close of the inquest; before he had been morose and irritable; now he
was all vivacity and good spirits. One of his first acts, after the
verdict had been given, was to write the above-mentioned letter, which
Miller had secured as before. Having taken a copy of it, Miller had
mailed it in the general post-office.
"You have done very well, Mr. Miller," I said, "and I wish you to
remain here to watch Pattmore's movements and intercept his letters. I
shall return to Chicago to-night, and you must inform me by telegraph if
Pattmore leaves here."
Having completed all my arrangements, I returned to Chicago, taking Knox
and Green with me.
_CHAPTER VI._
My first action, on reaching my office, was to send for Mrs. Kate Warne,
the Superintendent of the Female Department of my force. She made a full
report of all the work in her charge during my absence, and brought up
among other cases, that of Captain Sumner.
"Miss Seaton," said Mrs. Warne, "reports that she has progressed
somewhat toward an intimacy with Mrs. Thayer, but that she has learned
very little except by observation. Mrs. Thayer seems to be greatly
troubled at times, but she is very reserved, and does not appear anxious
to make any one her confidant. She goes to the post-office regularly
twice a day, but she rarely goes anywhere else. Once she went to a
druggist's store, but, being unable to get what she wanted, she entered
another one and purchased a small package."
"Has Miss Seaton been able to examine any of Mrs. Thayer's trunks or
bureau drawers?" I asked.
"Only once," replied Mrs. Warne; "she succeeded in getting into one of
her trunks, and there found an immense quantity of letters signed
'Alonzo Pattmore,' some of them dating back several years."
"Were they long, sentimental and--in short, were they to be classed
under the head of love letters?" I asked, with a smile.
"Yes; Miss Seaton so reports them."
"Well," I said, "let her continue to watch Mrs. Thayer, and to seek to
win the latter's confidence. By the way, what kind of books does Mrs.
Thayer read?"
"Oh! anything that is romantic."
"Then, tell Miss Seaton to get 'Eugene Aram' and read it. She can make
such allusions to it as will make Mrs. Thayer wish to read it too. The
effect of the story on her mind will, perhaps, prepare her for the train
of thoughts which I wish to excite in her."
"Oh! that reminds me," said Mrs. Warne, "Mrs. Thayer complains that she
sleeps very poorly, and dreams a great deal. She has been wondering
whether she talks in her sleep."
At this moment, one of my clerks entered and said that Captain Sumner
wished to see me. I immediately sent word that he could come into my
private office; at the same time, I requested Mrs. Warne to step into
the next room for a few minutes, as I should need her, as soon as the
Captain had gone. When the Captain entered, I was busily engaged in
examining some papers, and I greeted him as if he were an old friend
whom I had not seen for months.
"Why, how are you, Captain Sumner?" I said, shaking his hand, warmly. "I
am delighted to see you."
"I'm pretty well," he replied; "but have you heard the news?"
"No; what news?"
"Read that," he said, handing me the Greenville _Advocate_, and pointing
to an account of the inquest on Mrs. Pattmore's body.
The paper contained a full report of the coroner's proceedings, and an
editorial on the subject. The editor spoke in the highest terms of
Pattmore, and congratulated him on his triumphant vindication. I read
all that the _Advocate_ contained relative to the case, and then
remarked:
"I wonder who started that investigation."
"I can't imagine," replied the Captain; "though, as the paper says, the
story might have been originated by his enemies, for mere political
effect."
"Yes; that is possible," I replied; "but there was no use in attempting
anything of that kind. The result must have strengthened him, even among
his opponents."
"I am afraid so, too," said the Captain. "We shall have a hard time in
obtaining any proofs of his guilt, now that he is so popular."
I saw that the Captain did not suspect that I had been connected, in any
way, with the Greenville inquest; I therefore, changed the subject.
"Well, it will all come out right, if you have patience. How is Mrs.
Thayer?"
"Not at all well," he replied; "she is very restless, and she complains
of being nervous; besides, she is more reserved with me than ever. Don't
you think I had better try to induce her to go home with me? I should
feel more comfortable if she were on the farm in Connecticut, as she
would then be out of Pattmore's power. Sometimes I think there is no use
in trying to reform her; for, she seems so infatuated with that man that
I only wonder she has not run away with him before now. I know that she
will marry him at the first opportunity."
