The Wilburton Gazette (Wilburton, Okla.), Vol. 14, No. 31, Ed. 1 Friday, March 14, 1913 Page: 2 of 8
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The
YELLOW
LETTER
BY
WILLIAM JOHNSTON
lUiutrations
"BSSBEB BY
V L BARNES
Ouprlght lull 1 to Bobb-MniU 0
SYNOPSIS
Harding Kent calls on Louise Farrlsh to
propose marrlSKe and finds the house li
great excitement over the attempted sul-
clde of her sister Katharine Kent starts
an Investgation and finds that Hugh
Crandall suitor for Katherine who had
been forbidden the house by General Far-
rlsh had talked with Katharine over the
telephone Just before she shot herself
A torn piece of yellow paper Is found
at sight of which General Farrlsh Is
stricken with paralysis Kent discovers
that Crandall has left town hurriedly
Andrew Kiser an aged banker commits
eukldo-about the same time as Katharine
attempted her life A yellow envelope Is
found In Elser'B room Post Office In-
spector Davis Kent s friend takes up
the case Kent Is convinced that Cran-
dall ts at the bottom of the mvstery
Katharine’s strange outcry puzzles the
detectives Kent and Davis search Cran-
dall’s room and find an address Lock
Box 17 Ardway N J Kent goes to Ard-
way to Investigate and hecotnes suspi-
cious of a "Henry Cook ' A woman
commits suicide at the Ardway Hotel A
yellow letter also figures In this case
Kent calls Louise on the long dlstanoe
telephone and finds that she had Just been
called by Crandall from the same booth
‘Cook" disappears The Ardway post-
master Is missing Inspector Davis ar-
rives at Ardway and takes up the Inves-
tigation He discovers that the dead
woman Is Sarah Racket of Bridgeport
Louise telephones Kent Imploring him to
drop the Investigation Kent returns to
New York to get an explanation from
Louise He finds the body of a woman In
Central Park and more yellow letters
He sees Crandall whom he recognizes as
“Cook’ enter the Farrlsh home Louise
again Implores Kent to drop the Investi-
gation and refuses to give any explana-
tion CHAPTER X— (Continued)
"I saw Hugh Crandall leaving this
house not ten mlnuteB ago” I said
"Really!”
Her tone was cold hard forced
though she tried to make It sound nat-
ural "It was he who broke open your
desk” I cried "He wanted to regain
possession of that scrap of paper and
thus remove all evidence of his guilt”
"I am afraid” said Louise with the
manner of offended dignity "that you
are entirely mistaken I was not
aware that you knew Mr Crandall by
sight ”
“If that wasn’t Hugh Crandall who
came out of your house Just now who
was It?” I asked my anger at this
man whom I believed responsible for
the chain of evil getting the better
of me "I don’t know Crandall but I
"know the evil he Is responsible for
for the tragedy of your siBter the
plight of your father the suicide of
old Andrew Elser the suicide of that
poor woman out in Ardway Why not
an hour ago I helped drag from the
park lake a fifth victim a poor young
girl driven to death by another of his
accursed yellow letters 1 found the
fragments of it water soaked and Illeg-
ible In the lake ”
"Mr Kent" interrupted Louise “you
were kind enough to undertake a mis-
sion on my behalf and I appreciate It
greatly Certain circumstances have
arisen that have entirely altered mat-
ters I called you up last night and
asked you to drop all Investigations
You have said that you lpve me By
that love you say you hold for me I
now ask you no — more — I order you
to make no further attempts to solve
the mystery — please Harding please'
Her voice broke and with one last
gesture of appeal she flung herself
Into a chair and covered her face with
her hands
Perplexed beyond measure with the
turn affairs had taken with my heart
aching with sympathy for her I stood
watching her slender form as it shook
with sobs trying to make up my mind
what to do My heart bade me prom-
ise hei anything everything if it
would bring her peace of mind yet
my brain told me that it was best for
her beBt for every one If I should go
ahead as my friend the Inspector
had advised
"Louise ’ I began trying to keep
my voice steady "if you will answer
me one question—"
"Don’t Harding please don’t” she
sobbed lifting her tear-stained face
to me In entreaty “You mustn’t You
mustn't ask me any questions If you
love me please do Just as I say”
“Louise” I replied almost sternly
“you are not yourself Can’t you rely
on me? Can’t you trust me? Don't
you know that I will do nothing that
is not for the best?”
