The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-08-05
Father Is Murdered In Bed. "

bolted. Then I went to the Mttle-used
east door in the shed, beside which the
cat has her little passageway, and that
was fastened with an iron hook. 1t has
no latch.
The whole house was fastened on the
Inside. The thought struck me like an
Icy hand. ''The murderer Ia in this
house" / rose to my feet then; I un-
hooked that door and ran out of the
house and out of the yard, as for my
life.
l took the road to the village. The
hrst house, where Phoebe Dole and
Maria Woods lived. is across a wide
field from ours. I did not intend to
stop there. for they were only women
and could do nothing; but seeing
Phoebe looking out of the window ]
ran into the yard. She opened the win
dow.
What is it?" said she. What is the
matter. Sarah Fairbanks?"
Maria Woods came and leaned over
her shoulder. Her face looked almos..
as white as her white hair, and he,
piue eyes were dilated. Ny face mus,
have frightened her.
"Father-father Is murdered in hi:
bed"' I said.
There was a scream, and Maria
Woods face disappeared from over
Fnoeoe Dole's shoulder-she had faint
ed. l don't know whether Phoebe
looked paler-she is always very pale
our 1 saw In her black eyes a look I
ena4i never forget. I think she began
70 suspect me at that moment.
fhoebe glanced back at Maria. mn,
ene asked me another question. "IIa !
ne nad words with anybody?" said she
oniy with Rufus" I said, but Ru-
rus Is gone."' Phoebe turned away from
the window to attend to Maria. ana +
ran ON to the village.
hundred people can testify what I
oio hext-can tell how I called for the
doctor and the deputy sheriff: how I
went back to my home with the hor-
For-stricken crowd; how they flocked in
ana looked at poor father-but onlv the
doctor touched him very carefully. to
see II ne were quite dead; how the cor.
oner came, and all the rest.
The pistol was in the bed beside
rather, but 1t had not been fired. the
charge was still in the barrel. II was
blood-stained, and there was one bruise
on ihher's head which might have been
snnicted by the pistol, used as a club.
but the wound which caused his death
was In his breast, and made evidently
by some cutting instrument. though the
cut was. not q clean one; the weapon
must have been dull.
They searched the house, lest the mur-
derer should be hidden away. I heard
Rufus Benefits name whispered by
one and another. Everybody seemed to
know that he and father had had words
the night before: could not understa nd
how, because had told nobody except
Phoebe Dole. who had had no time to
spread the news. and was sure that no
one else had spoken Of II.
They looked in the closet where my
green silk dress hung, and pushed It
aside. to be sure nobody was concealed
behind 1t; but they did not notice any
thing wrong about 1t. 1t was dark in
the closet, and besides, they did not
look for anything like that until later.
All these people-the deputy sheriff,
and afterwards the high sheriff and
other out-of-town officers for whom
they had sent. and the neightbors-all
hunted their own suspicion, and that
was Rufus Bennett. All believed that
ne had come back and killed my father.
They fitted all the facts to that belief.
They made him DO the deed with a
long. slender screwdriver which he had
recently borrowed from one OF the
neighbors and had not returned. They
made his finger-marks, which were still
on my fathers throat, At the red prints
on the sitting-room door. They made
sure that he had returned and stolen
into the house by the east shed door,
while father and sat on the doorsteps
the evening before; that he had hidden
away. perhaps in that very closet where
my dress hung. and afterwards stolen
out and killed my father and then es-
capped.
They were not shaken when told
them that every door was bolted and
barred that morning They themselves
found all the windows fastened down,
except q few which were open on ac-
count Of the heat and even these last
were, raised only the width Of sash,
end fastened with sticks. 90 that they
could be raised no higher. Father was
very cautious about fastening the
house, for he sometimes had consider
able sums Of money by him. The ofii-
Gers. saw all these difnculties In the
way. but they fitted them somehow to
their theory, and two deputy sheriffs
were q once sent to apprehend Rufus.
They had not begun. TO suspect me
them and not the slightest watch was