The next day I called upon Miss Ware and acquainted her with the result of my investigations. She evinced little surprise, remarking that Doyle's story simply confirmed her first impressions of the man, and it was obvious to me, judging from the correctness of her diagnosis of his case, that a woman's intuition is an element that must always be reckoned with.
We were considerably surprised to learn later, as were also those familiar with Doyle's meteoric career, that he was unceremoniously relieved from duty—or "bounced," to use a rough expression—at the request of his superior officer. It was really too bad that a person of his brilliant attainments should meet such a discouraging reward, but of such is the kingdom of fate, and it is a notorious fact that republics are ungrateful!
No sooner had the Doyle episode become a closed incident, than Miss Ware became the center of attraction for the entire Secret Service Department of the Government. She received numerous visits from strange men who had suddenly developed a quickening of the pulse over her manifold charms, among the number being George Burns, son of the man who has become famous the world over for his sleuthful tactics. Young Burns played the devoted lover act for all it was worth, and then retired, after a week's effort, a sadder, if not a wiser, man, having signally failed in his attempts to secure anything like a confession from Marie.
His father, William J. Burns, then assumed personal charge of the case, and to him may be given the credit of securing an admission from Miss Ware that frauds had been perpetrated. She offered to make a complete confession upon conditions which made it impossible for Burns to accept. She agreed to reveal to him every detail connected with the fraudulent transactions, of which she had personal knowledge, provided, however, that he should give her a written stipulation from Judge Bellinger that immunity from punishment should be granted to Horace G. McKinley, with whom she had long been in love, and whom she expected to marry as soon as he could obtain a divorce from his wife. Although a personal friend of mine, she demanded no reservation in my behalf, but she insisted to the last that McKinley should not be prosecuted. Mr. Burns, of course, declined to entertain Miss Ware's proposition, as he was after both McKinley and myself, and his heart was set on convicting us both, which Heney succeeded in doing, notwithstanding Marie's refusal to make a confession.
After my interview with her I telephoned for Dan W. Tarpley to come down from Salem for the purpose of conferring with me relative to the situation, he being one of our chief lieutenants. In discussing the matter with "Lookout Dan," as we called him, I received information that William J. Burns had a regular army of Secret Service men in the field, and that he had personally directed the investigations that had been made during the summer months, and which were still being conducted at that time.
Tarpley likewise told me that Burns had brought out civil engineers from the General Land Office at Washington, D. C., who had surveyed each quarter section of land involved in the frauds in Township 11-7, and who had also taken various photographs of the topography of each claim, in order to show the utter impossibility of any portion of them ever having been cultivated, as set forth in the different final proofs. This information Tarpley gained from confederates at Detroit, Ore., the nearest town to the 11-7 claims.
He also learned that Burns' men had been "sweating" Robert B. Montague, deputy county clerk of Linn county, Ore., before whom six of the ten entrymen had filed and made final proof, and in addition had interviewed Dr. Frank H. Walgamot, of Portland, and Thomas R. Wilson, of Salem, both of whom were 11-7 entrymen. Tarpley stated that he was in no position to give me the result of these interviews, and advised me to call on the gentlemen named and learn the facts from them.
Meeting Wilson in Portland shortly afterwards, he proceeded to relate his experiences with Government agents. My acquaintance with Wilson beganPage 131
