are
included within the meaning of
the foregoing articles, it is de
clared that the following games
are within the meaning and in
tention of said articles, viz.:
'faro," "monte," "viugt-et-un,"
rouge et noir," "roulette," "A
BC," "cbuck-a-luck," "keno,"
pool," and "rondo," but the
enumeration of these games
specially shall not exclude any
other properly within the mean
ing of the two preceeding arti
cles. Any game played for
mouey upon a billiard table, or
table resembling a billiard table
other than the game of billiards
licensed by law, is punishable
under the provisions of this
chapter. O. C. 414.
Article. 383. Betting at table
or bank, or certain games. If
any person shall bet or wager
at any gaming table, or bank, or
pigeon hole or jenny-lind table
or nine or ten pin alley, such as
are mentioned in the preceeding
article?, or shall bet or wager
any money or other thing of val
ue at any of the games included
in the preceeding articles, or at
any of the following games, viz:
LUMBEffCO.
GLASS
OIL
PUTTY"
BRUSHES
LEAD
VARNISHES '
CYPRESS SHISCLES
FENCE POSTS
m nicr tw C
poker dice, jack pot, high-dice,
high-die, low-dice, low-die, dom
inoes, eucbre with dominoes,
poker with dominoes, sett with
dominoes, muggins, crack-loo,
crack-or-loo, or at any game of
any character whatever that can
be played with dice or dominoes
or at any table, bank, or alley,
by whrtsoever name it may be
known, and without reference
as to how the same may be con
structed or operated, he shall be
fined not less than ten dollars
nor more them twenty-five dol
lars; provided, no person shall
be indicted under this section
for playing any of said games
with dice or dominoes at a pri
vate residence.
Jumped on a Ten Penny
Kail.
The little daughter of Mr. J.
N. Powell jumped on an invert
ed rake made ot ten penny nails,
and thrust one nail entirely
through her foot and a second
one half way through. Cham
berlain's Pain B ilm was prompt
ly applied and five minutes later
the pain had disappeared and no
more suffering was experienced.
In three days the child was
wearing her shoe as usual and
with absolutely no discomfort.
Mr. Powell is a well known mer
chant ot t'orlcland, Va. Pain
Balm is an antiseptic and beals
such injuries without maturation
and in one-third the time requir
ed by the usual treatment. For
sale by the Hadley Drug Com
pany, the Leading Druggists.
Her Flr Potato Salad.
Bhe bolltd the tse and sliced thtm with
discriminating care.
She cut tha nnlona finely, with a most tm-
portnnt air;
"With comprehfndlng art ihe mixed to
golden mayonnaise,
WTilch. really to hr credit, was deserving
highest praise.
Then ?hu added the potatoes (humming
say a little ballad).
As she thought: "How pleased will hubby
be with this delicious salad."
But at -lunch she was the saddest llttlo
girl you ever saw,
When he said: "Arent these potatoes.
dearett. Just a little rawf
London Tlt-lllts.
Whitk'h Cheam Ykumifuok rt'inovoH
the unhealthy tixsuo upon which
worms thrive; it briiiR. nnd (illicitly,
a healthy condition of body, where
worms ciiimot exlnt. Trice 25f? nt
Hadley Drug Company'H. 35
Br. Geo. 3. parsons,
GENERA P.?4 0rC0 NER
Answers all calls day or night.
Office in the Canyon City Pharmacy.
CANYON CITY. TEXAS.
LJ T I A l IS mm
ii. 1 . wunnn , IVI . LJ.
PH SICIAN AND SURGEON,
GENERA L PR A CTITIONER.
Diseases of women and children a
HlK-cialty. Calls promptly answered.
OlHco unci residence at Fanchon,
Swisliercounty
D. Mr STEWART.
PHYSICIAN AND SURGEON,
Olflee next door to the bank.
Itesidence Is first lionse south of the
lat)tist chnreh
Calls promptly answered night or day
DRS. P ATT ON
AND CRAWFORD
PHYSICIAIS & SURGEONS,
Oince nt iTnur store, next door to
Stringfollow-IItime Hardware Co
CANYOX CITY, TKXAS.
COLD DRINK S
Cold drinks, all the best non
intoxicating drinks soda pop
malt , tonic, cherrv nlinKrih.it!
etc., ice cold at
LEWIS ai?ii-riK'e
Next door to the res tail rant