The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1882-03-23


skeleton ot man hsd been dug up 10 ID
cellar Of an old house back Of the hote
and. until the mystery thereoi Was SOLVED
NO iphshii@nt Of Twiddlsion could EMO
an hours mental repose.
Business vas neglected At Tviddletor
Men congregA,ed At corners 10 disooun
upon the Allsbsorbing topic, aud wome
left their dinner pots 10 bod over Will
they discussed the mystery bove thei
yard fences. The parson had made "Th
Murder Of Abel" the subject Of his las
sermon. and at the village Lyceum tb
question, els there Eugene Aar
amongst usY' had been treated In 3 man
ner 10 curdle the blood Of the hearers. ant
inspire each with dark distrust OF hi
next neighbor. Still no one Lad TAXA
any actual steps 10 discover the murderer
until Mr. Solomon Slocum publicly an
nouncod that his intention Of taking th'
matter in hand, and, in his own words
sitting it TO the bottom.
II any one short of No. ] detectiv,
were competent for the task, 1t was Solo
mon Slocum. There had never been {
mystery in Twiddleton. that he had moi
ferreted out, never a secret act OF lawless
ness, from the burning Of Squire Rennie''
barn to the tying OF cat to Miss Skinner,
brass door knocker, but he had not sue
ceeded in identifying the culprit. He
also interested himself in matters Of a
more private aud innocent nature. He
knew the history Of every family in the
county, with most Of their domestic affairs;
had ascertained the age OF every single
lady, and would tell without any hesita-
ton who wore false hair and teeth, and
when silk dress had been dyed and made
over.
Slocum went to work in very metho-
dical manner. First, he ascertained from
corporation deeds that the house contain
ing the mysterious cellar (now occupied
by single lady who had tainted on the
discovery that she had been living over
dead man had been built nearly Lund.
red years ago by an ancestor Of the Harker
family. Thereupon shadow fell upon
the Harkers. and several persons were led
to the discovery that they had always
seemed sly and underhand set Job
Harker. however proved that the house
had been sold some twenty years after its
completion toCaptain Womble, whereup.
on the Wombles came in for share OF
the shadow, and young Timms the village
poet. whose Fourth Of July ode Tom
Womble had ridiculed, asserted that he
had mysterious repulsion to the latter
individual, and had clearly seen murder
upon his brow.
Tom and his father then came forward
the former with horsewhip and the lat.
ter with paper. which proved that in the
days Of the Wombles' occupancy of the
house no cellar had existed within it.
Following this clue, Solomon Slocum,
after much investigation, succeeded in sat
isfying himself that the cellar III fact was u
modern addition, having
been eIcavated in the year 1916, just after
the property had passed into the hands of
the Bowans.
This discovery of course, at once placed
that family under load Of suspicion.
Solomon, whose only son, Joe, had long
been paying particular attention to pretty
Jessie Bowan, found himself not proof
against the general prejuice.
No Slocum, he remarked with virtuous
resolutions, shall marry into family
in whose veins runs the black blood OF o
murderer.
And though it was not evident to the
hearers Of this speech that the blood of
must necessarily be black, they
nevertheless approved Of the sentiment
III save Joe who sturdilly declared his
Intention Of marrying the girl he loved,
hough her veins should run ink and ivory
black. Il
This case having narrowed down TO this /
,oint, observed Solomon, looking gravely ,
Iround upon an interested audience, in the {
ap-room of the hotel OF which, by the (
way, his father Christopher Slocum had
,een for many years previous TO his death 5
he popular proprietor the case, down to i
he year forty five, it remains for us to dis
over what men folks have unaccountably {
nd mysterioasly disappeared since that t
ate; and then to ascertain. il possible, /
THAT relation the missing men had with a
ny OF the Bowans. e
Thar was the Yankee-notion peddler, s
uggested Slocum's particular chum, who '
ept the store and post office opposite. !
Ie was missin more'n three weeks.
His body was found and decently 6
uried, Slocum replied.
Then that swell chap who was so flush
greenbacks, SAID another.
Bogus. No wonder he mysteriously q
the police after him. A
Aheml The young student spent month o
ere in your father Is time, Slocum, recruit. v
-
Recrutin'i | never heard OF man or a
oy recruited from this town, said Slocum. X
osiiively.
Recrutin' OF his health, as be said. You Il
ust remember he left in mighty sud.
en- aud inaccountable way and to my c
never was heard OF again.
To be sure. TO be surel assented Slocum, p
is eyes sparkling as he found himself II
assessed OF this valuable clue Drewry =
IS his namt Aiolly young chap he seem. I
! to be- Plenty ofmoney, too, as / recol. h
Ct And now it's for me 10 find out eI.
,ny the date Of his being here
He hurried away home. and speedily re- Ii
irned with oartaiu massive aud vel worn z