The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-06-22
THE DEATH TEST.

the deed! But may there not be some
life remaining! May Il not be in my
power to rob the grave7 It Is a dan
gerous undertaking, and II am found
here shall most certainly be accused
of the crime"
He drew back few steps from the
corpse, upon which he had come sud-
denly and Unexpectedly, and looked
around. Without noticing his path
he had journeyed to the bottom Of a
deep ravine before his progress was
arrested. High hills rose upon either
side, covered with heavy growth Of
timber and tangled underbrush. A
little stream found its way with great
difficulty through the rocks at the bot
tom. and its waters were never gilded
by single ray Of sunshine.
The corpse was that of girl who
must have been under 20 years, and the
face was one Of more than common
beauty. The figure was tall and deli
cately proportional. The clothing,
now torn and stained, was Of fne ma
terial and the discoloration Of the
neck, ears, fingers and wrists-the
piece torn from the bosom Of the dress
and the pockets turned outward--told
that robbery as we'll as murder had
been committed. The marks upon the
base of the skull, caused apparently
by heavy blows from a sharp stone,
seemed sufficient to have produced
death alone, but, In addition to them
blood was slowly oozing from and
congealing upon several wounds. in
One Of which knife was still sticking.
. with this knife" he said, giving
utterance to his thoughts as he drew
out the weapon, II could even thus
kill all my enemies, make myself rich,
and l."
The sentence was never finished.
Before 1t could be a dozen men, who
had been watching and creeping near,
sprang out Of the bushes and pinioned
him beyond the power Of resistance.
Taken beside the corpse, with the
blood-dripping knife in his hand, what
could he say in defense?
His defense must be made at another
time and place, and in truth he was
thinking more Of the corpse of the
murdered girl than of his own desper-
ate situation, and, drawing himself UP
proudly, he asked that she might be
cared for.
Whatever may be your purpose
with me-" he said, "at least see II there
is not life yet remaining. Take your
hands off and let me see If my skill
cannot be of some avail. am ply
sician."
Scowling brows and clenched fists
were the only answer he received.
They paid not the slightest attention
to his words, except 1t might be to
grasp him even more firmly than be-
fore and hurry him before neighbour
ing justice to be examined and exhib-
tied as a monster! But he had the sat-
isfaction, If indeed it could be called
by that name. to learn who the sup,
posed victim of his murderous knife
was; that her name was Ethel Loring;
that she was comparatively a stranger,
upon visit to an old uncle who lived
near the scene Of the tragedy; that
she was an orphan and rich in her
own right; that she was known to
wear costly jewelry and carry with
her considerable sum of money (all
of which was missing), and that she
had gone out to take a walk alone and
was found as described. These facts.
together with his having been detect
ed bending over the body with a
knife in his hand, and that in his pock-
cts was found about the same sum Of
money and of the same description as
that known to have been in the pos
session of the murdered girl, were
dwelt upon by the prosecuting attor-
ney with remarkable force, and the
prisoner saw that it was next to USE
less to attempt a defense.
To all questions he replied in a
simple and truthful manner, stating
that his name was Alonzo Martin, his
age rs: that he was by profession a
physician, unmarried, possessed Of
some means; that love of geology
had led him thither. As for his being
the murderer Of the girl, he denied it
in the most emphatic manner, and ex-
planned how he came to be bending
over the body with the bloody knife
in his hands.
"You will deny next" sneered the
attorney, that you threatened to kill
all your enemies in the same manner"
Il heard him distinctly" volunteer
ed a strong, rough-looking man, who
was said to have been among the first.
IL not the first, to discover the murder.
who had guided others there. and had
been the most willing and strenuous
in his testimony against him.
at is a case that might hapnen a
thousand times" was the reply: "bnt
hermit me to ask II she is indeed
dead9"