Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1892-12-18

with like result, or rather with no re-
suit at all. The tube dropped from his
fingers and he sank into q chair utterly
dazed and COMPOUNDED.
What had happened to his friend?
Had he been the unwilling auditor OF a
tragedy in which Lumsden had played
the part Of victim? If nothing had hap
pened, why had the latter failed to re-
Spond 20 his summons? But the need
FOR ascertaining, beyond the possibility
OF doubt, whether his fears had any
foundation in fact was q spur to imme-
date action. He rang and ordered a
hanson to be fetched with all speed.
While waitiRg for 1t he signaled again
through the instrument, hoping against
hope TO hear his friends CHEEKY HAL
loOl" in return, but the silence that
ensued was as the silence Of the grave.
1t was with a heart replete with for
boding the most dire that, few min
utes later, he found himself on his way
to Saint Augustine's alley, in which
narrow but important thoroughfare
Lumsden's Offices were situated.
But quick as he had been in reaching
the scene, the tragedy which had been
enacted therefor nothing less did it
prove TO be-had already become public
property. The premises were in charge
OF the police, while the alley itself was
blocked by a surging crowd Of men and
youths, each and all anxious to CLEAN
the latest particulars of crime so start
ling and mysterious, for it is not often
that a merchant OF the city OF London is
murdered in his Office In broad day
light.
On the oblong mahogany table, at
which he had sat for so many hours
every week day, lay the dead body OF
Edward Lumsden, terrible wound on
his left temple, as il caused by some
blunt instrument, revealing to all pres
ent the nature of the foul play to which
he had fallen victim.
The particulars Of the affair, so far as
they had yet been ascertained, were as
follows:
1t had been Mr.. Lumsden's practice
to charge himself with the care Of the
establishment during luncheon hour,
when, as rule, he and an office boy
were the sole occupants OF the ground
floor, which comprised couple OF rooms
-Lumsden's own Office and a much
larger one for the use of the staff. On
this ninth Of June, about five minutes
after the half dozen clerks had left in q
body, the Office boy, Houghton by name,
was sent by his master with a note 70
the head of firm some distance away,
and, according to his own account, was
gone Just a quarter of an hour, during
which time 10 must have been that
Lumsden tried to open up q commune
cation with his friend by telephone. On
the lads return he was Mortified at find
ing his masters body stretched lifeless,
on the floor. II was evident that Lums-
den had been struck down while seated
close to the telephone waiting for the
signal that Orde had returned. Appear
ances led to the conclusion that the safe
had been hurriedly ri1ed Of whatever
notes and gold it might have contained,
the door being open and the floor Uttered
with documents Of various kinds. So
far all inquiries had failed to elicit the
slightest evidence Of any one, either q
stranger or otherwise, having been seen
70 enter or leave the premises between
the time Of Houghton's quitting them
and his return. And there, for the
present the affair rested.
As the dead mans oldest friend II
now became James Orde's unenvable
duty 20 break the terrible tidings to his
wife and family.