Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-02-22

lions Ghihnch was speeuily aIIesteu anu
indicted.
n was with evident reluctance that Miss
Drake gave discriminating evidence against
Chifinoh at the trial. She stated on oath
that on one occasion when they we're talk
ing Of old Mrs krumiser having been seen
TO place govereiqns IN her mouth, ana ap-
parently TO swallow them. that Chlthnch
had remarked with a half-iaugh That ne
would give the old woman a shake-up the
next timo he was carving her 10 tne gar
den in her chair. ard II be heard anYthlng
rattle inside her he would no more nina
twisting her neck than the man did 'wEo
killed his goose for the sake OF the golden
eggs. .c,,m.1t.5
EXPRESSED TO her his opinion that MIS-
Krumiser had lot OF money hidden away
somewhere. but that V would take them
ali their time 20 find IL, for she was more
orY ful than old Ambrose, who had stored his
savings in the stuffed monkey. Ana NJ
that time Chifiincb bad remarked III you
or me. PEG. could discover the golden nest,
by hook or crook, Il would give us ta'r
siert 10 marry on. " And when she asked him
what he meant when he said by hook or
by crook" be made answer that zone Gay
he might have 20 put her courage 70 the
| test. and that then he would explain Iur-
Their"
ing that within a few weeks Of the murder
the accused had been Observed under such
circumstances az left little room for DOUBT
that he was stealthily watching the Oldwo
man. One time after he had carried her
into the garden he was seen by the cow
boy TO crawl under a heap OF straw at
point from which he could watch ncr
movements. and on another occasion ne
was observed TO climb up into an old pear
] A. ,v.,,cb ito hranHn0I. DfO.
badly for the same purpose. But one Oh
tbe most serious items of testimony against
Cbi0inch at this period was that all OF a
sudden the old woman took diSuke 70
Chifinch and was seemingly afraid OF him
She would not permit him to carry her into
the garden. or il she knew 1t to enter the
house even.
HE is crafty" she remarked to her
neces, crafty and sly. he IS a chailpeu
man, and / wish he was far away from
here"
And when one Of them asked her, since
she could no longer trust him, why she
didn't discharge hm. she made answer; =.
" No, no. that wouldn't do | wouldn't
have him think that ! suspected hum tor
the world. He might turn reyengGiul ana
Turk about the neighbOrhood and come
one night and murder me in my bed.
Cbifinch was informed of this by Peggy
Drake. but he affected to make light OF IT,
and said that he had noticed queer
ness" in the old woman lately, and per-
haps che was going a bit cranky, Ana
there was some evidence Of the latter.
Although Mrs. Krumiser cOuldstill manage
10 walk about a bit in the garden, ana
seemed no weaker, bodily speaking, than
usual, she began 10 have odd tancles, ono
of which was to have the old stlned ape
which wears ago had been put away
in a lumber-room, brought back again
into her bedroom. She h9d, .she
declared, had 1t made known 10 her IN
vision that her late husbands spirit had
taken up its abode within it, and that II
intended TO remain in its present quarters
until the money it had been robbed or had
been replaced where originally Deposited;
when that happened the ghost would re-
turn TO whence II came.
And where is that?n niece Catherine
asked her. "Were YOU told in the vision,
aunt. where the spirit came from "
Old Mrs Krumiser made no verbal re-
spopse. but with jerk Of her head indi-
Gated a downward direction"
Good Lord" the niece exclaimed,
"what-in that dreadful placer"
"Who mentioned a dreadful place, you
fool? If you had waited a moment |
was coinc TO tell YOU that in the vision it
was explained to me that as punishment
for drinking hot rum and water after din,
ner on Sundays your poor uncle ls doomed
TO abide in q cold spring in the bowels OF
the earth for ono hundred years"
She told the doctor the same story.
There could be no harm" he said, in
bringing back the stuffed ape 60 the bed
room again, since she so much desired 1t,
but il seemed not improbable that her IN
tellect was failing her and that she had
best be well looked after
Soon after this Chiffinch became flush Of
cash. His wages being but eleven shilllngs
n week he had at oil times to practice the
strictest economy, and seldom allowed
himself more than half pint OF ale at the
ale-house Of evenings. But quite sudden
lv he seemed TO have plenty of money. He
TOOK 10 wearing his Sunday clothes on
weekdays, he bought a silver watch, and
one night, being at the Barleymow, he
stood drinks round TO everybody there at
a cost Of four and tenpence..
Such mad extravaganza, of course, soon
got talked about. 1t appeared TO have
been an understood thing between HIM
and Peggy Drake that they were each to
put by what they could out Of their earn
ings, and when they had accumulated
were TO be married. Peggy naturally con-
cluded that Chifinch had proved false to
her: that he bad altered his mind about
getting married and was fooling away his
savings in sheer wantOnness of spirit.
OF this she accused him. and he laughed
at her. 1t was all right, he declared. He
had come into a bit of money from an
unexpected quarter" and there might be
good deal to come yet. lie declined TO
give her any particulars rs to the quar-
ter mentioned, and was shy OF discussing
the matter with Peggy at all.
LAS long as the money was his" he re-
marked, "where was the odds where 1t
came from?n
In giving her evidence at the trial Peggy
said that putting this and that together
she could think no other than that be had
discovered the mistress's hoard, and had
been helping himself. twas but a suspicion
OF course. and il was not for her 10 accuse
him. but when he offered her go to mind
for him, all in gold, she made an excuse
aud declined
AT the end Of that week old Mrs. Kru-
miser was missing.
She seemed better than she had been Of
late and after dinner walked out OF the
house and into the garden, and when one Of
the uieces went to bring her in TO tea she
was nowhere 70 be found. Chiflinch, who
was OF work in the stables, helped to look
for her. 1t was a very large old garden and
in part of il that was never cultivated
there was well, and continuing the search
TO this part IL was evident that there had
been a struggle at that spot. No one could
stumble into the well, as 1t was fenced In
with brickwork TO a height of nearly
ward. There was old Mrs. Krumiser's cap
| trod in the muddy soil--it had been rain
ing all the previous highland there were
plentiful footmarks of all round about,
some such es woman would make. and
the others of heavy boots and with deep
circular lndentatlons such as might be
made by Chifinch's iron-shOd boot.
A man was lowered down into the well
with a rope and a grapple, and the body OF
poor old Mrs. Krumiser was brought TO the
surface at the FIRST cast.
Everything pointed to Chlfiinch as being
the murderer.
But he, while acknowledging that be
had been guilty Of conceahng the fact that
no knew the deceased was in the well,
stoutly maintained his innocence. AT the
same time IL was the opinion Of every one
who heard il that his explanation was a
lame and exceedingly unlikely one.
lie accounted for the moneys be had in
his possession and part Of which he had
requested Peggy Drake 20 mind for him.
He had found It. II had apparently been
purposely stowed away and hidden, but
not by Mrs. krumiser, neither was II her
property. The sum he (Chitfinch) had
discovered was $40, all in gold, and II
MAS in an old leather bag, such as old
Ambrose krumiser used 20 carry on