, 1897-03-25

pened, ty the terms of the will most Of
my uncle's property was left to me, and
Cutting tried to lave the will broken
upon certain technical grounds which
are not essential to this story. The
courts upheld me, however, and declared
the will perfectly valid. As a conse-
quence Randolph Cutting and myself
had not spoken for five years, and I, of
course, had not been near his home until
that eventful day, when l hurried down
there in response to his telegram. True,
l did think that it was n curious thing
for Cutting TO do-to telegraph for mt
to come down to Hopeyille-but on Sec
ond thought l concluded that some bust
ness of Importance i'll connection with
certain interests which were still mutual
required that he should see me, and that
perhaps he was unable from illness or
some other cause to leave his home.
This brief explanation of the cause of
my visit to Hnpcville was only Il small
part of the thoughts which crowded my
brain when ] was safely seated in the
train and whirling toward Jersey City.
As l have said, Randolph Cutting and
| were bitter enemies, and the evidence
which pointed to my having committed
the crime seemed so blackly conclusive
that could almost feel the rope tighten
about my neck. When the train stopped
at the next station, l trCmbled in every
limb, fully expecting to see some one
come into the car to arrest me. Nothing
of the sort happened, however. and 1
passed several more stations i'll safety.
However, | did not allow myself much
hope, for l felt sure | would be appre-
hendcd at Jersey City. After some
thought l concluded that it would be
the best plan to go right in rather han
get off at any of the out of town sta
tons, as there would be much less risk
of being noticed in the crowd which
would get off the train there.
When the train pulled into the Jersey
City depot, l made my way with all
possible haste toward the waiting room,
and, greatly to my surprise, l was not
molested. Suddenly l heard the train
man call out a train for Philadelphia,
and, acting upon impulse, l hastily Sc
cured Il ticket and was soon comfortably
ensconced in a parlOr car on the way to
the Quaker City.
l can never describe that night of hor-
ror which spent in Philadelphia. Some
idea of my feelings may be imagined
when l saw in IN evening paper a dis
patch telling of the murder of Randolph
Cutting, a well known New Yorker,
near his country place, at H~opevillc. N.
j. The account i'll the paper said that
detectives from New York We're mt work
upon the case and that, although they
refused to give out any Of the facts, they
were in possession of a clew which they
felt sure would enable them to capture
the murderer within Il few hours.
I sought i quiet hotel upon a side
street, registering under an assumed
name, and then e~ndcavorcd to compose
myself to await results. | hardly think
slept Il wink that night, but tossed fe-
verishly upon my led, wondering whcth-
er l had not acted very foolishly in thus
running away when | was perfectly in
nocent. Undoubtedly by so doing l had
strengthened the chain of evidence
against me, but, under the circum-
stances, l did not see what else l could
do. There was still Il chance for me, l
thought. Cuttings groom was, 10 doubt,
Il new one, as his face vas not familiar
to me, and he probably did not know
who l was. No one else in Hopeville
knew me. l had not mentioned my in
~tention of going down there to any one
in New York. My only hope lay in
keeping perfectly secluded until the
thing had blown over, and this l thought
l could do as well i'll my hotel i'll Phila-
delphia as anywhere else.
Then when l would arrive at this
point in my reasoning the thought of
that clcw that the detectives were work
ing III would come to me, and l would
break into Il cold perspiration from nerv-
business and anxiety. How l ever got
through the night | cannot tell. AS soon
rs l could get into my clothes i'll the
morning | procured IA morning paper.
There l found Il fuller and more thrill
ing account of the murder, most of
which l skinned through hurriedly
until 1 reached the following words:
Detectives Warden and Scabury of
the Pinlerton force reached Hopcville
shortly after noon, having been tele-
graphed for by Mr.. Cuttings family.
They at bnce set to work upon a clew
furnished them by Davis, the groom,
who was with Mr.. Cutting when the
fatal shot was fired. Davis was sitting
with his back to Mr.. Cutting, but hap
pening to look toward the side of the
road he saw Il man. whom he recognized
rs a discharged servant of his employ.
er, level a pistol ut MIR. Cuttings head
and fire. Mr.. Cutting fell to the ground.
and Davis jumped to his masters assist.
ancc, only to find him instantly killed.
The horse had taken fright and run
away, when Davis, happening to look
up, saw a figure in the roadway. III
stinctively he ran toward him, but the
n,ap darted behind the hedge and Davis
lost sight of him. He was unable, how
ever. to identify the murderer fully
when he was arrested by the detectives
late last night. The man whose name
is James Simpson, was found in an
empty hay shed, not two miles from the
scene of the murder. When confronted
with his crime he became panic stricken
and made q full confession"
And that was the nearest l ever came
to being hanged. ALFRED Stoddart In
| III. .I.11,l. nN.,,,,