The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1880-04-14
a.No ansrerInz cried Bloch to bim

! curiosity only exceeded by his alarm.
1t is extraordinary I cannot ex-
plain it. How is it that neither Samuel
! nor his servant answer to myss call
| Could they both be dead? B1och, I think
| it is our duty to summon the chief of
| police. ] will send one of my boYs
Wait here"
| WheE the police arrived, accompanied
| by his men, q surgeon aud locksmith,
he was obliged to traverse a dense crowd
| which Increased every minute, surging
around like the waters of a river over.
! flowing its banks, and showing an eager
| desire to penetrete the secret. The lock
was thrown back in 8 few minutes and
| the door opened. 30.
Every thing lentt to the mystery. The
| obscurity gave. to the heteroclitic OBJ
| jeGts fantastic shapes. Samuel Stauffer
| bought and sold everything, furniture,
| collections, novelties antiques, silver
| goods and kitchen utensils-each was
| an article of trade to him. A thick dust
"a sort Of secular ashes, and always rea
| spected, was everywhere blending the
| COlors and softening the angles. The
| spiders, working without fear, had fin
ished by uniting bronzes, paintings and
crockery.
The door was guarded by two police
men to prevent the ivasion of the curl
| Gus crowd. The chief, conducted by the
butcher and grocer, both familiar with
the household, and followed by the sur.
| geon, ascended the stairs slowly, one
after the other, and arrived in front of
the old jews room. They knocked
pure fOrmality. The door, closed only
with a latch, offered no resistance.
The policeman advancing a few steps
| found himself in the most profound
obscurity, and demanded if some one
had brought light. No one had thought
of it.
"Walk straight ahead" said the
butcher; the window is opposite the
door.
The chief having followed this advice,
opened the window and threw back the
blinds, which intercepted the light OF
day. The light penetrating quickly into
the rooms, lit up a horrible tabIeau,
and feeling of terror caused those to
recOil who stood behind the policeman.
The disordered bed was not only mussed,
but trampled; the covers were thrown
about and dragged into the center of
the room, with two chairs overturned,
On the table, soiled by greese which
had dripped from the candle, was a ca
rafe half filed with water and broken
glass. Everything denoted a violent
struggle, terrible resistance, that of a
victim against a murderer.
In front of the bed-hanging on the
wall-Was one of those clocks called q
cuckoo. But what a hideous sight
One of the weighted chains which hung
from the cuckoo was wound about the !
neck of the unfortunate Samuel Stauf-
Fav. Ill
floor. The face already purple, the |
features inflated and convulsed, showed |
that all hope was lost. Samuel was
dead.
The surgeon hastened to ascertain, as
soon as the body was stretched on the
bed. The iron chain was deeply in-
crusted in the flesh, making fearful
bloody collar, horrible to see.
The hands of the clock, arrested on
the, face pointed to three in the morning.
There were therefore seven hours that
the broker had ceased to live. The mo-
tion must have left the clock at the same
time that the last breath left the lips of
the dead man.
Was it murder or suicide? Justice
in her turn should decide. If one
Judged simply from the inspection of
the place, the struggle was a startling
evidence of murder. The broker had
been surprised in his bed, sound asleep;
he had resisted as long as his weak body
and age would permit. Two chairs
overturned, the broken glass, noises
which were lost in the storm; the muir
derer seizing the chain of the cuckoo
and strangling the Jew, and leaving him
hanging just grazing the floor; this was
thestheOry of the policeman--a theory
so plausible that the assistants and even
the surgeon listened without dispute.
If you imagine a suicide" recon-
menced the policeman, who was warm
ing up to his subject and agitaUing his
arms, then Samuel Staufer got upon a
chair and. kicking it over with his foot.
remained hanging by the neck. 1t is
inadmissable. How can you explain
the broken glass? Why two chairs over
turned instead of one? Why the dis
ordered state of the bed, the blankets
dragged to the foot Of the wall, nearly |
under the clock? Find a connection
with the theory Of suicide and explain
it if you cant"
3 He stopped out of breath. Every one
was silent, regarding the corpse with
horror.
After a minute the surgeon said:
" Pardon me, master! But from whence
came the assassin, and how could he
have opened the door?'
"sYou think it was suicide" said the
policeman, tartly.
But" said the big butcher, coming
forward, Samuel Staufer had a ser
want" .......
"The servant. ali! I had forgotten
him." said the policeman, with trium-
pbal regard towards the surgeon.
"Quick! 90 and find himl"
Herman and the chief precipitated !
themselves into the room which was oc-
cupied by Jean Muller.
In one corner the domestic of the Jew
"a young man of twenty-five, half
dressed-was crouched on the floor like
some wild animal, holding his head IN
his hands, without voice, without life,
haggard and appearing to be under ter
rible impression.
"WhaG are you doing?' asked the po-
Hceman, who dared not.approach. aa ]
No reply. Muller dad not bulge.
They assisted him to rise and supported
him under the arms. He let them do it
with complete Indifference. Herman
handed him his jacket and supported on ,
each side the Young man was conducted
into the presence of his murdered mas I
ter 3. ..-. .e t--1s
When. he recognized the room of !
Samuel Stauffer, a trembling seized his I
limbs and by a quick motion he at =
to escape, but the iron hand of
the butcher checked the despairing eff
fort rva- ga ]
The chief of police turned his head;
his suspicious we're beginning to be con- {
frnoed more and more,
Brought before the bed opposite the &
corpse already cold, he regarded it stu
Didly, but without fear. 1t was not tt
until he turnedsand saw the fatal chain i
nat any, terror seemed to possess him.