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


mouth. The kitchen woman told Chit
finch. who gruffiy replied that he be-
| lieved it was lie of the same pattern
as that Matched up by Helen Prawl.
1t was only his blunt way of speak
ing, the fact being that he and Peg gy
Drake were on almost sweetheartin e
terms, and walked out together Sun
days.
When the shocking murder Of old
Mrs. Krumiser shook Oxbridge to its
foundations, Chifinch was speedily ar
rested and indicted.
1t was with evident reluctance that
Miss Drake gave discriminating evidence
against Chiffinch at the trial. She
stated on oath that on one occasion
when they were talking Of old Mrs.
Krumiser having been seen to place
sovereigns in her mouth. and apparent
ly to swallow them, that Chiffinch had
remarked with half laugh that would
give the old woman shake up the next
time he was carrying her to the garden
| in her chair, and if he heard anything
rattle inside her he would no more mind
| twisting her neck than the man did who
killed his goose for the sake of the gold
] en- egg.
Drake further deposed that Chiffinch
had expressed to her his opinion that
Mrs. Krumiser had lot of money hid
den away somewhere, but that it would
take them all their time to find it, for
she was more artful than old Ambrose,
who had slowed his savings in the
stuffed monkey. And. at that time, Chit
finch had remarked: ''If you or me,
Peg, could discover the golden nest, by
hook or crook, it would give US a fair
start to marry on" And when she
asked him what he meant, when he said
'by hook or crook" he made answer
that zone day he might have to put her
courage to the test, and then he would
explain further"
Other evidence was forthcoming,
showing that within few weeks of the
murder the accused had been observed
under such circumstances as left little
watching the old woman. One time
after he had carried her into the garden
he was seen by the cowboy to crawl
under heap of straw at point from
which he could watch her movements,
and on another occasion he was OBJ
served to climb up into an old pear tree
and crouch among its branches pro5a-
bly, for the same purpose. But one of
the most serious items of testimony
against Chiffinch at this period was that
all of sudden the old woman took
dislike to Chiffinch, and was seemingly
afraid of him. She would not permit
him to carry her into the garden, or, if
she knew it. to enter the garden, even.
''He is crafty" she remarked to her
nieces, 'crafty and sly. He Is a changed
man and l 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 him, she
made answer:
mo, no, that wouldn't do!
wouldn't have him think that / sus-
pected him for the world. He might
turn reyengeful and Turk about the
neighborhood and come one night and
murder me in my bed"
Chiffinch was informed of this by
Peggy Drake, but he affected to make
light of it, and said that he had noticed
a ''queerness" in the old woman lately,
and perhaps she was going bit cranky.
And there was some evidence of the
latter. Although Mrs. Krumiser could
still manage to walk about bit in the
garden, and seemed no weaker bodily
speaking than usual. she began to have
old faDcies, one of which was to have
the old stuffed ape, which years ago
had been put away in a lumber room,
brought back again into her bedroom.
She had. she declared, had it made
known to her in a vision that her late
husbands spirit had taken up its abode
within it, and that it intended to re-
main in its present quarters until the
money it had been robbed of had been
replaced where originally deposited,
when that happened the ghost would
return to where it came.
'sAnd where is that?" niece Catherine
asked her. WAS you told in the vision,
aunt, where the spirit came from?"
Old Mrs. Krumiser made no verbal
response. but with a jerk of her head
indicated a downward direction"
''Good Lord'' the niece exclaimed,
"what-in that dreadful place."
"Who mentioned dreadful place,
you fool? If you had waited a moment.
! was going to tell you that in the vision
it was explained to me that, as pun
ishment for drinking hot rum and
water after dinner on Sundays, your
poor uncle is doomed to abide IN cold
spring in the bowels of the earth for
one hundred years."
She told the doctor the same story.
s.There could be no HARM" he said,
sin bringing back the stuffed ape to the
bed room again, since she so much de-
sired it, but it seemed not improbable
that her intellect was failing her, and
that she had best be we'll looked after"
Soon after this Chiffinch became flush
of cash. His wages being but eleven
shillings week, he had at all times to
practice the strictest economy, and sell
dom allowed himself more than half
pint of ale at the ale house of evenings.
But, quite suddenly, he seemed to have