The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1880-09-21

bic about him was that there was nothing
remarkable about him at ALTO the casual
eye. He was a man of very ordinary
appearance, of ordinary size, of ordinary
complexion, with an ordinary face, and
with an ordinary eye. He stood with his
hands idly down in the pockets of long,
loose coat as though they had dropped
there themselves and he had not taken
the trouble to pull them out, and he
seemed to be neither thinking of, nor
caring about, nor looking at anything.
A boy messenger came tripping out of
the telegraph Office, taking two or three
steps at once, as has been handsomely ex-
pressed, and happening to see the unin-
terested man whom he had seen before,
he stopped short and said:
"Oh, here's one for you; l suppose /
might as well give it to you here. You're
Mr.. Black ?"
The man did not say that he was or
that he wasn't, but quietly reached for the
dispatch, which the boy handed him and
hurried on.
Then Mr.. Black, with a deliberation
that would have been fairly agonizing to
any one looking over his shoulder, un-
folded the paper and read:
MARYsvILLE June 20, 1s- To Mr. William
Black, Police Department, Sacramento: An
atrocious murder has just been discovered here.
A woman named Mrs. Wolf was the victim
Her husband is suspected and in custody, but no
evidence against him. Hasten to US by the first
boat while all is fresh. L. MORTON,
Sheriff of Yuba County
William Black was Sacramento detec-
tive, and at that time undoubtedly the
most sagacious in California The boat
was to leave in about an hour Mr.. Black
entered the telegraph office and dispatched
to the Sheriff Of Yuba county the words
"All right"
That evening man with red shirt
on-a man of very ordinary appearance
landed in Marysville. He was a miner,
of course, if one may always judge from
indications but he had lazy look, as if
he weighed down woful lack of energy,
and a person might have wondered if ever
such person did pluck up courage enough
to climb the mountains.
The same lazy-looking man later in the
evening was in secret communication with
the sheriff and several other officials.
" At what hour was the murder discov-
cred ?" he asked.
"Nine o'clock this morning exactly"
In what way ?"
"The news came through her husband.
He rushed excitedly into saloon on the
edge of the town saying that his wife
was dead and somebody had killed her.
They had lately come from the mines and
were living in tent of their own, quar-
ter of mile out of town. We will con-
duct you to it by and by"
GA physician has made an examina-
tion %
eyes; skilled one He says it is
clear that the woman was murdered
strangled by pair of coarse hands, the
marks of which he found on her throat.
"Did he say how long she had been
dead %
Yes, many hours"
"What does Wolf say %
''That he did not sleep at home. He
says he was drunk last night, which /
have found to be true, and that, being
unable to. reach home, he lay down under
a tree between here and his home and
slept soundly. When he swoke, accord
ing to his story, it was nearly 9 O'Clock.
Then he got up, hasteDed to his tent and
found his wife dead and we have some
fear that an attempt will be made to
lynch him. In fact, there is little doubt
of his guilt, but there is no positive proof,
and the case needs working up"
"What makes you think he did it p
various suspicious circumstances. His
unlikely story Of having slept out all night
when within few yards Of his temporary
home, and not waking before g."
"Had they quarrelled ?"
alt is not known that they had, but
we'll, they were man and wife, and we
might safely presume that they had"
SWere there no traces of q stranger
left?''
enc"
"Not a thread "a shirt button "a
hair ~
aNo."
Tracks %
aNo. The ground is 80 hard and dry,
Won know
Has any stranger been seen lurking
in that neighborhood ?n
aNo."
A1MD 1uy petAuBOA DOSn AW Wv"