The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1904-01-01

a. ~ SAASS& AOA A4A0A So ~
out to the farm In my buggy: as to
the latter, you'd better wait till to-.
morrow. Ss}
We went out to the farm at q fast
trot, arriving there at little after
ten o'clock. had q long talk with the.
widow, her handsome daughter Of Is,
and her two sons, boys of Is and Is,
respectively. Everything ex-Sheriff
Watts had told me was vouched for
by the family, and I learned many
other int sresting, nay, startling, Incl.
dents which in his haste had been
overlooked. It is unnecessary here to
enter upon the story of the crime. It.
is my purpose to tell what happened
to Jones-that is, myself. +
The other reporters-New York,
Trenton and Philadelphia-had been
to the house before me, and was SUR
prised and rather chagrined that they
should be everlastingly ahead of me
up, I, of course, could only surmise.
My honest belief, however, was that l
had all there was in the story.
Atxjmidnight l was looking for the
telegraph operator. He had closed his
Office at 1880 and gone to bed at his
home, about mile and half away.
I sent for him. He refused to get out
of bed.
"I'll fetch him or make him lose his
place." said my friend, the ex-sheriff.
Jumping into his buggy he drove rapid
ly away, and in half an hour Mr., Oper-
ator, as mad as wet hen, was at the
key plugging away on my story, which
went over to him sheet by sheet. He
got red and pale by turns as he pecked
of the manuscript. could see that
he was amazed, dumfounded, "paral-
yzed." And we'll he might be!
learned afterward that he was a
protege of the murderer.
In my story l boldly named Brad
well, chief constable Of the county, as
the murderer. In green reporter that
was unwise; in an old stager it would
have been high crime. Bradwell was
the leading politician and Office hold
er in all that part of the country, as
we'll as the richest man thereabouts.
He had a charming wife and severa!
beautiful children, and was withal the
most prominent of the villages citi-
zens.
The ex-sheriff took ne 10 a hotel and
I turned in for the night at about two
o'clock, as hungry as dog and as
tired as spring feeling. Conscious
Of good days work, I slept the sleep
Of just man made perfect. What is
hunger to reporter who has just done
a "splendid murder" and has only one
object on earth at the moment, name
ly. seeing the paper next morning?
was aroused by frightful banging
at my door, which had bolted on re-
firing. In sort of half-stupor I
opened it. Three men entered. One
introduced himself as justice of the
peace, and the others were officers of
the law. They made no hesitation in
apprising me of the nature of their
visit.
The justice, man of some 65 years,
wise-looking behind great goggles. had
my paper in his hand, which shook as
II With q palsy: ,-z- sS " NJ, = = =.
, IN a few words he told me that I had
made a serious mistake in naming as
the murderer of the man in the cram
berry bog Mr.. Bradwell, who was en-
trely above suspicion.
looked at the paper. The story, in
double-leaded minion-how dear to the
reporters heart is double-1eaded min
ion!-began on the last column of the
first page, with 'stud-horse heads"
and made nearly two columns on the
second page. 1t was hot stuff! The
name of Bradwell, the murderer" ap-
peared three or four times. !
Great Caesars ghost! What an aw-
full thing is cold type! 1t was glorious
to write that man down a murderer
with a lead pencil on sheet Of copy
paper. was then sleuth, hot on
the trail, as eager as hound after a
fox. But to see it all in big, black,
cold type! Whew!
And what fool in the Office had
dared pass such statements? Was it
not violating every rule Of the paper
to call a man a murderer before his
conviction? Did we not always use
"alleged," even when there was not
the shadow of doubt of his guilt?
Great goodness me!
1--WE have come to inform you that
you'd better not 60 on the streets OF
this town to-day" said the justice.
'Your life is in danger. You are the
writer Of this article?" he added.
II am" said bravely: land I'll
guarantee every word of it."
1T can't be true, young man. Brad
we'll never committed crime in his
life. It amt in the man. He's the
leader here in all that's good and no.
bic, church, Sunday school, charity,
hospitals-in everything. You've got
the whole town stirred up"
where's Bradwell?"
Hes standing at the corner with a
d0uble-barreled shotgun, and you're a
dead man the instant you show your
head"