The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1907-04-28


Il steady hand for the Globe.
4 His blood ran too cold for
i present tremors. The hackney
I coachman had drawn chair to the
table, planted his elbows in the middle
! Of the printed cotton cloth and his hot,
flushed face between his coarse. strong
hands Tom sat down at the other
! end He found the paragraph. ran his
| eye from headline to finish and then
| read it slowly aloud:
| SHOCKING MURDER AT HAMP- {
STEAD =
An atrocious murder was committed
/ late last night or early this morning In
the neighborhood Of Hampstead Heath.
! A mechanic his way to work at an
! early hour this morning and having oc-
| casion to traverse the right OF way con-
| Meeting the Finchley road with the upper
| portion of Hayerstock hill noticed a
| stout staff upon the grass near the sec
| ond stiie from the former thoroughfare.
| On picking 1t up the staff. or. rather,
| cudgel. was found to be crusted with
| blood and near 1t was discovered drawn
sword stick, broken near the hilt. Con-
| tinuing his alarming Investigations. the
mechanic made his browning and most
| horrible discovery in hollow tree close
| beside the stile in which lay the body OF
a gentleman in full evening dress. He
was quite dead: indeed. life had probably
been extinct some hours The corpse was
covered with blood and the head terribly
disfgured, as If by repeated blows from
some blunt instrument There can be no
doubt that the crime was committed with
the cudgel above mentioned Cat present
the only clew to the assassin) or that
the sword stick was vainly used In self
defense by the unfortunate gentleman.
The police were summoned with COM
mendable dispatch and the body removed
to the Marylehons mortuary to await in
quest.
Meanwhile In the course of the morn
ing much information has been forth
coming. and We are sorry to state that
]. Montgomery Blaydes. late of his
majesty's Coldstream guards. but for
some years past on the half pay ist No
letters or papers OF any sort were dis
covered upon his person
Here Tom stopped reading.
go on, SIR
az will. But that's extraordinaryw
mot It, He's been robbed as we'll.
That's what I want to get at. That
there sticks no clew. We want the
things he took"
Tom moistened his lips and harked
back:
No letters or papers of any sort were
discovered upon his person.. and it is
that the identity of the deceased has
been SO promptly established, It now
transpires that the hap1ess captain had
been lately residing in the village of
West End mot a mile from the scene of
the nurder) and that he left his lodgings
shortly after 10 o'clock last night. in or
der. to attend an evening party. in
hackney coach. The police hope that the
coachman will come forward
HE hasr' said jim "You may leave
out that Bit
"And you couldn't describe the man."
N-r~<t r~> 4,
was neither short nor tall and looked
to be wearing a pair OF nankeen trou- /,
sers." Tom's legs were underneath !
the table) NO" continued Jim. I'm J
afraid they won't lay hands on him
through me. But they may through the
things he took. Go on to that,''
There was diamond pin"
81 seen it. What else?"
"All his money"
"Ah. he paid like a gentleman. Any
thing elSe?"
"A-goid-watch!"
The words would hardly come. Jim
thumped the table with his heavy fist.
''That'H dor' he cried. "That'Il hang
him, you mark my wordsi What sort
of q watch?''
But this time the words would not /
come at all, for Jim's wife stood in
the doorway behind Jims chair, and
her eyes and Tom's-the terrified and
the guilty-were locked together in
long, dread stare.
whats that about a watch?" she
said in a sort of whisper, advancing
unsteadily and leaning a hand upon
her husbands shoulder. Whose
watch:"
'One belonging to murdered man."
replied Jim. I'm asking what kind
of a one. I say it ought to hang the
chap what did it,
1T will,' said she hoarsely in his ear.
"It's repeater. and him that has it
sits in front of You in that chair"'
There followed a silence so profound
that Tom could hear the watch itself
ticking in his pocket The coachman
then rose and slowly leaned across
the table. resting one hand upon it,
The other was half way to Toms
throat when he sprang to his feet and
in SO doing pressed his thigh against
the tables edge. Instantly there rang
from his pocket sweet and tiny ting,
ting, ting. ting, ting.
1t was the saving of him from Jim
the coachman and his wife.
Both shrank back as Tom darted to
an inner door and SO up the stairs
which he had descended half asleep.
Ere he reached the top there was
crash below. For an instant he thought
the man had fallen in a ft. but vol
ley of oaths proved it only slip as
Tom slammed and locked the door of
the room in which he had slept away
the day if not his life. His shoes were
still where he had kicked them Off
He slipped into them and. exerting all
ais strength, pulled the large iron bed
stead from its place and wedged it
between wall and door. Then he
,rouched and listened The man was
Tor taking him single handed, the wo- |
man evidently restraining him by main
force.
Let me so, Let me go., Tom heard |
aim cry.