The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1877-05-25
Miscellaneous.
THE MODEL DETECTIVE.
BEING THE ONLY TRUE ACCOUNT OF THE
FATE OF PAUL PIERA.

"Murder will out, sometime, sure p' ex-
claimed Daniel Wonder, to a few hearers,
as he laid down paper from which he had
just been reading aloud case of mysterious
murder, the perpetrator of which had been
discovered after years ofingenious and tortu-
Gus search. 81 have many time noticed it,
1t is according to the laws of nature, and
must be so, if not right off, by-and.by ; if
not to-day, tomorrow, next day, then a year
ten, fifty, perhaps hundred years hence.
The murder and the murderer are sure to
come out If was on a plank alone with
a man in the middle of the ocean, and was
murder him, and sink him, with no ship in
sight couldn't feel safe Some time or
other something would bring me out. If !
didn't tell of myself, asleep or awake, his
bones would rise, Or"
"Or his sperrit? ?" suggested somebody.
"No; l don't believe in spirits-but his
bones, clothes, or the plank-or it might be
somebody was looking at me from ship out
of sight, through powerful spyglass, or
perhaps from another plank, or perhaps
happening to pass by overhead in a silk
balloon, and see me do it-and so | should
feel sure / was not safe until at last | was
led out to be hung. You see there is always
a chain of evidence between the murderer
and the murdered. Itmay be short or long.
| 1t may be broken into many separate links;
but in time one man picks up one link here,
| another link there, and another, and so on
until all the links are found and put together
and they are strong enough to hang the
man."
at does seem So" said one of the listen
ers, in thoughtful awe,
"Seems so 1t is so I always know that
murder will out, and have seen many singu-
lar cases of it. But the most singular case
ever heard of was the fate of Paul Piera
of Mosscreek. clerk in dry goods store
and so covered up, according to report, that
no evidence was supposed to be left of it
He was unexpectedly missed one day, and
his body was not found till three years after.
ward. People gave up all hopes Of hearing
about the poor fellow, how he came to death
or where, or what for, or who or where hi,
murderer was until traveller came TO Moss
creek and hearing of the murder of pool
Paul Piera, he undertook to find the body
or at least the real criminal, and bring hin
to justice. This travellers name was Solo
mon Foxpaw, and he prided himself on his
detective powers-his penetration and per
severance-and he had restless, rolling
staring, snappy kind of eye, that seemed t.
take in everything about him at glance
People wished him success, but they didn'
expect it. But he didn't care for what theN
expected. He set to work to find some link
for chain of evidence"
"But don't see"
"You can't see anything yet. You mus
wait and see. solomon Foxpaw made in
quiries for a month, but ascertained jus
about nothing which would lead to the frs
link. He then sat down reflected alone 70
three days and finally he said to himsel
Here is piece ofwoods out here, and Pau
Piera was said to be poorly, What NOR
likely than he should walk in the woods fc
] his health-and there be murdered ?"