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About Eugene semi-weekly guard. (Eugene, Or.) 1904-190? | View Entire Issue (June 29, 1904)
n t on tue carriage »tei». His tout e ¡«Hiked lip at the west. ill1 was almost down, blit not quite. "Have you any special bus’ness « th me': " ,e asked, lingering w ith w .ait 1 ihoug .t surprising display of consciousm- s the last ray of the sunlight had appeared. glanced up at the coachman sitting his box as rigid as any stone. "You may speak," said lie; "Ctvmir neither hears nor sees any thing but his horses when in* drives me." The black did not wink. He was as completely at home on the box and as quiet and composed in his service as if lie had driven this man for years. "He understands his duty." finished the master, but with no outward ap pearance uf pride. "What have you to say to me?" I hesitated no longer. "Miss Tuttle is supposed to have •ecretly entered the Moore house on the night you summoned us. She even says slie did. 1 know that you have sworn to bavins seen no one go into that house, but notwithstanding this, haven’t you some menus at your dis posal for proving to the police and to the world at large that she never fired that fatal shut? Public opinion is so cruel. She will be ruined, whether in noeent or guilty, unless it can be very plainly shown that she did not enter the library prior to going there with the police." "And how can you suppose me to be in a position to prove that? Say that I had sat in my front window all that evening and watched with uninterrupt ed assiduity tlie door through which so many are said to have passed lie ■ tween sunset and midnight—something which 1 did not do, as I have plainly stated on oath—how could you have ex By ANNA KATHARINE GREEN, Author of “The Mjstery of Ajatha Weab," “List Man’s Laoe, Copyri&ht, 1903, by the Bobbs-Merrlll Company > tir*+<••••■( ;•+++ - k ..;, .... taken on elegance with his rise in tor- tune. The carriage and the horses and, m«it of all. the imperturbable driver seemed to awaken some awe lu the | boys. They were still iu evidence, but , they bung back sheepishly and eyed, the basket of neglected fo«xl as if they I Loped he would forget to take it away ! Meanwhile t • clattering of chains against the harness, the pawing of the horses and the low exclamations of the j driver caused me the queerest feelings, i Advancing quite unceremoniously upon [ the watcher by the grave, I remarked I alouu: "Tlie setting sun will soon release you. Mr. Moore. Are you going imme diately into town?” He paused in bis rubbing, which was ! being done with a very tender hand. I and as if he really loved the name be was endeavoring to bring into plainer view Scowling a little, lie turned and met me point blank with a look w bleb had a good deal of inquiry in it. "I am not usually interrupted here.’ he emphasized—"except by the boys,’ he added more mildly. "They some times approach too closely, but I am used to the imps and scarcely notice them. Ah, there are some of my old friends now! Well, it is time they knew that a change has taken place in my fortunes. Hi. there! Hands up an catch tills and this and this!" he slim ed. “But keep quiet about it, or no Caesar And his year you will get pennies again." turnout And. flinging quarters right and left, he smiled in such a pompous, self satis fied way at tlie hurrah and scramble which ensued, that it was well worth my journey there just to see this exhi bition of combined vanity and good humor. "Now go!" lie vociferated; aud the urchins, black and white, flew away, flinging up tlieir heels in delight and shouting: "Bully for you. Unde David! pectcil me to see what went on in th» We’ll come again next year, not for black interior of a bouse whose ex- terior is barely discermlje at night twenty-fives, but fifties." “I will make .t dollars if I only across tlie street?' "Then you cannot aid her?" I asked. live so long," he muttered, And deign- With a light bound he leaped into the Ing now to remember tlie questlon I bad put to him, he grandly remarked: carriage. As lie took his seat he polite “I am going straight into town. Can ly remarked: "1 should be glad to. since, though not I do anything for you?” "Nothing. I thought you might like 11 Moore, she is near enough tlie fam to know what awaits you there. The ily to affect its honor But. not hav city is greatly ktlrred up. The coro ing even seen her enter the house. I ner’s jury in the Jeffrey-Moore case has cannot testify in any way in regard to just brought in a verdict to the effect I.er. Home, t'a-sar. aud drive quickly. that suicide has not been proved. I do not thrive under these evening Naturally, this is equivalent to one of drmps.” And. leaning back with an inexpressi murder.” In face “Ah!" be