National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1884-11-14
A MYSTERIOUS NUMBER.
The Witness OF the Crime Reveals It
After FIFTY Years.

The COnistmdR.
The writer, thon junior In a firm In
London, OF which he is now tho head, camo
to Penzanco in September, 1884, to ar
range terms among local tin smoters.
Ho loft Pcnzance one evening to visit a
friend in st. Just, which Is about six
miles from Penzance. On tho way there,
in lonely part of tho road, no mot two
men, when ho heard ono say That's
him." while the other assorted, "No, II is
not" Thcy again faced each other, when
tho two mon said they had taken him
for another person. Almost Immediately
man approached from the direction of
st. Just, and tho writer called his atten-
tion tho suspicious character of tho two
men. The man, who said he was q mine
agent, laughed at his fears aud went on
his way. He had only proceeded about o
couple Of hundred yards when he was
seized with nervous tromors. His logs
refused to support him, and he foil in tho
middle Of the road, but thought it better
not TO stay there, and so proceeded on
hands and knees across tho road scrambled
up a small bank, and found himself upon
a common. Ilo dragged himself TO n
heather covered strip between two clumps
Of furze, and threw himself at length and
closed his eyes. Aftor n little timo he
looked around and the moonlight revealed
to him o newly made mound. Hearing
two shots fired, he crouched and waited,
and he saw two men just aftor bearing tho
body Of a third man.
To quote his letter:
"Onco moro thrill of horror ran
through me. On thoy came toward tho
newly made grave, almost touching my
feet Us they moved past. rheu they
turned to the right and threw the body
into tho pit. The corpse in the grave,
the two mon began to fill up. They had
not lowered the mound many inches " hen
ono of them discovered me. They
pounced upon INC and demanded what
way doing there. explained but all to
no purpose. The Same pit will do for
him YES; shoot him. NO; cut his
throat stop. I'll load my pistol again;
don't leave any marks of blood about;
push him into tho pit first, and cut his
throat aftcrward.' These were tho hor-
riblo threats, accompanied by frightful
imprecationB, which greeted me. Said
ono of tho men to me again; we have
decided to bury you alive; slip off your
clothes; it's hardly worth while burying
that good suit of clothes of yours /; it will
do for ono OF us. l pleaded my youth,
my accidental and unprecedented pres
ence, my newly made wife and only child
and this at last seemed to touch the hearts
of tho brutcs. Well said one, we will
spare your life on condition that you
swear, as you hopo for Heaven and the
salvation Of your wife, child, and friends -
You shall swear it, too, op tho point Of
this knife and the muzzlo of this pistol
hat -tut ha, 10 I'll,
will never speak of or divulge to any
human being for space Of fifty year.
from this day, when we shall all BIO a,
this at the same timo kicking into thu
grave clod Of light colored olayoy SOIL
did swear most solomnly. / bought my
life ON that lonely heath OF West Pen
with. l have kept my promise. 1t is
little over fifty years. was than 26 year
of age, 30 you see am an old man now
Those men were middlc-aged, from 45 t
SO, at tho time"
On his revisiting the spot, he writes:
AS | approached the fatal spot thu
road had seemed entirely unaltered.
solemnly believe that crept through tn,
very gap in the low hedge of earth whict
still protects the croft; that | stood be
tween the self-same cluster of furzC
which formed my bed-very nearly my
death bed-and peep hole Us Their muir
derers hid the result of their accurseC
crime, and knelt on the undisturbe,
grave where their victims bones are nov
mere dust. After half u century knel
again, not to implore mercy Of man. as
did then, but Of God, lest unwittingly
have sinned in keeping an extorte
pledge, and, to save myself from hurm
have reluctantly shielded heinous crimi
nails. l did not ut tho timc hear of an
person connected with the district bcinl
missed, nor have / ever learned nnythin
that would holp to throw light on tn
name Of the victim or the motive for tn
! fnnrderV