Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1903-06-17

There was frozen blood i'm his hair
and his head rested in dark red
pool that stained the snow. The Off
Ger made as minute an examination as
possible without touching the BODY of
the dead man. Several blows had
been dealt upon the head with blud-
geon. There was no evidence any,
where of the use of a pistol. though
1T was possible that an examination
OF the body by the coroner might re-
veal pistol wounds that could not now
be seen on account of the position of
the corpse. The face of the dead
man had upon il look of CHASTITY
surprise, which was presumptivc evil
dcncc that the attack had come with
out any warning whatever.
Everything would Indicate" said
the officer, that the attack had come
from behind. and that Wright fell for
ward, and that the murderer beat
him about the head until he killed
him. His gun. you sec. is at some
distance beyond his head; his hat
fell in the same direction"
1T is also evident. | should saw"
declared Warde. that some one be-
sides the old mans son has touched
the body. Judging from the disturb
ances of the snow, which seems to be
recent, the body has been turned com
pletely over. | wonder if the foot
prints can throw any light upon the
subject?"
Young Wright's footprints told a
clear story. He had evidently come
straight along the path. brushed the
snow away from the corpse. discov-
cred who it was and then hurried on
TO the city. 1t was certain that he
had quickcncd his steps after max
ing the discovery, for the tracks were
wider apart than they had been be-
fore, and there could be no doubt that
he had not loitcred about the corpse.
and that he had not tempered with il,
as very few of his tracks could be
seen there. These facts told that
much in his favor.
Inc unknown person. however,
seemed to take deep interest in
the corpse. His tracks made almost
circle around it, and as his foot
had slipped here and there in the
snow il was evident that he had
tugged at the body and turned il
over. There was also reason to be-
heNc that he had examined the peck
cts of the clothing. as the coat was
thrown open in such way as to
suggest that the inside pocket had
been riflcd. or at least searched. This.
however. could be dismissed as a mere
surmisc, for the contents of the Dock-
cts must have been extracted at the
time of the murder.
Il am afraid this clew will moi
amount to much" said tho chief.
Why"
For the reason that ] can imagine
a very clear cXpana ton of the lost
comer's action. lie stumbled by acct
dent upon this dead body. with it,.
face down. Naturally he would turn
1T over the better to see who il was
Failing to recognize tho dead man. he
would probably search the pockets
to see II there were any papers that
would lead to his identification"
IF that be the case" said Wardc.
and this is an honest man. would
not his first impulse be 10 notify the
police"
YES, or else some Of the neigh
bors.'
IF he has notified any of the
neighborS it is reasonable to srppose
that their curiosity would have
brought them hithcr by this time.
People, as you know, will walk miles
to sec dead body. specially where
the death involves some horror. but
there Is as yet no evidence that any
curiosity exists in this ncighborhood.
II is also certain that the stranger is
IN no hurry TO notify the police. for
he has continued on his way instead
OF returning TO town If this man
is square he will some time to-day
reveal his identity by notifying the
authorities"
But he may not he square. He NAV
be a man with bad reputation. one
who knows that his discovery of such
crime would direct suspicion on
himself. Or he may have noticed that
the crime had already been found out
by some one. Wright'S tracks being
conclusive evidence of that"
u should not Judge that the person
who made these tracks was vapa-
bond or rough customer him
self. You will observe that they
were made by broad and fat shoe.
indeed, ! am sure the mysterious
stranger wore arctics Now arctics
are worn almost exclusively bv pcr-
sons in fairly good circumstances"
Your reasoning is very Ingenious
said the officer admiringly: but still
II would hardly be fair to connect =
stranger who comes along to-day and
stumbles upon n dead body with 4
murder committed a day or two ago.
But there is nothing to do now hut
await the coming of the cOroncr's
jury"
In making their examination. the
two men had been careful not to- APP
Proach too near the body. which was
left with the tracks in the snow lust
as they were. That page Of evidence
was allowed 10 remain as it, had been
found, and il il contained any reyc.