The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1897-10-06

is suOGDSI. dSptCt WHICH, yOU Auoo dSo
neglect, and that is the scircumstantial
possibility Remember that both Lu-
cas- and this girl. according to the
sqaire's story, had threatened the dead
man. They both came here armed, an
unusual thing for a woman at all
events. Suppose that Lucas saw Lewis
through the window and shot at him.
The noise may have attracted the dog,
and thus that contest may have occur
red after the discharge of the weapon,
instead of before Further, suppose that,
seeing that her lover had left, the girl
had also taken aim at the same target.
One shot may have made the hole in the
ceiling, and the other may have reached
the mark. y
'.Why, this becomes more complicated
every minute. What about the pistol IN
Mss Lewis room?''
"Ahl That is the problem. But,
come; we will go across the river. .
Thereupon they proceeded to the boat
landing, marked L in the diagram, and
crossed in a light rowboat, which they
found fastened at that place. On the
other bank they found continuation of
the footprints marked No. 2. These led
to the base of gigantic maple (R),
around which seat of boards had been
arranged. Mr. Barnes examined the
spot critically and finally said:
ST guess it was Miss Lewis after all,
See, this tree is covered with carved
monograms Of her initials and Maryel's.
Evidently this has been q trysting place
for that pair of lovers. Here is another
evidence that the snow stopped shortly
after the meeting at the summer house,
for, whereas she came here directly, her
footprints on this side of the river are
quite distinct, showing that the snow
ceased during her trip over to this
place"
'sShe met a man here too See his
footprints. Could it have been the lover
this time--I mean Marvel?''
Possibly. But let US see if we can
trace him to where be crossed the river,
if indeed it was he who did. %
They followed the tracks, but they
entered the woods just back Of the lna-
pie and were lost. However, diligent
search along the river bank discovered
a track which emerged from the wood
and approached the river. They got
into the boat. rowed across to point
opposite and found there the beginning
of the track On that side marked in the
diagram No. l.
.1The directness of this trail from
this point to the house, said Mr..
Barnes, sis circumstantial proof that
the man crossed the river with the in
tention of visiting that place. For
what? Whether he was or>was not Lu-
Gas, he had already had an interview
with Miss Lewis, and therefore his visit
was scarcely to her.
Chow could it be Lncas?"
..Supposing he intended to kill Lew
is after being interrupted by the dog,
could be not have gone around by these
woods and returned later to complete
his work? It is barely possible that the
whole thing was planned, that the in
terview at the summer house was pre-
liminary, and that Miss Lewis went to
the maple, where she was later joined
by Lucas. who told her the result of his
first attempt and arranged the second. "
'3How could he know that he had
failed in his first shot:''
81 don't like to follow this line Of
thought much, as it is all guesswork.
Still, it is one of the possibilities, and
IN case it turns out wrong will teach
you how easy it is to misconstrue cir
cumstantial evidence 20 continue it,
suppose that at the meeting over the
river Miss Lewis and Lucas determined
to finish what they had begun. The OBJ
ject would be that by killing old Lewis
the prosecution Of Marvel would cease,
the complainant being dead. Miss Lew
is undertakes to furnish a weapon be-
cause be had lost his. She owns one, as
the squire has explained. Therefore Lu-
cas- enters the house through the side
door. and from the dining room has &C.
cess to the girls bedroom. where she
gives him pistol; thence he easily en-
tiers the parlor. Such an arrangement Of
events would readily account for her de-
stroying the evidence that her weapon
had been used. But don't lay too much
stress on all this, for, as I said, it is
purely guesswork There is flaw in
it too Why did Miss Lewis leave her
coadjutor on the wrong side of the river
when they separated, and thus force
him to wade stream Of water on
cold night?''
"That may be discovered later. But
look; there she is, leaving the house. /"
''Now, Tom, ! will give you a chance
to do some work alone. That girl has
gone to mail her letter. The nearest
postofdce is in the vicinity of the bridge
and in a private house. See; she is GO
ing in that direction. By the road it is
more than mile. By the river you can
readily reach there first, as it is shorter.
Row as hard as you can and hide near
the postofice. If she enters, wait till