The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1907-01-16

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! ~ footprint can be seen there-compdre
Z. arsth the eIinner -
nave near0 some Whispers or an oIu
custom of theirs-to join Philemon at
his yearly merrymaking and SO obtain
| in q natural way the bite for himself
and brother he perhaps had not the
courage to ask for outright. But death
! had been In the Webb cottage before
him, which awful circumstance. acting
on his already weakened nerves. drove
him half insane from the house and
sent him wandering blindly about the
streets for a good half hour before he
reappeared in his own house. How do
know this? From very simple fact.
Abel here has been to inquire. among
other things, if Mr.. Crane remembers
the tune we were playing at the great
house when he came down the main
street from visiting old Widow Wal
ker. Fortunately he does, for the trip,
trip, trip in 1t struck his fancy, and he
has found himself humming it over
more than once since. Well, that waltz
was played by us at q quarter after
midnight, which fixes the time Of the
encounter at Mrs. Webb's gateway
pretty accurately. But, as you will
soon see. it was 1880 before James
label knocked at Lotions door. How
do know this? By the same method
Of reasoning by which l determined
the time of Mr.. Cranes encounter.
the music played that night and had all
T., tn Nrdn 70 hno
and she says Ne were playing Money
Musk when t\at knocking came to
disturb her. No|w, gentlemen, we play
ed Money Musk just before we were
called out to supper. and as we went to
supper promptly at 1:45 you can see
just how my calculation was made.
Thirty five minutes then passed be-
tween the moment James label was
seen rushing from Mrs. Webb's gate
way and that IN which he appeared at
Lotions bakery. demanding a loaf Of
bread and offering in exchange one of
the bills which had been stolen from
the murdered woman's drawer. Thirty
five minutes. And he and his brother
were starving. Does 1t look, then. as
If that money was in his possession
when he left Mrs. Webb's house?
Would any man who felt the pangs Of
hunger as he did or who saw brother
perishing for food before his eyes. al
low 30 minutes to elapse before he
made use OF the money that rightfully
or wrongfully had come into his hand?
No. and so say that he did not have
1t when Mr.. Crane met him. That, in
stead Of comm lifting crime to obtain 1t.
he found it in his own home. lying on
his own table. when. after his frenzied
absence, he returned to tell his dread
full news to the brother be had left be-
hind him. But how did it come there?
you ask. Gentlemen. remember the
footprints under the window. Amabel
Page brought it. Having seen or per-
haps met this old man roaming in or
near the Webb cottage during the time
she was there herself. she conceived
the plan of throwing upon him the onus
OF the crime she had herself commit !
ted and with slyness to be expected |
from her stole up to his home, made a |
hole in the shade hanging over an open |
window. looked into the room where I
John sat. saw that he was there alone |
and asleep. and. creeping in by the |
front door, laid on the table beside him |
the $50 bill and the bloody dagger with |
which she had just slain Agatha Webb. |
Then she stole out again and in 20 /
minutes more was leading the dance /
again in Mr.. Sutherland's parlor."
well reasonedr' murmured Abel, l
the others to echo him. But.
though Mr.. Fenton and DR.. Talbot !
looked almost convinced. they said |
while Knapp. of course. was
quiet as an oyster.
Sweetwater. WITH a quiet smile car
culated to hide his disappointment,
went on as If perfectly satisfied
MEANWHILE John awakes, sees the
dagger and thinks to end his misery
with it. but finds himself too feeble.
The cut in his vest, the dent In the
floor, prove this. but If you call for fur
Their proof, little fact, which some If
not all of you seem to have overlooked,
will amply satisfy you that this one at
east of my conclusions is correct. Open
the Bible, Abel; open 1t not to shake it
for what will never fall out from be-
tween its leaves. but to find in the BIZ
Die itself the lines I have declared to
you he wrote as a dying legacy with
that tightly clutched pencil Have you
found them?'
mo" was Abel's perplexed retort.
4 cannot see any sign OF writing on
ay leaf or Margin
Are those the only blank places in
he sacred book? Search the leaves
devoted to the family record Now,
what do you find there?' I,
Knapp. who was losing some of his
Indifference. drew nearer and read for
himself the scrawl which now appear
"a to every eye on the discolored page
which Abel here turned uppermost-
Almost illegible." he said. "One can ,
ust make out these words: Forgive I
ne, James tried to use dagger-found
ying-but hand woult ring with
ut-don't grieve-tr. haven't
lisgraced ourselves-t. s. That
s ALL"
The effort must have overcome him" r
esumed Sweetwater in a voice from I