Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-06-09

out the features suitable to that purpose. A
countenance of which it can only be said
! that it has one nose, one mouth and two
eyes, all placed in inexpensive nonentity,
and which is dominated utterly by hair on
and around it, may be less lost to individ-
uality if entirely shaven. Of such seemed
the visage of the dark man who calmly rode
into the excitement at Overlook.
(Which way have you Gomez" Brainerd
asked.
fFrom Dimmersville," was the reply.
"Did you see anybody on the way?"
81 started very early. Folks were not out
| of their beds in the houses-as long as there
were any houses-and that is only for five
| or six miles YOU know. After that-yes-
| l did see one man. A curiously excited
chap. He looked tired out. He asked the
distance to Dimmersville, and whether the
telegraph office would be open by the time
| he got there. Then he skurried on, before I
had half answered him"
All that was known of the murder was
told to the stranger by half a dozen glib
tongues, and it was explained to him that
| he had encountered the maniacal fugitive.
81 knew there was something wrong about
| him." said the stranger. Sits my business
to be observant."
He dismounted and hitched his horse to
| tree. The dead body was shown to him. He
examined it very thoroughly. All the par
| ticulars were related to him over and over.
Then he drew Superintendent Brainerd
| aside.
"My name is Terrence O'Reagan," he
said, and in his voice was family dlstin-
guishable the brogue of the land whence the
| O'Reagans came. II am Government de-
| tective. I have been sent to work up evil
| dence in the case of some Italian counter
feiters We had clew pointing to sub
contractor here-the very man who lies
there dead. Our information was that he
used some OF the bogus bills in paying off
his gang. Now, it isn't going outside my
mission to investigate his death-if you don't
object"
''I would be glad to have you take hold of
it." Brainerd replied. 1--WE can't bring the
authorities here before noon, at the earliest,
and in the meantime you can perhaps clear
it all up"
The eagerly curious men had crowded
close to this brief dialogue, and had heard
the latter part of it. O'Reagan became in
stantly an important personage upon whose
smallest word or movement they hung ex-
pectantly; and nobody showed akeener in
terest than Gerald Heath. The detective
first examined the body. The pockets of
Ravelli's clothes contained wallet, with
its money untouched, besides gold watch.
$50 robbery was not the object, said
O'Reagan to Brainerd. "The motive is the
first thing to look for in case of murder"
Next, he found blood on the waistcoat, a
great deal of it, but dried by the fire that
had burned the shoulders and head; and in
the baked cloth were three cuts, under
| which he exposed three stab wounds.
| Strokes of knife had, it seemed, killed the
| victim before he was thrust partially into
| the furnace
A storm was coming to Overlook unper-
ceived, for the men were too much engrossed
in what lay there on the ground, ghastly
and horrible, to pay any attention to the
clouding sky. Gloom was so fit for the
scene, too, that nobody gave thought to
whence it came. To Gerald Heath the go
ing out of sunlight, and the settling down
Of dusky shadows, seemed mental expert
ence of his own. He stood bewildered,
transfxed, vaguely conscious of peril, and
| yet too numb to speak or STIR Detective
| O'Reagan, Strengthening up from over the
body, looked piercingly at Gerald, and then
| glanced around at the rest.
'Ts there anybody here who saw Tonic
Ravelli last night?" he asked.
81 did," Gerald replied.
"Where and when2"
CAT the same place where met Eph, and
Immediately afterward."
"Ah! now we are locating Eph and Raw
ELI together. That looks like the lunatic
being undoubtedly the stabber."
"And we must catch him." Brainerd in
terposed. "I'll send riders toward Dim
mersville Immediately"
"No great hurry about that" the detect
i've remarked; che is too crazy to have any
clear motive, or any idea of escape. 1t will
be easy enough to capture him." Then he
turned to Gerald and questioned with the
air of a cross-examiner: Ibid the two men
have any words together?"
"No," was the ready answer; 81 don't
know that they even saw each other at that
time. Eph went away an instant before
Ravelli came"
ibid you talk with Ravelli?"
eyes"
"About what?"
"Not about Eph at all"
"About what, then?"
| Now the reply came reluctantly: IA
personal understanding that had oc-
CURED between us-an incident at the tele.
graph station"
1.-THE station where Eph had awakened
the girl operator? Was it a quarrel about
her?''
''That is no concern of yours. You are
impertinent." T."
"Well, sir, the question is pertinent-as
the lawyers say-and the answer concerns
you, whether it does me or not. You and
Ravelli quarreled about the girl?''
"The young lady shall not be dragged
! into this. She wasn't responsible for what
happened between Ravelli and me-"
"What did happen between you and
Ravelli?'
The two men stood close to and facing
each other. The eyes of the detective glared
gloatingly at the upward angle into the pale
but still firm face of the taller Gerald, and
then dropped slowly, until they became
| fixed on a red stain on the sleeve of the 9th
er's coat. Did he possess the animal scent
of bloodhound?
"What is that?" he sharply asked. He
seized the arm, and smelt of the spotted fab
ric. "It is bloodl Let me see your knife"
Quite mechanically Gerald thrust one
hand into his trousers pocket, and brought
out the knife which he had taken back from
Ravelli, whose blood was on it yet
The storm was overhead. A first peal of
| thunder broke loudly. 1t came at the in
slant OF the assemblage's intensest interest
at the instant when Gerald Heath was
aghast with the revelation of his awful
jeopardy-at the instant of his exposure as a
murderer. 1t impressed them and him with
a shock of something supernatural. The
reverberation rumbled into silence, which
was broken by O'Reagan:
'There'n be no need to catch Eph," he
said, in tone of professional glee. "This
man is the murderer" /"
Again thunder rolled and rumbled angrily
above Overlook, and the party stood aghast
in the presence of the man dead and the man
condemned.
Bring him to the telegraph station"
O'Reagan commanded.
Nobody disputed the detectives methods