I gathered her into my arms and
held her close I pressed my Ups
against her fragrant hair where It
strayed from under her automobile
bonnet As she lay unresistilng In my
arms her sobs decreased and she be-
came calmer
"My darling" I said "I know that
Hugh Crandall has been here I feel
that he has been Influencing you
against me Won't you do what your
heart bids you and tell me every-
thing about it?”
i Bhe drew a long deep breath and
gently treed herself from my encir-
cling arm and- facing me looked a
me with ffnn resolution written atr
over ber lovely face
“You must do what ’I tell you I
can answer no questions I wish I
could but I can’t You mustn’t ask
me It isn’t my secret”
“The car is waiting Mia Louisa"
As the maid’s voice interrupted she
gave a start and reaching her bands
out impulsively to me in more Uke
ber own dear voloe said to me:
“Harding I must go Please trust
me and please please do what I ask
of yon Good-by”
8he broke from my encircling hands
and ran to the front door
By the time I reached it after her
abe was already in the car I triad
to catclf tbe direction she whispered
to the chauffeur but could not Before
I could collect my thought the great
sixty horse-power machine had van-
ished around tbe corner
Where wag she golngf It seemed
to me that every hour added to the
chain of mysteries In which I had
become involved I was oonvtneed
that In some way Louise too had
been ensnared by the master of crime
who had plotted all this evil but how
I could not Imagine Yet more and
more It seemed to me all clues point-
ed to Hugh Crandall What could have
been Louise’s motive In denying to
me that he had been In the houaef
She must have known It
I began to wish that I had taken
Davis’ advice anij remained in Ard-
way Perhaps by this time I would
have had some definite clue I re-
solved to go back there at onoe The
inspector seemed to think that that
wag the most fruitful field for Investi-
gation and probably he wa right
Hailing a taxi I bade him drive me
to the ferry but to my great annoy-
anoe reached It just two minutes too
lato to make a train Too dispirited
to do anything else I entered the wait-
ing ferryboat and sinking into a seat
in the corner gave myself up to bitter
reflection on my failure to aolve the
problem I bad set myself The more
I thought about it the more firmly I
became convinced that it was wise to
disregard Louise’s request My love
for her my duty to her demanded
that I go on
So absorbed was I In my reflections
that I did not notice that the boat
had reached Its slip and I was almost
the last to leave It Just as I stepped
off the gang-plank a huge machine
ahot by me giving me barely time to
catch a look at the occupants bnt In
that fleeting glimpse I recognised
them both
It was Louise with Hugh Crandall
CHAPTER XI
More Discoveries
The worse the injury the less it
hurts at the moment I onoe saw a
man with both legs cut off laughJng
and Joking with the men who pulled
him from under a car Though he
died in ten minutes I doubt if he suf-
fered half as much as if be had
bumped hiB head or had run a splinter
Under his thumb nail It is when you
are mortally hurt and live that the
pain becomes so terrible
In the few minutes I had had with
Louise I had not realized the depth of
the wound In my heart her conduot
toward me had made Even when I
saw her dash away from me in an au-
tomobile pained though I was that our
interview should have been cut abort
I still did not comprehend what a ter-
rible blow It was that had befallen
me It Vas the sight aa I left the
Saw Hugh Crandall Leaving This
House Not Ten Minutes Ago”
ferry of the automobile dashing by
with Louise — the woman I loved —
seated beside Hugh Crandall that
gave new poignancy to my pain that
added to the Area of Jealousy that
made me understand to the full the
dire Import of what had happened
Louise had lied to me
Crandall had been In the house She
bad aeen him She had left me to
Join him She had even deserted her
helpless sister and her dying father
to go with him And all the while ber
Ups had protested that no one had
been In the house but the doctors and
nurses
As 1 paced the platform ahd paoed
It bask again waiting two weary hour
tor sB Arijwsy twin ss I sat for two
unending bourrf in the long rid
through Mew Jersey like s poisoned
knife cutting mj heart to shreds and
cutting th shreds again the thought
kept coming back to ms over and
over: “She Ued to me”
Quarter a man alive poor molten
metal into hla eyeballs feed him salt
fish and out off water bury him alive
In quicklime devise what torture you
wUl and double It the pain and agony
can not equal that which comes to a
man who believing In and trusting
and loving a woman with his whole
heart Is forced to admit to himself
that she has deceived him— that sht
has Ued to him In those awful hours
I earn to know the seven hells I
went through all of them
Only one ray of oomfort came to
me As I had asked myself “Why did
she UeT” I found myself believing that
