Sheriff Ben Cabell and his subordinates have made an arrest that is considered by himself and others as an unusually important capture and one that may lead to the clearing up of the mystery surrounding an old crime.

     In 1883, Henry Kirk, whose relatives now reside near Forney, was employed on the old Bagley farm near Mesquite. One evening, he left the farm in company with one W. F. Anderson, also a young farm hand. Anderson returned; Kirk was never seen again. His friends searched high and low for the missing man without success. Time quieted their anxiety and interest in the mysterious disappearance finally died out. Seven or eight years ago, W. F. Anderson moved away from the Mesquite neighborhood. Strange as it may seem, Anderson had always managed to divert suspicion from himself, and it was generally believed that Henry Kirk, actuated by some strange impulse, had fled the country.

     A month ago, on the old Bagley farm, in a deep thicket, a skeleton was found. The skull had been perforated by a bullet, and within the skull, the leaden missile was found. It was identified as the skeleton of Henry Kirk, the unfortunate farmer, who had been lured to death ten years ago. Sheriff Cabell took the case in hand and received a telegram from the sheriff of Miller county, Arkansas, saying that Anderson was in jail in that county and to "come and get him."

     The sheriff has gathered a mass of evidence which he believes fastens the crime upon Anderson. It is claimed that Anderson shot Kirk to death in the thicket on the night they were last seen together in 1883, and the next morning procured a grubbing hoe, excavated a shallow grave in the underbrush and laid away the body of his victim. He afterward made away with Kirk's gold watch and other valuables.
     Deputy Sheriff Bob Ellis was sent to Texarkana for the prisoner, and this morning, arrived in Dallas with Anderson, whom he placed in jail. Anderson is about 40 years old, and has been absent from Dallas county most of the time since Kirk was murdered.
     Among the testimony in Sheriff Cabell's possession is the confession of a man who claims to have witnessed the killing of Kirk by Anderson. Sheriff Cabell declines to divulge for publication the name of this witness, for reasons readily apparent.