, 1877-09-07
The Model Detective.
BY WILLIAM o. EATON.

"Murder will ont, some time, surew
exclaimed Daniel Wonder to few hear
ers, as he laid down paper from which
he had just been reading aloud a case of
mysterious murder, the perpetrator of
which had been discovered after years of
ingenious and tortuous search. II have
many time noticed it. 1t is according
to the laws of nature, and must be so, if
not right off, then by -and-by; if not to-
day, tomorrow, next day, then year,ten,
fifty, perhaps hundred years hence The
murder and the murderer are sure to come
out. If I was on a plank alone with
man in the middle of the ocean, and was
to murder him and sink him, with no slip
in sight-I shouldn'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, orb
''Or his sperrit3" assisted somebody.
"No; | don't believe in spirits but his
bones, clothes, or the pIank-or il might
be somebody might be looking at me
from ship out of sight, through pow
erful spy-g'ass, or perhaps from cnothcr
plank, or perhaps happening t. pass
by overhead in a silk balloon, and
see me do it--and so | should fee sure /
was not safe until at last was led out to
be hung. You see there is always chain
of evidence between the murderer and
the murdered. 1t may be short or long.
J It may be broken into many separate
links; but in time one man picks up one
link here, another a link there, another
another, and so on, until all the links are
found and put together, and they are
strong enough to hang the man."
ut does seem so" said one of the lis
teners, In thoughtful awe.
"Seems SO! 1t is sol l always know
that murder will out, and have seen many
singular cases OF it. But the most singu-
lar case I ever heard of was of the
fate of Paul Picra, Of Mosscreek, clerk
In dry-g DDS store, and 50 covered up,
according to the report, that no evidence
was supposed to be left of it. He was
unexpectedly missed one day, aud his
body was not found till three years after
wards. People gave up all hopes of
hearing alb ut the poor fellow, how he
csane to his death, or where, or what for,
sr who or where his murderer was, until
traveller came to Mosscreek, and hearing
Of the murder of poor Paul Picra, he un-
dertook to lind the body, or, at least, the
real criminal and bring him to justice.
This travellers name was Solomon Fox
paw, and he prided himself on his de.
tective powers--his penetration and per-
seyerance-and ne had a restless, rolling,
staring, snappy kind of eye that seemed
to take in every thing about him at
glance. People wished him success, but
they didn't expect it. Yet he didn't care
for what they expected. He set to work
to find some links for a chain of evidence"
"But don't see''-
"You can't see anything, yet. You
must wait and see. Solomon Foxpaw
made inquiries, for month, but ascer-
tanned just about nothing which would
lead to the first link. He then sat down
and reflected alone for three days, and
finally he said to himself, Here is piece
Of woods out here, and Paul Picra was
said to be poorly. What more likely
than he should walk in the woods for his
health-and there be murderedp"
ITO be sure! What, indeed2'
with this idea, Sol, without saying
word to snybody-because he hated in
terruption as bad as l dO-walks out
alone into the woods, and kicks about
among the dry leaves, and examines the
ground, and the rocks, and the trees, with
strong suspicion"
"TO find clew2"
"Why, of course, to find a cleww
"But don't see'-
"You never will see, if you don't wait,
and follow his eyes and ideas. He pretty
soon found various letters, carved on va
rious trees-initials Of names, perhaps
and among them all at last he discovered,
on atree by themselves, the letters 'P. p"
"Perilous Place, l suppose"
"Perilous Place, yOu suppose No.
Paul Picra he supposed, for he knew Uhat
to suppose. He certainly cut those let
ters,' Foxpaw felt convinced; and be pat
down p. p as his first link. Now,
says he, I've got something to work on,
and he felt encouraged. Looking about
him little sharper, as if Providence had
directed him, he found rusty jack-knife,