The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1880-06-10
THE CHILD WITNESS.

house which you may yet notice at the
right of the road just as you enter the
village of Pennsylvania, from the
south. The, house stands back about
ten rods from the road among peach and
apple trees, and the little path running
up from the gate is bordered with pinks
and moss.
I should not speak so confidently; it
is five years since saw the village or the
house, and perhaps the awful tragedy
enacted under the moss-covered roof
one night may have kept the house
tenantless and allowed time to tumble it
down.
One day, in answer to telegram sent
from the nearest railroad station to
T., a matter of a dozen miles, 1 rode
into the quaint old village on the top Of
The stage, and at once reported myself
to the town authorities. Every inhabi-
tant of the village, even to the ragged
urchins sitting on the tavern porch, car
ried grave face and talked in Whis-
pers. Had I not known a. d)uble MUIR
der had been committed the night be-
fore, / could have read some news
almost as bad by glancing at the faces
OF the tOWn5-peOple.
While was eating my supper at the
only hotel the town clerk and the presi-
dent of the village sat opposite and
told me the story. 1t seemed that Ar
mold, who was nearly sixty years old,
had two sons in another part of the
state, and wishing to divide up his
property before his death, and, few
days before the murder, disposed of
farm and some manufacturing interest
in Pittsburg, realizing several thousand
dollars in cash. He intended visiting
the sons and dividing the money be-
tween them, but had it in the village
bank until he should be ready to 20.
Mrs. Arnold was old and gray headed,
and the couple would have been ali
alone had it not been for Little Jack, as
he was called, child four years old.
The child had been abandoned by
woman passing through the village,
and the Arnold's had taken it for com
pany: in fact had made provision to
adopt it.
The night before, at o'clock, citi-
zen had seen Arnold at his gate smok-
ing pipe. No one heard any alarm
from the house during the night, but
about sunrise Little Jack crept down
into the village, his night gown red with
blood, and told the first one he met,
"Some body had hit grandpa and grand.
ma on the head with an axe"
There was an investigation and the
aged couple were found at the house
dead and terribly mutilated. The old
mans head was nearly split in two, and
Mrs. Arnold had a horrible wound on
the temple, which had caused death
almost instantly. The child was not
in the least injured, but seemed to have
been badly frightened.
This was the gist of the story got
while eating, but I found that none of
the sensational points had been over.
drawn when I reached the house. The
corpses had been washed and placed in
collins, but the rooms had not been dis
turbed. A constable hadbeen there at the
time to see that any clue which might
have been left of the murder should
not be erased by careless hands or feet.
The room where the tragedy occurred
was double bed room on the ground
door. 1t contained two beds, one of
which was occupied by the old lady
alone, AID the other by the old mar
and little Jack. The murderer had
come in at the back door, ard brought
along the axe from the woodpile. He
had passed into the bedroom, lighted
candle which stood on the stand, and
had been some time in the room before
using the weapon. I knew this be-
cause the top drawer of the old bureau
was pulled out, its contents tumbled
over, and there were no bloody finger
marks on anything. The three other
drawers were daubed with blood, show
ing that he searched those after the
murder.
Something had aroused the old man
from his sleep. He had started to get out
otbed when struck by an ak. The old
lady had just heard the noise when the
cruel implement decended on her head,
the positions in which the bodies were
found bearing out my theory. The night
had been chilly, and Little Jack prob
ably Struggled down under the quilts,
and had thus escaped harm, thong as
atterward shown, he had been silent
witness of part of the proceedings.
The murderer made a thorough
search of the house, taking his time
about it. He had first felt under the
old mans pillow after money, and then
under Mrs: Arnold's daubing his fingers
with blood, and leaving his his marks
on the pillows. I counted five different
places where rested his left hand on the
pillow while searching with his right
and in every case there were only four
daubs or spots. There should have
been five. He would not put down four