San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-08-15
Is n nfesant iifeIattesteditbs fact thai

the Owner used It, perhaps for cooking,
as d kettle, partly filled, still rested in
one Of the holes. Burrows observed this
at glance. brt the dust apparent in
all other parts of'the room satisfied him
that, except for making q cup of coffee
or other light cooking, the apartment
had been abandoned. He thought that
he must look further for the room in
which he hoped to find some evidence.
He passed through door and found
himself in the dining room, as table
and cupboards proved. A casual peep
into the latter showed small store of
canned meats and fruits, biscuits, but
ter, sugar and the like. The next apart
ment was the sitting room, but the dust
and dirt everywhere bespoke an absence
of all care ON the part of the occupant.
Ascending one flight, he explored two
rooms in similar condition of neglect
before he reached one in which there
were any signs of habitation. This was
plainly if not rudely furnished and con-
tanned nothing but what was absolutely
necessary in sleeping room. A cot bed,
metal washbowl and a pitcher on a
painted wooden stand; looking glass
without a frame, tackled to the wall; an
old dressing case with the top, which
originally held glass, entirely miss
ing; a few chairs, and the inventory is
complete. 1t was evident that the house
was used, as has been stated, only as an
occasional sleeping place. The few odds
and ends had been gathered from the
general wreck and put in this one room,
in the endeavor to make it at least hab-
liable. Any further trouble or expense
had been considered unnecessary. There
was q commodious closet, which had
probably decided the selection of the
room, for it was filled with miscella
neous collection Of articles, arranged
with evident care and neatness. COM
prising outfits for CANNING, fishing, ETC.
Burrows glanced about for the clews
for which he was searching. The first
point to determine was, had the man
hidden his disguise in this place? To
learn this he did not go searching
blindly about the place. but adopted
methods which he had seen used by Mr..
Barnes on similar occasions. Although
he was jealous of Mr.. Barnes, he ad-
mired his ability and did not hesitate to
initiate him. He dropped into chair
and glanced around, looking about him
keenly, while he endeavored to discover |
what he wished by reasoning it out, |
rather than by chance. Mr.. Barnes
would say, Undoubtedly chance is a
great factor in all Investigations, but
the man who uses his brains will have
more of these lucky accidents than he
who waits for things to turn up. ,"
Burrows felt the truth of this and acted
At this moment he wished
to know what had been done with the |
disguise and reasoned as follows:
Marvel crossed the river; therefore |
the things were wet. He says he changed |
them at his house and threw the bundle |
into the river. Did he make the change,
and, if so, did he throw the things into
the river? He had satchel, and it is
probable that it contained the clothes.
If so, he made the change, but did not |
throw them into the river. According to |
Weston, he took the satchel with him |
when he started for this house. As this |
is his sleeping room, he probably |
brought it in here, whatever be may
have done later. Although cleaner than
the rest of the house, there is still con-
siderable quantity Of dust about this |
room; yet it is not likely that 1 can
find out, from such source, where he |
laid down his satchel However, if he |
took out the wet clothes and laid them
down, the water would have converted |
the dust into mud and would have left |
a distinct mark ON the floor. There is |
nothing of the kind about, so he did not |
put them on the floor. What did he do |
with them? What would I do under
similar circumstances? Burn them per-
haps. But they were saturated with wa
ter. Still it is always dangerous to con-
ceal such evidence, for some one gener-
ally finds the best hidden articles when |
a crime is connected with them. There'