"We must prevent that," I replied; "for the present, I think she had
better remain here."
I then asked the Captain to excuse me a moment, and, stepping into the
next room, I called my stenographer to the door; by leaving the door
ajar, the conversation between the Captain and myself could be easily
heard in the next room. The short-hand writer, therefore, was able to
take down everything that was said. Returning to the Captain, I
commenced a friendly chat, in the course of which, I led him on to talk
about his family. I especially desired to draw out the particulars of
Annie's history, and the honest old gentleman talked so freely that I
obtained a very full account of all that he knew about her. In the
conversation which we had about his own affairs, the Captain gave me the
following story to account for the fact that he was an old bachelor:
"It seems somewhat strange," he said, "that I am unmarried, as I have
always been a great admirer of the fair sex; but, the fact is, I had one
strong affection, and that has lasted me all my life. The last time I
was with her, she promised to be my wife, and we pledged ourselves to be
eternally faithful to each other. I sailed for Singapore the next day,
and, on my return, I was to lead her to the altar. I felt that I had
secured a prize far beyond my merits, for she seemed to be superior to
me in every way. The days dragged along slowly and wearily, while on the
voyage; but, at length, we returned to New York. I immediately hurried
up from the landing-place, all impatient to see my sweetheart. As I
passed up the dock, I met an old acquaintance.
"'Where away so fast?' he asked, as he stopped me.
"'I am going to see Miss Curtis,' I replied.
"'Why, she married a rich banker, six months ago,' he said.
"'Oh! did she?' I exclaimed; 'I am glad she was so fortunate.'
"Then I returned aboard ship, feeling completely crushed. Since that
time I have never paid attention to any other woman, for I can never
forget her. Once afterward I met her on Broadway, on her way to her
carriage. She nodded carelessly, with a 'How d'ye do, John?' and was
quickly whirled away out of my sight. I have never heard from her since
then.
"After the Captain had told me everything about Annie and himself that
he could recollect, I asked him to excuse me, pleading an important
engagement at that hour. As soon as he had gone, I requested my
stenographer to write out his notes in long hand as quickly as possible,
and I returned to consult with my female superintendent.
"Mrs. Warne," I said, "we shall have a difficult task in working upon
Mrs. Thayer; she seems to be very reticent and wary. I have decided to
attack the superstitious side of her nature, which seems to be her
weakest point; and, in order to do so successfully, I shall need your
services. How do you think you would succeed as a fortune-teller?"
"A fortune-teller!" she exclaimed, laughingly; "that is certainly a new
_role_; however, I think I might learn to take the part after a few
lessons."
"Yes," I replied, "the tricks of the trade are easily learned. Here is
a book which explains all the secrets of the profession. It is called
'The Mysteries of Magic and the Wonders of Astrology; by Dr. Roback.'
You can take it to read at your leisure; but, after all, the costume and
make-up are the principal things necessary. You will be obliged to trust
largely to your own judgment and tact in working upon Mrs. Thayer's
feelings. I suppose she has some vague ideas about astrology, etc., but
I have no doubt of your ability to mystify her thoroughly. One thing is
certain, Mrs. Warne, that we must have a fortune-teller of our own, and
I do not know of any one so competent as yourself. I will rent an office
for you near by, and the duties will interfere very little with your
other work."
"I will undertake it," she said, decidedly, after a moment's thought; "I
will make it a success, too, if you will give me my own way about it."
"All right," I answered; "success is all that I require."
Mrs. Warne then withdrew to make her preparations.
In a day or two I received a letter from Miller. He said that the talk
over the inquest was gradually subsiding; that there were some few
persons who were not fully satisfied with the manner of conducting the
inquiry, but that the general effect had been favorable to Pattmore;
that the latter had began to drink a great deal, though not enough to
become intoxicated; that he, (Miller,) had been taken into Pattmore's
confidence to a considerable extent; and that the latter had expressed
an intention of going to Cincinnati to make a visit. In conclusion, he
said that Pattmore was doing his utmost to appear cheerful, but that he
looked very haggard, and seemed to be in great trouble.
Miss Seaton reported to Mrs. Warne the same day, that she was becoming
more intimate with Mrs. Thayer, though the latter manifested no desire
to take any one into her confidence. The day previous Mrs. Thayer had
gone to the post-office, where she had received a letter, as usual. She
had torn it open, as if very anxious to learn the news it contained for
her, and had then crumpled it nervously in her hand, after reading it.
