The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-05-19
The
Tin Box.

QONn III Ills IOI fllOTllllS nap
the door of the little office swung open
with a crash and a great hulk of a
man staggered in, collapsing on the
settee
The intruder's hands v ere pressed to
his sides, the breath whistled in his
throat his face burned a violent red
through a heavy dark beard, and, lean
ing with one shoulder hunched against
and back of the settee, head hanging,
mouth dropping, he presented alarming
signs of physical exhaustion.
"Hi-hi there Billp' cried the chief,
recognizing him at once Whats tn
matter?"
"Ma-matteri Ma-matter enoughl It's
murder!" gasped Bill.
"What2"
The dreadful word scared the officer
into activity as if ii had been a bodily
danger He darted around the railing
which inclosed his desk and shook the
big man, raising his chin roughly and
staring into his face.
1.It's old woman Snowman-and Ed,
too. Both on EN-" the man gasped.
recovering a little breath. Il run all
tn way"
The officer blinked his eyes rapidly.
as if trying his best to concentrate his
faculties It plainly was a difficult task.
Out of the chaos in his mind only one
thought, as being related to familiar
things. evolved itself, and he asked per-
tinently:
why didn't We harness up and ride,
Bill?"
Harness upr' exclaimed Bill. why.
goshamftey, Hezekiah, 1 didn't have no
time. I mad t git here"
If Bits notions of time-saving on a
two-mile journey struck the chief as
peculiar. he gave no sign of the fact.
The word harness had suggested the
first step in his mode of procedure, and
in great excitement he rushed to the
stable and hitched up his own rig. Ali
of the four members of his staff were
away on their beats, so that a legiti-
mate substitute to leave in charge of
the police station was lacking, but that
was no obstacle to the chief. He cried
out TO his only prisoner, a vagrant,
who could be seen behind the bars in
an inner room: Hi, you! If anybuddy
: calls tell 'em Pm over t old woman
SnOwman's!" And the next moment,
with the terminated Bill beside him,
he was rafting along the dusty road
into the country toward Spuzz's hill.
Then, invigorated in body and some
what frightened in mind by the SUM-
light and fresh air of a clear autumn
n orning, he began to question his COM
panion about the facts of the case as
far as he knew them. These We're few.
but to the point, and, Invested of Bill's
peculiarities of narration and speech,
were as follows:
Mrs. Snowman, an aged widow, who
was considered as wealthy as she was
misery, and her bachelor son, Edward.
lived in a little house on their extensive
farm on Spuzz's hill. With them
stayed a middle-aged woman, Susan,
a distant connection, who worked
around the place for her board This
woman, who was looked upon as some
what soft in the head, and seemed of
a mild and colorless disposition, had
come running in her night gown that
morning at daybi eak to the nearest
neighbor, a Mr.. Henshaw, who was
the narrator's father, and with an ap-
pearance of great fright declared that
Mrs. Snowman and her son had been
murdered. She said that she slept in
the same room with her mistress; that
hearing her scream suddenly in the
night she jumped up and, seeing a big
man striking her with a club as she
lay in bed. ran from the house and hid
in the yard. In about five minutes the
door opened and TWO men came hurry
ing out and went toward the woods.
One was a very large man, the other
rather small That was all the descrip-
tion she could give of them, for, al
though there was 4 candle burning in
the kitchen, where the son slept, its
rays We're dim, and when the two men
came out the morning was only just
breaking and their features were invisi-
bic to her in the uncertain light. Not
daring TO venture back to the house
she had finally decided to arouse the
HenShaws, a quarter of a mile away.
By the time the story was finished
they had arrived at the scene of the
tragedy. Eight or ten neighbOrs were
already there. and the chief, springing
TO the ground, made his way through
them with dignity and entered at the
door. The case called for tactics en-
tirely new in his experience. He had
not the least notion of the proper course
to take, but he was a man of great con-
fidence of manner, and as he stood on
the threshold surveying the grewsome
spectacle he seemed to the eager
watchers to be perfect master of the
situation. The lines of wisdom and
command in his face were much more
plainly marked than they are in the
countenances of Alexander and Caesar
as they have come down to US on med
ais and statues. Stepping i'm and clos
ing the door behind him. he said to the
elder Henshaw, a little old man with
a bushy white beard. who stood fright
ened and helpless in the middle of the
floor:
Put out that candle, We don't need
candles now; it's daylight
Whereupon the light was extin-
guished and it became dark as night in
the room, owing to the fact that there
were shutters on the windows, which
seemed to be nailed up and could not
be opened.
Wall, why didn't We say so afore We
blowed the candle out? said the chief,
magisterially, when he learned this
Light her up again. Now, les see
what all this is about"
The kitchen contained a cot bed. and
on this was huddled the body of the
son, frightfully bruised about the head
The bedding was twisted, torn, and
stained with blood, part of it on the
floor, and one of the two pillows hung
over the edge of the sink ten feet dis
tant- Opening out of the kitchen was a
door into another room. and in this the
mother lay, also in bed and battered in
the same dreadful manner. The bed
was so nearly the width of the room
that there was scarcely space enough
in which to walk between ii and the
wall, but there seemed to be a consid-
cradle vacant area at one end, beyond
the high headboard. Candle in hand,
the chief aduaupa found another