Omaha daily bee., 1885-02-21
KILLED BY A LONG SHOT.

of lectures on science, to large audiences.
He was a great ~favorite with the public,
ana his lectures were invariably entertain
Ing and instructive. On the niQht Of the
Oath of Apr | his subject was ''Projec.
tiles" He began far back In ancient
times, and described, with wonderful
distinctness, the curious old machine
which the Romans used In sledges for
throwing or, at stones against the walls
and Notifications of ~beleagured cities.
Thence, dow through the middle ages,
ne Traced the many changes and improve
ments In the sclence of projectlles, until
the invention of gunpowder. Here he
laid himself out, snd gave, with minute
accuracy, the history of artillery and
small arms up to the period, some forSy
year, past, when first began the series of
improvements in long range guns, which
eliminated in the wonderful rifles and
riff I'D csnnons Of the present day.
He illustrated the subject with dla-
grams on a very large blackboard. show.
irg the pit ca, cannon CT he, elevated
for a long shot, aud the trajectory or
path of thu elongated, conical ball. For
q great distances from the gun the track
of the pro- sctile was apparently straight
and ascenoiug to a greas height; then 1t
began to curve downward, sni the curve,
slight at first, grew rapidly more and
more decided, until at lat 1t was more
downward than forward. Picture, of
the proje,tile wee drawn at several
points along ITS path, and the Professor
,nIIol rnr.,rf,. ot@nnt ON 10 thn fook
that the axis of the ball that is, the I'm
aginary line passing lengthwise and can
trally through it-preserved Its parallel
ism to the barrel OF the gun throughout
Its entire course. In other words, if the
gun was pointed upward at an elevation
of thirty degrees, the projectile would all
the way point upward at the came angle,
and finally strike It's distant target, not
directly point foremost, but somewhat
sidswise. point upward and base down
ward, aud make a hole through it of an
elongated shape, moro or less, according
to the ele alton of the muzzle of the gun
above it's breech.
He was so clear in his explana' ion of
principals that the dullest listener could
not fall to understand him. There was
one in the crowd, an iguorant man in
book lore, but one of a remarkably clever
perception, who was much interested In
the lec.urs and thoroughly compre-
hended what he heard. This wss Police.
man Powers. 1t wal ordered that an
Off ser attend every lecture, and Powers
had been detailed FL that night.
More than a week had elapsed and two
other lectures had tetn delivered. On
the Sd day of May the Professor had gone
soon after breakfast, TO the lecture hall
to 6rav tic diagram necessary for the
calculation of the subj ct to be treated on
the ensuing night. He had finished his
drawings end Was leaving when he nat
q policeman at the door.
81 beg your pordon, Professor, .or
stopping you, but l have to consult you,
no, If you'll be 50 good, to ask your aid
in q matter of business. My name is
Powers, and l belong to the city force"
ITO AJAX my aid, MIR. Powtr,2" said
the professor, "why how is it rossible for
a man in NY business to aid one in
yours"
"Tl explain, cir. if you please" an
swered Powers. "You see, air, there's
been a shocking murder, or at least a
killing, for 1t may have been an accident,
aud we are at fault about it. Is very
strange, AZ you'll admit when tell you y
"Well, proceed Mr.. Powers, and tall
me-" replied the professor.
Eyes, sir; I'll be short aboat it," and
he rapidly gave the following particu'
lars:
Henry Vardy ke, n very wealthy man,
40 years of aga and unmsriiet, owned
vacent let's on remote borders of the city
On seine of them he had erected well
arranged residences, suitable for tusiaess
men If moderate Inc comes, and in one q
these he had lived for nearly twelve
months. He sept In a L ON on the sec
ond floor, and his bed sto.d near a win.
dow looking out across q Wide waste a
unimpravsd land. There was no build
Ing within thTee'quarters OF a mi'e
In that direction except an untin'
ished building about 300 yard:
distant. upon which woikmen were ther
engaged. Mr.. Vandy Ike had come home
In a cab at a late hour and gone to bed
as usual the night before. On that
morning he WAS found dead in his bed,
shot through his heart. The ball hiG
passed through the window glass, through
the curtain, through the bed.cover,
through his body, through the bed.Iail,
glanced from the floor aud stuck in the
opposite wall, 1t was a very large,
elongated ball, and must have be.1
fired from agun with q heavy charge o.
powder, in order to go with so much
force. The gun, too, must have made
tremendous report, and yet it was certain
that no report of any gun had beer
heard IN that night in any part Of tn,
city, nor, In fact, 10 any other part, a
was known fIom par ocular Inquiries a
headquarters. The hole through tn,
window glass WAS much higher than tn
bed, sho wing that the ball was descend
Ing, as if 1t had been fred from tn
clouds. The thing was entirely inoom
prehepsible to the coroner aud the cor
oner's jury, A man had bsen killed AZ
late hour of the night, when all wa
hushed in silence, by a gun whose repoi
should have bean heard all over the c t.
and no gun had bsen heard. !
was hileous mys,ery. Blu
Powers had an idea. Having heard thu
lecture he thought he understood no
the ball, if fired from a long di,tarcs an
at IN aSle of great elevation, woul
reach it's victim in a descending cuIv
Called in smoDg the fr,t, and being q
officer, he ordered that the bed shoul
not be moved nor the body on the be;
aud having summoned the coroner with
Jury, request that that they should leSN
ay,.kktuH NJ fhau SQUAD ~ Ha 49,