The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-06-13

Mr.. Andrews had, however. satisfied hin,
self that Blake was all he had reDresar+-7
himself to be. ~
After the wedding Blake took up his res
1dence with his father-in-law. and. strano-e
as 1t may seem, strong intimacy Va
formed between him and young T,etton
Polly S rejected lover. If Letton felr am,
resentment at his treatment by the vo11ns,
lady, he gave no evidence of it. but COZ,
tinued on the most friendly terms with Tho
Whole Iamlly. In the autumn FOLLOWING,
Polly's marriage to Blake, Letton sold bis
property and announced his intention oe
emgrating to what is now West Virginia
alleging he had purchased an interest in
a coal mine there. About this time Rlal-a
decided to return to Boyle county to ser
tie up some unfinished business. and ~,
to journey TO Eastern Kentucky in searcb
OF mules. AS Lotions route led him in
that direction, the two men decided -
tIaVel together. After tarrying near Dan
VILE a few days the friends continues
their journey. On arriving in BOYLE com
tY they repaired to the home of a wealtbv
grover, with whom Blake had freouentI,
transacted business, and here the tra,'
elers separated. Before Letton took HE
leave of Blake, however, he borrow
from the latter a sum of money which he
promised to pay on reaching his destIna
ton, claiming that his money had an
been invested there.
The night following Blake's departur,
from the drover's house in BOYLE CONT,
1t was entered by an assassin. who Iyiuoi
the inmates and secured a package CON
tanning M,S00 in bank notes In order n
conceal his crime the murderer set fire ~
the house. The building burned sIouyI,.
| and the neighbors were enabled to extin'
guish the flames and discover the murder
GUS work which had been done. The as
sassin, before leaving the yard, had torn
open the wrapper on the package of
money and flung it on the ground This
was picked up by officers of the law and
marks OF blood were found upon il. This
was the only clew in their possession.
Shortly after Blakes return to Snrino-
field he received the money which Tetton
owed him. Detectives suspected Blake of
numbering the drover, because he was
known to have been intimate with him
and had stopped at his house shortly he
fore the commission of the crime. Conse-
quently, he was kept under constant sur
Veillance for four months. In the mean
time Mrs Blake's health began to fail. and
her husband decided to take her on
southern trip. The detectives followed
them. Whenever Blake paid a hotel biu
or offered money for any purpose the Of
fcer secured the bank note which had
been in the formers possession. Finally
the Swallowed man paid out a $40 bill which
i
tive Immediately arrested him.
At the trial the torn wrapper. with its
smear of blood, was identified as having
been in the drover's possession. The bank
note which had been traced to Blake was
also shown. The stain on the wrapper cor
responded precisely with the mark on the
bank-note. A strong magnifying glass re-
vealed unerringly that the murderer's
thumb, in tearing open the envelope, had
touched the topmost bank-note Blake
stoutly protested his innocence, averring
that the olood-stained money had been
paid him by Stephen Letton; that he
(Blake) had plenty of money without re-
sorting to robbery and murder; that the
drover and himself were the best of
friends, and he could have no motive to
murder him. A thorough search was made
for Lection, but he could not be found
and Blake was given a life sentence in
the penitentiary. Mrs. Blake never doubt
ed her husbands innocence, and after his
imprisonment made repeated efforts to Sc
cure his pardon. but they were of no avail,
and ten years after his conviction Blake
died of consumption.
A few days after the death of her hus.
band, Mrs. Blake received a letter bear
ing the postmark of San Francisco, Cal It
was signed by a notary public and a min
lister of the gospel. The contents of the
letter were remarkable. 1t stated that
Stephen Letton was fatally wounded in q
barroom brawl, and had made a deathbed
confession, in which he stated he had muir
dered drover in Kentucky, and had caus-
ed the crime to be fastened on Thomas
Blake, because he had deprived him of the
girl who had promised to be his wife His
motives were purely those of revenge, and
now, being about to die, he desired to make
what reparation lay in his power. Shortly
after this Mrs. Blake's parents died, and
having spent her means in her husbands
behalf, she retired to the lonely log cabin
to finish her DAYS in solitude.