Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1897-12-30


had always worn, and which is we'll
known. This was again fatality, for
this is ring which he gave to my SIS
ter when he engaged her affections. It
was with some difficulty that got the
ring on, for his finger was much larger
than mine" again Mr. Barnes utter
ed an ejaculation and thought to him
self: Exactly, and it was so small a
thing as that which led mo finally to
suspect the truth. II the finger could
not swell after death, a. the doctor
claims to be tho fact, then the ring
should not have been 80 tightly II
then built up roaring fire and held the
head of the dead man IN it long enough
to scorch and disfgure him beyond rec
ognition. I then laid him down near
the hearth 40 that it would appear that
he had dropped there and had been
burned afterward. Next hurriedly
wrote the slips Of paper found by Vir-
gle and the detectives, through which
meant to point to young Marvel as the
murderer, forgetting that science would
prove that death had been instantane-
Gus and therefore that the victim had
not had time to make such an accuse.
tion.
when first bought this house. fore
seeing the necessity for this crime, l
caused this secret room to be construct
ed, to do which it was only necessary
to close up. the closets which originally
opened into the adjoining rooms. Here
! had everything that l would need In
this emergency, and therefore came to
this room and quickly shaved of my
beard. Then I washed out my hair and
eyebrows us,ng q liquid which kept
specially for this purpose. Thus they
were restored to their natural red color
and would easily prevent my Identified
tion. Any resemblance in face or voice
I hoped would be accepted as natural
Inheritance Of o son from his father.
left my own clothing in my sleeping
room to give color to the theory that had
retired. The dead man 8 effects packed
iu satchel, except his overcoat, which
l slipped OH over the sailors suit which
l had adopted. Ieasily caught the train.
which passes Lee Depot ut 1898, and
thus it will be seen that the crime oc'
CURED while Virgie and Young Marvel
were together across the river. left the
train at Epping. Here fate favored me,
for hotel man gave me lift in his
wagon and claimed that he recognized
me as young Marvel. So admitted that
he had guessed my name. Leaving
him, 1 went to the old house belonging
to Marvel, and here burned the arti-
cles that l had in the satohel, among
which there must have been some wire,
which Burrows afterward. to strengthen
his theory, enormously claimed was q
part Of a set of false whiskers. Next
hid the pistol and the piece of plato
which had my name engraved on it and
which broke from the satchel. In rear
ranging the stones I did 30 in such a
clumsy way that any one would disoov-
or what was hidden beneath.
ut was now but half past / /, and,
thinking there was sufficient time be.
fore me, threw myself OH the bed and
tried to sleep. had not been there
more than two or three hours, however,
when heard some one enter the house.
I started up and sprang to the window.
The boughs Of huge elm were quite
near, and easily stepped into the tree.
Hero remained hidden by the dense
foliage, for, despite the danger. I could
not resist the curiosity to know who 1t
was that was in the house. In very
few moments q light appeared, and l
clearly saw that 1t was young Walter
Marvel himself. Everything seemed to
favor my plot Waiting until his light
was extinguished again and until
could slip out of the tree without at
tracing his attention stole silently
away. walked to New Market juno
tion, where boarded the early morn-
ing train for New Market, for, though
could easily have continued on to that
place on foot, wished to give color to
the story which I intended to tell, OF
having come from Portsmouth, by being
seen to leave the proper train. During
this short ride the conductor pointed
out to me two men and told me that
they were detectives. 1t was these same
two that afterward recognized at
the saloon, when the squire informed
me that he was taking detectives to my
house. was startled, not unnaturally,
to learn that experienced men would be
on the scene of the crime so early, and
in my agitation I almost betrayed my
self, as I know, because Burrows Ques-
tioped me- afterward
"Another unexpected event was when
my dog recognized me ut the house and
plainly showed his friendship. Strange
rs it may seem, this possibility, obvious
as it should have been, had not even oc-
CURED to me. A man who commits
crime always overlooks something. 1
was so taken by surprise that I scarcely
knew what to do, for the animal Is 80
savage that 1t would, Of course, look
strange to the squire to see him fawn
upon stranger. However, I made q
lame attempt at explanation, but poor
as it was it served to lull suspicion.
"That night, as fate would have it, l
was assigned to my own room, and,
thinking over the whole affair, it sud-
denly occurred to me that post NOR
TEN would reveal the fact that one
wound had caused instantaneous death,
and, for all that could tell at that time,
the other might be of the same charac-
ter. However, / saw at a glance that
L., l,n ~