Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1879-11-13

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We had been two days j osk al
she case, and had not ex 1oana 4
starting point. IN fact. re - nses
TO compare notes On tIle SEED efen~
ing. Il was discovered thai snin 70
tai Of our knowIedge IVES pre- ~ What
Il was before.
The diffcnIty was, Il wss e6m-
mon-pEaee crime. Il Is WI 'minalz
DO something unusual TIA. desec-
lion becomes compafaiive sazs.-'
THere n something lE " wafk
upoa. The expefiensk III is
u ~ q
bis inquiry. Who, be asks himself,
twas able to contrive plan like this s''
And often the very ingenuity exercised
TO conceal the authorship OF crime,
most clearly points the way 20 its dis
covery. But when Il is thing any
one Of thousands might have done, il is
easy TO see how greatly the difficulty OF
laying your hand upon the real peFpe-
traitor is increased.
That Is inst what made tbe case in
hand so hard 10 unravel. MIR. Zane
was rich, retired merchant, inthe hab-
II of carrying liberal supply Of money
about him, and given to wearing ex-
pensive jewelry. He occupied an ele-
CANT suis Of bachelor apartments, where
he was found murdered IN his bedroom
one morning.
The manner Of the crime was . little
mysterious as its motive. The virtim's
skull had been beaten in with some
instrument. and his money, watch, and
Jewels had been taken.
Any brutal rufIian might have done
such a deed. There was no particular
cIew to follow; and even OrvilIe 1homs,
confessedly the shrewdest man on
the force, whose scent on the trail OF
criminal seldom proved at fault was
obliged to acknowledge he didn't see
his way.
Mr.. Thoms had won his spurs a year
before, as an amateur, in ferreting out
formidable gang offorgers, around whom
he succeeded in weaving a web Of CIR
cumstances that lett not a loopbole for
escape; and when the whole band, after
their convection, wagged their tongues
against him, denouncIng BIN as their
IingIeader, who had BETRAYED them for
a price, there was a general smile Of
derisiun-and, as a mark Of the public
confidence in Mr.. Tbops, he was gwen
a place on the detective force, OF which
he was a membcr at the time Of Mr..
Zane's mIsrder.
The p3yor offer large reward for
the APPREHENSION and conviction Of
the.e6urderer. Mr.. Thoms ncticeably
u6eked up his ears at this. He was
lot the man 10 let such an amount of
money slip through his fingers.
Hell get il" more than one of us
whispered.
And sure enough, on the third morn
ing, when we met again for consGlta-
ton, MIR. Thoms sauntered IN, with
smirk Of satisfaction on his face, and
took a seat at the table.
The rest OF US had nothing new to
tell, whereat Mr.. Thoms smiled con-
temptuouSly.
al have report to make" he re-
marked, quietly.
Proceed, sir" said the chief, eye-
ing him sharply.
"At an early hour this morning" Mr..
Thoms continued, 81 noticeda shabbily
dressed man entering a pawn-brokerss
Office. His manner was lurking and
suspicious. followed HIM in, making
a preiext OF wishing to pawn a ring |
had taken from nv finger.
"Whilst higgling with one of the
clerks, / kept keen eye on the man
had followed, who was offering a
handsome gold watch 10 another clerk.
.s'Let me see it," | said, turning up
my lapel and displaying my official
badge: and placing myself between the
customer and the door. tookthe watch
from the counter and examined it. In
side the case was the makers name and
the nuaber. No doubt was possible.
1t was the murdered mans watch, Of
which had full description.
" The man gave no satisfactory ac-
count Of himself or bis possession Of
the stolen property, and, of course. !
arrested him at once. The case Is avery
simple one. The murder. il is con-
ceeded, was committed in the perpetra-
ton of robbery. Part OF the property
iakenis found in the possession Of the
prisoner, circumstance which he fails
10 explain. What proof couldbe strong
er %
"Brayor we exclaimed. ssThe re-
ward is yours, Mr.. Thoms. Ii's for
tune you might afford to retire on and
give the rest Of u chance"
Mr.. Thoms beamed benignantly, and
the meeting broke up.
was leaving with the Others when
the chief touched nv arm and desired
me to remain.
Our brief conference was strictly con-
fidentiaI and il would not be proper 10
reveal il here. AT the end Of Il, hur-
ried out. MY way and Mr. 1homs's
Law along the same street; but Be bad
so much the start that was bafPly in
time TO see him enler bis oxn ds0F.
Bright and early next morning was
met by our chief at the principal rail-
way depot. whittier had cautiously
followed gentleman IN an iroE&grag
Wig and blue goggles. whom ! Iost no
time in pointing oat TO the chief.
The latter approached and toushed
the gentleman shoulder.
"A word with yous if you ple@e, .
said the chief.
s.I'm III great hurry returned the
other. sstlse tram il about starting. md