she had done so not of her own free
wiU but Impelled by some motive so
powerful that abe could not resist It
That It was the Influence of CrandaU
I could no doubt He bad so preyed
on her fears for her father and slater
perhaps on her fear for me that he
had Induced her to try to persuade me
to give up my Investigation and had
made her promise to accompany him
on some doubtful secret mission
"It la not my secret”
I recalled tike piteous cry my en-
treaties had wrung from her Ups and
found the logical explanation of it In
her having been terrorized by that
villain Crandall If I could have found
him at the moment I could have killed
him with my naked hands
Yet even though I was convinced
that Louise had Ued to me I began to
feel that whatever she bad done what-
ever she was now doing was In th
belief that she was acting for the beat
for her dear ones for me
My duty to her my duty to myself
I reasoned demanded that I do my
utmost to solve the hideous mystery
and free her from the fear that I was
sure was responsible for her strange
action I swung off the train at Ard-
way and hastened to the hotel eager
to tell Davli what I bad learned about
the movement! of Hugh Crandall but
Davis was not there All that I could
learn was that he had hired a hors
and buggy early In the morning and
had driven off in the direction taken
by Crandall the day before
“If he la following CrandaU’a trail"
said I to myself “he la Just a day too
late ”
So long as Davis was not about I
decided I might as well see If the miss-
ing postmaster had been found As I
walked up the street I could not help
thinking how dumfounded Davis would
be when he returned from hla fruit-
less chase for Crandall and listened
to my tale of Crandall’s actions While
he had advised against my return to
the city he would have to admit that
It had not been without remit
As I entered the post-offloc I found
that Mlai Cox was stlU In charge
Approaching the letter window I bade
her good afternoon and asked If there
was any news of the mlaalng postmas-
ter It was late in the afternoon and
the last mall for the day having been
distributed ah sat crocheting She
motioned to me to oome around to
the rear door
How about itT" I- asked as I en-
tered the office “has anything been
heard of RouserT”
She shook her bead
“That’s about the eighty-ninth time
I’ve answered that question to-day
Seems like the whole town was in
here wanting to know"
Has the post-office Inspector been
here?”
“He was In here this morning and
made Just the routine examination He
didn’t ask no questions though I un-
derstand he has been sleuthing
around up to Widow Smith’s where
Charlie Rouaer boards If he’s looking
for anything wrong with Charlie’s ac-
counts It’s my private opinion that he
ain’t going to find It I’ve been all
over the books twice today and there
ain’t anything out of the way”
Have you any Idea where all that
money came from that we found be-
hind the cash drawer?”
"No and I don’t see that It’s any of
my affair Hla books Is right and his
stamps and his stamped envelope Is
TadT Better Than Command
Hr-
Good Idea to Let “Lesa Criticism and
Mora Comradeship" Be Your
Guiding Motto
’’Less criticism and more comrade-
ship” would be a helpful maxim for
all homes
It is easy enough to be pleasant to
the casual acquaintance but the great
difficulty He in being decent to those
who are devoted to us — to those who
are ever willing to forgive our short-
coming! There la no duty above treat-
ing your friends courteously and try-
ing to illuminate the general monot-
ony of the Uvea of those you love
In bom life taot will succeed often
where command will fall Sugges-
tion will go farther than argument
Direction la so much better than dic-
tation! Crltlqlsm of loved one Is a
vie that takes possession of one Uke
a atlmuiant or a drug once it la en-
couraged It may begin la our so-
all accounted for Maybe he made It
la Wan street or maybe somebody
left It there with him for safe-keeping”
Aa i recalled Davis’ parting Instruc-
tions to me when I had first come
out to Ardway I was more and more
surprised that be had not lnveatlgat
ed further at the post-office He had
seemed to think that the clue to th
whole mystery would be found there
and he had particularly charged me
to find out to whom Lock Box No 17
had been rented I decided to aak
Mis Cox If ahe kntw anything about It
"Seventoen has never been rented
aa long aa I have had anything to do
with the office Jt la away off there
In the corner where It is hard to see
"has
Anything Been
Rouserf”
Heard oi
Into There’s alwayB been more
boxes than there was any call for Not
one of them In the lower row ever has
been rented even In summer when
there’s a lot of city folks out here”
“Do you ever remember of seeing
any mall addressed to that box?”
She worked industriously at ber
crocheting for a minute or two before
replying and then putting It aside said
thoughtfully:
"It’g funny that you should have
asked me that”
"Why?”
