The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1889-09-27

sash bore no marks Of violence. There
was % on the roof and it showed no
traces. Conclusion: The murderer
had raised this window as a, blind, but
had Numbered.
4. The bureau in the old lady's room
had been overhauled, as if in search af
plumber. Here and there an article
showed q blood stain. The articles had
been flung out in such;a way that v e
q novice could see that the idea was not
plumber. A watch, several rings, a
dozen gold pieces, and a roll of bank
bills were in the heap. Arobber would
have taken them. Plumber would have
been his motive and object. Conclusion
it was another blind,
There were several other things,
tritting to an outsider, but having a
bearing to me, and when the c%oroner's
jury had been admitted to view the
body. l began to make inquiries about
the son. He soon appeared to answer
for himself having returned on the 8
o'clock train. There wasn't O man, wo.
man, or child in the village who had the
least suspicion of him. He seemed
stunned and overcome by the news but
while his demeanor satisfied all others,
it looked to me as if he was playing a
part. His lamentations were overdone.
[ sat down with him after awhile,
and told him that he would have to ac-
count for his own time the previous
night. He appeared quite willing and
stated to me as follows:
"I left the house at 8 o'clock last
night. Exactly at 9 I took the train
for Providence. I reached here ut 10 AS.
[ went to the - Hotel. I was as
signed to room 80. After registering
1 went to 240 Blank street to see q girl
named Matte Davis. She was not at
home. I returned to the hotel, played
two games of billiards, and went to bed.
l went up stairs with John Carew, a
Boston drummer. I slept until 8 in the
morning, had breakfast, strolled about,
had dinner, and left for home at l AS. +"
All this seemed straight and reasona-
BILE, and I took care to hide my suspic-
ions. I went to Providence and verified
his statements up to a certain point. He
did call at 24O Blank street, and asked
to see a girl named Matte Davis, but
when told that she was out and would
return in ten minutes he would not wait.
Why? That was his object in going te
Providence, as he admitted and he had
plenty of time. He did go up stairs
with John Carew, but ten minutes afte,
entering his room he came out again.
A chamber maid saw him. She saw
that he wore q different hat, or rather,
had exchanged his hat for a cap.
When he went down stairs, he went
out by the ladies' door. In every cor.
rider of every large hotel, the help are
sentinels. 1t is a part of their duty tc
watch the guests. This woman sus.
pected and remembered young Brush.
When the night watch came on he was
told to look out and see at what hour
the young man returned.
A train left Providence at midnight.
I hunted up the conductor who had the
run that night, and he remembered TAX
ing up the ticket of a young man who
wore a cap and sat in the smoker. The
passenger had his nose in q newspaper
and seemed deeply interested, although
the light was very poor, and it was
a strange hour to be reading the
news of the day. He was sure this pas
senger got off at the town where the
murder was committed. A train left
here again, for Providence at 8 o'clock
in the morning. I found the conductor
of that train, and he remembered TAX
ing q cash fare of a young man with a
cap, who got IN at that place; remem-
bered it more distinctly because the
young man was curled up on the seat as
if asleep, OF as if anxious to beat his
way. Ireturned to Providence and in
terviewed the night watch at the hotel,
and he said that the young man
assigned to room 80 came softly in at
about 2:3O o'clock, and staggered along
as if drunk. He figured it out that the
young fellow had come into the city for
lark, and had had it.
1t took me ten days to study all this
out, and, meanwhile, the murdered
woman had been buried, the %coroner's
jury had returned a verdict, and public
opinion had settled down to the convic-
ton that the crime was the work of a
tramp, who had gotten safely away. I
must be sure of my case before moving
against young Brush, as I would stand
entirely alone. When I had the evil
dence as above given, I began to search
for the back door key. In a search of
half an hour I found it in the garden,
where it had been thrown after locking
the door. It had fallen in the snow,
but the snow had melted. Then I got
the chamber-maid and night watch
down for a quiet look at James, and
both identified him. As the train from
Providence entered the depot, it stopped
a moment at a street crossing. The
street crossing was a quarter of a mile
nearer the Brush house than the depot.
I concluded that Brush got on and off
here. The nearest building was the
Office of a coal yard, which had a man
on watch all night. When I came to
/ interyiew him he remembered seaino a
man alight from the train and walk rap
idly up the street. The night and the
hour conceded with my figuring.
The Brush house had been practi-
cally shut up since the murder, though
James had visited it several times with
relatives. I was allowed to go and
come at will, and on the next day after
interviewing the watohman at the coal