The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1896-02-20
THE MYSTERY OF ROOM No.

Have you knocked and called ?"
"A dozen times"
Tell jim to get q stepladder and
/ take a look through the transom
/ "TransOm Is fastened, sir"
/ Then Wen have to burst the door
I in Confound such people If they
want to commit suicide, why don't
4 they 20 out into the woods or Jump
/ into the river? Let's see, who Is in
81 John White. Syracuse. Iremem-
/ Der him nOw-tall. prim man about
/ 30 years old, with only grip for bag
gage Come at s o'clock and went
directly to his room, Didn't seen to
be looking very well Has probably
taken an overdose Of morphine, and
we shallhaye another cOr0ners inquest
ana a great ado in the the papers. I'll
go up with you
It was , o'clock in the afternoon.
There are plenty Of travellers who
sleep late when they have no particu
lar business to transact in the morn
ing, but when the occupant Of a room
IS not ont Of is by noon the chamber
maid on that floor begins to feel anX-
iOus. She knocks. thinking he may
be ILL., If there is no answer. she goes
to the housekeeper.
The door was locked and bolted.
but the united strength of the land
lord and the porter burst it open On
the floor lay the body Of John White
1t was fully dressed, even to the shoes.
On the table was q single wineglass
with few drops OF wine at the bot
tom. Two persons had drawn chairs
up to the table. One chair was sh0v-
ed back, while the other was upset
against the washstand The body lay
ten feet away, almost at the head Of
the bed and close to the window. TIE
legs were drawn up, the hands clinch-
ed, and there was look Of agony on
the face. The man had paid for
his lodgings in advance, displaying
a large roll Of money, and the landlord
was sure he had a watch Watch and
money were missing. On the back Of
the head was a bad bruise. with cut
IN the centre.
In nineteen cases out Of twenty.
coroner's inquest is a farce to comply
with the law. The average coroner is
either honest enough to be a fool or
sharp enough to return a verdict to
benefit his own pockets. The average
juror called on an inquest Is guided
by the views Of the coroner. He is
there for the fee, and the sooner a yer
diet is reached the sooner he Will be
at liberty to stand up to the bar of
some saloon. The coroner has his
friends among the medical fraternity.
" henever it Is possible, be orders d
post mortem examination. That means
from S25 to S75 for his medical friend
who may have no stending at all in
the medical world, but can show a
diploma In the case Of John White
4 post mOrtem was ordered. That
meant an adjournment and larger fees
all around The doctor began at the
head to search for the cause Of death.
and when he came to the bruisa and
the cut the cause was apparent. 1t
was Il fracture Of the skull. he said.
Some one had killed and robbed the
man. In his opinion John " hite had
beeu struck with a jagged piece of
IRON. The verdict of the jury was in
accordance, and then the detectives
came into play. John White OF SYRIA
cuse turned .Out to be Can't James
Taylor, stationed at Fort Monroe. but
then on sixty day S leave. making
arrangements to he married within
ten days to a young woman in Rich
m0nd. As | was in the hotel when the
murder was discovered, [ had a fine
opportunity to pick MP pointers. Be
fore giving away clues and deductions
let me tell you how the regular"
went to work and the conclusions he
srriyed at When John White regis
tered he had a moUstache and gOatee:
when he was found dead he had only
a moustache In one Of the drawers
of the bureau we found the false
beard. The detective reasoned that
tine man wanted one more spree before
marriage He didn't want to- be
known to the hotel people, and so put
on the false goatee. While he was
drinking at the table, with his back
to the window, some one climbed ND
the slopingroof, softly raised the sash
and entered the room and struck him
before he was aware Of the iutruder's
presence. White had sprung up.
reeled around. and fallen where we
found him. The murderer had gotten
upon the roof by a wall at the rear.
Opposite that portion Of the hotel
where the murder had taken place
was q saloon with gambling rooms
above.
1t was reasoned that some one look
ed across and saw White drinking. his
curtain being up. then ana there con
ccived and carried out the idea Of rob
berry. 1t was to the saloon that the
regular therefore. gave his attention
He smelled of the wine glass and re-
placed it on the table and made no
search Of the room. It Is considered
bad form for an ameteur to offer al
vice or suggestions to a regular, but
| could not restrain myself from point
ed ont the fact that the murdered man
still wore diamond ring and pin with
a combined value Of at least $500. If
robbery had been the motive why had
not the robber taken these things!
In too much OF hurry. OF course
growled the regular
l couldn't agree with hlm on that
point. Had it baeu a case ofhighway
robbery the reasoning would have
held good The robber had entered
unseen. He had created no alarm.
He had cody rihed all the dead mans
pockets. but had left the most valuable
plumber behind. The regular. corro-
borated the doctor as to what had in
flicted the wound, but | disagreed
with both. Ihad the room alone for half
an hour, The first move ! made was
to pull the bureau out from the wall.
Under it l found wallet with $3.50 in
it, together with papers to prove that
it belonged to Capt Taylor In the
upholstery Of the sofa / found his
watch and chain. In the slop jar,