Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1890-05-14

south side. one of which was easily
opened. The aeronaut removed his
boots and tossed them through the
window, then lie himself entered, and
stood holding the sash for Mr.. Thorn To
pass in.
A feeling of dread passed through his
frame, as he PLACED his hand on the
window-ledge and began to clint
through the opening. He was crawling
into Egyptian darkness, and it was i'm
possible for him to distinguish the
motions of the aeronaut, though every
movement of his own was observable
to the latter, as he was defined against
the light outside.
Suddenly rushing Nund was heard,
and the heel of one the aeTonaut's S
boots came down upon his head with
crushing force, and with a groan he
sank backward upon the ground.
SpringIng out after him, the aeronaut
repeated his blows till the blood began
to ooZe from the mouth and ears of his
victim.
so far so good, he calculated, as he
dragged the body into the road. My
precious scheme is drawing to a close,
and here is TO the health of George
Thorn. Esq
As he SAID this lie drew a pon;ard
ID the hIlt in the neck of his victim.
As he d ew it forth, he jumped back
several feet, barely escaping contact
| with the stream of blood that spurted
from the wound.
'Ha. ha, you are throwing blood at
me, Mr.. Thorn. y very ungentlemanly
act, to be sure. What would your wife
say TO this breach of pollteness?'
AS the assassin uttered these mock
ing words, he drew from his vest
pocket a small vial, and STOPPING beside
the corpse, he filled it with the warm
blood that was still ooZing from the
poniard thrusi; then corking it tight,
and placing it III his pocket lie again
spoke:
My dear friend, allow me to thank
you for your generosity IN furnishing
me with a bottle OF your best blood; L
shall repay this kInIness by writing to
your wife. giving her detailed account
of our pleasant voyage, and also its
Jesuit. AS kind OF dry joke, in writ
ing the letter L shall use your blood
for ink, which will give her a correct
| idea of my fr endsnip for you. W hat
do you say to that? viii it be agree
able 10 you? You deign me no reply;
| you're as silent as statue. Is 1t pos
| sible that have been indiscreet in cup
| ping your ZoundSl l begin to think
| that | have drawn more blood than is
necessary for writing letter to an anx
| ious woman. But accidents WILL happen,
and the best of us are liable to Them
| As tie assassin finished this mo- king
speech, lie seiZel his victim by the
| shoulders, and dragged HIM to the spot
where the balloon was securel. Empty
ins the two remaining bags of sand
| from the car, he next placed the corpse
i'll 1t, securing it firmly, then drawing
! his poniard lie severed the lines that
held the balloon TO the fence. For some
time the wind had been freshening, and
dark clouds were sweeping III from the
south. AS the balloon shot upward
! into the darkness. the murderer NUT
tered: "A pleasant voyage, my friend.
And now for the conSummation of the
last stroke.'
Saying this he climb d the fence on
the east side of the road, and disap-
peared in the copse of jumpers befor.
alluded to.
Three days later Mrs. Thorn received
letter post-marked Oldtown, Me. II
was written i'll blood. and ran rs fol-
lows:
DEAR Mrs. THORN:-Doubtle>
you will be surprised to receive letter
from me instead of your husband, but
as he met with slight accident on the
night of the 4th instant, | feel myself
in duty bound TO forward you the
pleasant information. which | know
you are anxious to receive. On the
night in question we reached the ground
in safety, and as a school-house was
near at hand, propose that we should
nd h.. ~ Mr
Thorn was climbing through the win
dow he was struck with strange diZzi-
ness, and fell 10 the ground. / imme-
diately dragged him into the Todi that
ran near the school-hOu5e, where ther-
was plenty of fresh air. No sooner had
L done this than he was SeiZeI with Il
stranglIng fit, which ended i'll the burst
ing of a blOod-yesSel. As medical all
could not be had for love or money,
concluded to send him home in the bal
loon. Tenderly placing him in the car,
L secured him in such manner that II
would be impossible for him TO fall out
in case another fainting fit overlook
him. And if he is not safely home by
the time this letter reaches you. do not
blame Your old friend, Jason Tucker,
for his non-appearance.
p. S-Mr. Thorn kindly gave me
permission to use his blood In writing
this letter, and, though it Is paler than
most inks, know you will appreciate
his motive in furnishing me with proofs
which Will convince you that these lines
are graced with truth. Yours truly,
J. T.
Mrs. Thorn read this letter through
with a cheek that never blaDched. She
had expected it, and was prepared for
the Salfinn hnr.alf Of
table, she hastily wrote a note, direct
ing it 10 detective of considerable
celebrity, who lived in Concord, re-
questing his immediate presence. Dis
patching this by servant, she seated
herself, and waited anXiously for re-
ply. Half an hour later the doorbell
sounded, and the detective was ushered
Into the room. He was mid lie aged
man, with clean shaven face, and
projecting brows, beneath which gilt
tered pair of eyes that seemed to look
through an object, in tead of being coll
tented with moderate examination of
the surface.
Taking the seat pa offered him by Mrs
Thorn, he drew small notebook
from his pocket, and sharpening pen
Gil, said:
Il am ready for business, Mrs. Thorn.
Your letter stated that murder had
been committed, please give me state
ment of the case, and be as brief as pos
sible.'
The detective delivered these wor Is
in quick, energetic manner, running
his eyes restlessly round the apartment
as he spoke.
Mrs. Thorn remained silent for some
time, collecting her thoughts. and thei
commenced: