Democratic Sentinel, Volume 22, Number 19, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 May 1898 — PAYING THE PENALTY [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

PAYING THE PENALTY

When the family of the banker assembled at the breakfast table on the morning following the evening of the robbery of the express agent, Janette was unable to join them. \<. Mr. Kellogg speedily summoned Thomas, who was immediately dispatched with a note gammoning Dr. Hewft, who arrived as the family were leaving the table. Janette had directed her lister to state that she would breakfast later, that rhe was not seriously ill, and that It was needless to summon a physician. But she was not surprised when Dr. Bewit accompanied her father, sister and the widow into the room. “Why, papa, I hardly expected ” “I know, dearest, but I deemed it best to delay no longer. The patient is in your hands, doctor.” “Really, doctor,” said Janette, “I hardly think you will find me ill enough to require a prescription. And yet- ” “She has been ailing for ten days, doctor,” asserted Laura. “I think it is high time that she has medical attention.” “Now, Laura!” .. “Oh, you know it is true, Janette.” “Little girl,” said the physician, “perhaps you were afraid of some of the doctor’s nauseous medicines.” “Oh, no, doctor; but I could not bear td be classed as an invalid.” “Well, let me see.” “I will await your diagnosis of the case in the library, doctor;” and Mr. Kellogg passed from the room. “Your eyes are as bright and as blue as the sky; face a little flushed; pulse too quick. Ah, you have some fever. Your tongue is clear. I see! A little soreness there. Yon have headache, pain in region of the heart, at times, and an unusual thirst.” “Why, doctor, you have described my condition exactly.” “I thought so, my dear. Now the next thing is to dispel all of your ailments. But there is a cause for all this. Have you been eating anything not usually in your daily diet?” “I hardly think so, doctor.” “Doctor, for a week the poor girl has eaten literally nothing.” “Why, Laura, you know Aunt Elinor has prepared me toast and tea, and goodness knows what—at least a dozen times a day.” “I have brought them to you, dear, when you felt disinclined to epter the dining room. But I have sometimes been obliged to have Julia carry the greater part back again,” observed the widow. “And then, aunt, you have given me wine, three or four times daily.” “I thought it nothing serious,” said the madam, “and that the tonic effect of wine would restore you. Why, doctor, the dear girl has descended the stairs each morning until now.” “Which she should not have done,” said the doctor. “However, I trust soon to have her as lively as ever. But, my dear, you must remain very quiet for at least a week. There is some inflammation—yes, considerable inflammation. I will prescriptions and instructions as to diet with your father.” “And I must remain in bed all that time, doctor? Oh, dear!” “Until I see you again, at least, little miss. Good-bye.” “The toast and tea and wine, doctor? You would not proscribe them?” “No, no, madam. I think you-a capital nurse. But then, not much wine until the inflammation has subsided and all soreness has left the stomach.” In the library the doctor found Mr. Kellogg. “Well, doctor, what is the nature of Janette’s illness?” “Oh, nothing serious, nothing serious. She is suffering from a slight attack of gastric inflammation of the stomach*” “What caused it?” “That I am unable to say. Possibly some article of her diet. I will leave two prescriptions with directions as to what food she may partake of. She should be as well as ever in a week. She needs, however, complete rest for a few days.” “I will see that your instructions are carried out to the letter. Elinor is much attached to her, and either herself or Laura shall attend her constantly.” “With such nurses, her days of confinement will be few. Your sister-in-law I regard as a capital nurse, and in many ways as a remarkable woman.” “She is, she is! And do you know, doctor, that on the first of September next, she will become my wife?” “Allow me to congratulate you, Mr. Kellogg. But I am not altogether surprised. I had foreseen it.” “Indeed!” “Yes. What more natural? How—how faithfully she nursed your wife.” Here the doctor passed one hand before his eyes as if to shut out some vision his words had caused to rise before him. “True!” exclaimed the banker.

