The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1903-03-14
HURLED INTO ETERNITY
A. r. Pennell Killed and Wife Seri-
ously Injured 4 Buffalo.
AUTO PLUNGED INTO DEEP Abyss
Mr.. Pennell Was One of the Chief Fig
ures In the Investigation of the Bur
dick Murder Mystery-Not Known
How Accident Happened.

ROW Accident Happened.
Buffalo. n. Y. March l1.-More ter
rible almost than the death OF Z. l.
Burdick was the tragedy that occurred
late yesterday afternoon. when Arthur
X. Pennell, one of the chief figures in
the investigation of the Burdick muir
der. was hurled headlong into eternity
Mr.. Pencil was riding in his electric
automobile with Mrs. Pencil. They
were on Kensington avenue. near Fill
more avenue. skimming along the
edge of the Genres stone quarry, a
huge ribbed hole in the ground. Mr.
Pencils hat blew of. The autOmo-
bile swerved. and in some inexpiicable
manner IL leaped over the curb into
the abyss below. Mr.. Pencil was
killed instantly. his head being crush
ed to an unrecognizable mass Mrs
Pennen was injured so severely that
the surgeons at the Sisters Hospital.
to which she was taken. say her
chances of recovery are very slight
Two boys saw the tragedy. They
were too far away to know positively
Just how it happened. Mrs Pennen
when found was unable to speak She
was only semi-conscious when taken
TO the hospital. and could speak no
coherent words. After the operations
performed Immediately by DR.. Eugene
Smith. in the hope OF saving her life.
she lapsed into Inconsistencies. and
hence there can be no true version OF
precisely how the affair occurred.
MIR. Pencil left his Office in the
Austin building at 4.O5 O'Clock yester-
day afternoon. 4 friend who called
up Mr.. Pencil on the telephone was
Informed that Mr.. Pencil was in. but
that he was just going for a drive. Mr..
Pencil himself answered the tele-
phone and said that he would be back
between $50 and o'clock. making an
appointment with his friend for that
hour.
Would 8 O'Clock do?" he was asked.
"Oh. well, you might come at
o'clock. but you better make il later"
said Mr.. Pennell
II was learned last night that the
matter mentioned in the telephone talk
was something he considered most
serious. and which weighed heavily
upon him. II was in connection with
the Burdick murder.
Recently Mr.. Pencil made the fol
lowing statement: About this case OF
Burdick- | have told the authorities
went away TO New York before the
murder. and that met Mrs. Burdick
while ! was away. In fact ! saw Mrs
Burdick near New York two or three
days before the murder of Mr.. Bur
dick. l came home again Wednesday.
the day before the murder. I have
told II frankly, and the meeting was a
proper one. But they seem determined
TO drag all this business out in the
papers. would do anything 10
stop it."
Pencil and his wife left their home
TT $50 O'Clock or one or two minutes
before that time. 1t was a gloomy
afternoon and rain was falling. IL
seemed a strange day for a man TO
take his wife out automobiling in the
lonely northeast section Of the CITY.
at such an hour
Pencil was not a veteran al auto-
MODELLING. Yet he was an expert AZ
handling the machine and was experi-
enced as TO its management. So far
as could be learned, he never had any
accidents. Certainly he was not re-
garded as green or incompetent
Chauffeur. What was unusual about
yesterdays proceeding. according to
the maid, was that Mrs. Pencil had
always before told her when they
would return Yesterday, however"
said the girl, when thew went ont II
was Mr.. Pencil who told me. Mrs.
sennen went on ahead of him, and
ne came back and called me and said:
Lizzie. We will be back between $50
and o'clock l said All right. and
they went away. That was between
4.4O and 4-5o o'clock, just after Mr..
fennel had talked over the tele-
phone"