The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1902-07-17

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81 went back through the upstair hall
and found the window at the end raised
about two feet. l looked out and saw
on the tin roof of the little summer
kitchen below a leather rife case.
Then l searched the whole house from
cellar to attic. but found no sign of
the missing pistol. No robbery had
been done, because Fordyce identified
everything of value, and even showed
me about $500 in bills, his wife's pin
money, which was tucked carelessly
into an old, painted or gilded gourd on
the dresser. l was puzzled about the
pistols disappearance, but concluded
that the robber had secured that first,
had probably awakened Mrs. Fordyce
in that way and made off after the
murder with the revolver in his pock-
ct. Yet how or why, having secured
the pistol, the intruder had found time
or cause to uncase the rife and use it
in preference to the smaller, handler
gun, | couldn't figure out. That rob-
berry had been the motive, l didn't
doubt for an instant, but when I exam
llltO Alt SlOuhd dDOul TIC SOltdS
though it was quite muddy from the
rain of the night before, could find no
trace of the escaping house-breaker.
l made sure that everything had been
locked except that one window, and it
seemed as plain as day that the muir
derer must have climbed in over the
kitchen roof and out by the same route.
What hnJ aJ hin, 70 20 4b
rife case that far? How had he got
from the roof of the summer kitchen
to the distant back fence without leav-
ing a print of his footsteps? There
was neither pavement nor walk in tho
yard, for the cottage was new and the
bare clay about, it was soft and I'M
trodden. At either side of tlse cottage
was a bare. area at least 25 feet wide,
There were no footprints anywhere.
Where was the pistol? Isearched that
house a dozen times that day, even I'M
folding the clean linen in the closets
and rummaging in Bertha's trunk, to
the great anger of her grief-stricken
father. But it was not to be found.
spent the night proving to my own sat
isfaction that Fordyce had actually
been at his store till half an hour be-
fore the murder must have occurred.
Nobody knew much about the family.
He had come with his wife six months
before and had bought the Ferris
stove and tinware business. He seemed
to be a fine man, a trifie younger than
his wife, but apparently happy.
''The women who had met her all
spoke well of Mrs. Fordyce. Bertha,
the daughter, had come home from
boarding school at Ogdensburg in May.
1t was about June 10 that the murder
occurred. Now, after finding out as
much as I could, made up my mind,
and it cost me many twinge to do so,
I made up my mind that Bertha had
killed her own mother! 1t was such
| preposterous, monstrOus suspicion
| that was ashamed of it myself and, of
course, dared not mention it to any
one else, at least, until l had some
sound evidence. She was apparently a
very emotional, cultivated young girl
and I couldn't think of the least shad-
ow of motive sufficient to urge her to
| so hateful and unnatural crime, but
| the facts, few but adamantine, told
me, in spite of myself, that she had
| done it. Now in a case like that, where
| the evidence is wholly circumstantial
and at that, far from final, it is absc-
| lutely necessary to find or supply
motive. 1 was so sure of my theory
that I spent a week at the Ogdensburg
| school trying to find out all about Ber-
| tina, her disposition, vagaries, regard
| for her home and her mother. Every
thing was favorable to the girl. There
was not a hint of criticism upon which
l might fasten the thread of iustifica-
ton for my suspicion. went sudden
ly back to Fordham and searched the
Fordyce house again. don't know
what moved me to it, but I got out on
| the tin roof, and noticing a warped
place where the metal had raised about
an inch from the level, l thrust in my
hand and pulled out the missing pistol
that had been stolen from under
Fordyce's pillow!
meanwhile the coroner's jury had
laid the crime at the door of party or
parties unknown" and, certain as l
felt that this strange girl must have
distracted her parents weapon in the
daytime or perhaps during previous
night, and had gone about the murder
with premeditated and horrible cool
ness, I was powerless to reopen the
case, for l knew that, unless I could
supply reasonable motive for the in
credible crime, I would he laughed at.
So passed up the whole matter.
"Never did anything about it?" won
dered the night clerk.
"No. Never heard of the Fordyces
again till two years ago. I was visit
ing an old sister of mine in Boston.
L was sitting on the front stoop one
summer evening when l saw Fordyce
and his daughter pass, arm in arm. l
asked my sister if she knew them and
she said their name was Ballard, that
Mrs. Kelly, who lived across the
| street, had known the woman when
she was a girl. went over to see Mrs.
Kelly that evening and she said that
Billiards. real name was Fordyce, but
that he had changed it perhaps on &C
| count of his first wife's murder I'm aft