The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-06-21
CHAPTER 1.-THE MURDER or
THE USURER.

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He had become known as one who
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young men who were the heirs to for
tunes that death must soon transfer
resorted to Kohnfeld: and he also
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the gems in pawn while his clients wore
paste" which he provided.
Kohnfeld lived in an old wooden house
that age had made as gray as 4 sp, icr's
web. His visitors came by night. gr If
that could not be managed. they en-
tered an undertaker's shop next upon
the right. and passed through door in
the wall between the two buildings.
The usurer's daughter cared for his
house. and was its only occupant It
was she who found his body on the
morning after the crime in the room
where he always received visitors. Her
cries brought the police. and the work
of detection was at once begun. Kohn-
field had been stabbed in the throat. He
had fallen before the door of his safe
which the murdersrs had afterwar rds
rihed. Documents Of various kinds
were scattered about the usurer 4 he
Law dead and most OF them were
stepped in his blood.
As TO the robbery which followed the
murder there was much mystery. Kohn-
felG's books Of account had been
burned in a crate. evidently for the
purpose of obscuring the. thiefs trail.
However. the daughter had a fair idea
of what was in the safe. She was sure
that there was very little money and
no jevelry Of any worth. No client of
Kohnfeld's would have expected TO find
such valuable things there. for II was
we'll known that he trusted chiefly In
the security of a safe deposit COM
pany's vault.
In his own safe. however. were many
notes and obligations. valuable only to
those who had signed them; and in that
collection Law the undOl,btad motive for
the crime. That It was done by one If
Kohnfeld's clients was nearly certain,
for he was evidently encountered face
10 face. and there had been no outcry.
A bottle of liauor and two glasses on
table were evidence that he had been
entertaining some one. The glass,
which seemed to have been his own,
was crushed as If his hand had closed
conyulsiyelv upon it at the instant
when the fatal stroke was delivered.
Indeed. little more than the bottom Of
the glass remained intact. His right
hand had a hundred small gashes. bear
ing out the theory that. as the usurer
had raised his glass to drink. the rnur-
derer had thrust with his knife across
the table.
So secret had been Kohnfeld's deal
fngs that II was impossible to learn
whose written obligation was missing
after the crime. The similar documents
that were found upon the floor bore