ejaculated, slightly taken ble air of contentment with himself. aback for one so invariably impassive. Ills equipage and the prospect of an "And to whom is the guilt of this indefinite enjoyment of tlie same,.the last representative of the great Moore crime ascribed?" he presently ventured. “There was mention of no UHme, but family was quietly driven away. “You cannot give us any phrase or word that was uttered there-.'” “No.” “Is this your ject?” “It Is." Simultaneously with her withdrawal the gleam of sensibility left the faces of the Jury, aud the dark and brooding look which had marked their counte nances from the beginning returned, aud returned to stay. The celerity with which that jury ar rived at its verdict was a shock to ua all. It had been a quiet body, offeriag but ¡ittie' assistance to the coroner in his questioning, but when it fell to these men to act, the precision with which they did so was astonishing. In a half hour they returned from the room into which they had adjourned, and the foieman gave warning that he was preparer to render a verdict. Mr. Jeffrey and Miss Tuttle both clinched tlieir hands; then Miss Tuttle pulled down her veil. "We find,” said the solemn foreman, “that Veronica Moore Jeffrey, who on the night of May 11 was discovered lying dead on the floor of her own un- occupied house in Waveriey avenue, came to her death by means of a bullet, sltot front a pistol connected to her wrist by a length of white satin rib- bon. “That tlie first conclusion of suicide is not fully sustain'd by the facts. I "And that attempt should be made to Identify the hand that tired this pis tol." It was as near an accusation of Miss Tuttle as was possible without men tioning her name. A groan passed through the assemblage, and Mr. Jef frey, bounding to his feet, showed an Inclination to shout aloud in his vio lent indignation, but Miss Tuttle, turn ing toward him, lifted her hand with a commanding gesture and held it so I till be sat down again. It was both a majestic and an utter ly incomprehensible movement on her part, giving to the close of these re markable proceedings a dramatic cli max which set all hearts beating and, I am bound to say. all tongues wag ging till the room cleared. CHAPTER XVI. EANWHILE, and before any of us had left this room, one fact had become apparent— Mr. Jeffrey was not going to volunteer any fresh statement of the distinct disapproval of his sister- in-law. As his eye fell upon the dis trict attorney, who had lingered near, possibly in the hope of getting some thing more from this depressed and almost insensible man, he made one re mark, but it was an automatic one, calculated to produce but little effect bn the discriminating ears of this ex perienced official. “I do not believe that my wife was murdered.” This was what he said. “It was a wicked verdict. My wife killed herself. Wasn't the pistol found tied to her?” Meanwhile a fact which all had not ed and commented on had recurred to my mind and caused me to ask a brother officer who was walking out beside me what he thought of Mr. Moore’s absence from an inquiry pre sumably of such Importance to all members of bis family. The fellow laughed and said: “Old Dave has lost none of his pecul iarities in walking into his fortune. This is his day at the cemetery. Didn't you know that? He trill let nothing on earth get in the way o! his pilgrimage to that spot on the 23d o* May. much less so trivial an occurrence as an in quest over the remains of his nearest relative.” I felt my gorge rise; then a thought ■truck me and I asked bow long the •Id gentleman kept up bis watch “From sunrise to sundown, the boys •ay. I never saw him there myself. My beat lies in an opposite direction." I left him and started for Rock Creek cemetery. There were two good hours yet before sundown and I resolved to • ■■■«« TTncle David at his post. It took just one hour and a quarter to get there by the most direct route I could take, five minutes more to pen etrate the grounds to where a superb vehicle stood, draws by two of the' M the opprobrium naturally falls on Miss Tuttle.” "Miss Tuttle? Ab!” “Since Mr. Jeffrey is proved to have been too far away at the time to have fired that shot, while she”— “I am following you”— “Was in the very house—at the door of the library in fact—and heard the pistol discharged, if she did not dis charge it herself—which some believe, notably the district attorney. You should have been there, Mr. Moore.” He looked surprised at this sugges tion. “I never am anywhere but here on the 23d of May,” be declared. I Uncle David on laia knees at iKa grave "Miss Tuttle needed some adviser.” "Ah. probalily.” "You would Dave been a good one. "And a welcduie one. eh’." finest horses’f had seen in WAshlhgton