The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1894-10-05
MARKED IN BLOOD.

On Sept. II the inspector of police at
the Remington Road police station was
preparing to go home, it being 8 a. m.
and his night duty over, when he was
stopped by an elderly woman, who rush
ed into the room and cried:
ooh, do send some one, sir, to 11S
Wernham road. My poor old masters
been cruelty murdered. He's lying in
his room in pool of blood like river.
1t must have been done in the night.
Do come at once, sir. "
On the way to Wernham road the in
spector questioned the housekeeper.
"Who sleeps in the house besides
yourself and the old gentleman" he
asked.
mot blessed soul, sir, cried Mrs.
Masters. "Only me and my poor old
master. Sich a nice, regular man as he
was, comm 'ome every night to lis tea
and always in bed by 10 O'Clock. Oh,
it's cruel thingP'
"Did any one visit him last night
that you know Off" asked the inspector.
"Not that / know of, sir, but to tell
you the truth was in bed myself early
last night, 'avin bad attack Of 'ead-
ache. The old gentleman always let
'imself in with lis latchkey, as he
naturally would. He come to bed after
1 was asleep, for I never 'eard i'm come
in.
ellis supper was always laid out
ready for i'm in the dinin room, and he
wouldn't want no waitin on, so there
was nothin wrong in my bein off to bed
as 1 did, 'avin, as l said, bad cad
ache and bein very subject to sick 'ead
aches, which, as you may know, sir,
are very unpleasant, to say the least of
them, and"--
''Was the supper eaten?" said the in
spector, interrupting the woman's elo-
quence.
"Well, sir, to say the truth, I've not
thought of lookin. Directly see i'm
a-lyin there off to the station as ard
as 1 can go. I can't sleep in the place
tonight. That can't"
By this time they had reached the
house and went up stairs. The inspector
and his man went in and locked the
door behind them. A knock was heard
at the door.
''Can 1 come imp said Mrs. Masters.
Certainly" replied the inspector.
"Open the door, Jenkins. We shall
want her no doubt. -
Poor, dear mani" cried the lady
again when she saw the body of the
old man. 1.-THE monsters!' She burst
into tears.
"You had better go for a surgeon,
said Mr. Bevis to the constable. "He
ought to see the body as soon as posi-
BILE, as we shall want his report on it. {"
While the man was gone the in
spector, accompanied by Mrs. Masters,
visited every room in the house. Every
thing was orderly and untouched.
The assassin must have left the
place by the ordinary means Of egress,
for all the windows were locked. The
front door, Mrs. Masters told the in
spector, would no doubt have been I'M
bolted in any case, for Mr.. Mayne cher
master, the man who lay deadD never
bolted it if he let himself in, leaving
her to do SO.
They reached tho dining room and
found that the supper had been eaten.
The bottle of ale was finished, there re-
naming only a small portion in the
tumbler The old man had evidently
made hearty meal and gone to his
room.
The constable returned III half an
hour with divisional surgeon, Mr..
Brooks. That gentleman made minute
examination of the corpse and said that
the cause of death was a knife wound
in one of the veins Of the thigh.
The old man must have bled to death,
and the process of dying must have been
prolonged. He should have had an OPP
portunity of calling for help. Mrs. Mas
tiers was certain, however, that he had
not done so.
'I'm light sleeper, gentlemen, "
she said, addressing the three men,,
land the slightest thing wakes me. If
he'd called out at the door, must have
card i'm. It's a certainty.
"Quite So" said the surgeon. 81
have no doubt, my good woman, that
you arc not at all TO blame, but we
shall, of course, go further into the
thing at the inquest AT present there
seems nothing to show by whose hand
the old man died. F"
Whats that book doing there?" said
the inspector abruptly, pointing to a
dictionary which lay close to the old
man. 1t was not beside him, but ON a
chair just above his head.
"a dictionary apparently, said the
surgeon, glancing at it. "By JoveP'
he cried suddenly as he turned over the
leaves. What's this? Every now and
then come to word against which
there is mark in blood. This is
strange"