The Weston Democrat. [volume] (Weston, W. Va.) 1875-current, 1880-12-04
A Tragedy al Yanklown.

J
for conviction. Indeed, the YER
rhetorical luxuriancc Of the sisl
luomed cnnspicuOusly in so vii,
and unciviiizcl u land.
Being q very patient man,
waited very patiently for my din
ncr. Possibly the ''mcckness" d
my attire, in comparison with til,
"loulness" ofsonlc ntllcr$, had in
pressed the reveren.ial waiter thai
| was Il Clergyman, ind he was cx
tra careful, extra long, and extr
slow in proportion to the black.
ness and sleckness ofmy coal.
There was very little to look
around and behold, but, as my
profession was one Of obseryalion,l
l0und myselfalmost unconsciously
engaging in it.
Drumming idly and gently OF
the table a bad habit, bytIie way
the only object in n straight line
Of vision was II avery respectable
black hat, hanging on Il nail.
had often seen just as remarkable
hats before, bul | had never seen
them for so long, Il time. The
great benefit OF concentrated atten'
tiun is TINT you master Il subject,
and before dinner reached me | lad
mastered that hat.
admit that from my standpoint,
l only got Il onc-sidcd view Of my
subject, and merely the outside,
But was positive ofthe diameter
of the crown, tlatit carried u ''siS
inch" brim; beyond all that, q
beautiful silkcn cord was wound
artistically twice about it, and
terminated in u couple Of hanging
ta$SeIs.
Iha,l Just matliematically con-
sidcred The circumference Of the
crown and rim respectively, when
tic steaks came in-and | was
hungry. The hat was forgotten.
Ii was not there wien | had fin
ishetl dinner, but the steaks were
particularly goud, and shut out 50
completely the world ut large, that
I never was notified who claimed
y
the hat.
@Yanktown5boastcd ;ofsone daily.
Itwas in accordance with the cter.
nal fitness thingsz that there
should &beE6utzonc.Z1Mozw would
have painted hopelesslY for breath.
CONCERT hallssantl=sal0ons= were
needed inzevcryz block but as |
glanced over the morning issue OF
tic Yanktown Nctrs, | was exhaust.
Ing in one fell swoop the total grant!
aggregate Of the literary treasures
Uf The town.
But the .Nrrs "boomcdF that
morning. II was its darling pleas
urc to roll murder and suicides as
sweet morseIs under its tonguc,nntl
tllat first night Of my stay in the
town it had been particularly
blessed.
Twas travelling for pleasure, but
Il detective is always prepared to
honor his profession. Indeed, il
was Just as natural for my steps to
seek the corner Of Fourteenth and
Cedar. as for the Nr9s to use
'bloud" four times in seven lines,
and flash "a Foul Blnt Upon Our
Civilization" in italics.
But if the sensational had been
carefully cleaned out If the account
Of that midnight tragedy, plain
recital Of facts would have pro
uounccd an uccursed comment up
on the depmvity Of man. An old
lady had heen murdered in her bed
and her room robbed Of its boarded
treasures. + found not only the
house, but the little yard crowded
bv a throng of the morbid!y curl
Gus, for. although such OCCURRENCES
were not rare in Yanktown, they
ever furnished fascinating subjects
for.investigation and comment
The town conStables had been nj
work with their usual liscermnenl
in permitting everybody to 50 ey'
erywllcre, and purlosely or acci'
Clcntally obliterate every possible
clew that the scene might have il
itself furnished.
As for tracks in the garlen, there
were Il thousand Of them now; tho
window had been found open, bu'
since then shut and opened Il lozer
times, just to show how ii had beer
done; the body had been removed
to an upper room, aud even thu
bloody sheets carried out to bt
washed.
If the villain of the tragedy hN(
himself been conducting the cen!
monies, he could not have laborct
more assitluously or eilcctually Il
remove nil evidence Of his crime.
Despairing Of finding anything
in .',,l qHo, / sought out the rmrtie!
who had first entered The roam ant
made the discovery Of the bloody
deed. Ono ofthcse wns M intelli
gent young medical gentlcman,wh'
Ind recently thrown IL his fortune
with Yanktown and was gradual,
starving himself into a living.
Concluding that must tak
some ono into my confidence,
made known to him my profession
Ills ewes hopefl,llv and symmthci