for many a long day. As I was mak-1 I hardly thouglit he would have beei ing my way around this equipage I 1 welcome one. but I did not admit tl«« t: came upon a plot In a condition of up- f t. Nevertheless lie I, heaval preparatory to new sodding and advantage lu • evidently the planting of several choice shrubs. il!noil and 1 added. . dly In tlie midst of the sand thus exposed rather, witlic mt any Ul' pl.l "Miss Tutt Jo likes me ► VI A I'll ,<• a single headstone rose. On his knees 1.1 lo l>< beside ’this simple monument I saw v Tonics '■«I. (' •erta V tlie figure of Uncle David, dressed in I I mv bls tinest clothes and showing in his < g I w. f on Î 'll oddly contorted face the .atisfactlon her of great pros|>erity battling with the I. A dissatisfaction of knowing that one he I li pi bad so loved Lad not lived to »La,« ..... S! w ni I •? elevation. He was rubbing away the Î1 ». 1 mold from the name which, by bis own •<• when confession, w as the only one to which •d. Her mother’s ha his memory clung in sympathy or en dearment. At his feet lay an op« n basket. In which I detected the remains c.y brother— the girl shall have all she ■(is. I will write her so.” of what must have been a rather lie 1 is moving toward bis earn - sumptuous cold repast. To all «ppcaf- he interrogatively re ••Fine turnout ance he Lad foregone none of bis an cient customs; only those customs bad marked. CHAPTER XVII. MUST ’ admit that It was not en- tlrely ' owing to disinterested mo- fives tluit I now took the secret stand I I did in Miss Tuttle’s favor, 1 dung to my convictions with an al- most insensate persistence, inwardly de daring her the victim of circumstances and imping against hope that some dew would offer Itself by means of which 1 might yet prove her so. Had Mr. Jeffrey's alibi been less com plete he could not have stood up against the suspicions which now ran riot. But there was no possibility of shifting tlie actual crime back to him after the testimony of so frank and trustworthy a man as Tailman. If the •topping of Mrs. Jeffrey’s watch fixed the moment of her death as accurate ly as was supposed—and I never heard the least doubt thrown out in tills re gard-be could not by any means of transit then known in Washington have reached Waveriey avenue In time to fire that shot. The gates of the ceme tery were closed at sundown. Sun down took place that night at one min ute past 7, and the distance into town la considerable. His alibi could not be gainsaid. So his name failed to be publicly broached in connection with the shooting, though his Influence over Miss Tuttle could not be forgotten, suggesting to some that she bad acted as his hand in the deed which robbed him of an undesirable wife. But this I would not believe. I preferred to ac- cept the statement that she bad stop ped short of the library door in her suspicious visit there and that the rib bon tying, which went for so much, had been done at home. Finding myself, with every new con sideration of the tantalizing subject, deeper and deeper In the quagmire of doubt and uncertainty, I sought en llghtenment by making a memoran dum of the special points which must have Influenced the jury in their ver diet, ns witness: first.—The relief shown by Mr. Jef frey at finding an apparent communi cotton from bls wife hinting at suicide Second.—The possibility, disclosed by the similarity between the sisters’ handwriting, of this same commnnlca tlon being a forgery substituted for ibe one really written by Mrs. Jeffrey. Third.-The fact that, previous tò Mr. Jeffrey s handling of the lxs>k In which this communication was said to have been hidden. It bad been seen In Miss Tuttle's bands. I Fourth.—That Itnmwiiatoly after th!» she had passed to tho drawer where Mr. Jeffrey’s pistol was kept. line this pistol had no: ved in her band, there was ' to prove that It had ike.i from tlie draw- wan afforded by her v. 1« «lament that she h.c.l unknown object, presumably to lier sister's wrist before er left the house. That if this was so. the pls- ■il tlie ribbon connecting it with . Jeffrey's wrist hail been handle«! — ¡11 before the former was dlscharg- ul. and by fingers which had first touched dust, cf which there was I lenty in the okl library. Seventh.—That Miss Tuttle had nd milted, though not till after much pre varlcation and apparent subterfuge, that she had extended her walk o: that fatal night not only ns far as the Moore house, but that she had enter ed it and penetrated as far ns the li brary door at tlie very moment tlie shot was fired within. Eighth. That in acknowledging tills she had < .nphatienlly denied having as soclated the tiring of this shot with any idea of harm to her sister; yet was known to have gone from this house in a condition of mind so serious that she failed to recollect the places she visited or the streets site passed through till she found herself again in her sister's house face to face wit. an officer. Nine. That her first greeting of this officer was a shriek, betraying a knowl edge of his errand before he had given utterance to a word. Ten.