Evening star., 1901-12-10

be that she was anxious to see some friend
and that the name had no connection what
ever with her assaiiant.
Captain Bingham and Mr.. Semmes Of the
District attorneys office, accompanied by
the office stenographer, visited the k-street
house this afternoon and remained there
some time looking over the rooms and not
ing the general condition of things in them.
Professor ]. D. Hird, chemist in the health
department, also visited the rooms ano
made examinations for blood stains
He expressed the belief that the finger
prints on the piano had not been made by
blood-Stained hands.
Almost every member of the detective
force visited the house during the day and
assisted in the investigation Detective Nc
Nance remained in charge of the house.
Richard Cole, the colored porter in the
house, says he went on an errand for Mrs.
Dennis last night, returning between and
o'clock. He found the front door un-
locked, which was something unusual, he
said, and when he went away before 8
o'clock he closed the door and saw that
the night latch worked all right. The elder
Mrs. Dennis is satisfied that the window
fastening was secure last night
This afternoon friends of the victim ad-
vanced the theory that her assailant en-
tered the house early in the evening and
was secreted in the room during the night.
WHAT the motive was they do not advance.
AS already stated there is no evidence of
robbery and the doctors are satisfied that
the victim was asleep when the first blow
was ihfiicted and she was given no chance
to defend herself. While most of the detec-
tiVes are of the opinion that the deed was
committed by man, some of them sug-
sest the possibility of woman having COM
mitted the crime. ~,
A man who would commit such a deed.
one of the detectives remarked, would have
10 nave been an extremely cold -blooded
criminal and a man who was far worse
than the average murderer. Then too the
weapon, he thought, might suggest that a
man did not commit the crime At all
events, 1t was stated late this afternoon the
police are completely at sea and were no
nearer solution of the case than they
were when they first learned of the hor-
ribie affair. DR.. J. Ramsey hewitt, the Dis
trict coroner called at the house on K
street this afternoon in order that he may
be fully acquainted with the surroundings
In event OF the womans death, which seems
more than likely.
Little Hope, of WOman's Recovery.
Shortly before o'clock this afternoon
Mrs. Dennis, who had partly regained con-
sciousness, seemed to be suffering intense
pain in her head
She made several efforts to remove the
bandages and to the doctors and nurses who
held her hands she said. LET 60" This
was all she would say. She was asked how
she felt, but would make no response Her
temperature was rather high, and the doc
tors said there seemed to be no chance for
her recovery.
Many friends of the patient called at the
hospital today and made anxious INQUIRIES
about her condition. There were also many
callers at the house.
Extreme Mystery.
During the examination of the room the
detectives found broken equestrian statue
made of bronze and a towel, a portion of
which had been burned. There were blood
stains on the towel, but these, it was ex-
planned, resulted from the use Of the towel
after the people IN the house found the
victim.
A thorough investigation of the premises
was made by the detectives, and they are
at loss to know how an entrance to the
rooms could have been effected from the
outside if the fastening on the window was
secure, as it Is said it was.
The only way in which the window could
have been opened, the detectives say was
by breaking the window and there was no
such break 1t was stated by one of the
officers that a knife inserted between the
upper and lower sash could net possibly
have opened the fastening.
With such condition confronting them
they are at a loss to see how a person
could have entered the room from the out
side. Friends of Mrs Dennis, as already
stated suggest that the person who as
saulted her was secreted in the room
The overturned flower pot was knocked
from the window sill to the room, and this
fact, 1t is argued, may indicate that it was
upset from the outside. There is one thing
about which the detectives are certain and
that is that the person who is SO badly
wanted left by way of the window and de-
posted the weapon near the base of the
stool from which it had been unscrewed
Unless the guilty person is apprehended
during the early part of the night the de-
tectives Will do but little sleeping between
this time and tomorrow morning. Major
Sylvester said late this afternoon that moth
ing of Importance had developed in the case
and that nothing definite had been learned