The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1903-02-21
a Message
In IOod
TOrfgfnaI.1


was connected with the Ease of a man
named Joel Klapper. He lived alone
and was murdered one night during a
blizzard. The murderer left him for
dead, but he did not die for some time
after the blow was struck. Unable to
leave the bed in which he was muir
dered, there seemed to be no way of
communicating information that would
lead to the punishment of his murder
er. Yet he succeeded in leaving all
that was essential.
Klapper was used to reading at night
in bed before going to sleep and kept
on a stand beside his bed a lamp,
matches and some books. When the
body was discovered in the morning,
the lamp was burning, though the oil
was nearly exhausted. People who had
passed the house between IL and II
reported that they had seen no light,
but a man who had passed just before
dawn on his way to a train declared
that he had noticed a light in Klapper's
room. He knew Klapper and won
dered If he were not Ill. He said he
would have stopped to find out, but
had barely time to reach his train.
framed several theories, more or less
Influenced by this circumstance. Klap-
per was surely in bed with the light out
when the murder was committed. How
then could it have been burning in the
morning unless he had lived long
enough after the blow to light 1t? l
had a feeling q can find no better word
to express iD that the lamp had been
lighted by the victim with a purpose
after he had beer struck.
1 looked for a communication on pa
per, but found none. l was absently
turning over the leaves Of n of the
books ON the table when l came to a
red smudge. 1t covered the word
'sten.' 1t at once occurred to me that
Klapper had communicated something
concerning the murder by words
smudged by his own blood, and l look
ed for more, which l found. I expect
ed that they would lie in the order OF
a message, but they did not. Consec-
utively placed they read:
Ten, crisp, man. on, beard, me. Called.
National, five, bill, took dollar, hair, fore
head, new, because, scar, red and stabbed,
I of all, ten.
The moment I had placed these
words ON paper in the above order 1
knew from the words scar, beard and
hair that it contained a description of
the murderer. / also inferred from the
words crisp, five, bill, ten and national
that it also contained a description of
a bank bill or bills that had been TAX
en-. My first effort in deciphering the
message resulted as follows:
Man called on me, beard and hair, red
scar on forehead, took ten new crisp five
dollar bills on (some) national (bank).
This was evidently not the solution,
for there were a number of words I'M
used. l tried 1t again:
Stabbed Cby) man with red hair and
beard. Scar on forehead. He took ten
new crisp five dollar bills on (some) ma
tional (bank) because / called.
This was better than the first effort;
but, like the first, the words were not
all used. l made q number of trials
before l found a correct reading,
though / did not know whether the
murderer took ten five dollar bills or
five ten dollar bills. This was my last
effort:
Man with red hair and beard, scar on
forehead, stabbed me because / called.
(He) took ten new crisp five dollar bills,
all of the Tenth National.
Since the bank might have been the
Fifth or the Tenth National, l went to
both and learned at the Tenth that it
had paid out some new five dollar bills
the day before, and Mr.. Klapper's ac-
count showed he had been paid $50 the
same day. Therefore the last part of
the message read, 'Ten new five dollar
bills, all of the Tenth National"
/ at once advertised to give a pre-
MUM to any n who could furnish me
with one of these bills. 4 woman, the
cashier Of a third rate restaurant, an
swered the advertisement, bringing one
of the bills. Afterward there was an
other brought in, but too late to be of
advantage. The woman told me that
the man who gave 1t to her was so
rough looking that she feared 1T was
counterfeit and took it to her employer
before changing ii. In this way the
matter was impressed on her mind. /
asked her if she could identify the man,
and she said she could.
The rest was comparatively easy. 1
laid the matter before the inspector and
asked If he had any record of a crimi-
nal with red hair and beard and a scar
on his forehead. After examination he
found that the description fitted Jim
Rourke, alias Patsy Burne, alias Cauky
Jack and a number of other aliases,
who had recently been released from
the penitentiary and seen in town. The
man was watched for, arrested and
identified by the restaurant cashier.
| Two of the bills were found on his per-
son.
He was tried and convicted. After
his conviction he gave an account of
the robbery and murder that tailed
with my theory. He entered the house
by means of a window that had been
left unfastened and after finding moth
ing below went up to Klapper's bed