The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1894-10-03
WHICH HAND WAS TT?
ALAwYER,s STORY.

-
WHICH HAND WAS 1T?
A Lawyers STORY.
At the time the following incident
took place [ was about "a years Of
age, and had just been admitted to the
bar. Ihad studied hard, and my pre-
ceptor predicted for me great success
in the profession I had chosen; in
fact, / felt myself that I was sure of
success sooner or later. This feeling
vas not that Of vanity, but only a
consciousness Of power. must con-
fess, however, I anticipated many
years Of hard work before making
any reputation, or even having any
difficult case on which to exercise my
ability.
One day I took up the morning pa
per, according to my usual custom,
and was soon interested in the graph
ic account Of a cold-blooded murder
and bank robbery. The First Nation
+ al, one Of the richest banks in the
city, had been robbed Of s100, 900 and
the janitor shot. The cashier was
found the morning after the occur
renee in small closet in the inner
Office, and his death was expected
shourly-the great. wonder being that
he had not smothered to death.
Like many others, I took an inter
sestinSthe case, which was SO mystic
rions, no clew being found except a
black mask and revolver, which had
been dropped in the Office. The jani-
tor occupied room on the lower
floor; but his body was found in the
room adjoining the Office in which the
cashier was found, and in which was
the safe. The doctors all agreed that
the janitor had lived for at least ten
minutes after being shot; thathe must
have struggled hard, for his head. show
ed marks Of blows from the butt of q
reoplver.
That this could all take place in an
adj djoining room, and the cashier not
BE put onshis guard, seemed absurd,
and there were many who claimed that
he was an accompEce, had opened the
safe, and then been locked in the clos
ct without considering the insufficient
cy Of air. The cashier, contrary to all
expectations, recovered, and told his
story:
He stated that he was detained at
the bank by some work until 9
o'clock. He heard no noise Of any
kind; but was seated at his desk bus
lily writing then he heard someone
exclaim:
"Look around or make q noise and
and you are dead man"
Looking naturally ahead, he beheld
in the mirror over his desk a man in
his shirt-sleeves, who held revolver
close to his head. The fellow was
about six feet in height, quite stout,
and had: on a black mask, which COW
cred his face to the mouth his chin
was bare, and his revolver was held
in the right hand, the left arm being
cut off at the elbow. This he saw in the
few seconds that elapsed before the
robber ordered him to get up, repeat
ing his injunction not to look
around or make any noise. He then
said:
"I have come for the money in that
safe. I have killed the janitor, and
will kill you, unless you open it. In
order. to show you that I mean busi-
ness, I have brought the body of the
janitor upstairs, and he isin the next
room. Walk to the door and look at
him. You need not try to escape, for
the outer door is locked, and I will
shoot you if you attempt it.
The cashier walked to the door If
the main Office, and he beheld the
dead body Of the janitor upon the
floor.
sNow open the safe" said the rob-
Der.
The cashier, frightened at the fate
before him if he refused, decided to
open the safe, hoping for an opportu-
nifty to oYerpower the rufian: but
when the safe was open, the robber
quietly ordered him to enter the clos
ct. This he was also compelled to do.
The closet was so small that person
could not turn around in it, otherwise
he would have pushed open the door
and grappled with the robber when he
heard him drop the revolver, which
he was obliged to do in order to lock
the door. He heard the robber at the
safe, but in afew minutes became un-
conscious from the lack Of air, and
knew nothing more until his recovery.
This story created great excitement
the more so from the fact that the
description was almost an exact one
of Colonel Coventry, one Of the direc-
tors Of the bank. The Colonel had
been an officer in the Civil War, and
had lost his left forearm in the SER
vice. The cashiers story was cor
roborated by finding blood upon the
CARPET of the janitor's room, and it
was found by experiment that revol-
yer discharged therein could not be
heard in the Office above. Two men
informed the reporter that they had
seen Colonel Coventry walking by the
bank at half-past eight on the eve
ming Of the murder. This evidence
was sufficient to cause his arrest, and
he was placed in jail.
AS soon as I heard the cashier $
story, I determined to defend Colonel
Coventry, for 7 saw an opportunity to
prove his innocence and making a
reputation for myself. / ordered q
hack, and driving to the Jail, found
the Colonel consulting his lawyers: |
waited till they had departed, then
stated my reasons for coming. He