The physician wrote the prescriptions and the instructions, handed them to Mr. Kellogg, and a moment later had left the house. After the doctor had taken his departure Mr. Kellogg again ascended the stairs to his daughter’s room. “Daughter” he said to Laura, “here are the prescriptions and instructions as to diet. I wish you would personally step over to the drug store and have the prescriptions filled. Somehow I never did like the idea of sending a servant on an errand of that nature.” “Certainly, father.” “I do hope they will capture that highwayman and robber to-day, papa,” said Jahette, as her sister left the room. “Oh, he will, no doubt, be captured soon, daughter, and the money, or a greater part of it, recovered. Twenty thousand dollars is too large a sum for the express company to lose. The morning papers are down in the library. A full account of the robbery is there; but I was so worried over your condition that I failed to read it; I merely glanced it over and noted that the miscreant is still at large.” “Poor papa!” “Not poor papa, dear, if you are soon restored to health. Now good-bye, the carriage is waiting for me. Good-bye, Elinor.”

The banker imprinted a kiss on the lips of each and left the room. “I will sencr up the papers by Julia,” he called from the hall. “Laura!” “Yes, father, I am just going.” “Wait; Tom can drive by the drug store and I will leave you there. I have plenty of time to get to the bank.” Once at his office, Mr. Kellogg again perused the different accounts of the robbery. Two columns of one of the papers were occupied in rendering an account of it; but as the reader is familiar with the incidents we will not quote from the article;. It was predicted, however, that the robber and highwayman would soon be captured, as the full detective force of the city was working on the case. At eleven o’clock Mr. Kellogg walked through the-alley where the crime had been committed and over to the express office. Passing through the alley he met perhaps a hundred men. They were coming from all directions to view the scene of the crime. "Strange,” he thought, “how the commission of a crime in a certain location will impel citizens to visit the locality. Now the criminal himself may be one of these very men. I have heard that criminals were prone to revisit the scenes of their crimes.” Involuntarily he found himself gazing at the countenances of those he passed.

“The agent stated that Els worth said his assailant resembled Earl. Strange! No, I don’t know aa it Is—he mast resemble some one. But there are none of these, at least, that resemble EarL” Arrived at the express office, the banker found Inspector Hunt closeted with Mr. Andrews. “Anything later than that stated in the morning papers?” he asked. “Oh, the press play off of the handler’ said Hunt. “Those infernal reporters make me tired. Yon would naturally think to read their articles that they knew all about it. They don’t know a thing. And they do ns more harm than good. They don’t half know what we are doing. We try to mislead them, for they publish everything they find out and more that they don’t find out I can’t say that we have captured the robber, but we have ronnded up twenty or thirty suspects, and are looking for more. We are bound to recover the money and land that villain in Joliet. Bound to do it!” “I hope you may. What condition is Elsworth in this morning, Mr. Andrews?’ “I drove past his home this morning,” was the reply. “His physicians found it necessary to take several stitches on his scalp, but his case is not critical. I think he will be able to report for duty in a week or two. But I will tell you one thing—no agent or collector of onrs shall ever pass through an alley again with a money package, day or night, rain or shine.” “Never trust to alleys,” said the inspector; “even down town there is danger in every one of them. If Elsworth had been passing along a public street where there is more travel, he probably would not have been assaulted.” “And we would not be out twenty thousand dollars,” said the agent. “Oh, that will come back. But I must go and see how my instructions are being carried out.” “The inspector seems confident of success in the case,” said Mr. Kellogg as Hunt disappeared. “Yes, such people are always confident —almost too confident. Yet he may succeed. I thought of offering a reward—a good, big one—for the apprehension of the thief and the recovery of the money. In fact, I communicated with the president of the company by telegraph last night. He advised me not to do so at present—predicted that hundreds of innocent people would be arrested and endeavors made to fasten the crime on some one of them, guilty or not guilty. He counseled delay in the matter, and I have come to the conclusion that he was right.” “I judge he was,” observed the banker. “We will first see what Hunt and his men can do.” “I trust they may succeed in apprehending the guilty party, if they have not already done so,” Mr. Kellogg said as he took his departure. In returning to the bank he somehow found himself again scanning the countenances of those he passed and met. “Why,” he suddenly exclaimed, “here I am looking again for a man who resembles Earl. What folly!”