Miss Seaton also described a scene which had taken place that morning.
Mrs. Thayer was in her room about eleven o'clock; soon afterward Miss
Seaton went to the door and knocked. No answer being given, she went in
quietly, intending to surprise Mrs. Thayer. She found the latter deeply
absorbed in telling her own fortune with a pack of cards. Miss Seaton
laughed pleasantly, and said:
"So you were telling your fortune, were you? Well, how did it come out?"
Mrs. Thayer looked somewhat confused at first, but she gathered up the
cards mechanically, and said:
"I don't know how to tell my fortune; do you?"
"Yes, indeed, I used to be a splendid fortune-teller," replied Miss
Seaton. "Let me try to tell your fortune."
She then shuffled the cards, dealt them in three piles, and turned up
the last card, which happened to be the queen of hearts.
"Now let us see what your fortune _has_ been, what it _is_, and what it
_will_ be," said Miss Seaton. "You are represented by the queen of
hearts; this pile contains your past; that one your present; and the
third your future."
So saying, she turned up the top card of each pile. By an odd
coincidence the present and future were both clubs, the past being a
diamond.
Miss Seaton said, gravely:
"Your past has been pleasant, but your future is unpromising."
"Yes, it is always so," replied Mrs. Thayer, despondently.
Then, as Miss Seaton was about to go on, Mrs. Thayer threw all the cards
into a heap, saying:
"No, I don't want to hear any more; I shall have the same luck
throughout; clubs always come to me."
"Have you always had such bad fortune?" asked Miss Seaton.
"Oh! no; only a few years ago, I used to be as happy as a bird; sorrow
was unknown to me, and one enjoyment seemed to pass away only to be
succeeded by another. Now I have nothing but trouble all the time."
"Your lot seems hard," remarked Miss Seaton, in a sympathizing tone;
"probably you feel worse since your husband has been dead."
"Dead!" exclaimed Mrs. Thayer, springing up; then, recovering her
presence of mind, she sat down, muttering: "yes, yes, of course, he's
dead."
"What do you mean?" said Miss Seaton. "Is it long since he died?"
"I do not feel well to-day; and I shall not try to read my fortune again
when I am so nervous," replied Mrs. Thayer, evading Miss Seaton's
question.
Seeing that Mrs. Thayer wished to change the subject, Miss Seaton did
not press her further. The two ladies remained together until dinner
time, and Miss Seaton read a portion of "Eugene Aram" aloud. Mrs. Thayer
became deeply interested in the book, and borrowed it to read.
Next morning I received a telegram from Miller, briefly stating that
Pattmore had left Greenville. His destination was Chicago, though he had
given out that he was going to Cincinnati.
I knew that he could not arrive that day, as the railroad connections
were not promptly made at that time; but I instructed Mr. Knox and Mr.
Green to be prepared to "shadow" him, on his arrival at the depot the
next morning, and to keep upon his track constantly, while he remained
in Chicago. I also sent word to Miss Seaton to make some pretense for
calling upon Mrs. Thayer early in the forenoon, and to remain with her
as long as possible. I knew that Pattmore would communicate with Mrs.
Thayer immediately on his arrival, and my object was, to have some one
to witness their meeting.
On entering my office early the next day, I was surprised to find
Captain Sumner awaiting me, in a great state of excitement.
"That man has come here again, Mr. Pinkerton," he broke out,
impetuously. "He came before breakfast and went straight to Annie's
room. I called her to the door and expostulated with her, until she
agreed to send him away as soon as possible. I then came here directly
to inform you."
"Quite right, Captain," I replied; "there is nothing like taking prompt
action in such cases. You can return to the house now, and trust to me
for the rest."
"But I'm afraid she will run away with that villain," said the Captain.
"Of course, we must prevent that," I replied; "I shall have a plan
prepared, in case they attempt to run away together; but, I do not think
Pattmore is quite ready yet for such a step. Keep your spirits up,
Captain, and don't borrow trouble."
"I have all confidence in you, Mr. Pinkerton," he said as he went out;
"but I shall be much happier when I am back on my farm."
