The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1877-12-04
w BLOOMFIELD, PA TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1877.


evening in question--November 5th,
Is. You were not, then, a wealthy
banker; your name had never been
heard on change. You possessed one
thousand dollars which you wished to
invest in some business in the city. You
had wife and daughter to labor for and
was, consequently, anxious to invest
your capital to the best possible advan-
tage. An opening presented itself to
you, by which you might perhaps in
crease your capital q hundred-fold; in
short, you contracted that most danger
Gus disease, the gaming fever. You
played at certain saloon in the Bowery-
which has, since then, become extinct.
For several evenings you were there
promptly at eight o'clock; was there,
too, and watched you. You played
with varying success. One evening, l
remember, you left the place with five
thousand dollars in your pocket. 1t
would have been well for you had you
stopped then; but you did not. The
next evening you entered the room again
the fever was upon you, and l, then an
experienced gamester, said to myself
that you would not quit until you had
lost all. And 1 was right; before you
left the place that night you were penni-
less-ruined. But there was one way to
retrieve your fortune, one chance, and
you grasped it eagerly, thoughtless, of
all save the passion of the hour. Among
the heaviest winners of the evening was
young man, Egbert Darrell by name,
frequenter of the place, with whom you
had speaking acquaintance; and who
on this evening had won more than you
had lost. You had noticed his success,
and you determined lowell, my dear
Bentley, hate to use harsh words; but
you determined to rob and murder this
man. You followed him from the sa-
loon to the EXTREMIST east end of the
city; he was on his way to the Fulton
ferry. When almost there you suddenly
came behind him and dealt him heavy
blow on the head, telling him instantly
to the sidewalk. Then you rifled his
pockets of all they contained, and TAX
ing his body in your arms, ran to the
end of the pier near which the-well,
excuse me, Bentley-the murder had
taken place, and tossed itinto the water.
The night was very dark, and terrible
storm was raging, so you felt certain
that you had not been seen. Three
weeks after the tide brought mutilated
corpse to the foot of pier-East river,
which was identified as the body of the
man you had murdered. The coroner's
jury gave a verdict satisfactory to all
concerned ). the man was buried by his
relatives; but, Bentley, the secret was
not as you thought, buried with him.
With the six thousand dollars of which
you thus became possessed you estab-
lished business which has prospered
wonderfully; and now youa Million
aire, one of New York's solid men. Ha
-ha-ha! My dear Bentley, you're a
smart man and have done very well.
No doubt you thought that trifling in
discretion of yours, which the law terms
murder, known only to yourself; but,
you see, am acquainted with all the
particulars of the affair. Deny it, if you
can.'
And with cool, audacious laugh, the
stranger leaned back in his chair and
placidly surveyed the pale and trembling
banker.
Making great effort, Edward Bent
ley arose, and said:
Sir, am at loss to know why you
have come to me with this story. 1t is
false from the beginning to the end.
Leave my house this instant, or l will
summon servant to eject YOU"
Do so, if you think best, my dear
Bentley" returned the stranger, with a
sinister smile; 'and L shall Immediately
proceed to the nearest police station and
repeat the little story with which have
just entertained you; and perhaps it VIII
be better appreciated there than it has
been by you. In fact, L don't know but
/ had better have gone there in the first
place; but, knowing that you were a
patron of literature and the arts, L
thought / would give you chance to
make terms for my little story. But no
matter, my dear boy, no matter; pray
accept my apologies for having thus
wearied you. Au reUoir, Edward, not
ddieu, for we shall meet again ere
long"
The stranger was leaving the room,
when the banker cried: