Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1899-12-21

nor ~yaluableS or II sort were round
on deceased, II Is inferred that plumber
was the motive of the crime. The ten
ant of the room in which the body was
found was a man named Tom Webb,
described as q Journalist and as of no
~toriously Incorporate habits. He, how
ever, has not been seen since the eve
Of the gruesome discovery, and the cor
oner's Jury had no hesitation In arriv-
ing Mt a verdict OF willful murder
against him and other persons I'M
known. The police are OF opinion that
several persons must have been con-
cerned i'm the affair, but are yvery reti-
cent as to such clues as they possess.
We understand that the deceased has
not been identified"
Poor little Madge! l could quite real
ize her anxiety. She knew, Of course,
that Toms profession was that Of a
| journalist, and / daresay she more
| than suspected his weakness for strong
| waters. And, now, here was a mar
thus closely t~allying in description and
of the same name. charged with mur-
der! Poor Nadge! My heart bled for
her! But what could l do to comfort
her?
! I did my best. / wrote her a long let
ter, stating the case as hopefully as
could. or Toms absolute innocence Of
any deliberate share in the atrocious
crime | expressed my absolute conyic-
ton; but there was no blinking the
facts that the body was found in his
room, and that he had himself disap-
peared.
"Of course" / added, this was
bound to direct q certain amount of
| suspicion against him, and, as you
must see yourself, justified the verdict
| Of the coroners jury, in the absence OF
other evidence. But it will console you
| TO know that even the detective officer
In charge OF the case no longer be
lieves in Toms guilt, though he thinks
he was made Il tool of. So be a brave
girl. Madge. and don't fret. You know
that, from the very nature Of my bust
| ness. ! am in a good position to watch
the course Of events; and / need hard
| ~ assure you that i will leave no effort
| unmade to clear up this distressing af-
| fair. / shall. If / possibly can manage
Il, run down I o Dorchester within a
few days, and ii is quite on the cards ]
may bring you some good news. Mean
while, keep up a brave heart. and be-
lieve steadfastly in poor Toms limo
cence."
The other letter was a somewhat
bulky one. 1t was from Inspector
| Trail, and the contents proved to be
OF most absorbing interest. Apparent
ly. the inspector had been very busy
when he sent his dispatch. which o
tanned merely a few words, scrawled
in pencil. on a scrap Of paper, to ex-
plain their drift. "See what you can
. make Of inclosed notes" the message
| ran, and let me know results as o o
as possible" Apparently. Mr.. Trail
was coming round to deductive meth
DDS, after all.
The notes were somewhat volumin
Gus and in a very disconnected order:
but they included everything that had
so far been discovered. and amply re-
| paid perusak Personally, I was rather
methodical in my habits, and, as |
read, I took down some more con
densed notes of my own.
Nature of Case-Murder by strangi-
lation Of a unknown. reported by
Constable Dwyer, ut 1920 n. m. Nov.
Goth, as having occurred at Is, Cato
street, Soho. From statement OF the
landlord, George Marsh, ii appears
that he entered a room on the ground
floor occupied by one Thomas Webb. n
journalist, who was In arrear with his
rent. Webb was not there. nor had the
bed been slept in; but upon the sofa lay
the dead body Of a stranger covered by
a cloak. Webb's latch-key was found
upon the floor.
Description Of deceased.-Length, 5
feet 10 inches. Strong build; we'll
nourished, apparently about thirty-two
years Of age. Hair: dark-brown. Eyes:
| grey. Teeth: sound, regular; somewhat
discolored, as by chewing. Dressed in
blue serge suit, with brown CATERS and
heavy boots, all, seemingly, Of foreign
make. Linen marked l.. A.. No yalu
ables or papers whatever. Two body
marks: letters l.. A. tattooed upon left
forearm, with small anchor; on right
breast a floating spar, also tattoed,
with r. n. upon ii.
The Missing ledger, Webb.-Aged
about thirty; but looks older. Average
height. thin, round-shouldered, SLOUGH
ing gait. Dark hair, grey in places.
Blue eyes, usually b~loodshot. Reputed
to be habitually a drunkard, but moth
ing known against him otherwise.
Result Of Inquiries.-So far, practic-
ally nil. Webb has not been traced.
nor Is there any clue to the identity Of
the murdered man. Webb would seem
to be physically incapable of the crime:
and the theory gains ground that he,
too, has been made way with by the
actual perpetrator.
There are very copious notes regard
ing the ~post-mortem and the inquest.
but they did not throw any fresh light
upon the subject, SO far as / could
judge.
Lastly, there were two poorly-deyel-
oped photographs of the murdered
mans CHASTITY, swollen face, pasted on
two pieces of white card board. They
might, of course, some day prove of
use as a means of identification, al
though / doubted whether the unfor.
tunate gentleman's most intimate
friend would ever be very positive In
recognizing those distorted features