The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1881-08-25
THE CHILD WITNESS.

THE CHILD WITNESS.
The Arnolds lived in the old brown
house which You may have noticed at the
right If the road just rs you enter tho viii
lage Of l., Pennsylvania, from the
south The house stands back about ten
rods from the road, amcng peach ana apple
trees. and the path running up from tho
gate is bo,dered with pinks and moss.
should not speak so confidently; it is
five years since I saw the village or the
house. and perhaps the awful tragedy en-
acted 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 a telegram sent
from the nearest railroad station to LA
matter of dozen miles, I rode into the
quaint old village on the top Of the stage,
aud ut once reported myself to tho town au-
therities. Every inhabitant of the village.
even to the ragged urchins sitting On the
tavern porch, carried a grave face and
talked in whispers. Had I not known a
double murder had been committed the
night before, I could have read some news
almost as bad by elancins at the faces of
the towns people.
While was eating my supper at the on
ly hotel the town clerk and the president
of the village Eat opposite and told me the
story. 1t seems that Arnold, who was
nearly sixty years old, had two sons in an
other part of the state, and, wishing to di-
vide up his property before his death, had
few days before the murder. disposed of
assfarm and some manufacturing interests
in Pittsburg. realizing several thousand
dollars in cash. He intended visiting the
CONS and dividing the money between
them, but had placed it in the village bank
until he should be ready to so. Mrs. Arm
old was old and gray-headed, and the
couple would have been all alone had it
not been for little Jack. as he was called, a
child four years old. The child had been
abandoned by a woman passing through the
village, and the Arnoids had taken it for
company; in fact, had made provision to
adopt it.
The night before at o o'clock a citizen
had seen Arnold at his gate smoking his
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, aud told the
first one he met Somebody had hit grand
pa and grandma on the head with an axe. y
There was an investigation, and the aged
couple were found at the house dead and
terribly mutiated. The old mans head
was nearly split in two, and Mrs. Arnold
had 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 found that none of the sensa-
tional points had been overdrawn, when I
reached the house. The corpses had been
the subject OF inquest, but the rooms had
not been disturbed \ constable had been
present all the time to see that any clue that
might have been left of the murderer should
not be erased by careless hands or feet.
The room where the tragedy occurred
was double bedroom on the ground floor
It contained two beds, one of which was oc-
cupied by the old LADY alone and the other
by the old man and little Jack. The muir
derer had come in at the back door, bring
ing along the Ak from the wood pile. He
had passed into the bedroom, lighted a
candle which stood on the stand, aud been
some time in the room before using the
weapon. / knew this because the top draw
er Of the old bureau was pulled out, its con-
tents tumbled over, and there were no
bloody finger marks on anything. The
other drawers were dabbcd with blood,
showing that he searched these after the
murder.
Something had aroused the old man from
his sleep. He had started to get out of
bed when struck by an axe. The old lady
had Just heard the noise when the cruel
implement descended on her head, the
positions in which the bodies were found
bearing out my theory. The night had
gled down under the quilts, and had thus
escaped harm, though as afterwards shown
be had been silent witness Of part of the
proceedings.
The murderer made 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 finger with blood and leaving
marks on the pillows. I counted five
ditfercntplaces where he rested his left
hand on the pillows searching with the
right, and i'll every case there were four
daubs or spots. There should have been
five. He would not put four fingers down
and hold up his thumb. No; the thumb
on the left hand was missing-cut off at
least at the first joint.
This Was clue, and all my subsequent
investigations proved that 1 was correct in
believing SO. There was another thing.
The man had torn up the carpet of the bed
room in several places; and had got out the
Bible and looked between its covers; had
taken down and searched the clothing in
the closet, and had been so cool and thor
ough in his search that knew he was no
ordinary offender. A common thief would
have fed after committing murder, or at
most stopped only long enough to search
the bure,u. Whoever the man was, he had
not secured dollar in money. He had,
however, taken away an old fashioned gold
watch belonging to Arnold, which was out
of repair, and chiefly preserved as an heir
loom. A dozen persons could identify the
watch, if found, and here was something
that might prove good clue.
1 could not expect to get much out of the
boy, owing to his youth. Taking him on
my knee l made his acquaintance, gave
hat he saw.
You see" began the child, very gravely,
4 heard grandpa talking and getting up,
and then 1 saw big robber jump up and
hit him with the axe. Then grandpa fell
down and the big man went over and
struck grandma. Then he looked in the
bureau. on the bed, III grandpa's box in
the closet and then went off, and then I
went TO Sleep"
/ dreaded to ask how the man looked,
fer much depended on his answer. But
he was ready with his reply and all my
cross questioning could not alter his state
ment
big manfred collar (necktie) on-great
big breastpin-red whiskers like Mr..
jackson there-shining ring on his finger
one eye almost shut up.
tried to make little Jack believe that
the murderer had black hair and was lit
tie man, but he stuck to his story. Then
one of the constables talked to him about
something else for ten minutes and then
questioned him as to the appearance of the
man: but the story was the same as told me
ct first. Several of us wrote it down, aud
charged the child to remember it.
was convinced that the murderer was a
stranger in that part Of the country. No
one has seen him come or go; no one knew
the hour of his arrival or departure; and he
hadleft no clue Misunderstanding but nv
theory that the thumb was missing from
the left hand. I rode out to the toll gates,
but he had not been seen to pass. ques-
toned the stage drivers, but they could
give no satisfaction. went to the rail-
road station, but no one could remember
having remarked the presence of q stranger
on that night. The murderer had arrived
and departed like a bird.
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