It was stated in a former chapter that Mr. Smith accompanied Detective Carpenter to Marlboro, Mass., when he went in search of Kelly. Mr. Carpenter "on his own responsibility," went to Mr. Brady, to ask permission for him to do so, and the following leave of absence was sent to Mr. Smith:
"W. W. Smith, Esq., Sutton Junction.
"Dear Sir,—You may go on No. 11, Conductor will have pass for you.
"Sinclair will be at Sutton Junction on No. 15 to-night to take charge during your absence. O'Regan must look after the business this P. M.
"F. P. Brady.
"Farnham, Aug. 20th, 1894."
As this leave of absence was indefinite as to time, and Mr. Smith was engaged with the assault case for several days after his return from Marlboro, the court having opened on Sept. 1st, he had not yet resumed work at Sutton Junction, when on the evening of September 3d he addressed a temperance meeting at Richford, Vermont. The next day Mr. Brady, who seemed to keep remarkably well informed as to the whereabouts of his agent when off duty, wrote Mr. Smith as follows, labelling this letter like the previous one, "personal:"
"W. W. Smith, Esq., Agent, Sutton Junction.
"Dear Sir,—I wrote you on July 9th with reference to what you must do if you remained in the employ of this Company. I am aware that last night you delivered a temperance lecture at Richford; this leads me to think that you propose to ignore entirely the wishes of this Company, and do as you see fit. If such is the case you will oblige me by sending me your resignation by the first train, and vacating the Company's premises at Sutton Junction at the earliest possible moment so that they can be occupied by the new agent.
"Yours truly,
"F. P. Brady, Asst. Supt.
Farnham, Sept. 4th, 1894."