The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1900-05-25
RISING sun, CECIL COUNTY. MD, FRIDAY, MAY 1900.


still darker in the buildings. 1t became
too dark for Miss Dodge to see to work
even by the window. Instead of light
ing the gas by Mr.. Morse's desk and
continuing work, it was natural for her
to stop as the gloom grew deeper. 1t
is not necessary to assume that she
was afraid of thunder showers-in fact,
l. don't think she was-but she was
alone in the Office, and as the storm
drew nearer and the air became more
charged with electricity it was Iatural
for her to become little restless. We
have all felt that way, and when the
feeling comes on US we would rather
leave the work we are engaged on and
get up and move around.
81 assume that is what Miss Dodge
did. BY that time it was very dark in
the office, so she lighted the gas over
the high desk. Then an idea occurred
to her-she would improve the time be-
fore resuming work on her books. The
day had been humid-bad weather to
keep the hair in, as women say. Like
good many other women, Miss Dodge
used curling tongs to curl her hair
with. The presence of the tongs In
the office would be presumptive evil
dence of that fact, but have verified
it from her mother and one or two inti-
mate girl friends whom have talked
with. Well, the moisture in the air had
taken the crimp out of her hair, and
she proposed to restore it.
Accordingly she opened the drawer
in which she kept the curling tongs
along with her stationery, needles,
thread and other trifles. She found
the tongs and proceeded to curl her
hair before the little mirror hanging
above the desk, heating the tongs in
the gas flame, a practice common
among women.
meanwhile the storm had drawn
nearer and now broke with tremen-
dous crash of thunder. All who were
in this vicinity agree that the crash
came very suddenly and was very loud.
/ assume that Miss Dodge had heated
the tongs once or twice and got her
hair partly curled. / have not been
able to prove this from observation,
for when I viewed the remains the
hair on the forehead was nearly
straight, and no one who saw her soon
after she was killed seems to have no.
ticed whether parts of her hair were
more curly than other parts. did not
view the remains until two days after
death, and by that time any differ
ences that may have existed at the
time she died would have disappeared.
But assume she had proceeded that
far and was holding the tongs up over
the glass globe and heating them in the
gas fame when the thunder crash
came. Startled by the suddenness Of
the crash, she made quick movement,
which loosened the globe from it's
place. Seeing it about to fall, she at
tempted to catch and save it. In the
act she stumbled against the stool at
her side and overturned 1t. Her own
equilibrium was lost, and she did a
natural, but, as it proved, fatal,
thing.
"She threw out her hand to save
herself from falling and caught at the
shelf on which lay the pistol. This
shelf was not strong affair, and If
you examined it closely, gentlemen,
as did, you perceived that it was bent
downward little. / assume that as
she clutched at it the weapon was dis
lodged and fell with her, exploding as
it fell, and, with that fatal, not to say
malevolent, accuracy of aim which I
noted in the case of Colonel Cromwell,
the bullet pierced her heart The weap-
on, striking against some object-the
stool probably-was diverted from its
course and rolled under the high desk.
II have talked with the lad Walter
Jones and see no good reason for
doubling his story. He says the crash
in the room above came prior to the
pistol report, if anything, though the
sounds all seemed to come together
and mingle with the noise of the thun-
der. That would agree with my the
ory, for of course it all happened al
most simultaneously and the girl was
dead, in all probability, before the re-
yerberations of the thunder peal that
startled her had died away.
'"This theory may not be the correct
one, though all the facts seem to fit
| well into it. There are two circum-
| stances, however, that make my con-
| yiction that it is correct very strong.
| The first is the mirror. The girl friends
of Miss Dodge whom have talked with
say that she sometimes curled her hair
in the office. They are positive, more
over, about one very important thing
| they say she kept the little mirror In
the drawer, taking it out and hanging
| it on the hook when she curled her
hair and putting it back in the drawer
when she was through. Mr.. Morse and
the clerk Savage agree that she did not
keep the mirror hanging on the hook
habitually, but it was hanging there
when she died and has hung there ever
since.
THE other circumstance is this"
Here Professor Gilman drew a crum-
pied piece of paper from his pocket and
passed it to the city editor.
"What do you observer he asked.
Nothing but piece of ordinary
white paper, with something that looks
like SCOT on it."
! Exactly. 1t is soot 1 picked that
paper up off the floor in Mr.. Morse's
Office. 1t is paper that Miss Dodge
used to wipe off the SCOT that collected
Dn the curling tongs."
Professor Gilman, do you mind IL l
print that story in The Daily Tele-
graph?" asked the city editor, a little
eagerly.
why. no. 1 don't know that there Is