The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1905-09-21

other things and admired the guns.
Nevertheless. noticed three loaded
revOlvers on the pieces Of furniture. as
If this man lived In constant dread OF
attack.
II went 10 see Sir John Rowell
many times after that; then for. some
time | did not 60. We had become &C
customed To his presence; be had be-
come Indifferent to us.
Killed In the Night.
"A whole year slipped away. Then,
one morning. toward the end OF No
vemher. my servant awoke me with
the announcement that Sir John Rowell
had been aSsnssinated in the night
"a half hour later l entered the
Englishman's house. with the central
commissary aud the captain OF police.
The servant, lost in despair, was weep
ing ut the door. suspected him Mt
first, but aftcrward found that he was
innocent.
1.-THE guilty one was never found.
"Upon entering Sir Johns drawing
room, perceived his herrulean body
stretched out upon its hacl-dead-in
the middle of the room. His waist
coat was torn, sleeve was hanging,
and It was cy,lent that terrible
struggle had taken place.
The Engli,hman had been stran-
gled, His frlshtrully black and
swollen face seemed to express an aw-
full fear: he held something between
his set teeth; ana his neck, pierced
with five holes, apparently with a
pointed iron, was covered with llooi.
"a doctor .miUcd us, lie eyamincd
closely the prints of fingers in the
flesh. ana pronounced these strange
words:
"'One would think he had been
stranglcd by skeleton.'
"a shivcr ran down my spine and
cast my eyes to the place on the wall
where / had seen the horrible t1yn-otf
hand II was gone! The chain was
broken and dangling.
"Then | bent uyrr the dead man and
found in his mouth Il piece ot one OF
the fingers OF TIE missing hama. rut
off, or rather sawed oil 10y the ENgii'h'
mans teeth. exactly nj The SHa"l iint
"'rhen they tried t. collect evidence
| 1 UtN tuVil lllUl lt'I l.l'Ss NJ WI li'h
been forced. M Window Optncd, OF
piece of furniture moved, TAc tive
watch-dogS on the premises tad NOT
hecn- aroused.
"IIcrc, in Il few words. Is the dcpo
sitlon of the servant:
For q month his master had seemed
agitated. lie had received many letters
which he had burned immediately
Often, taking whip, he had strucl
in fury, this dried hand, fastened tt
the wall.
"lIe had retired late and shut him
self in with care. He always carried
| arms. Often in the night he talked
out loudly, as though lighting Will
} some one. On that night, however
: there had been no noise. and ii VA
only on coming 10 open the Windows
that the servant had found Sir JOIN
asSassinated
"One night three months after tn
crime, had a frjghtful nightmare. !
l seemed to me that | saw that IAN !
that horrible hand, running like ;
scorpion along my curtains and my
t walls. Three times | awoke in af
ITlSHls three tillltS j ltli u~hfl' dll'
again saw that hideOus relic gallUpina
? about my room, moving its fingers Xix,
| paws.
t "The next day they brought 1t t.
) me. found in the cemetery upon tn,
= tomb where Sir John Rowcll was in
: tcrred--for they had not been able t.
tinl lis family. The index finger wal
l missing.
This, ladies. is my story. l know
i no more about it."
The ladies were terrified, pale am
I shiypring. One of them cried:
/ But that is not the end, for Their,
was no explanation! We can not sleel
: if you do not tell us what was you
idea or the reason of it all.''
e The magistrate smiled with severity
and answered:
: "Oh! certainly ladies'; but it will
a spoil all your terrible dreams. I sim
ply think that the legitimate pro
| prietor of the hand was not dead AM
t that he came for 1t with the one tina
- remained to him. But | was neve
: able to find out how lie did it. 1t wa
( one kind of revenge"