The true northerner., 1900-11-30

piled. Nevertheless :. 70 coz fis
pages and reed them. as II impelled by
scme hateful fascination. Then, he
took up his pen to make few minor
corrections. Then. rs If totally obliv-
ious OF my presence. he began to write.
LAS sheet after sheet fell from under
his fingers | snatched them up. read
composing room. | read rapidly, TAX
ing but small account of the matter so
long as il ran smoothly, while | had
too much confidence I'm him to question
the accuracy Of his statements. ! only
realized that he was writing great
account-the greatest he had ever writ
ten He seemed inspired with the very
innermost thoughts of the murder and
under his touch every trivial incident
came out with distinctness and CO.
herence that made the cause and meth
od of the crime perfectly plain.
First he described the scene with
accuracy and detail that would have
studied it closely. The selection of the
spot was explained by the fact that the
bright electric light streaming through
the windows of the engine house made
it impossible for the passerby to see
into the shadows. Thus. while impen-
etrable darkness screened the assassin,
the rattle and roar Of the machinery
near by drowned all sounds of the
struggle of the falling body.
THE blow on the head, he demon
strated, must have been from a stick,
while the wound through the heart
could only have been made by one of
those long. fine bladed stilettos of ltal-
ian make. Furthermore, the fact that
this peculiar weapon was driven home
with firm hand after the victim had
been stunned by Il blow on the head
indicated premeditated and deliberate
murder. while the theory Of robbery
was disprOved by the fact that the
mans valuables had been untouched.
The only reliable theory, therefore.
was that the motive of the murderer
was revenge.
"A more mastery analysis of Il case
! never read but here he branched off
into what | at first supposed to be
purely imaginary speculations as to
the wrong which had led the murderer
to seek the life of the unknown man.
These seemed purposely vague at first,
hut gathered in strength and certainty
until | concluded that he must have
some good foundation for them. Start
ing with hypothesis, he soon began TO
state them rs facts. He described how
the dead man, once trusted friend,
had entered the home of another, how
by subtle wiles and deceit he had stolen
the love Of his wife; then followed an
elopement and the breaking up Of that
once happy home.
He told with the bitterness Of truth
how the scoundrel had deserted the
erring woman and left her to perish
alone; how the idea of revenge had
filed the mind of the wronged hus-
band; how. himself unseen, he had
followed every movement of the in
tended victim for months and carefully
plotted his destruction; how he had de-
coyod the doomed man TO the town and
to the very spot where the murder was
committed. and how he had destroyed
the only clews- couple of letters in
the pockets Of the dead man-and final
ly made his own escape, the secret safe
in his own heart alone.
"As read this remarkable tale
through the conviction forced itself up
on me that this was the absolute truth.
If the writer himself had committed
the deed. he could not have described it
more graphically. Suddenly the thought
flashed over me, Could he describe such
& crime thus without having in fact
committed it?
I'VE were alone in the room. /
glanced at Jones apprehensively. He
was writing rapidly, fiercely. His eyes
were fixed. but he seemed TO be looking
through and beyond the paper across
which his pen flew at something fasci-
mating, terrible. When he finished. it
was with a start, as if waking from a
trance. glanced at the last page,
where was final confirmation of my
fears.
"'Good heavens, Jones, is this trueT
! managed 10 say.
Every word of it, as l live he re-
piled firmly. if family.
"'Then you have written the war
rant for your own arrest said.
"IIis head dropped on his desk, but
he said not word.
Jones' said |, finally shaking him
by the shoulder to arouse him to an
understanding of my meaning, enough
to hang you is i'm type. In an hour the
papers will be on the streets. In an
other hour the police will be after you.
Go; make the most of your start
''It was as | predicted" said the city
editor after a pause. Before daylight
detective called on me to ascertain
the source of that story. ! simply
pointed to Jones' name on the book,
and they went after him."
Did they catch himY asked the
other eagerly.
"They found him i'm his room with
stiletto through his heart."-St. Louis
Star.