The Cairo bulletin., 1904-04-27
CHAPTER II.

~
M garded as a decided factor in
this casea case which from
this time on assumed another aspect
both at headquarters and In the minds
Of people at large The reporters,
whom we had hitherto managed to
hold In check now overlooked both the
coroncr's Office and police headquar-
tcrs, and articles appeared In all the
daily papers with just enough suggcs-
ton In them TO fire the public mind and
make me, for one anticipate an immc-
date word from AIroJettrey calculated
TO establish the alibi he had failed TO
mako out on the day we talked with
him. But no such word came His
memory still played him false, and no
alternative was LETT hut to pursue the
official inquiry in the line suggested by
the interview Just recounted.
No proceeding in which ! had ever
been engaged interested HE as did this
inquest. In the first place. the spec
tat0rs were of 4 very different charac-
Ter from the ordinary AS womed
myself along to The seat accorded to
such witnesses as myself brushed by
men of the very highest station and a
few of the lowest and bent my head
more than once in response to the in
curing gaze Of some fashionable lady.
who never before. warrant, had found
herself in such scene by the time
reached my place all the others were
seated. and the coroner raped for or
der.
was first to takc thc stand what
! said has already beca fully amplilicd
IN the foregoing pages. OF course my
evidence was confined to facts, but
some of these facts were new TO most
Of the persons there. 1t was evident
that considerable effect was pro
duced by them. not only on the specta-
tors, but upon the witnesses them
selves. For instance. It was tie first
time that the marks on the mautelshclf
had been heard OF outside the majors
office or the story so told az TO make it
evident that Mrs. Jeffrey could not
have been alone in the house at the
time Of her death
A photograph had been taken Of those
marks. and my Identification of this
photograph closed my testimony.
As / returned TO my seat | stole
look toward a certain corner where,
with face bent down upon his hand,
Francis Jeffrey sat between Uncle Da.
vid and the heavily yelled figure Of
Miss futile.
was followed by the other detec-
tycs who had been present at the
time and who corroborated my state
ment as to the appearance of this I'M
happy woman and the way the pistol
had been tied TO her arm Then the
doctor who had acted under the coro-
ncr was called After long and no
doubt learned description Of the bullet
wound which had ended the life of this
unhappy lady-a wound which lie in
sisted. with a marked display Of learn
Ing, must have made that end instan-
taneous or ut least too immediate for
her to move foot or hand after it-he
was asked il the body showed any
other mark of violence.
TO this he replied:
There was a minute wound ut the
base Of one of her fingers. the one
which Is popularity called the wedding
finger"
This statement made oil the women
present stare with renewed interest;
nor was It altogether without point for
the men. especially when the doctor
went on to say:
"The hands were entirely without
rings As Mrs Jeffrey had been mar
ricd with n ring. | noticed their alb
sCncc"
Was tlis wound which you charac-
tcrizc as minute a recent oncf"
1T he'd llcd little. 1t was an abra-
sion such ms would be made if the ring
she usually wore there had been drawn
off with Jerk. That was the impress
sion received from its appearance.
do not state that It was so made"
4 little thrill which went over the
audience at the picture this evoked
communicated itself to Miss Tuttle,
WHO tremblel violently. II even pro
duced slight display Of emotion in
Mr.. Jeffrey, whose hand shook where
be pressed it against his forehead. But
neither uttered n sound nor looked up