"His name has been found registered at the National Hotel."
Turning over the files, I next came upon the following despatch from
Denver:
"The sudden death in Washington of Wallace Pfeiffer, one of our best
known and most respected citizens, is deeply deplored by all who
knew him and his unfortunate mother. He is the last of her three
sons, all of whom have died within the year. The demise of Wallace
leaves her entirely unprovided for. It was not known here that Mr.
Pfeiffer intended to visit Washington. He was supposed to go in
quite the opposite direction, having said to more than one that he
had business in San Francisco. His intrusion into the house of
Miss Moore during the celebration of a marriage in which he could
have taken no personal interest is explained in the following
manner by such as knew his mental peculiarities: Though a merchant
by trade and latterly a miner in the Klondike, he had great
interest in the occult and was a strong believer in all kinds of
supernatural manifestations. He may have heard of the unhappy
reputation attaching to the Moore house in Washington and,
fascinated by the mystery involved, embraced the opportunity
afforded by open doors and the general confusion incident to so
large a gathering to enter the interesting old place and investigate
for himself the fatal library.
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