The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1900-03-02
What Kotelmann Saw

n have no sympathy. He is, un-
doubleday, very clever fellow, but
the uncanny expression of his face
when he looks up is to me positively
repulsive.
For all that, he is excellent COM
pany. I have spent many hours. many
an evening, in his society, and must,
IN fairness, own that l have never
found him wearisome or dull.
Not long ago I took walk with
him. As we sauntered through the
stubble fields we discoursed of this
and of that, and at last we got upon
the topic of the latest murders which
had been reported in the press.
kOtelmann, as we talked about
these things, had the look that al.
ways makes my hair stand OH end.
We were discussing the question of
circumstantial evidence and its value.
''In ninety-nine cases out of a hun
dred," I remarked. there is nothing
else to be done but to convict the
criminal upon circumstantial evidence.
No ma1 in his senses would perpe-
trate a murder in the presence of an
eyewitness"
''Probably not" returned Kotel-
mann, slowly. "That kind of thing
is usually done in private. 1t may so
chance, however. that an eyewitness
is present of whom the murderer has
no cogniZance."
After making this remark he walked
by my side for awhile in silence, APP
parently deep in thought. Then he
began again, in his characteristic
fashion:
Zone may travel all round the world
and yet never witness murder. l.,
however, have seen one"
"What-you-you have seen one!"
exclaimed, almost terrified. ''Ex-
plain yourself, man! Was the MUIR
derer caught? Was he punished?"
1T was no he it was 'she,'" said
KotelmGnn, with laugh. ''And as
she was not caught it stands to rea-
son she was not punished"
"Yet you-" began.
My companion interrupted me.
81 had nothing to do with it. My
evidence was not called for nor re-
quired. The thing was accomplished
in the neatest, most refined manner
possible. If you like, I will tell you
the whole story
l pricked up my ears.
"Four years ago I was spending my
summer vacation at the little water
ing place of b. This quiet, retired
nest suited me we'll, and stayed there
for some time.
In the house where l found lodg-
Jag there were already a number of
other visitors-a fact which. to So
cable individual like myself, was in
no wise distastefuI.
''.Among others I made slight &C.
quaintance with a family consisting
If an old gentleman, his young wife
and his daughter by a former mar
rage. The girl, a slim, delicate Great
ure, apparently about 20 years of age,
was blind. She could not be termed
pretty. but her personality was indie
scribably attractive, gentle, and, I
may say. pathetic. The wife was
beauty. She had Il splendid figure and
a pair of gray eyes not easily to be
forgotten. I should judge her age to
have been about %. These people
seemed to be in very easy circum-
stances and kept themselves as much
'as possible apart from the other Wis
itors.
81 can boast. as you are aware, of
some small gifts of observation. AL
though my acquaintance with this
family was. as I have already stated,
but slight one, yet took some inter-
est in studying the different members
which composed it. For, wherever 1
70. I make it rule to study all the
new characters 1 meet. 1t was not
long before I discovered three things
concerning this trio. Firstly. that the
Old man was passonately in love with
his wife, but had for his daughter
neither eyes ears nor heart; secondly,
that the daughter had an almost
idolatlous reverence for her father,
but secret dislike for her stepmoth-
er; thirdly, that The wife had a down
right hatred for the other two.
None of the other inmates of our
villa, however, bad any suspicion of
this state of affairs; to the superficial
observer these three persons appeared
to be living together in perfect har-
mony
\ Zone morning the old gentleman did
not appear. and in answer to inquiries
his wife said that he was i'll. In the
course of the day physician was
summoned to him, and in the evening
our host impaired to me in confidence
the distressing fact that the old man
had been attacked by typhus fever
and lay now in very precarous con-
dition.
"The honest Thuringian well-nigh
shed tears of chagrin; one would have
thought to hear him that the poor
gentleman had taken the fever out of
sheer wickedness and spite, on pur-
pose to give the house bad name.
There was some cause for this lamen-
fation. The secret could not be kept
long, and as soon as it became known
that typhus was in the house the Wis
itors decamped with all speed. Only
two or three, more reasonable than
the rest, remained.
II have no fear of infection, and
when l told our host so 1 rose prodi-
giously in his estimation. I even
1ted the invalid and tried to cheer him.
On one occasion. when only a hired
nurse besides myself was present, he
startled me by g fit OF delirium. in
which he implored me to save him
from his wife. 1 did my utmost to
pacify him and soon his mood changed
hnd he began to speak of his wife in