St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-01-11


it came from %
In giving her evidence at the trial
Peggy said that putting this and that
together she could think no other than
that he had discovered the mistresSes'
hoard, and had been helping himself.
1t was bnt suspicion, of course, and 1T
was not for her to accuse him, but when
he offered her $40 to mind for him, all
in gold she made an excuse and de-
clined."
At the end of that week old Mrs.
krumiser was missing.
She seemed better than she had been
of late, and after dinner wriked out of
the house and into the garden, and
when one of the nieceS went to bring
her in to tea, she was nowhere to be
found. Chiffinch, who was at work in
the stables, helped to look for her. 1t
was very large old garden, and in
part of it that was never cultivated
there was a well, and continuing the
search to this part it was evident that
there had been struggle at that spot.
No one could stumble into the well. as
it was fenced in with brickWOrk to
height of nearly yard. There was old
Mrs. Krumlser'S cap trod into the mud
dy soil, it had been raining all the pre-
vious night, and there were plentiful
foOtmarkS of all round about, some such
as woman would make, and the
others of heavy boots, and with deep,
circular indentations, such as might be
made by Chiffinch's iron-shod boot.
A man was lowered down into the
well with rope and a grapple, and the
body of poor old Mrs. Krumiser was
brought to the surface at the first cast.
Everything pointed to Chifinch as
being the murderer.
But he. while acknowledging that he
had been guilty of concealing the fact
that he knew the deceased was in the
we'll, stouty maintained his innocence.
At the same time it was the opinion of
everyone who heard it that his explana-
ton was a lame aud exceedingly I'M
likely one.
He accounted for the moneys he had
in his possession and part of which he
had requested Peggy Drake to mind for
him. He had found it. 1t had appa-
rently been purposely slowed away and
hidden, but not by Mrs. Krumiser,
neither was it her property. The sum
he, Chiffinch, lhad discovered was e40.all
in gold. and it was in an old leather
bag, such as old Ambrose Krumiser
used to carry on market days, and
it had been placed i'll a hole in the
wall in the hay loft, the probable
period of the deposit being indicated by
a toll gate ticket within the bag and
dated within few weeks of the farm
er's death. When, as he averred, he re-
marked to Peggy Drake that there
might be more where that came from,
he meant that the old man, whose mis-
erly habits were pretty much like those
of his wife, might have more gold hid
den away IN out-Of-the-Way places and
he might find it.
AS regarded the untimely end Of his
mistress Chiffinch declared that it was
a case of suicide. He had seen her In
the garden on the day of her death and
they had some talk together, she being
more friendly than she bad shown her
self towards him for a long time. She
related to him, as something she had
never mentioned before, and as secret
he must never divulge, the nonsense
about the spirit of her husband
having returned to earth and
taken up his abode in the apes
skin, where it intended TO remain and
haunther until she repaid him all the
money he had boarded there during his
lifetime, and of which she had pos
sessed herself. She was in great
trouble, because, although she was able
to repay the claim in question, her
could not touch it, and that since her
husbands spirit was growing more
and more angry every day there was
nothing for her, even though it cost her
her life, but to ind the money and APP
pease it.
II couldn't make anything of her wild
talk said Chitfinch, land while was
persuading her to return to the house,
she suddenly turned and ran toward
the well. Her craZinesS seemed to give
her more strength than she. has shown
for years, and she was so quick | could
not overtake her until she reached
the well. She ran round and round
it to prevent me taking hold of her.
which accounts for her footprints and
mine being so numerous at that spot,
and her cap came off and got trod in the
mud. never dreamt that il was her
called out for help. But all in mo-
ment she did jump in, striking her head
against the side and sinking like stone.
1t rushed to my mind that l might be
suspected of numbering her. 1t would
be said that we were unfriendly. and
my having been seen with money would
be brought up against me, people think
ing that had robbed her of it and that
had given rise to quarrel between us.
So, like fool, resolved to say nothing
about it."
AS might have been expected, counsel
for the prosecution ridiculed Chiffinch's
"explanation. and spoke of it as pre-
posterous and unworthy moments
serious consideration. And the Judge,
Enthusiastically leaning to the same opin-
ion, had no hesitation in finding YER
dict of guilty against Christopher Chit
6poh ubO Uyoc nOnhQmOnd RI daoth
And hanged he undoubtedly would
have been but for very singular acct
dent. AS need not be said the water
in the old we'll was no longer used for
domestic purposes, but was good enough
for cattle.
The water was drawn up in a large
stable pail, which being old sprung a
leak, which was temporarily stopped
with large putty plaster. This
was one day being let down by boy,
and the weight proving too much
for him, and losing control of the wind
lass, the bucket fell plump to the bot
tom. When it was hauled up, 10 and
behold! there was six soYereigns stick
ing to the putty!
Amazed at this seeming miracle the
experiment was repeated; at the second
cast two more "gold fish" were brought
to the surface. Once again and four
more came up.
There was a stir. then. A steam
pump was procured and the well
drained dry, and rich indeed was the
mud and clay which formed the Wells
bottom. Carefully washed and sifted it
yielded no less than 1,l30 soyereigns.
This turned new light on the Kru-
miser mystery, and it seemed that Chit
finch's story might after all be true.
The old woman, according to him, had
told him she had money enough to meet
the claim her dead husbands spirit had
made on her. but sit was sunk in such
a way she couldn't touch it," but get at
it she must, though she lost her life in
the effort Then she ran to the we'll
and threw herself in.
Which may have been her mad way of
''fnding" the gold she herself had
.sSnnk.u This was The nth of the nett