Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1870-07-28
The Romance of Crime

From the Louisville Commercial, July is.
Last week there occurred in Bullitt
| county strange affair. which is as We
unsolved in its particulars, but which
was one those very peculiar transac
tions that seem to have no motive. A
widow lady, with a daughter some Is
years of age, lived near Mount Wash
ington. They were without male pro
tectors, and lived quietly and securely
One day the old lady received some
$4,000 in payment of an old account
and locked it up in her trunk. The
night following was dark and gloomy
and one that wonld. d.cause people natur.
ally to bar and lock doors and windows
and cause one to hesitate to open them
TO stranger. Toward night an old,
bent up, deerepit man came to the door,
and on it being opened asked for shelter
for the night. The widow told him she
was alone, with no men folks about the
house, and she disliked to take stran-
ger under her roof The old man said
he was stranger, poor, decrepit and
destitute, and only asked for shelter
from the approaching night.
The lady acceded to his request, and
in due time he was shown to his room
up stairs. The night grew darker out
side, and the widow and her daughter
were preparing to retire, when heavy
knock came upon the door, and voices
of men outside were heard demanding
admittance in threatening tones. Ter
riiied, Knowing the danger of possessing
such large sum of money, the widow
concluded that the parties outside were
confederates of the man to whom she
had given shelter. Acting upon this
suspicion, with trembling limbs, she
ran up stairs and locked the door of the
suspicious stranger. Returning down
stairs, she heard the blow of an axe on
the door, and as she reached the foot of
the stairs, encountered the man she
supposed she had locked safely in the
room. No longer decrepit, bent and
feeble, the stranger stood upright and
assumed stalwart proportions. The gray
hair, the trembling voice, had gone,
and instead was q man of powerful
build and determined mien. Believing
that all was lost, the widow exclaimed,
You know what I've got; I'll give it
upI"
The stranger, instead of acceding to
the terrified woman's offer, replied,
Don't annoy me; go into your room,
and I'll protect you" He held in his
hand rifle he had teken from the rack,
and as the blows of the assailant's axe
fell fast upon the door, pushed the wild
ow into her room.
The door gave way, and the first man
that entered was shot by the stranger,
who grasped the falling body and pulled
it inside the door. He then pulled the
door wide open and fired again, killing
another of the assailants. The party
turned to fly, and another of their num-
ber received n shot from the valiant
stranger.
The attacking party having fled, the
door was secured, and the affrighted in
mates took occasion to examine the
features of the dead robber, who proved
to be the son-in-law and neighbor of the
widow.
In the morning another man was
found, leaning over the fence, with his
arms thrown over the rails, dead. Nor
tally wounded, his failing strength had
carried him to the fence, where, in sup |
porting himself, he died.
The stranger gave himself up to a
magistrate, who examined into the case
he stranger refusing to give either his
name, place of residence, or the nature
If his business. The magistrate ordered |
his discharge, and the mysterious stran-
ger departed. Who he was, why he
'ssumed the disguise he did on that
light, what was the nature of his busi-
less, or whittier he went, is a mystery
lot yet explained, and comment would
" superfluous.