CHAPTER XI. For the ten days following the robbery Inspector Hunt knew little rest. Day and night that astute official might have been found in his private office, looking wise and examining suspects. Fully fifty men had been apprehended and lodged within the walls of the various station houses. Some of them were old offenders and .known criminals, otSers strangers to Chicago, or men unknown to the department. Tramps? No. In those happy days ante-dating the civil war, tramps and beggars were unknown to the great Northwest. It was particularly unsafe In the days immediately following the robbery for a man of a dark, swarthy complexion, black hair and mustache, of about five feet eight inches in height and wearing a derby hat and dark sack coat, if he was a stranger in Chicago, to be found on the streets of the city; for he was forthwith apprehended. One by one these unfortunates were brought before the doughty inspector and subjected to his routine of questioning: “Your name?” “Where were you between the hours of five and six on the evening of the twentyseventh of June?” “Where do you reside?” “What is your vocation?” “Have yon ever been apprehended before?” “Have you witnesses to establish the fact that you are telling the truth, and that you were in the location stated between the hours named?’ “Inspector,” a policeman announces, “the -outer office is full of witnesses who are waiting to prove alibis for these men.” “Was this man’s person searched when he was apprehended?” “Was his lodging place searched?” “Call in the witness summoned in the prisoner’s behalf and the officer who apprehended him.” The parties are soon before the inspector.

“Officer Murry, you apprehended this man. Did you search him? If so, what did you find on his person?” “A plug of tobacco, a pocket knife and three dollars and a half in silver.” “Does he room in the location stated, and have you searched the premises?” “I have, but found nothing but his clothing. Here is Mr. Evans of the firm of Evans & Browning, summoned for the prisoner.” “You know this man, Mr. Evans?” “Well, yes; he has been in my employ for the past six years. His detention here has caused me great inconvenience, as he is our shipping clerk.” “Read this statement. It embraces merely my questions to him and his answers.” “He has told you the truth in all particulars.” “Suspect released. Bring in the next one.” The employer and late prisoner depart in company, cursing the detective and the police force of Chicago in general and Inspector Hunt in particular. Each man detained in the station was in turn brought forward and each in turn went on his way denouncing the authorities who had held him—a man, of course, above suspicion in his own mind—a “suspect.”

Some few were not fortunate enough to gain release on their first examination, but at the expiration of ten days, the last suspect walked the streets a free man. In the case of a number of them Collector Elsworth, who had now resumed his duties, was summoned to the inspector’s office, but in each case he had said: “I do not believe that to be the man I passed on the sidewalk before entering the alley.” Inspector Hnnt was a disgusted man. “There? goes the laßt or fifty suspects that our officers have apprehended,” he said, as number fifty made his exit from the office. “That cjeans up the first batch. It appears rather discouraging. The fact is, Elsworth is unable to identify the man he passed before entering the alley. Again, if he could identify him, where is the evidence that that man committed the crime? Of course, if we had that individual, and a search of his person or lodging place revealed a large sum of nioney, we could make him account for how it came into his possession. There we are again. We have a schedule of the banks that issued the bills of which the collector was robbed, but not the number of a single bill. This is bound to be a difficult case to unravel.” And the inspector arose quickly from his chair, twirled the ends of his silken mustache, looked wise, and sat down again as he heard the voice of Mr. Andrews in the outer office. A moment later that gentleman was seated at the inspector’s elbow. “So the man we are looking for was not among your suspects, inspector?” he said. “It seems not,” observed the official. “At least none of them filled the bill to

be could identify the man if he was confronted by him. And then, it don’t folHere the inspector detailed, word for word, his musings of bat a few minutes before. “Well, what is to be your next step?” asked the agent. “Why, we will keep on gathering in suspects. In this case there is nothing else we can do. It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. It is worse, for it is a question whether we can identify the needle after we have found it.” “If you could find among your suspects one having a large amount of money composed' of bills of the scheduled banks ” “There our hope lies—just there.” “Yes, but if not done soon the money may be scattered to the winds. That man may be five hundred miles from Chicago before this time.” J (To be continued.)

CHAPTER X.