—That the candles found in tlie Moore house were similar to those bought by Mr. Jeffrey and afterward delivered at Ills kitehen door. Eleven.—Tliat she was tlie only mem her of the household besides tlie cook who was in tlie kitchen at tlie time, and that it was immediately after het departure from the room tliat tlie pack age containing the caudles had been missed. Twelve. That opportunities of com Ing to an understanding with Mr. .!«;’ after ids wife's death had not lacking, and it was not until after opportunities had occurred that serious inquiry into this matter been begun by tlie police. To ■h must be added, not in way of proof, but as an important factor in tlie ease, that I.er manner, never open, was such throughout lier whole pub lic examination as to make it evident to nil that only lialf of wluit hail oc curred iu tlie Jeffreys' house since the wedding had been given out by her or by tlie mail for whose release from 11 disappointing matrimonial entangle ment slie was supposed to have worked, and this though the suspicion hanging over them both called for tlie utmost candor. Verily a serious list, and opposed to this 1 '.lad as yet little to offer but my own belief iu lier innocence and the fact, but little dwelt on and yet not without its value, tliat the money which had couie to Mr. Jeffrey and tlie home wiiieli had been given her had both been forfeited by Mr». Jef frey’s death. As I mused and mused over this Im- promptu synopsis in my vain attempt to rerieli some fresh clew to a proper understanding of the inconsistencies in Miss Tuttle’s conduct by means of my theory of her strut g but mistaken de votion to Mr. .. il' -ey. a light suddenly broke upon me from an entirely tin expected quarter. It was a faint one but any glimmer was welcome. Re membering a remark made by Mr. Jef frey in Ills examination tliat Mrs. Jef frey had ti it been the same since cross ing the fatal doorstep of the Moore house, I asked myself if we had paid enough attention to tlie mental condi tion and conduct of the bride prior to the alarm which threw a pall or hor ror over her marriage, and, caught by the idea, I sought for a fuller aeeouut of the events of that day than had hitherto been supplied by newspaper or witness. Hunting up my friend the reporter. I begged him to tell me where he bad The reporter obtained the facts from which lie made that leading article In the Star which had so startled all Washington on the evening of the Jeffrey wedding. That they had come from some eyewitness I had no doubt, but who was the eye witness? Himself? No. Who then At first he declined to tell me. .‘>nt if er a fuller understanding of my 1. > lives lie mentioned tlie name of a young lady who, while a frequent guest at the most fashionable functions, was not above supplying the papers with such little items of current gossip a* came under her own observation. How I managed to approach thia lady and by wliat means I succeeded in gaining lier confidence ure details quite unnecessary to this narrative. Enough tliat I did obtain nci'css to her nod that she talked quite frankly to me and in so doing supplied me with 11 < lew w ultimately opened up to mean ent new field of inquiry. V’e had lieen disci:Hsing Mr. Jel nml Miss Tuttle when suddenly with no apparent motive beyond tl.o natural love of goss’p, which was her weakness, slie launched out into re marks about ti e brkie. The ceren hnd been late It'd I know it? A hour or threo-«|unr1e"M past the th 1 for It. And why? Because Miss M was not ready. She had el' isen ti ray herself in the bouse ami had <■ early enough for the purpose, but would not accept any assistance even that of her maid, anj of c, there was no more uneasy soul in the whole party that morning than the bride!" I.et oilier people remark upon the high look in Cora ’Tuttle s face or gossip about the anxious manner of tlie bridegroom, site (tlie speaker) could tell things about tlie bride which would go to sliow that »lie was not all right even before that ominous death's head reared itself into view at her marriage festival. Why. the tact that she came downstairs and was married without her bridal bouquet was enough. Had there not been so much else to tulk about, people would have talked about ' that. But the big event hail so eil'ec I tually swallowed up the little that only I herself and possibly two other ladies ; she might mime seemed to retain any memory of the matter. "Wliat ladies?" 