The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-10-07
THE MISSING NAN,


dard in the Burleigh Club reading room
'Spaight wasn't the sort of man 10 com
nit suicide, and no man would commit
suicide by putting his head instead of his
neck on the rail. AS they were crossing
the line the Australian shot him from be-
hind through the head, and then laid the
head on the rail that it might be crushed
into pulp-as it was-and the bullet hole
efaced. 1t was sharp of the doctor to
suspect this and search for the bullet.
which he found, - sharp!i reiterated
the colonel enphatically, since praise of
the doctors sagacity was praise of his
own.
Poor deviln' said a young fellow
named Griffiths, alphabetically. poor
devil2 just when the luck had turned
They say he had backed Bullyboy at l6
to l against, and had made an immense
haul"
He'd have been welcome here"
sneered Marsden. You might paper the
room with mis- 1 U.s.
We'll, we'll; he couldn't have died at a
better time, - said the colonel
All glanced up at him with looks of sur
prised inquiry.
He'll have so many sincere mourners.n
explained the colonel. Every creditor
will grieve sorely that he wasn't spared
to pay him."
He hadn't many others to miss him.
anyway" said the shocked and sympa-
thetic Grittths. to whom Spaight had
owed nothing. The sole relative at the
funeral was brother he hadn't seen for
years"
suppose the Australian was caught
and made TO disgOrge, and the brother
came in for the oof, would he pay up here,
Iwonder2" specialized Marsden.
AS most of the fellows present held
Spaights o US for greater or less sums
lost at cards, the arrest of the Australian
became question of warm interest and
debate and of some bets.
He can't escape" cried Marsden, pos
itiyely.
Why not3 Why couldn't he go under
as Spot did,"
Why? Because Spot had a long start
and Spot hadn't a bad squirt, a broken
nose and livid scar across the right
cheek. Why Cain himself couldn't have
been marked more Enthusiastically!
We'll, they haven't got him yet, any
way, and it's now just a week since the
murder. If they couldn't run him to
earth when the the trail was fresh they
are not likely to do it now"
Pooh Those Manchester detectives
are as dull and slow as the smoke from
sent down yesterday from Scotland yard
and he'll soon run him in, you'll see"
IN tell you what don't see.n piped a
shrill-voiced, captous youth named Skin
ner. Il don't see that it's so certain the
Australian did it, It's only circumstan-
tial evidence after all
Only Circumstantial evidence! If YOU
found chick in your egg you'd say it was
only circumstantial evidence that the egg
wasn't laid this morning. Here's the
fellow, this Australian-Brill, or Brouzh,
or whatever his name is-chums with
SpaiGht in the same rooms in Manches-
ter goes to the course with him. spends
the day in his company returns still
with him, IS seen with him half an hour
before the body was found on the line,
and has never been seen since-didn't
even return for his belongings to the
rooms. And you say it's only circum-
stantial evidence.
Here IS every man, woman and child
In the three kingdoms talking of him for
week, every newspaper for a week full
OF him, every dead wall plastered with
200 reward, and his photograph with
skew eyes. broken nose, and Scared
cheek, but he never reads, hears, or sees
anything about the matter, for he never
comes forward to clear himself. Con-
found it, man! l don't know what you'd
nave it's enough to hang an archbishop"
But suppose he sailed from Liverpool
that night, or the next morning, then he
would have had no chance to see or hear
anything of the murder" objected the
contentious Skinner.
You haven't been reading YOUR paper.
my Toy. Within an hour from the find
Ing OF the body wire was sent to every
seaport in Great Britain TO arrest any
man answering to the Australians de-
Scnption TO embark"
III seems to me" piped the argumenta-
- ? NlnuN
much Why hasn't fellow with 600 on
ms head, and marked as unmIstakably as
Caln, been discovered long ago! It's to
no ones interest to shield a total stran-
ger and brutal murderer, while it's ev-
cry ones interest to pocket 600; yet,
lhough' according to you, every child
must recognize him, he's still at large"
This Burleigh club discussion, which
presently waXed warm and wild, was
only an emphatic variant of the discus
sion which was the chief feature in every
newspaper, and in every conversation
throughout the kingdom at this time. 1t
was the dull season, certainly but this
would not altogether suffice to account
ior the absorbing interest the public took p
IN Ihe Spaight murder 1t was a singu-
larry cold-bOoded and atrocious murder
10 begln with, and there was fascina-
llon OF horror for large class of readers
III the penny-a-liner's grewsome descrip-
-" ~ INC pup 10 winch Ju6 race OIL bn6
murdered man had been reduced by the
wheels of the express But the interest
Oh the public was specially focused upon
the mysterious and miraculous disappear
dnGe OF the murderer into space.
The Australian, as Marsden had said,
SO peculiarly marked that no one who mad
once seen his lace could ever forget it,
ana no one who had once read a descrip-
uon Of IL could fail to recognize it; yet,
though this description had appeared in
every paper in the kingdom, aud though
every eye in the kingdom had been sharp
ened TO identify it by the o-fer of goo re-
ward, the man was still at large. The
manchester police were so far from de-
serving Marsden's disparagement that
tney mad acted with exemplary prompti-
'ule and penetration.
lhey had no sooner identified Spaight
as the murdered man than they suspected
biough of his murder, telegraphed their
suspicion and the Australians descrip-
.on to every seaport in Great Britain and
10 every station of importance. Every
ram that left Manchester about the
siAe OF the murder was sCrutinized at the
urst station where the telegraph could
o'ertake it, while every train that left
mat city since the discovery of the body
was QarFOwlv pyaninad from end 10 end