The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1886-06-12

my relatives until the matter COulu DC |
Strengthened up, which she thankfully |
accepted. l then set to work to ferret
out the murderer. The entrance and
exit had been made through window
in the rear of the building, and, while
looking for tracks under the window,
notice black mark on the sill which had
been painted white. Upon close examina-
tionitprovedt to be theimprint of a mans
thumb. The manner in which it came
there was easily explained. The money
which had been stolen was hidden in a
common writing desk in the old mans
bedroom, and In the hurried search for
the treasure the assassin had overturned
bottle of ink, getting some of it on
his hands, and in leaving the house had,
by this means, left the mark. This, l
soon discovered, was the only clew l
had; but, poor as it seemed at first, 1t
afterward proved to be a good one. l
Immediately sent word to the agency in
New York asking to be released from
the engagement, and then settled down
to work on the case. The first thing l
did was to saw out the piece of the WIN
kept the piece of wood secreted in my
trunk. The only chance for me ever to
find the murderer lay in the hope that
he would not leave the city; but if he
had gone the probability was that he
would never be apprehended. Picking
out those whom | suspected, l gained
their friendship, and in time would
show them the popularity of the inn
print of a thumb, and after gaining pos
session of it, would compare it with the
one on the block of wood. Things
went on in this manner for several
months, and began to get discouraged;
and as winter came on, | partially lost
interest in the work, devoting my time
to social enjoyments. While at social
| gathering one evening, l became ac-
quainted with the cashier of one of the
leading banks of the city, and as he was
bachelor like myself warm friend
ship soon existed between us. As we
were parting for the night he invited
me to call at his room in the rear of the
bank the next evening and we would
visit the opera-house. | was on hand
at the appointed hour, but, as he had a
little writing to do, he handed me a
cigar, with the request that | should
make myself at home for few minutes.
While thus waiting / allowed my mind
to wander back over the past few
months, and was thinking of the MUIR
der when my companion announced
that he was through with his writing.
For want of anything else made the
remark that it was rather strange that
no trace had ever been found of the
murderer of the old man on the hill. AS
said this a deathly pallor came over
his face and he shook from head to foot
as if with chill. He arose and coal-
menced to arrange his papers on the
desk, vainly trying to conceal his agita-
ton, but in doing so partly upset bot
tie of ink. Not pretending to notice his
discontinue, made some jovial re-
; mark. and when he brought q cloth to
, wipe up the ink, | asked him if he had
ever noticed the popularity of the under
: : part of PERSONS thumb. He had never
| heard of it, and entered heartily in the
experiment, soon regaining his self
; composure. With little trouble secured
! one of the pieces of paper on which he
had placed his thumb, and we were s0or
on our way to the theater. Ipaid little
attention to the play, and when it wa
y over rushed home to compare the mari
9 on the piece of paper with that on the
: block. They were identical; every lint
:, and curve was the same. l knew tina
u was proof enough to convict him; anC
the next day warrant was sworn
. out for his arrest. | accompanies
e an officer to the bank, and tn
{ warrant was read to him. He SCENE,
II II cool and collected now, and requisite,
u TO be allowed to enter an adioinin,
( room for his hat. He had hardly disap
u peared before a shot was heard, and
, rushing into the room in which he ha
l. gone, we found him lying on the foo
l. with a revolver in his hand and tn
" blood streaming from his head. He wa
/, conscious, but lived only long enoug
- to make a confession of the crime. II
~ said that gambling was the cause of
y all. He had lost heavily of the bank
l. funds, and, knowing that detection w5
imminent, he resolved to replace it b
GODDnH inc Olu man, having uedIu Ju'
er be kept large sum of money in Ii
s. house. The old man had awakene
> while he was searching for the none
et and recognized him, and he was force
u to commit the murder. The real eau:
Oh of the suicide was never general
81 known, the affair having been hushC
III up as much as possible by his relative
Ge ] was remOrseful that | was the cau'
IL of his death-although il was far bett,
TO than for him to have spent the r
ne mainder of his life in the penitentiar
Gu l resolved to give up the profession, al
,.Tr' marry the old mans granddaughter.
IN moved to Minnesota. This may see
a very improbable story, but It's neve
w theless true. 81 Paul Pioneer Pres
nv w. w. Wilson and William Lar
bs bert of Cedar Creek, S. g., agreed
"a meet at a certain place and 90 turk