The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1877-08-31


ner time, the same thing repeated in the
afternoon, In the evening we 'loafed"
in the bar-ruum of the hotel, and talked
over the news.
In the meantime, mind you, 1 had kept
my eyes open, and had not been idle. |
had heard all the particulars of the muir
ders from the people who were ohe first to
discover the bodies. | learned one little
circumstance connected with the first affair,
that, had been on the spot at the time,
would have given a sure clue to lie will ain
The murderer had slept in the blood of his
victim, and left a clear bloody footprint
upon the floor. The fools allowed this to
he trampled over by the crowd ahh t:ibbed
out; when, if they had measured it and
made instant search for the shoe with the
marks of blood upon it, ten chances to one
they'd have spotted the man.
| spoke of this in the bar room one night,
when conversation turned upon the subject.
| confess ] was rather heated with whisky,
aud detective though | am, tongue ut such
times wages little too freely | said the
police officers were mere set Of fools
that if I'd have been there, aud had seen
the footprint, Id have spotted the man
who made it within two hours. This was
bold assertion, of course; ami King Whis-
ky was at the bottom of it. Yet, though |
was flushed with liquor, my natural cum
y
fellows in the room would only regard it as
an idle boast ; but if the murderer heard
it, or of it, he would naturally seek me, to
find out why niade such boast. lUu
see, | reckon, a little on human nature.
The conversation went on loud and
boisterous around me, when | suddenly
became aware that pair uf eyes were
looking at me, and yet not SO that could
see them, but could tell them. jumped
al rnal, stt.at lat
man had reason to look at me with eyes of
anger, and that man was the murderer,
whose apprehensions would naturally be
excited 10y my boast, Now to catch the
eyes without alarming the owner. Mr.
jackson WAS IN Ibe left of me-the eyes
were on the left OF me. | felt it, though
had no seen them. | turnt d and spoke to
MIR, Jackson. Throwing Il swift and care
less glance about the room, | saw the eyes.
They were in The head of a tnan-a man
in he common ranks of life, who ming led
not with the gentlemen | was drinking
with, and who had noticed had avoided
me ever since | had been in the village,
although | rarely came in contact with
him-a man who sat by the fire on the OPP
posite side of che room, and was looking
at me with eyes that trembled and dilated
like those of a cat about to spring. The
rest of the face showed 10 sign Of emotion.
III ny OWL HlUu SdiU, mere ) inc
man | want ~ | felt so sure of this that
I'd have staked ten years If my life upon
1t. The thought flashed into my mind tn;
a man who had hitherto had avoided me
(why, | knew no., unless he possessed the
self-same instinct that 1 had, would now
seek me.
"To-morrow, said to myself, 'I'll fiud
out about your shoemaker y For the
Young fellow who first the bloody
footprints had examined it carefully, and
had given me a pretty good description of
il lie Of course not thinking that | took
more than a common interest in the snb-
ject. The footprint was a strange on, too
broad for its leugth and in my mind : eve
could see the shoe that made it, for WIS
confident, from the description, that the
murderer wore shoe.
Casually glance down at the feet of the
man who looked ut me aud whom | had
spotted, He had on boots, long and mar
row, bur the toes were cuIled mp as though
the boots were much too large, and the
extra length would of Course make the
foot look simmer.
The party soon bi uke up, and | went
home to bed bu: all night long, i'll my
dreams, | was having a teri ible fight with
the muu with the eyes.
in the morning | took a boot and went
to the shuemdker's, German, To get it
mendcd. While there | entered into con
versasiun with him about the weather and
things IN general lIc WIS very cpinmnni
cative, and I picked up good bit of in
formation. On one of the shelves of the
shop | saw shoe, neatly mended waiting
for the owner to come and take it-a shoe
quite broad, and tuu short for the breadth.
The other shoe, the companion to the one
on The shelf. made the bloody print that
have spoken of. As | came out OF the
Fhop, ! became suddenly conscious lbat
the eyes were again upon it. | did not
look to see where they were. ! WAS salts
fled the murderer had seen me leave the
shop. lie would guess the object of my
visit there, and he would come and see me
supn to find out what he had learned, and
then Id put the bracelets upon him.
They were jingling merrily together in my
coat pocket as l walked on.
After dinner walked down to nv office
| had made no preparation fol my expected
visitor, except putting . life preserver,"
into my coat pocket.
In my office wheeled my chair round
with its back to the door. and my face to
the looking glass which hung ON the wall
before me, that commanded q view of the
room so, in reality, had eyes before and
behind.
Tu while away the time, till my bird
should come-for come | knew he would
Il took down my "Criminal Ca,eo."
open at random. The pnge at which [
opened contained an account Of the trial of
Frenchman, in one of the interior French
provinces, for lite murder of ten little
children whom lie had decoyed simply into
wood, aud there killed, apparently for
no other purpose than to enjoy the pleas
ure of seeing them die The proof against
him was positive. and he was executed /;
the account wound up by saying he was
literally "Human Fiend."
| heard sound up';n the stairs. He
was coming. | srrang the handouts open
in 10Y pocket. The step light and
soft The door opened. and-the Ger
man shoemaker appeared with my boot
''Your boot, sir - he said, in his broken
English,
"All right; set it down. said, without
turning round.
Then, 10y means of the booking glass, /
saw the cat like eyes cleaning over my
shoulder; a hand, holding aloft small