1 asked. "Oh, it doesn’t matter what ladles. Two of the very best sort. I know they noticed it. because I heard them talking about it. We were all stand tug in the upper hall and were all crowded into a passage leading to the room where the bride was dressing, it was before the alarm had gone .round of wluit laid I ,-eii discovered in he library, and we were all impatient 'Hough for the .appearance of tlie bride, v ho. we had been told. Intended 'o wear the old point in which her ;reat-gramlniotber was married. I have a we kness for old point and 1 w as determined to stand where 1 could see her come out, even if 1 lost sight of the ceremony itself. But it would have been tedious enough waiting in that close hall if the ladies behind mi' had not kept up a conversation, which I. of course. pretend<*d not to hear. 1 remember it. every word, for it was my sole amusement for half an hour What was it? <>li, it was about that same bouquet, which, by the way, I had the privilege of staring nt all the time they chatted. For tlie boy who brought it had not been admitted Into Miss Moore’s room, and, not knowing wluit else to do with it. was lingering before her door, with the great stream ers falling from his hands, anil the lilies making the whole place heavy with a sickening perfume. From what 1 heard the ladles say, he had been standing there an hour, and the timid knock lie gave from time to time pro duced in me an odd feeling which those ladies behind me seemed to share. “ 'It's a shame!’ I heard one of them cry. ‘Veronica Moore has no excuse for such thoughtlessness. It is an hour now that she has been shut up in her room alone. She won’t have even lier maid In. She prefers to dress alone, she says. Peculiar in a bride, isn’t it? But one thing is certain— she cannot put on her veil without help. She will have to call some one in for that.' At which the other volun teered that tlie Moores were all queer, and that she didn’t envy Francis Jef frey. ‘What! not witli fifty thousand I a year to lighten her oddltlesT return ed her companion with a shrug which communicated itself to me, so closely were we packed together. T have a son who could bear with them under such circumstances.’ Indeed she has, and all Washington knows It, but the remark passed without comment, for they had not yet exhausted the main event, and the person they now attack ed was Miss Tuttle. ‘Why doesn't she come and see that that bouquet is taken in? I declare It’s not decent Mr. Jeffrey would not feel compli mented If lie know the fate of those magnificent lilies and roses, 1 pre- same he furnished tlie bouquet.’ ‘Miss Tuttle has looked out of uei room once,’ I heard tlie other reply ‘She is in splendid beauty today, but pale. But she never could control Ve ronlca.’ ‘Hush! You speak louder liian you think.' This amused me, and I do believe that in another moment 1 should have laughed outright if an other boy had not appeared in tlie hall before us. who, shoving aside the first, rapped on the door with a spirit which called for answer. But he was 110 more successful than the other boy had been. So, being a brisk fellow, with no time for nonsense, he called out: 'Your boll quet, miss, and a message which I am to give yot. before you go downstairs! The gentleman is quite particular about it!’ Those words were literally shout- ed at the door, but III the hubbub of voices about uh I don’t believe any one heard them but ourselves and the bride. I know that she heard them. for she opened the door a very little way- such a very little way that tlie boy liad to put his lips to the crack w hen lie s|>oke and then turn and place his ear where his lips had been in or der to catch her reply. Tills, for some reason, seemed a long time in coming, and the fellow grew so Impatient that I he amused nlmself by snatching the bouquet from the other boy and thrust ing It in through the crack, to the very great detriment of its roses uiiil lilies. When she took it he bawled for ills answer, and when lie got It he stared and muttered doubtfully to himself as he worked his way out i.gnln through the crowd, which by thia time was be- ginning to choke up all the halls and ■talrwaya. "But why have I told you all this nonsense?" she asked quite suddenly. “It Isn't of the least consequence that Veronica Moore kept a l««y waiting at her door while she dressed herself for her wedding, but It shows that she was queer even then, and I for one believe In the theory of suicide, and In tliat alone, and In the excuse she gave for It, too; for if she had really loved Fran cis Jeffrey she would not have been so »low to take in the magnificent hou quet he had provided for her.” I I But comment even from those had known these people well wai what I wanted at this moment, facts; so. without much attentio these words, I said: "You will excuse me If I suggest that you are going on too fast. Tlie door of the bride's room has Just been shut upon the boy who brought her a ine» sage. Wb“ii was It opened again y one had grown nervous ind Mis» le and one or two of lier most Inti- • friends hail gone more than once to her door; not, in fact, till the hour for tlie ceremony had come and gone and Mr. Jeffrey had crossed the ball twice under tlie impre.