The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1866-11-03

hat, a lantern that used to look to the
house fastenings before going to bed
and small but efficient revolver, re-
joined Peters. He had meanwhile been
joined by the patrOlmen on the beat
whom Peters desired to remain outside
No. 80, and if we whistled to rap fol
help.
Cautiously stepping into the dark pas
sage, we nearly closed the door behind
us, and began our search. There were
two rooms on the first floor, and we look
ed over them thoroughly. Next the base
ment, also of two oroOms. But in neither
of the four was there any unusual ap-
pearance of any kind. And then we re-
solved to go up stairs.
am not nervous man, think, but
there was something about those stairs
that made me feel strange. l looked
Peters in the face, and he me, as we
placed our feet on the first step. We
both knew that some horror was in store
for us. I saw'in his eyes the strange di-
lation with which men gaze at sudden
accident. And the dog heard MS too, fol
it began to yell frantically and to spring
at door as if it would tear it down,
We both know that the room in which
the dog was-a small hall bedroom
must contain something. But we
searched all the upper portion OF the
house before that room. .At last we
stood before its closed and apparently
locked door. "Shall we knock" said l.
"No matter, and less HARM" he answer,
ed; and he gave one solid blow upon the
door that sounded like thunder-clap as
it echoed all over the house. The dog
sank into instant silence.
Take the light" said Peters. did
so He then put his left arm behind his
back, and, so to speak, concentrating
his whole weight and strength in his left
shoulder, flung himself full against the
door; as it flew open, he staggered almost
headlong in.
What had we come to seei A room
dabbled over-tioor, walls, furnitnro-
with blood. A dog with blazing eyes
and bloody feet glaring from beneath a
lounge. A bed unslept in, but bloody.
And in large and heavy chair, a wo-
man sitting bound hand and foot, and by
cords passing round her body, with her
head dropping forward upon her breast.
And as we lifted her head we saw hid
eous cash that had cut her throat from
ear to ear.
A policeman is but man. i have
found some of the most humane men L
ever knew among the force, and Peters
was one of them. He was horrOr-struck, {,
and could not articulate word. Point
ing to the street and to his mouth, l
knew that was to do what he could not
contract his lips to do-whistle to the
patrolman in the street. / did so at
once, and in another minute or two we
were joined by two other officers.
/ pass over what followed, briefly.
The house was taken possession OF by
the police; the dog was carefully re-
moved and secured; and i'll due time
there came the inquest, with its inevl-
table verdict of "Wilful murder by
some person or persons unknown" and
private and public enquiries of the most
searching description for the murderers.
Money was the object of the crime, for
broken desk was found, and from a
private record it was discovered that
bank notes to large amount had been
kept in it, but were missing. As for
the girl that had been arrested and set
free, she was not heard of again, al
though all the resources of the police
were taxed to the utmost to find her
whcrabouts. And the murder at No. 39
remained a mystery Which it seemed
would never be solved. The only relic
of the case was the dog, which took q
fancy to, and brought to my house.
Bob-that was the name gave him
became quite a curiosity for time,
and was looked upon rs a historical char
acter. This, too, soon died away. And
when five years later, l took house
several miles back of Jersey City, in
one of the localities just becoming pop
ular, the terrible story of how our OPP
posite neighbor died was very seldom
thought of.