The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1896-03-16

YOUR FRIEND NORMAN IS A VERY TALL MAN"
and his face WAS OF so conventional n
type that ! began to wonder vaguely
whether I had seen him before His
eXression was somewhat vacant. but
not with the vancancy OF stupidity.
rather with the listleSsness OF man
who has nothing TO do, with very little
to think about. He was dressed In the
sort OF clothes that one Will zee the
most OF, II he walks about the city all
day. 49,.
EXCUSE me-" he said politely. IF
you're not really In a hurry, I'd like
to ask n few questions before you 70. ="
He asked but very few, and seemed
almost Indifferent TO my answers. In
deed, his indifference plqued me, and
l was the more careful "a tell my story
accurately and to bring out all the
points. ] succeeded In ar0using GER
tain amount OF interest when l told
him OF the closing door, and OF my pur-
suit OF the murderer. but he ceased to
pay attention TO me when ] said that
had failed to get glimpse OF the es-
Gaping criminal.
Whose are these?" he asked. Ian.
guldly. displaying a large number OF
keys on ring.
MY uncie's." l exclaimed. where
did you get them?"
81 picked them up" he said, pointing
to the floor near the door which led to
the hall.
The murderer must have taken them
from my uncle's pocket and locked the
door Immediately after the commission
OF the crIme,''I said. we found II
locked
said johnson. There are blood stains
on the door and the casing, Us you nave
doubtless observed"
had not seen them. but when John
son pointed them out they were OBJ
"He washed his hands afterwards"
Johnson continued. There Is the
towel on which ne wiped them"
He pointed at the towel In question.
which was thrown over the corner OF
a looking glass that hung upon the wall,
"why did he throw II up there?" /
mutterd. half to myself.
ut was not thrown" said johnson.
You can see that. II was hung up
there"
The top OF the looking glass. which
was n very large one, was nearly eight
feet from the floor.
"He must have been giant" ex-
claimed. ITO reach so high"
"a tall man, probably" said John
son. Has anybody meddled with the
towel. the rack under It, the bowl, or
anything else hereabouts?"
Nothing has been disturbed" said
Stalbrldgc.
johnson examined the bowl.
mo blood here" he said; this water
Is perfectly clean"
He pointed into the howl, where there
was a little water. on looking more
closely than johnson had done was
able to discover a few spots Of blood
At the upper edge OF the bowl, where
the horizontal slab was set over II.
Whe<>Johnson's attention was called to
them. he scanned them closely.
had begun to feel considerable re-
spect for the detectives ability. The
quiet way IN which he possessed HIM
self Of the keys without attracting any
body's attention had excited my Gu
rlosity. and had led me to believe that
there was more In him than appeared
upon the surface. But when had DEM
o1strnted the superiority Of my own
observation over his. began to hold
him cheap. II had been the criminal
! should have feared Stnlbridge far
more. His acuteness was well known,
and his appetite for revenge eQualed
that OF n savage. He had suffered
deeply by my unclc's death, and he
would never rest felt assured. until
he had seen the author OF that injury
In the hands OF the eXecutioner.
Have you formed any theory OF the
crIme2" ] asked Stalbridge.
He did not answer.
what do you think about TT" the
detective asked Of me.
81 am puzzled by one circumstance"
said l. "The surgeon tells me that my
uncle was stabbed to the heart. Yet he
was alive when we entered. Therefore
the murder must have been committed
within n very few seconds. Indeed, |
believe that heard my uncle cry when
the blow was struck. How, then. could
the murderer have wished the blood
from his hands. We entered at once. i"
THAT'S Just the point that bothered
me Mt first" said Johnson, "but It's