Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1847-01-21

II
~ Of the scbeme ia which he had sufF.,ea
himself 10 become ilsolsed. until eon,;a.
cradle time bad elspsed. and The excite.
meet OF The Transaction had 10 = me.snr.
sHbsided; not ill Thea did Mrs ". dare
to disclose 10 him lhssluIl depth Of her
guilt Bot 10 Iesumsfhe oarrslise \, ths
poiEt where we left IL, the robbery :,
Tfebion. Alter the. remainder o, The
money had been safely coocealed sbou,
the person Of Mrs. WI. The alarm was DIV.
en-. and the exteni Of The robbery Ga.
shown by The rent aud rifled porla auseau
the house was SEARCHED, 10 ividual, apnre
I hended upon suspicion. rewards were Of.
Tered. tad every measure which the Ter.
iile mind Q: Mrs could invent, 10
giss plausibility TO tie statement was css
ried into effect. As We may suppose. I'll
wss Intellectual for The recovery OF the
money. The missing iunds were missing
still
I After the return Of Mr.. and Mrs. W.
10 WalerloEn. in great sPpareot dejec-
ton at. The loss of such an amount OF mo
ney. their plain unyarnishe d tale, r agree
log perfectly when told by either. their
veil affected sorrow. and above all the
character resiously sustained by Mr.. w.
for honesty and tegriiy. left to The mia a
Of most no room Tor doubts Of the truth OF
their statement. The bondsmen oil Mr..
| W., though ruined in property, deemed
II policy to affect to believe The whole, a,
least till some discovery might be made
to justify suspicion. Abou, this time 30
invalid officer Of the army at S4ckett's
Hatbor, moi being sble TO perform bis du
tys4 came to Walef,own Tor medical aid
and took lodgings 10 the family Of MIR
( WI Ia . few days after his arIiyal he
died. His remains were inferred in a
decent manner, and IS The place Of bis
nativity was not known, and 20 friend
wasthsre 10 honorbis memory with tear,
he vas soon forgotten.
The exceedingly ssollen-and unnatural
state Of his Body excited remark but il
was attributed 10 disease. A few days
after his decesse. Mrs W. went toa mer-
chant 10 an adjacen, village and request.
ed bin TO receive as lean $500 She
said il was present 10 her children, from
friend. and she did not wi.h Mr.. w. 10
know anything Of the matter. This cir.
cumstance is mentioned tere in conse.
quence Of the indirect bearing il has 90
the sequel Of our tale. But 10 return -
Judge X was near neighbor Of Mr. w.
and a very familiar man 10 his habits; he
often visited bis house al the most unex.
pected hours; and though he discovere d
nothing that would have excited suspicion
Of alless perceptive mind. he saw many
things that forced Upon him the conyic
ton thai the lost money must be 10 their
POSSESSION.
Though both would converse with per
fact ease on the subject oilheir misfortune,
and lament with apparent sincerity their
loss. still a guilty conscience would be.
tray itself. 10 some slight way no, percep
rihle 10 the multitude Accordingly he
left bis chamber unknown 10 SIS wife
{wbo BY reason Of i'll health occupied an
other bed 10 the same room) and Tor four.
teen nights 10 succession lay upon the pi
azza Of Mr. VS. house; directly under
the window Of their sleeping apartment.
He could perceive them talking in o
j low tore at all times Of the night. but so
indisiinctly that ne could make out noih-
ing Of any consequence. However. by
some means or other. he came TO the con-
clusion that they were about 10 leave The
country and he Immediately determine
ed upon a desperate effort to ascertain the
correctness Of his suspicious. According
ly be inparie6 10 Mr.. F., bis associate
bontnsp, . full account Of ell he bad been
witness 10. and his strong belief that they
had, or knew something Of the money. -
They Immediately concerted plan 10
test the truth OF their suspicious; as q
precautionary measure, physician Of
eminence was consulted as TO how long
person might be kept uuder water and
oe resuscitated. As il might be that the
were about 10 remove. no delay ia exc.
cutting the scheme was considered safe.
The same morning. therefore. Judge K
sent 10 Mr.: W., wishing him TO come 10
Sis house some time 10 the day. and make
a 6nal settlement.
| About II O'Clock Mr.. w. srrived 81
the house Of the Judge. and under. the
preience of tatkiog The matter over free
from interruptions be proposed walk.
They. 10 company with Mr.. F.. lett the
house and proceeded across the lois 10
ward piece Of woods. They walked on
hll they were nearly half mile from any
house, and had come 10 the side Of mud
dy brook. entirely hidden from view by
surrounding bills asd woods. Wholly
unsuspicious OF what awaiied him. what
must have been Mr.. VS. asionishmeni
when Judge K. stepped before him. and
with counlensnce and in tone Of voice
not 10 Be misundersiood, told him the 10
tent for which they bad brought him
There, aud charged him with the embez
zlernen. Of $50 900 Of public money their
1. asons for thinking 50. and telling bin j
he did not disclose where il vas they
would drown him on the spot. Unawed
by these threats. the hardened man. with
Ia look Of innocence. exclaimed. II know
Ino,hips Of The mauer." No sooner Va,
this said than, with .. prompiness ehirac'
lteristic 81 the man. Judge. 4 throwing
of bis coat. seized Mr.. W. and plugged
him into the water.
Il Mr.. held a watch. and counted g.
I conds. thai they might not drown the
4 man. After a. much time had slspssd
8, could With safety 10 the onhappy man
IS Wa raised from The wafer. L wa
Il ,ome lime before be could spsik xbul
i aked Be did. Il was only 70 protest bic IN
lnocsncs. but 10 . msnner. and tons q