Morris tribune., 1886-12-29
The Old Detectives Story.

experiences. One OF these had been
called to mind within q day or, two
by reading of the death, OF a man in a
city. For convenience
sake l will call him Charles Lennox.
l was attached to the force of
western city, ond we had been running
along for many weeks without any
break on the part of evil-doers when
a murder occurred. The janitor OF
bank was found dead in the business
office of the bank, with the outside
doors open. The man had been struck
on the side of the head with some
heavy weight and had his skull crush
ed. Nothing had been taken from the
bank, and so we reasoned in this way:
The robbers had called the janitor to
the door on some pretext or other,
and as soon as he opened it they
rushed in. and dealt him the blow.
1t was the night before d local
election, and the approach Of peo-
pie who were carousing or cleo
pioneering had ratified therobbers and
they had fled. In these days O. bank
robber would have cody shut the
door and gone to work on the safe,
but they were different class of men
then. If they had not been, we should
have probably argued differently.
An inquest was held. a verdict rem
dered that John Shields came to his
death at the hands of parties un-
known, and he was buried. The rob-
be1s had not left the slightest clue be-
hind them, but as was ambitious to
make a name | was allowed to begin
work on the case. In town twelve
miles away l found, after long hunt,
a livery stable man, who had let a
horse and buggy that night to two
strangers, whom he accurately de-
scribed, and whom he believed to be
two brothers. They told hIm they
were going to Amesbury, but / traced
them straight to Blankville, which
was the place where the murder oc-
Cured. The town where they hired
the horse was Rossburg. and they had
come there by the train in the after
noon. They could have come down
to Blankville by the same train, and
that they did not l argued was q
sharp trick on their part. They had
driven away at 7:3O o'clock. The
body Of the ianitor was found about
10. The horse had been returned
just before midnight. About 10 o.
clock, as had forgotten to tell you,
there was an alarm OF fire i'll Black
vile, and the fire department was called
out to quench fire which had been
set in one corner of a large tannery.
The flames had got much of start
and were speedily drowned out, and
the case was reported as the work OF
boys.
l had, then, after two weeks work,
clue. Two bank robbers, doubtless
from Chicago, had come to Blankville
to do up q bank, but had been frighten-
ed away after committing a. murder.
| knew just how thep reached Blank
vile and just how they left it, and |
had descriptions of both. You may
say had but little to work on, as the
men bad come two hundred miles, and
might not then be within a thousand,
or if they were, they had changed
their identity; but even the
smallest points will encourage a de-
tective who has his heart in his work.
In describing the men the stable-keep-
er, who was naturally observing and
had a good memory, remembered that
the older one carried a lop shoulder,
had gold filling in MS front tooth, and
there was a tremulous motion of the
eye-lids. You have observed this in
people. Those who do it would stam-
mer if they do not wink. There were
no points in the description of the
other which would serve to identify
him on the street. He esimply "looked
enough like the other to be his broth
er."
spent two weeks in Chicago look
gfor my man, and, although was we'll
assisted by the detectives, my search
was vain. No one could remember a
crook of that description. l was at
the depot ready to take the train for
home, when ran across the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy railroad detec-
tive whom l had not seen for several
months. AS we talked about the
Blankville murder gave him a de-
scription of my men, and had hard
ly done so when he replied:
II know them both, or at least
where they can be found. [ saw them
in R--yesterday, and they are often
on the road"
The town he named was about sew
enty-fve miles from Blankville, on q
cross-line railroad, and had not been
in it two hours when | located my
men. They were brothers, and one
kept bakery and the other asaloon.
Both had the reputation OF being
peaceful, law abiding men, and they
had families. 1t therefore behooved
me to 60 slow, and the arrests were
not made until they were positively
identified by the livery man and l had
positive evidence that they were away
from home at the time. In each case
when making the arrest, was asked
concerning the nature of the offense or
crime, and l replied that 1T was for
the murder at Rossburg. The prison
ers were strangely silent, and, though
seemingly anxious about the future
they refused to talk OF the case. l
took them to Rossburg, put them in
Jail, and in two or three days they were
arraigned. They had sent to Chicago
for counsel, but he had not arrived.
Temporary counsel appeared for them,
they pleaded not guilty and in an
hour or two were returned to Jail.
You may now ask yourself what
case had against the brothers. As |
looked it over / came to the conclu-
sion that my work had just begun.
They had left home without noise, if
not secretly; had hired a horse and
buggy under false pretenses; had driv-
en- secretly across the country under
cover of darkness. They were objects
of suspicion but had no proofs. 1t
was my duty to hunt for proofs. l
went to the bank to have some ques-
tions answered. 1t was in summer
and the front door stood open. Anew
janitor had been employed, and as l
entered the cashier was saying to
him:
John, get paper and wrap it
around that brick that holds the back
door. 1t is no ornament as it Is"
Naturally enough glanced down at
the brick. AS the janitor lifted it up |
took it from his hand, and the next
instant I made a discovery. There was
clot of dried blood on the brick, and
l.