The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-01-25
A thorough Villain.

$50 YOU have come to have me rack
my brain for another Renaissance, have
you? We'll, old man. am prepared for
you, and 1 viii give you an account OF
| the mysterious wharf murder which par-
alyzed the city with horror some fifteen
years ago"
Thus old Clew addressed me as I en-
tered his private office one afternoon,
| notebook in hand.
! zone morning q messenger came TO
headquarters from one Of the substaions
| with the information that the mutflated
| body OF a handsomely dressed man had
been found humping with the tide
| against one of the East River bulkheads.
u happened to be on duty at the time.
| and at once made my was TO the wharf,
| where the body was secured.
when the body was drawn from the
| water and stretched out, all dripping,
upon the dock, a smothered cry of hor-
| ror burst from the bystanders as their
eyes fell upon g terrible cash in the dead
/ mans forehead, plainly indicating that
! he was the victim of foul murder.
Upon receiving permission from the
! coroner. l proceeded TO search the vic
| TINS clothes: but some one, his muir
| derers, as 1 correctly concluded, had an
| ticipated me- / found nothing but a lew
| grains of burnt coffee in his vest pocket.
1
rnorgue for identification, and returned
| TO the office taking the coffee grains with
me. l had already formed theory, and
| had some sight hopes of working out the
mystery.
/ For three days the body remained at
| the rorgue before it was identified. A
| Boston firm had seen the keepers ad-
! vertisement, giving a description Of the
mans dress and general appearance, and
when one Of the firm came on he at once
| recognized the remains as those OF his
| confidential clerk. who had lett Bas-
ton for New York about a week pre-
viously on business for the firm
at called on this gentleman and learned
from him taht Mr.. Freeman, the muir
| dered man. had been the owner of beau
! tiful watch diamond studs and sleeve
/ buttons, and that he most likely had sew
! eral hundred dollars in money about MIN
at the time he was killed
Having ascertained this much, I went
to work To me the coffee grains spoke
| volumes, and 1 read my way out of the
mystery quite clearly.
MY first dodge was the adoption OF
| suitable disguise I assumed that Of a
'canaIler' The latter term, you know, IS
| applied by thieves to all greenies from
! for my purpose I sailed forth, and, COM
mencing at a point some ten blocks below
where the body was found, took in
every drinking place from thence on the
| river front up to ten blocks above. l was
! looking for a barroom where coffee
! grains. allspice and cloves were kept on
the bar as taste killers. But thy We're
/ all low places that l entered, and l did
not find those condiments set out in any
! of them, so / took one street back and
! trayersed the same as 1 did the river
front Finding none there, / took the
/ next. and here I found my gin-mtn with
/ the coffee grains on the bar 1t was sit
uated on the corner of the street which
terminated at the pier near which the
! body had been found.
so far, so good; was satisfied in my
! own mind that / was now in the house
| which the murdered man had last visited
! previously to being brutally murdered.
THE first glance fastened upon the
! barkeeper Satisfied me that he was bad
onea thorough villain-but a coward one
! Of those chaps who try to intimidate by
! loud talk and slang phrases.
/ when | walked UP to the bar and
| asked for something to drink he eyed me
| disdainfully and came seemingly reluc-
! family forward to wait on me.
But when l disclosed wel-filled purse
and laid down a $40 bill his whole man
ner changed instantly, and he was quite
! agreeable.
AT length he excused himself, went
! Ito the door and beckoned to a youth to
come over 1 understood that movement
4 was pleased, and you will learn why
| shortly.
1.-The youth came over, and the bar
! tender said:
| Johnny tend bar for me awhile;
! I want to go to the BARRIERS; then turn
| ing to me said: Don't leave, old man;
! there will be some of the lads in by and
! by. and I'll be back in few minutes.
| you can just bet, Herbert, / had no in
| tention of leaving; things were working
| nicely It was fully twenty minutes be-
| fore the bartender returned, and when he
| did soAI hoticed that he had not got
| shaved, but as l meant to shave hin11a
| trife close 1 did not bother myself about
! this.
Five minutes after his return the bar
| tender was followed by two of the worst
! !yooking villains 1 had ever seen-two
! sweet buds of the first water.
'T was soon introduced to these plugs,
and invited to drink. / drank, of course.
! Drink followed drink. Cards wre pro-
posed. I played and won. And so the
hours glided by until night fell. It was
foggy. disagreeable night-excellent
weather for murder.
MY friends proposed that we should
p in nut an fha fafa