-si. n that si» was ready for him. Then, wliea weariness was general ami people wen» asking what kept tlie bride and how mill'll longer tl.«y were to be ki’pt wailing, lier door suduetily openeil and 1 « ill- t a g.imps«' of her face and heard her ask at last for her m , .1. < >lx 1 repeat that Ve onica M 1 «■ ■. .. •«. u all right tliat day. mid. though 1 haw heard no one comment on the fact, it has been a mystery to me ever since why slie gave tliat sudden recoil who» Francis Jeffrey took her hand after the benediction, It was not timidity, nor was It fear, for she did not kimvr till a minute afterward what had hap pened ill tlie house. Did some sudd 11 realization of wlmt she had done In marrying a man whom site herself de clared she did not love come when it was too late? What do you think?" Miss Freeman had forgotten herself; bnt tlie impetuosity which had led her Into asking my opinion made iter for get in another moment that site bid done so. Atal when in my turn 1 pro pounded a question and inquire* whether site ever again saw tlie boy who besieged tlie bride's door with a message, she graciously replied: "Tlie boy; let me see. Yes, I saw him twice—once In a back hull talking earnestly to Mr. Jeffrey, and secondly at the carriage door Just before 11» bridal party rode away. 11 wan Mrs. Jeffrey who was talking to him then, and I wondered to see him look sv pleased when everybody In and about the house was pale ns ashes." "Do you know the name of that boy?" I carelessly inquired. "His name? Oh. no. He is one oi Raucher's waiters—tlie curly haired one. You see him everywhere, blit I don’t know Ills name. Do you flatter yourself that he can tell you anything that other people don’t know? Why. if he knew the least thing that wasn’t in everybody’s moutli you woukj have heard from him long ago. Those men are the greatest gossips In« town”—I wonder what she thought of herself— “and so proud to be of any lmpor- tance.” This was true enough, though I did not admit it at the time, and when the interview was closed and > went away I have no doubt she con sidered me quite the most heavy per •! son she had ever met. But tills did not disturb me. The little facts she had stated were new to me, and. re peating my former method, I was al ready busy arranging them in my mind. Witness the result: First.—The ceremony of marriage between Francis Jeffrey and Veronica Moore was fully three-quarters of a» hour late. Second.—This was owing to the ca price of the bride, who would not luive any one In the room with her, not even her maid. Third.—Tlie bridal bouquet did not figure tn the ceremony. In the flurry of the moment It was forgotten or pur posely left behind by tlie bride. As this bouquet wbh undoubtedly tlie gift of Mr. Jeffrey, the fact may be signifl- cant. Fourth.—Site received a message of a somewhat peremptory character lie- fore going below. From whom? Iler bridegroom? It would so appear from the character of the message. Fifth.—The messenger showed gretti astonishment nt the reply he wus given to carry back. Yet he has not been known to mention the mutter. Why? When every one talked lie was silenL Through whose Influence? This waa something Io find out. Sixth.—Though at the time ’.lie bene diction was pronounced every one wua in a state of alarm except tlie bride, it was noticed that she gave an Involun tary recoil when her bridegroom sloop- ed for the customary kiss. Why? Were the lines of her hiHt farewell true then, and did she experlen ■<• at tlint moment a sudden realization of her lack of love? Seventh.- Site dld not go again up Htiilrs, but very soori Ilei! frolli the bouse with thè rest of thè brillai party Petty faets all, but possil>!y more 1 significati! ilian appeured. I niadi !e up my mimi to fimi thè tmy wiio bro »ught thè 1 ■ ! alno thè «me wiio > CHP- rled liues ,,«•.' messnge. But bere a smprlse, if not a o! bis place, nml n<> one conili leil w he had gene Nelther conili I tin i citrly h.ilred waiter at Ru m Li .'s. «otti loft al so. Imt II wns to Joln thè uijteera at Su 11 Antonio, CONTINUED Fire L as P i d The Iocs of Mrs. Bettie E. ' ptin y's t«nrr>on June 10 (insnrai North British insurance Comp was paid in full today. The .’ IkitL. pay» promptly. Giv« in«uranrr, I. N. Harbaugh, Ag«>- j I r t