ht with
them, and suggesting that some novel explosive of immense and
pulverizing power might have been concealed in it. The obvious
absurdity, however, of supposing that the whole train might be blown to
dust while the metals remained uninjured reduced any such explanation
to a farce. The investigation had drifted into this hopeless position
when a new and most unexpected incident occurred.

This was nothing less than the receipt by Mrs. McPherson of a letter
from her husband, James McPherson, who had been the guard on the
missing train. The letter, which was dated July 5th, 1890, was posted
from New York and came to hand upon July 14th. Some doubts were
expressed as to its genuine character but Mrs. McPherson was positive
as to the writing, and the fact that it contained a remittance of a
hundred dollars in five-dollar notes was enough in itself to discount
the idea of a hoax. No address was given in the letter, which ran in
this way:

MY DEAR WIFE,--

"I have been thinking a great deal, and I find it very hard to give you
up. The same with Lizzie. I try to fight against it, but it will
always come back to me. I send you some money which will change into
twenty English pounds. This should be enough to bring both Lizzie and
you across the Atlantic, and you will find the Hamburg boats which stop
at Southampton very good boats, and cheaper than Liverpool. If you
could come here and stop at the Johnston House I would try and send you
word how to meet, but things are very difficult with me at present, and
I am not very happy, finding it hard to give you both up. So no more
at present, from your loving husband,

"James McPherson."

For a time it was confidently anticipated that this letter would lead
to the clearing up of the whole matter, the more so as it was
ascertained that a passenger who bore a close resemblance to the
missing guard had travelled from Southampton under the name of Summers
in the Hamburg and New York liner Vistula, which started upon the 7th
of June. Mrs. McPherson and her sister Lizzie Dolton went across to
New York as directed and stayed for three weeks at the Johnston House,
without hearing anything from the missing man. It is probable that
some injudicious comments in the Press may have warned him that the
police were using them as a bait. However, this may be, it is certain
that he neither wrote nor came, and the women were eventually compelled
to return to Liverpool.

A