The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-04-12

the rope was about MS neck-nlS
muddy footprint was plain to see; the
mud was not smeared about, you see
as 1t probably would have been II he
had been stood there forcibly and
pushed off. 1t was simple clear foot
print-another hint at suicide.
But then arose the objection that
you mentioned yourself. Plainly the
brothers Foster We're following Sneathy
and came this way. Therefore. If he
hanged himself before they arrived. II
would seem that they must have come
across the body. But row | examined
the body Itself. There was mud on the
knees, and clinging 10 one knee was u
small leaf 1t was Il leaf corresponding
to those on the bush behind the tree
and II was not a dead leaf. 50 must
have been just detached. After my eN-
animation of the body | went To the
bush. and there. In the thick of II. Were
for me. sufficiently distinct knee marks
in one OF which the knee had crushed u
spray Of the bush against the ground
and from that spray "A leaf was missing
Behind the knee marks were the in
!.
earth under the bush. and thus the
thing was plain. The poor lunatic had
come i'll sight of the dangling rope and
the temptation TO suicide was irresiti-
bic. But at that moment he must have
heard the steps-probably the voices
Of the brothers behind him on the
winding path. He Immediately hid in
the bush till they had passed 1t Is
probable that seeing who the unen We're
and conjecturing that they were fol-
lowing him-thinliing also. perhaps, of
things that had occurred between them
and himself-his inclipation to self
destruction became completely ungov-
ernable, with the result that you saw.
But before | inspected the bush |
noticed one or two more things about
the body. You "emember | inquired If
either OF the h'others Foster We're left
handed, and was assured that neither
was. But clearly the hand had been
cut of by Il left-handed an with a
large, Sharply pointed knife. For we'll
away 10 the right of where the wrist
had hung the knife-point had made a
TN, triangular rent in the coat. So
that the hand must have been held in
the mtf1iiators right hand while he
used the knife with his left-clearly a
left-handed man.
But most important of all about the
oody was the jagged hair over the
right ear. Everywhere else the hair
was well cut and orderly-here II
Seemed as though a good piece had
been, so to speak. sawn off. What
coula anybody want with dead mans
right hand and certain locks of his
r2Ir? Then it struck me suddenly
ae man was hanged; it was the Hand
Oh Glory.
Iheh' you will remember, | went al
your request to see the footprints OF
the Fosters on the part of the natb
past the watercourse. Here. again II
was muddy in the middle. and the two
orothers had walked as far apart as
oeIore' although nobody had walked
between them. A final proof IL one
were needed, Of my theory as 70 the
three lines of footprints.
NOW was to consider how IN sat q,
the man who had taken the hand ~
u.
Shouid be punished for the mutilation
out beyond that he would be renuirad
as witness. Now all the foot-tracke
IN the vicinity had been accounted for
ihere were those Of the brothers snd
OF Sneathy, which we have been snaat.
ing or; those of the rustics looking on
which however, stopped a little wa,
on, and did not interfere with ON,
sphere Of observation; those of you,
man who had cut. straight through tn,
wood when he first saw the body anf
had come back the same way with Won
and our own, which we had been care
iui TO Keep away from the tothera
Consequently there was no track of the
man who had cut off the hand; there
fore 1t was certain that he must hav,
| come along the hard gravel by III,
Watercourse, for that was the onI,
possible path which would not tell tn,
| tale. Indeed 1t seems quite a lkel,
path through the wood for a passen.
ger to take, coming from the high
ground by the Shepperton road