The advocate., 1895-06-12

well looked at his brother, saw he was angry and
subsided at once
81 insist on knowing who wrote that, sirl fercely
demanded DObbins
"Excuse me, please. 1 am too we'll bred to tell at
yOur bidding what have just declined to tell to
man."
This caused litter
"Impertinent VagsbondP' exclaimed the batting
DObbins.
Sydney raised his hands suddenly, saying:
"Whst if these handouts should come off?' And
it looked as if they might.
Dobbins Tetreated behind the men in his rear.
This caused laughter, even in the presence of the
dead.
The coroner cried out:
eff anyone here knows sught that has not been
told as to how, or at whose hands, the deceased
Alexander HOtchkiSs, lying here dead, came to his
death, charge him, in the name of the Common
wealth of Massachusetts, to come forth and diVulge
the same"
No one came forth No one was expected to come
forth The coroner did not wait for anybody to
come forth; but with this solemn sdjurston to the
world in general to come FORTH forthwith closed the
proceedings. Sydney was taken back to town andto
jail. The jury retired to the wood to consider of
their verdict They all agreed that the deceased
came to his death by gun-shot wound in the head,
but when they came to say in whose hands was the
aforesaid gun at the particular time when that gun
shot wound was inflicted, they were perpexed, for
as Sydney Stone had acted precisely if he had not
received the note and as if he did not receive it he
could not have dropped it there in the road and so
there was no evidence that he was present at the
scene of the murder; and as HotchkiSs had been
robbed of large sum of money, and not dollar
had been traced to Sydney's possession; and as he
did not look like murderer, anyhow, they hest
tated to fix the stigma upon him. But someone alast
put the fatal question:
'If he didn't do it, who ddP"
And the matter was settled at once, the jury as
suming that if he was not guilty, he would be &C
quilted when tried. So the verdict that Sydney
Stone held the felonious gun when 1t went off of
malice aforethought and killed Alexander Hotch-
kiss.
Everybody went home; everybody but Reuben
Stilwell, who had wandered off in search of geo.
logical specimens, fossiiferous stones being at that
time found in that locality and Job COtte who had
gone into the road whence the bullet had come to
''reconoltre" Behind large tree not far from the
road he picked up leather pocket book for carry
ing papers. 1t was empty, and he supposed it had
been taken from Hotchkiss No name was in it nor
about it. No indication whatever of ownership.
Coming out of the wood he met Reuben, and
showed it to him. Reuben told him to keep it, and
say not word about it, that it might furnish clue
to the real murderer A stone of an odd character
and almost spherical in shape attracted Reubens at
tention, and he picked it up and took it with him
for his collection.
The two men mounted their horses, when Job re-
marked:
"SYd has friend who ought to know and who
won't find out, as he lives by himself over here in
the wood. I'm going to see him."
Reuben returned to Worcester alone, and in deep
thought. Although fully convinced of his limo.
cence he saw no hope for Sydney Stone unless the
presence of that note could be explained and to ex
plain that, it would be necessary to explain the
murder itself.