The San Francisco call., 1895-05-19

it. / am now confident that I saw the
image OF the murderer just as he appeared
when creeping forward to leap upon his
victim. AS the murder occurred on such
night as this it may be that the ligh thing
photographed an image of the murderer
on the face of the rock. 1t is not impossi-
bic that every move the robber
made is pictured on the limestone,
and might be brought out and
made visible could any one hit upon the
right process. In the last vivid fash that
played upon the face of the rock had
before me as perfect photograph as
have ever seen in my life. A more vii
famous face / never saw, nor a more
fendish expression-it was murder itself.
The strong light must have brought out on
the wet surface of the rock the image of
the fellow just as he was in the act of strik-
ing his first blow. 1t was wonderful! And
do you know, even saw that the fellow
had only three fingers on his left hand.
The whole of the little finger on that hand
was gone"
Here the middle-aged miner who had all
the evening remained smoking and silent
in his corner arose and came forward. Ad-
dressing the prospector he said: Excuse
me, my friend, but it has occurred to me
from what / have heard you say this even
ing that you ought to be able to recognize
the man whose image you saw so strangely
depicted on the rock in case you should
anywhere encounter him. Would YOU
know him, think you?"
'Know him! I'd know him among ten
thousand. He had the face of devil.
I've seen some bad greasers, but no other
face that | have ever seen was quite SO
bad-brutally savage and cruel, yet cow
ardly. 1t was the face of a human
coyote"
be able to recognize the Mexican devil. |
am William Brooks, the brother to whose
camp the young man was going when he
met his death. For five years / have
been trying to get some clew to the mur-
derer of my young brother. I have all
along felt that the murderer did not
leave the country. Something has told me
that he is still here, that he is occasionally
attracted to the scene of his crime, par
ticularly at this season, and that have at
times been near him. In some way this
notion has so taken hold of me that I
come up here every fall and linger about
this neighborhood for week or two at the
time OF the first storms. l become uneasy
in mind and am almost forced to come,
though thus far have made no discovery
of importance. However, wait and
watch.n
"Was any article taken by the robber
that you would recognize?''
"Yes, several, but one in particular. [
will explain in regard to it. / came to
OdiiAOllid III looA, lio III y yOuUgeSD DrOJQer
came out to me six years later-in 1853 I
was born in 1922 and when my brother
came he brought silver quarter-dollar
bearing that date. He SAID he had
saved it to give me as a pocket
piece. | took this piece and while looking
at it thought struck me. by George
said I, I'll tell you what we'll do; we'll
just cut the quarter in two and each take
half. am now % years OF age and you
are 1S; we'll cut the piece through the date
and I'll take the % part and give you the
half carrying the 49,.
"Well, the piece was so divided and we
hung the halves on our watcbchains Here
you see on my watchchain the half con-
tanning the figures %. From the BODY of
my brother was taken Waltham gold
watch, of which have the number. with a
plain gold chain on which was his half of
the coin. Now, Pm always watching for
my murdered brothers half of the silver
quarter, and some day shall catch sight
of it."
'sNot likely" said the prospector, then
added as an afterthought, however the
devil does at times put some fool kinks
into the heads of his children when he gets
ready to rake them in"
"Never again will you see the other half
of that quarter" said the doubter; sno
murderer would be such an idiot as to
carry it about"
"Well, in some way I'll get a clew,"
said Brooks. Fool, fool that was to let
the boy go alone to the Washoe silver
mines felt at the time that / ought to
drop my own mines and go with him. He
went in the spring of 1860, the time of the
war with the Piuto Indians-and thouoht