Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1895-04-23

my mingled wonder ana disgust, chuckled
again and disappeared round the bend of
the road.
hated and loathed the man, and the
hatred and loathing were strong upon me
when l went to bed. was tired and soon
fell fast asleep.
1t seemed long night. had passed it
In troubled dreamland, and somehow
when l awoke was not astonished to find
again by my bedside my puzzled and in.
quisitive wife.
You must, she said, shave been again
walking in your sleep. The cook says that
at o'clock this morning she found the
hall door wide open, and she is sure she
heard some enc in the top room near the
cupboard where you keep the pistol"
go up stairs" said to my wife, land
see If the case which contains the pistol is
unlocked"
She soon returned to say that it was
locked as usual, and that fact satisfied her
with regard to the pistol, while the pro-
duction of the key for the drawer, where
1t was always kept induced in her be-
lief that the domestic had made mistake
"Still, the girl declares that the hall
door was open. She cannot be mistaken
on that point F"
ibid she lock 1t last nightF'
NO." said my wife, with elaboration.
II didl'
1t was strange. There had been no bur-
glarious entry. It looked more like case
of breaking out than breaking in. But,
after all 1t was trifle, and before break
fast was over we had quite forgotten 1t.
All this time great excitement prevailed
in the village, which was in Lancashire,
not far from Liverpool. A terrible muir.
der had taken place, and the small COM
munity was agitated to its depths. Old
Grubb, the gravedigger, had been found
dead rear an open grave. He had been
shot through the heart
When l reached the village, the body
had been removed to an clubhouse of the
Rose and Crown, there to await the cor
oners inquest
In company with the police inspector
examined tho place where the body was
found, and the churchyard, but no foot
prints save those of the gravedigger him
self were visible on the loose soil that he
had himself thrown up the previous after
noon during the process of digging his
wifes grave.
No flrearm was found. l noticed that
| the ladder was against the church wall in
the spot where l saw Grub place it the
day before He had taken his spade from
its hiding place, for it was lying near the
grave 1t was therefore strange that he
| had not removed the ladder, which caused
me inexplicable uneasiness until, unseen
by the inspector, had removed 1t and
laid 1t in the long grass Of the churchyard.
A jury was summoned, and I was ap-
pointed foreman of it. We were face to
face with a mystery, which we did our
best to elucidate But 1t was all In vain.
Several relatives Of poor Mrs Grubh
were suspected of causing the death of old
Grub, but on no other grounds save that
the gravediggor had habitually i'll treat
ed her, and that they were her relatives.
The coroner's jury extended over several
weeks and the end of 1t was that we re-
turned verdict of "willful murder
against some person or persons unknown. "
And SO the poos grayedigger and his
wife were buried In the graveIsthe grave
which he had himself dug.
The following winter while returning
home from business suddenly came face
to face with my wife. She appeared very
nervous and agitated.
Hush" she said. "This afternoon the
pistol has been discovered by which the
gravedigger was shot. Some men were
repairing the roof of the church, and in
a hole where, man says, Grubb was in
the habit of placing his spade long old
fashioned pistol was found. saw it,
George, and nearly tainted"
l, too became nervous, but said never q
word until our house was reached. A
light was produced, and took my trem-
bling wife to the cupboard in the room at
the top, to reassure her by the sight of my
family heirloom.
Had she been before mep No CLEAN OF
hope shot from her usually bright face.
The key was found and the case opened.
The pistol was not therel
had not looked in the case since the
murder, and as it was locked concluded
that the weapon was inside.
1t now occurred to me for the first time
that the pistol was loaded when last OK
amined 1t, and that the bullet was the old
fashioned make found in the heart of the
graycdigger.
went to the police station that night,
and with careless air examined the
weapon.
1t was minel
do you remember, said the inspector,
that on the morning of the murder a
ladder was reared against the church.
The pistol was found in hole near the
very spot where the ladder had been
placed. 1t SO happened that some one re-
moved the ladder, despite my strict in
junction that nothing in the churchyard
was to be touched. 1t seems to me now
that the ladder was not removed acciden-
tally
acquiesced in the surmise and did not
blanch. It was undoubtedly clew, but
nothing was ever known of the removal OF
the ladder or the person who prevented
the probable discovery Of the pistol with
which old Grubb had SO grieyously met
his end.
Years afterward we left the neighbour
hood. Perhaps, now that the village has
grown into town, everything connected
with the murder is forgotten My wife
and never refer to 1t, never hear any
thing about 1t, but often In the dead OF
night am aroused from my slumber, and
the question comes wildly to my mind:
"Wns it a murder Million.