According to instructions, Miss Seaton called on Mrs. Thayer, though she
did not gain admittance to her room. When Mrs. Thayer opened the door,
Miss Seaton saw that she had been crying, and that she was evidently
much disturbed. She asked Miss Seaton to excuse her, as she had company
from the East.
About noon Pattmore returned to his hotel, as the Captain would not
permit him to dine at the boarding house. As Mrs. Thayer did not come
down to dinner, Miss Seaton again visited her, and found her dressing to
go out. She asked Miss Seaton to remain until she was dressed, but said
that she was going out driving in the afternoon and to the theatre in
the evening. In a short time, the Captain came in, and Miss Seaton
retired. The Captain asked Mrs. Thayer what she meant by breaking her
promises not to see Pattmore again.
She replied that Pattmore was a man she could not help loving; that she
had tried her best to overcome her passion, but in vain; and that she
could not break off the connection so abruptly, but that she would
endeavor to do so gradually in the future. Then she kissed the Captain,
saying that she was never so happy in her life, and that she was going
out driving with Pattmore that afternoon. The Captain remonstrated with
her without effect, and, seeing that he could not move her from her
purpose he came straight to my office to report.
Pattmore came again in the afternoon and took Mrs. Thayer out driving.
She looked superb as she went off, having recovered entirely from her
illness. She was in a perfect flutter of happiness and excitement, which
gave her a brilliant color, and added to the brightness of her eyes. She
was agitated by conflicting influences; on one side, was her brother,
determined to separate her from her lover, and justly blaming her
course; on the other, was Pattmore, claiming her love, and urging her to
abandon her brother's protection.
They were gone about three hours, and, on their return, they seemed very
complacent and much less excited than when they set out. In the evening,
they went to the theatre together, being "shadowed" by Mr. Knox. He took
a seat close behind them, in order to listen to their conversation; but
he overheard nothing of any consequence.
Captain Sumner had a long talk with his sister next morning, in relation
to their return to Connecticut. He begged her to go immediately, and
thus escape from Pattmore's influence; but she opposed his wish, on the
ground that she was too weak to make the journey. He then lost his
temper, and replied that she was strong enough to go around to places of
amusement with Pattmore, and it was very strange that she could not
travel slowly home. This show of anger on the Captain's part, caused her
to commence crying, as she knew that he could not resist so powerful an
appeal to his sympathy. The result equalled her anticipations. The
Captain soon lost all his irritation and began to console her, as if she
were a spoilt child; finally, she induced him to go driving with them
that afternoon. The Captain told me afterward, that Pattmore behaved
with great propriety during the drive, and that they did not seem to be
so much in love with each other as he had supposed. I smiled inwardly at
the old sailor's simplicity; for I noticed that they had gone out in an
open barouche, (instead of a close carriage, such as they had used the
day before,) and they had remained away only one hour, instead of three.
On their return from the drive, Pattmore and Annie went to Mrs. Thayer's
sitting room, and the Captain went down town. At four o'clock, Miss
Seaton knocked at Mrs. Thayer's door; but, receiving no answer, she
tried to enter quietly. She found that the door was locked on the
inside, however, and she was, therefore, obliged to withdraw to her own
room to watch. It was six o'clock before Pattmore came out, having been
nearly three hours in Mrs. Thayer's room with the door locked.
Mr. Knox "shadowed" Pattmore on his departure from the boarding house,
and saw him take the nine o'clock train for Greenville. I immediately
notified Mr. Miller by telegraph, directing him to renew his intimacy
with Pattmore, and to remain in Greenville until further orders.
_CHAPTER VII._
Mr. Miller was not idle during the time that Pattmore was away. His
first action was to learn who were the nurses attending Mrs. Pattmore in
her last illness. One of them had left the city, but the other, being an
old resident of Greenville, was soon found. She was quite an elderly
woman, with no family except one daughter. The latter was a seamstress,
and Mr. Miller soon made her acquaintance by employing her to make some
shirts for him. He kept up friendly relations with them by taking both
mother and daughter out riding occasionally in the summer evenings; and
in various ways he ingratiated himself into the old lady's confidence.
It was not long before he was able to draw out all the particulars of
Mrs. Pattmore's illness.
He learned that when she first became seriously sick, Mr. Pattmore began
to show a very tender solicitude for her health.
