Abducted by a German Spy or a Clever Story to a Explain a Missed Date?

A US Marshall turned a letter over to the BOI Agent.  The letter was found by an unnamed man who stated he found the letter stuck in a glove in the middle of the street at West Temple & 1st North Street.

“I am in the hands of German Spie.  God let me write this before I forget.  They are going to send me west and bury me in salt so I will keep they said.  I met them at the Army Club.  Thought I was their spie.  They shot me when I wouldn’t tell them, they shoot me.  I wish it had been a bullet so it would have finished me then.  O God, how I hurt.”  

Read the rest of this letter and decided for yourself if Riley Wood was telling the truth.

Riley Wood was on his way to the Wilkes Theatre to meet his sweetheart Miss Camille Evans.  Evans left a ticket for Wood who was to join her later at the theatre. When he left the Army Club Wood spoke with two men standing by a car.  After exchanging pleasantries one of the men put his hand over Wood's face and caused him to go unconscious.  

When he came to in a large automobile the men questioned him for information about the number of men in the guard house, about the prison guards, and about the communication wires around the prison.  When the kidnappers learned that Wood was not their intended target they shot more powder in his face and Wood was unconscious again.  After coming to Wood found himself in a basement where he believed he stayed Saturday night and all day Sunday.  Wood passed in and out of consciousness as he wrote the letter discovered in a glove.  When Wood regained consciousness he was in an automobile; he could not speak and he felt paralyzed.   He put the letter he had written in a glove and dropped the glove. 

On Monday the men took Wood out once again.  Wood was able to grab the smaller of the two and escape from the car while it was moving.  As he was running from the men he became unconscious and came to on a curb west of Liberty Park.  He hitched a ride to the car line and took a street car to the home of his sweetheart's and her mother Mrs. Samuel Evans.  Wood went blind at their home and when he came to in the house he called Corporal Park at the Fort. 

Wood described his captors as one tall well dressed man with gray blue eyes and a much smaller man with a dark complexion and a Charlie Chaplin like mustache.

Colonel Hayden the Doctor at the Fort examined Wood but could see no sign of any drugs that might have been used.   The Doctor was not aware of any drug that would cause instant unconsciousness as Wood described.  The only thing he knew of that could cause this effect was prussic acid, which would mean instant death.  Gasses used in on the battle field might cause unconsciousness quickly but the after effects would be extremely bad and the boy showed signs of side effects at all.

The BOI Agent points out several inconsistencies in Wood's story.   After further investigation and conferring with the US Attorney it was the general opinion that Riley Wood "had concocted the story in order to save himself from censure and being placed in the Guard House at the Fort, and in order to square himself with his sweetheart."