Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1900-08-09

once led me into what might have
proved deep waters? asked Detective
Sergeant Claiming, as he threw his
feet up on a chair and settled himself
comfortably.
1t was a winters night, cold, hard,
and frosty, eight or nine years since.
had been down to Cliffe to spend a
few hours with a friend, and was
going on to Sharnal street, the next
station down, to spend the night with
another friend.
l was walking up and down the de-
serted platform, thinking of various
things, when my foot kicked up
against something which went sliding
along the platform, and fell upon the
down line. My inquisitiveness i'm
PEELED me to jump down and search for
it with the aiding light of lucifer
1t turned out to be a novel; forgot
the title-and was in very damaged
condition. My explanation of the torn
cover and the bent corner was that
they were the outcome of the book
having been flung out of the window
of passing train.
/ took it into the light of an asth-
matical lamp and examined it. There
was writing on the fly leaf-writing in
pencil, and the shakiness of it and the
uncertainty of the lines Immediately
suggested to me that they had been
written in the train. The words them
selves convinced me. They were:-
MAN hiding under the seat of this
compartment. Believe he has designs
on valuables l have about me. Com
munication cord broken. Only way to
inform in case anything occurs; and
with anchor tattooed on wrist. Left
hand"
For a moment I half suspected it
was practical joke. Then it occurred
to me that there was more in the affair
than lame humor Cliffe is on the line
to Queenborough, where one can take
boat for Flushing, which is in Holland,
the principal town of which, Amster-
dam, is well known as a trading place
for dealers in precious stones. The
logical deduction was, therefore, that
the writer of the message was travel
ing with jewels from London to AM
sterdam via Queenborough and Flush
ing. Possibly he had q small fortune
in gems upon his person. and was un-
easy in his mind. Possibly the man
travelling under the seat of his compart-
ment, but for whose presence the other
would have been alone, had designs
upon the valuables he carried, and,
realizing he could not stop the express
owing to the communication cord being
broken, he decided upon the novel
method of giving the police clue in
the possible event of the hiding man
killing him to obtain the valuables.
l knew quite well that the Queen
borough express had run through Clffe
three-quarters of an hour before, and
it had by that time reached its destin-
alton.
Going over to the station masters
office, showed that official the mes
sage and explained my conclusion. He
agreed that the affair might be serious.
The only thing he could not under
stand was the point that the man un-
der the seat must have taken up his
position before the other man entered
the compartment, and this did not sug-
gest that he had designs upon the other,
because he could not rely upon the
other choosing that particular COM
partment. But l pointed out to him
that the hiding man may have taken
up his position in compartment next
to that of his intended victim, expect
ing to get along by the footboard at
the first opportunity and that the other
man, for some reason, might have
nh int fha rfnpnt
at Gravesend, thus walking into the
enemy's camp unconsciously. and not
discovered his enemy's presence until
the train was running between Graves
end and Cliffe.
To oblige me he wired down the line
to Port Victoria, and shortly after
wards came the news that nothing
absolutely pointing to n crime had
come under notice. But that, in
second-class smoking compartment, a
quantity of blood had been found by
guard.
A peculiar fact was. however, that
no body had been found. If murder
had been done, what had become Of
the body? If only an assault had been
committed, why had the victim neither
been found in the compartment nor
given information? So he wired back
to Port Victoria, giving them details,
advising them to make immediate in
Quiries and to search the line. Very
shortly after that we received mes
sage to the effect that blood had also
been found upon the footboard on the
down-side of the compartment on the
floor of which similar stains had been
discovered. The police had been in
formed, and already search party
had been sent up the line.
l wired full particulars to Scotland
Yard, and, on receiving instructions to
personally conduct the inquiry, l or
ganized a search gang, and, armed
with naphtha lamps, we set out down
the line to meet those coming from