News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1891-02-26

N Il IA1AJ1I OO1NI 1CC1OINs
1 haven't q bit of patience with that
class of men who are always shaking
their heads in a solemn way and de-
claring that many an honest man has
been sent to state prison on circum-
stantial evidence. Such instances have
been known, of course, but they are
very rare, and it is then the fault of the
accused. l am about to narrate the
particulars of q case which excited
widespread interest in 1868, and | ask
the reader to follow the situations close
ly and to see what curious combina-
tions can arise through circumstance.
James Stowe was merchant in the
village of G., Ills. He had been
there fifteen years He was a church
member, had no vices, and while ac-
counted rather close listed, he was said
to be strictly honest. A year before
the mystery occurred he had taken a
boy named Robert Lisle into his home,
the lad being an orphan and his
nephew. Bob, as we all called him,
was Is years old when he came. He
went inco the store as clerk, and a
bedroom was made for him up stairs.
l was a boy of Bob's age, and we
came to be chums 1t thus came about
that | learned the cause of certain
welts and bruises on his legs and body.
His uncle, while pretending to feel
h.
speaking to him in the kindest manner
before others, was beating him on the
slightest excuse and seeking to make
the place SO warm for him that he
would run away. Some boys would
have gone, but Bob hadn't the courage
to get up and face the world without
shilling in his pocket.
On the afternoon of the 23d day of
June, 1868, as was sworn to in court, I
was in the alley back of the store, and
heard Stowe whipping Bob in the
storeroom. l heard him charge Bob
with stealing some money, but the boy
vigorously denied it, After the whip
ping Stowe told three different Gus
TONERS that he ns-u caught the boy
stealing, but suppressed the fact that
he had whipped him. l saw Bob
about an hour after the affair. and he
made his denial in such a manner that
felt sure Of his innocence. l then ad-
vised him to run away, but as l had
no money to give him, and as he had
not penny of his own, he did not
think it best to 60 He wanted me to
come and share his bed with him that
night, as had often done before, but
a circumstance prevented. Stowe saw
us together and ordered me away
from the store.
At o'clock that evening man
named Chadwick arrived in the village
from Chicago to visit a sister. He had
81, 900 in money with him, and he asked
Stowe to keep it in his safe over night.
At s o'clock the store was closed, and
Stowe went home. At 9 o'clock l left
home to go to the store, calculating
to call Bob up by throwing pebbles
against his window, signal often made
before AS passed the alley | saw
man skulk away. l afterward swore
in court that believed this man to be
Stowe The sight of him frightened
me, and | returned home at once.
Next morning ''the mystery" opened
with grand blast of trumpets. Bob
Lisle had disappeared during the night
and the safe had been robbed of Chad
wick's $1,000. Investigation height
ened the mystery.
There was blood on Bob's pillow. A
trail of blood led from his bedside to
the back door of the store. The safe
had been opened in the regular way,
and Stowe claimed that S4O0 OF his
money had gone with Chadwick's The
town was at once alive. and the village
constable proved his enthusiasm and
worth by arresting two strangers. One
soon identified himself as an honest
man, while the other admitted that he
was a deserter from the army and a
tramp. On searching him $12O in
greenbacks was found in one of his
pockets He declared that he found
this money in the alley in the rear OF
Stoves store that morning about day
light, he having passed the night in a
store shed further down the alley. If
he expected any one to believe such
thin story as that he was sadly taken
aback. 1t was believed by all that the
right man had been arrested, and the
constable at once became the hero OF
the hour. A Chicago detective, who
InnYo,,n1 ~, A,, hof f1-aU
looked the ground over and declared
the arrest to be a slick job.
There had not only been a robbery,
but murder had been done, and there
was no doubt that both deeds had been
accomplished by the same hand.
Everybody turned out to look for Bob
Lisle's body, and every spot where it
could have been concealed within a
radius of three miles was carefully ex-
amined. 1t could not be found, but
this fact only strengthened the general
belief in the deserter's guilt. He had,
by the by, given his name as William
Davis, and had vigorously and con-
tinually asserted his innocence of any
Issued, charging him with robbery and
murder, and inside of week he had
been examined and held to the higher
court without bail
On the very day that this occurred a
Down East Yankee with a patent
churn arrived in town, and of course
he soon heard all about the mystery.
To everybody's surprise he declared
Davis innocent, and argued as follows
''How was the store entered9 as the
doors and windows were all right, it
must have been entered by one of the
doors with key. How was the safe
robbed2 BY some one who knew the
combination and opened it. The boy
was upstairs, the safe downstairs. What
| need to meddle with the law at anP'