The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1879-02-20

people were constantly coming and
going in the house, and, in consequence
Of the heat, all the other doors going
on the corridor were wide open. As
Mohlberg was certain not to return
until late, however, his involuntary
guest gave himself no particular uneasi-
ness about his confinement. He calmly
settled down to wait till night, when
he proposed to escape by way of the
roof, whence he could gain one of the
corridors through a window. He for
aged ON the Mohlberg cupboard for
cold supper, and washed it down with a
liberal supply of the fan-painter's wine.
Then he fell into doze from which he
did not awake till he heard eleven
o'clock striking. He lost no time in
getting out upon the roof.
Creeping along the gutter he reached
the window of the nearest corridor.
Unfortunately for him it was barred.
So also were the next two. At the
fourth some people were iounging, and
he could hear their voices through the
darkness. To avoid them. he had to
scramble to the peak of the roof and
come down to the gutter on the other
side.
This brought him alongside of an
pen window, through which a dim
light glowed. He looked in.
A woman, dressed only in her chemise,
was stretched on the outside of a bed
fast asleep. A bottle and a glass half
filled with absinthe stood on a stool
within her reach. From the furniture
of the place Grebilot could see that the
room was the studio of some Bohemian
artist. But he saw more. On table
were some objects which at once excited
all the thief's instinct in him. One was
bex of dark wood, apparently casket
for valuables. The others were some
articles of jewelry, watch and num-
Der Of coins and bank-notes.
To effect an entrance into the room
without disturbing the slumbering
woman was an easy matter for him.
He turned up the lignt, and commenced
to secure his spoil. When the bulk of
it was in his pockets a scratching at
the window alarmed him, and he turned
quickly.
1t was only a cat. But by his sudden
movement he, upset the casket, which
fell to the floor with a crash. The
woman was awakened, and sprang up
with an exclamation of fright.
Selling the maulstick, which leaned
against an easel within reach, Grebilot
struck her over the bead. The blow
staggered her, but she reached and
clutched him by the left elbow. He
hit her again, and the stick broke. She
fell forward against him, deluging him
with blood.
Mad with fright ct his own crime, the
wretch snatched up the scraper from
the table and cut her throat. She
struggled in her death agony, and he
buried the weapon in her breast.
Once she was quite dead, he in a
measure recovered his self-possession
He gathered his plunder together, and
by the way of the roof and the passage
made his way out of the house.
At the trial Of ConsaI, the absence o1
the box and the money which he had
received that very day in payment fo,
some pictures was commented on. The
casket contained only letters and papers
1t and the money, the prosecution con
tended, the accused had secured and
secreted after the murder they claimed
that he was guilty of. OF course he
denied this, described the box, and re
quested that search be made for it
The search was made, but the casket
was not found.
Nine years after the condemnation Of
Consal the woman Mohlberg, whose
husband had meanwhile died, and wht
now lived with Grebilot, was arrested
for receiving stolen goods. Among hel
possessions was peculiar box Of darE
wood. From brass plate inside thu
lid name had been partially erased
AT the Bureau of Police, a detective
who had been employed on the Consa
case nearly decade before, saw it. l
Tailed with the description of the long
sought-for casket. A very little exam
ination convinced him that it was th,
same.
The woman was interrogated, and sai(
that the box had been a present from
Grebilot. After months of search, tha
worthy was apprehended in Marseilles
Under pressure he acknowledged hi
guilt.
Eugene Consal was released at once
j But he is broken, prematurely oil
man, with his old life behind him, an
the taint of years of convict life blight
ing his future. In a pitiful appeal t
the authorities for an indemni6catio
for his unjust imprisonment, he says:
81 ask no consideration for the min
years of torture ] spent for judicis
mistake. All the gold in the worl
would not efface that horror from m
memory. But beg and implore suff
cient to take me somewhere away frol
here, where may partially regain
career which I can never restore"