Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1896-05-21

whether Phoebe looked palcr--she is al
ways very palc-but saw in her black
eyes look shall mover forget. think
she began to suspect me At that moment.
Phoebe glanced back at Maria, but
she asked me another question. "Ilas
he had words with anybody?" said she.
"Only with Rufus" said, but Rufus
is gone" Phoebe turned away from the
window to attend to Maria, ana / ran
on to the village.
A hundred people can testify what
did neXt--can tell how | called for the
doctor and the deputy sheriff; how | went
back to MY own home with the horror
stricken crowd; how they lockcd in and
looked at poor futher-Lut only the doc
tor touched him, very carefully, to see
if he were quite dead; how the coroner
came, and all the est.
The pistol was in the bed beside father,
but it had not been fred; the charge was
still in the barrel 1t was blood-staincd
and there was me bruisc on fathers
head which might have been inflicted ny
the pistol, used as club. But the
wound which caused his death was in his
breast, and mace evidently by some cut
ting instrument. though the cut was not
clean one; the weapon must have boon
dull.
They searched the house. lest the muir
derer should be lildcn away. | heard
Rufus Bchnett's name whispered by one
md another. Everybody seemed TO
know that he and father had had words
the night before; could not understand
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 it.
They looked In the closet where my
green silk dress HING. and pushed it
aside. to be sure nobody was concealed
behind it, but they did not notice any
thing wrong about it. 1t was dark in the
closet. and. besides. they did not look for
anything like that until later
Al these pcoplc--the deputy sheriff,
md afterwards the high sheriff and other
out-of.town officers for whom they had
tclegrNphed, and the neighbors-all hunt
cd their own suspicion, and that wns
Rufus Bennett. All believed thnt he Ind
come back and killed my father. They
fitted all the fncts to that belief They
made him do the deed with long, slcn-
der 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, fit 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 himself away perhaps in
that very closet where my dress hung,
and afterwards stolen out and killed my
father and then escaped.
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 few
which were open on account of the heat,
and even these last were raised only the
width of sash, and fastened with
sticks, so thnt they could be raised no
higher. Father was very cautious about
fastening the house. for he some
times had considerable sums Of money
by him. The officers saw all these diff
culties in the way, but they fitted them
somehow to their theory, and two deputy
sheriffs were at once sent to apprehend
Rufus.
They had not begun to suspect me
then, and not the slightest watch was
kept on my movements The neighbors
were very kind, and did everything to
help me, relieving me altogether of oil
those last ofiices-in this case much sad.
der than usual.
An inquest was held, and I told freely