He even insisted upon preparing her medicine and giving it to her
himself. Mrs. Pattmore, however, did not seem to appreciate his watchful
care, for she told the nurse that she did not like to take her medicine
from her husband; she also asked very particularly whether the medicine
which she took was that which the doctor prescribed.
Mrs. Reed, the nurse, said that she did not like the effects of the
medicine at all. It was put up in small yellow papers, and when Mrs.
Pattmore took a dose of it she was always taken with violent vomiting;
her bowels and stomach would become very hot, and the pain would be so
severe as to cause her to scream terribly. Then Mr. Pattmore would give
her a dose of another kind of medicine, which would soon relieve the
patient and cause her to fall into a deep sleep.
When Dr. Forsythe called, Mrs. Pattmore always informed him very
carefully about the effect of the medicine, but he treated it as a case
of common occurrence, and said that those symptoms invariably
accompanied an attack of dysentery. After the Doctor had gone, Mr.
Pattmore would return to the room with the same medicine, and his wife
would exclaim:
"Oh! has the Doctor ordered that horrid medicine again? I cannot stand
it long. Oh! what shall I do?"
Then her husband would tell her that it pained him almost as much as
herself to see her suffer so, and that he would willingly take it
himself if he could thereby save her from pain; but she must recollect
that she was very dangerously sick, and that a failure to obey the
Doctor's instructions might prove fatal to her. Mrs. Pattmore would be
too feeble to protest long, and she would take the medicine; the same
symptoms as before would then result, and each day she seemed to grow
weaker and weaker.
The day of Mrs. Pattmore's death the Doctor was unable to call; hence
only Mr. Pattmore and Mrs. Reed were present when she died. Pattmore
spoke very endearingly to his wife and tried to caress her, but she
pushed him away, gave him one long, reproachful look, and fell back
dead. Pattmore professed to be overcome with grief, and tears flowed
down his cheeks, as he requested Mrs. Reed to arrange for the funeral,
and to spare no expense. He stopped at the door as he was leaving the
room and said:
"By the way, Mrs. Reed, if any one inquires about it, you can say that
dysentery was the cause of my beloved wife's death."
Miller said that there was little doubt that Mrs. Reed suspected foul
play in connection with Mrs. Pattmore's death; but she was a very
discreet woman, and would not spread any story which she could not
prove. It was only by very skillful management that he had been able to
induce her to talk upon the subject at all. She knew that Pattmore was
very popular, and that she would be speedily silenced if she attempted
to suggest anything against his character; hence she preferred to keep
her suspicions to herself.
On receiving this report from Miller, I sent him instructions to
continue his acquaintance with Mrs. Reed, and to keep a close watch upon
her movements, for it was possible that she, too, might be induced to go
away. As she would be an important witness, it would be necessary not to
lose sight of her. At the end of the week I received another report from
Miller, stating that Pattmore had called a select meeting of his
political supporters in the district, and had laid the plans for an
energetic effort to obtain the Congressional nomination. Miller had been
taken into their confidence, and he was working hard to secure the
election of Pattmore delegates to the approaching convention. This gave
him ample opportunity to become intimate with Pattmore, and he felt sure
that the latter would not take any important steps without consulting
him.
I was much pleased to hear this news, as it showed me that Pattmore was
no longer in fear of detection; moreover, it satisfied me that politics
would detain him in Greenville for some time, and there would be no
immediate danger of his marriage with Mrs. Thayer. Having a prospect
that he would not return to Chicago to interfere with my plan for some
weeks, I decided to proceed with my attack on Mrs. Thayer's credulity
and superstition. In the afternoon, therefore, I sent for Mrs. Warne,
and asked whether she had secured rooms in which to play the part of a
fortune-teller.
"Yes," she replied, "I have rented three rooms on Clark street, which
are just suited for the purpose. There are two entrances, so that you
can slip in at any time without being seen by my visitors."
"Well, you had better have them fitted up as soon as possible. I will
drop in to look at them to-day."
"No," she answered, "I don't wish you to come until I have completed my
preparations. The rooms are on the second floor, and have not been
occupied for some time; hence they will need considerable cleaning. You
are too busy to attend to the furnishing and arranging, so I will
relieve you of all the trouble; only give me _carte-blanche_ for the
purpose of furnishing the rooms, and I know you will not regret it."