“I don’t know that I’ve any busi-
ness telling you” said Miss Cox as
ah debated with herself whether or
not she was talking too much “but I
am aa anxious aa anybody to find out
what’a become of Charlie Rouaer and
from what I’ve aeen of you I guess
you’re a sight more likely to find him
than Jim Dobbs tbe constable If 1
wasn’t sure In my own mind that Char-
lie hadn’t done nothing out of the way
I don’t know aa I’d even be telling
you about It But since you've asked
me 1 guess I will" '
She hesitated studying my faoe aa
If trying to read there whether or not
I meant harm to the missing post-
master I tried not to exhibit undue
Interest though Inwardly I felt quite
Jubilant I waa certain that I wa on
the track of important revelations
(TO BE CONTINUED)
Famous 8word Blade of Japan
Swords equal to the famous blades
of Toledo and Damascus are made In
Japan by a special series of processes
but a feature of the Industry Is the re-
ligious ceremony that accompanies
the work On the walls of the huts
In which the operations are carried on
are representations of the god of the
sword-makera and the chief goddess
of th Shinto There are also bits of
paper and wisps of stfaw charms to
keep away evil spirits No remale la
allowed to enter the placeas the pres-
ence of women la supposed to be con-
ducive to the appearance of demons
who would certainly bring disaster to
the aword’s mission Prayer Is of-
fered before the work begins and
various religious rites must be per-
formed before any one of the swords
can be declared to have been well
and truly made
called high moral standard and hatred
of aln But once It becomes a habit
It la indulged in tor the satisfaction It
glvea
An Eden can be ruined by constant
fault-finding selfishness and with-
holding tbe words of praUe A para-
dise can he created by small kindness-
es and by thinking sweet and helpful
thoughts of those about you
The next time you feel Uke criticis-
ing a loved one force yourself to say
something complimentary to him In-
stead Try It and see It you won’t be hap-
pier Exactly
“Do you believe that poverty 'la com-
parative?” ’
“It must be when a girl complains
that she cannot afford to have more
than ona diamond necklace tor aU costume”
FOLEY'S
COMPOUND
STOPS COUGHS - CURES COLDS
Contain! No OpIotM b 8f For Chlldril
Apology
“You called me a dog air”
“Oh no! Some dogs are very fin
creatures I called you a cur”
FOB WEAKNESS AND LOSS OF APPE-
The Old Standard MnMtbenllw Jonle
GROVB’S TABTHLHS8 cbtll TONIO drive oot Mb-
larlft and builds up the system A true tonio and
Bare Appetiser For adults and children W cents
" i Hi
Has To
“Do you really believe In this home
rule business?” - '
“Of course I do Ain’t I married?”
'No Indeed
“Ladles are beginning to smoke cig-
arettes aren’t they?"
“No Indeed”
“But am sure I saw a woman
smoking one yesterday!"
“But you said ladles"
Prospective Customer
Small Girl — Teacher did you
the lord makes babies too?
Sunday School Teacher — Yes indeed
Small Girl — About how much does
he charge for one ’cause I want a
baby brother awful bad
Plants Need Nourishment
A German investigator has discov-
ered that plants resist cold best when
they are given special nourishment to
keep them warm For instance to
feed a plant sugar stimulates Its pow-
er of resisting low temperature much
as like food acts upon animals though
In less marked degree
In the Day of the Billionaire
A brilliant New York lawyer said
at a dinner at the Lotus Club apropos
of certain trust magnates:
“ThankB to watered stock — and wa-
tered stock Is criminal abroad— these
men are Indeed rich beyond the
dreams of avarice
“If the watering of stock Is allowed
to keep on we’ll hear our billionaires
talking like this some day:
“‘Hullo! There goes Jones in his
300 horsepower car Do you know
htmT’
‘“Do I know him! Do I knokr
Jones! Why man alive Jones and I
were struggling young millionaires to-
gether!’” — New York Times
Dangerous Talk
“Mother I wish you wouldn't men-
tion dishwashing when George is call-
ing on me!”
“Why not indeed?”
“I don't like It It sounds com-
mon “
“Common eh? We have to- eat
dqn’t we?”
“Of course”
“And George knows we eat and
use dishes?”
“That’s very true”
“And George also knows that
diBhes have to be washed therefore
somebod has to wash them?”
'But mother ”
‘If you keep on talking about It
George may discover that you make
father wash them and he may think
the same thing Is coming to him if
he should propose to me” — Detroit
Free Press
Ready
Cooked
Meals
are rapidly growing in pop-
ular favor
Post
Toasties
served either with cream or
good milk or preserved fruit
make a most appetizing dish
for breakfast dinner or sup-
per These delicious toasted
flaky bits of white com have
a delicate taste that is very
pleasing at this time of year
Post Toasties are economi-
cal make less work for the
busy housewife and please
everyone at the table
"The Memory Lingers”
Sold by Grocers everywhere
Poitum Cereal Co Ltd
Battle Creek Mich
j i
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The Wilburton Gazette (Wilburton, Okla.), Vol. 14, No. 31, Ed. 1 Friday, March 14, 1913, newspaper, March 14, 1913; Wilburton, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc2046200/m1/2/: accessed July 17, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.