The National tribune., 1901-11-21

fEAID IDhtSo.
| "You stated that the blood stains found
on the clothes of the deceased were made
by the blood of some lower animal. Have
you any way of knowing whether it was
the blood of cat or some other animalt'
Il have not. The molecules of the blood
in a human being differ from those found
in the blood of any of the lower animals,
excepting the monkey, so much that it is
easy to distinguish the one from the other
by the use OF a microscope
You could not say positively that the
blood in question was not the blood of Il
| common house catF'
Il could not"
You are positive it was not human
| blood?'
Il am
Perhaps you will prove that the mur-
dered man was dead when he came to
| the inn, if you keep on" broke In the
Prosecuting Attorney, with contemptu-
Gus smile.
That is just what l shall prove" re
| sp0nded Dillon. But as he spoke there
was stir among the crowd near the
door and stranger pushed his way for
ward and whispered something hurriedly
to the detective. The detective turned
and spoke to Dillon, and the old lawyer
asked the court to give him few mo
ments to speak with another witness he
was about to put on the stand. 1t was
| tective followed the stranger from the
room.
In fifteen minutes the lawyer returned.
If it please the court" he said, Il shall
now introduce another witness whose pres
ence Will in itself be sufficient testimony to
establish the innocence of Miss Benning-
ton, who stands falsely accused of muir
| der"
AS he ceased speaking man, wearing a
heavy black beard, was ushered forward
| by the stranger who had entered and the
| detective. AS he took his seat in the wit
ness box he lifted his hand and removed
the heavy false beard that covered his
| features.
The landlord OF the Blue Stag uttered
| a gasp Of amazement and sat staring at
| the witness as if he had been an appari-
| ton.
God have mercy on us-its Col.
Withers come to lifev' gasped Mrs. Gluck,
| trembling with excitement.
The cry flew rapidly from lip to lip,
and the immense crowd that had collected
to witness the trial was moved as if by
an electric shock.
From lip to lip the word flew. 1t passed
to those about the door, and was soon pro-
claimed throughout the village. Never be-
| fore had the little town been so shakS,l
by any event Col Withers was alive
| and on the witness stand in the court
roomi From the most remote quarters
| Of the town excited citizens fOcked TO the
| court house. There was a mighty crowd
inside, and outside an equally large one
was packed about the doors striving to
| gain entrance.
The Justice wiped his spectaCles care
fully and looked again and again at the
man in the witness box. The Prosecuting
Attorneys face assumed Il look of utter
| bewildermcnt A dead silence fell over
the crowd as the witness began to speak.
| Il have confession TO make he be-
gan, and what | shall say will solve
what has been mystery TO the people
collected here. Many CT you recognize me
| and look upon INC as one returned from
the dead. But all this is the result of n
deception | have practiced. 1t was but a
| short time ago that | became involved in
| speculations which swept away my for.
tune and left me almost penniless. In my
| despair / was about to commit suicide.
| BY such an act / could at least leave my
| niece and my brother free from want, for
| had on my life an insurance policy of
| $4,000. Just as | had decided on COM
hitting the rash act my twin brother Felix
arrived from Australia. Although | had
not seen him for 20 years, l should have
recognized him in an instant among thou
sand others, for there was such a marked
| resemblance between US that our intimate
| friends could scarcely tell one from the
other. He was Ill when he arrived at the
| i1ai' having Fluuen lOnB distance on
| horseback, and few hours after his ar
rival he died OF heart failure.
1T was then that | conceived the crimi-
nal idea of palming off his body for that of
myself and reaping the reward which the
| insurance money would bring. No one
knew of his presence at the Hall except
| ing myself and my niece, Miss Agnes Ben
nington. l told her Of my plans and
begged her to keep silent, but she i'm
plored Inc not to carry out the dreadful
business; and in order to carry out my