The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1865-01-06
not familiar TO him.

1
that had entered his breast. The attorney
said it looked remarkable suspicious, We,
sill they might have meant no barm
The attorney added:
g If such plot did exist il does so no
longer at leas: it canno, affect you; for
what would Morris Obdye gain By your
| death 2" r
TRUE" replied Simonds, 4 need not
fear anything from him"
| Yet in two weeks from this converse
ton, Charles Simonds was found sitting in
his chair in the library, stone dead He
had been sho, through the heart, the ball
entering his back
lie must have been dead many hours
before the servant discovered him, and
the strangest part Of the affair vas, that
none Of them heard tbs report OF the pis
toll or gun.
He entered his library after supper, and,
as WAS his usual custom, sa. their reading.
until the hour for retiring was
eleven o'clock. They discovered his dead
body in the morning, and at once gave the
alarm.
All these particulars Mr.. Croft related
to me, and he had little faith in my ability
to make any more out of the affair than
he had doue.
| reached the mansion, and at once en-
tered upon he business that brought me
there. / examined the room where the
murder had been committed, and discov-
cred that Mr.. Simonds had been sitting
with his back towards the window at the
time he was shot. and SO true had been
the aim, that the ball sped through the
heart, completely severing it IN two as
was asceEtained by post mortem examin,
alton.
A broken pane of glass in the library
window attested whence toe shot came.
The library was on the second floor and
situated In the north wing Of the mansion.
10 gain access TO this window-the only
one the room COMMUNICATIVE murderer
must have encountered great difficulty,
unless he used ladder to reach it.
There was one other way. which was to
climb to the window by the !eaden water
spout. | examined the ground beneath
the window, and could see no sign of
ladder having been placed there; nor a
trace OF footsteps was visible, and came
to the conclusion that recourse was had
! to the spout.
procured ladder, and placed it be-
side the water spout, and made careful
examination Of 1t from the ground up to
the library window.
! was soon assured tia: the murderer
had made of that means to reach tue win
dow. The lead was soft and yielding, and
II bore the tiuger marks Of the assassin
each finger having made AZ impression on
| the metal
When had finished this part of the
examination, sat down and pondered well
over the matter. | had made two very
/ important discoveries !; one was the assas-
siu must have fired tie weapon with his
left hand for was perfectly convinced
that no man could have held himself by
the water spout with the left hand, and
reach the window with the right, so as to
/ enable him t. FIRE at aD Object in the mia
die Of the room, where Mr.. Simonds in
yariabIy sat while reading, and where he
was found seated hen discovered in the
morning. Now, what could | deduct
from THIS circumstance, but the fact that
the assassin vas lef: handed Ny reason
tor the conviction was GOO one None
but lct'-hande1 person could have made
so fatal SHOT from the position he must
necessarily have occupied at the time, and
/ that he knew bow TO use the weapon was
also manifcst, for no chance shot could
have laen so fatal in a thousand trials
This, then, was conclusive evidence, and
! though | made The discovery, ccmmuul-
catel il 10 no ore.
The ether discovery was no less i'm
porlant. The man who climbed " the
spout had but three fingers on the right
hand This was plainly seen by the fin
ger marks on the metal; the spout wa,
marked bu, in four places by the right
hand,-the thumb and three fingers, the
index finger VAS gone.
l gave Instructions not to allow any one
to NEEDLE with the spout, and dopu,ized
constable 10 see that my orders were
strictly obcyed.
next questioned the servants of the
late Mr.. Simonds, four in number, and
ELECTED the following information
op the evening previous to the finding
Of the dead body of Mr., Simonds, fe>
male medicant stopped at the mansion,
and requested permission to stop over
night. The woman, delicate looking
creature, seemed much worn GU, bv her
tramp during the dav, and the kind hearted
cook babe her stay, at the same time ask
ing her to take a cup Of tea, and some
thing 10 eat.
The poor creature was half starved, and
ate ravenousl Y ;safter satisfying her hun
ger, she laid down on bed the cook had
prepared on the floor for her and in q
short time fell asleep.
The woman had a small black travelling
valise with her, which she placed under
her head before y ing down.
Next morning, the woman had gone be
fore any one else had arisen, and, strange
to say, see had left The black valise lying
in some bushes in the rear of the house.
1t was not discovered until after the de-
parsnre of Mr.. Croft, the detective.
I instantly asked to see the vaIise; it
was produced, and broke the lock with
out hesitation, hoping | might get some
further clue to the perpetrators that this
probably pretended) medicaut was an ac-
complIce Of