Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-08-17

but with difficulty, and there had been
no weapon found
The doctors examination was over,
but he hesitated and cleared his
throat.
.'Mr. Coroner" he said, cat the risk
OF taking up valuable time would
like to speak of an incident that may
or may not throw some light on this
matter"
Tie audience was alert at once.
Kindly proceed, Doctor" the cor
onor said.
MY home is in Englewood, two
miles from Casanova" the doctor be-
gan. In the absence OF Doctor Wal
ker, number of Casanova people have
been consulting me. About a month
whom I had never seen came to my
Office. She was in deep mourning and
kept her veil down, and she brought
for examination child, boy of six.
The little fellow was Ill it looked like
typhoid, and the mother was frantic,
She wanted permit to admit the
youngster to the Children's hospital in
town here, where / am member of
the staff, and gave her one. The in
cident would have escaped me. but
for a curious thing. Two days before
Mr.. Armstrong was shot, ! was sent
for to so to the Country club: some
one had been struck with golf-ball
that had gone wild. 1t was late when
I left was on foot, and about a
mile from the club, on the Clayburg
road, met two people. They were
disputing violently, and had no diff
flculty in recognizing MIR. Armstrong.
The woman. beyond doubt, was the
one who had consulted me about the
child"
AT this hint of scandal, Mrs. Ogden
Fitzhugh sat up very straight. jamie
son was looking slightly skeptical and
the coroner made note.
"The Children's hospital, you say,
doctor?" he asked.
Eyes. But the child, who was en-
tered as Lucien Wallace, was taken
away by his mother two weeks ago
have tried to trace them ano failed"
All at once I remembered the tele-
gram sent to Louise by some one
signed F. J.. W.-presumably Doctor
Walker. Could this yelled woman be
the Nina Darlington of the message?
But 1t was only idle speculation.
had no way of finding out, and the in
quest was proceeding.
The report Of the coroner's ply
sician came next. The post-mortem
examination showed that the bullet
had entered the chest in the fourth
left intercostal space and had taken
an oblique course downward and back,
ward, piercing both the heart and
lungs. The left lung was collapsed
and the exit point of the ball had been
found in the muscles Of the back to
the left of the spinal column. 1t was
improbable that such wound had
been self-infiicted, and its oblique
downward course pointed to the fact
that the shot had been fired from
above. In other words, as the muir
dered man had been found dead at the
foot of staircase, it was probable that
the shot had been fired by some one
higher up on the stairs. There were
no marks Of powder. The bullet, a
thirty-eight caliber had been found in
the dead mans clothing, and was
shown to the jury
Mr.. Jarvis was called next, but his
tertimony amounted to little. He had
been summoned by telephone to
Sunnyside, had come over at once
with the steward and Mr. Winthrop,
at present out of town They had been
admitted by the housekeeper, and had
found the body lying at the foot of
the staircase. He had made search
for weapon, but there was none
around. The outer entry door in the
east wing had been unfastened and
was open about an inch.
had been growing more and more
nervous. When the coroner called
Mr.. John Bailey, the room was filed
with suppressed excitement. Mr.
Jameson went forward and spoke a
few words to the coroner, who nodded
Then Halsey was called.
Mr.. Innes," the coroner said, will
you tell under what circumstances
you saw Mr.. Arnold Armstrong the
night he died?''
club Halsey said quietly He was
rather pale, but very composed. Il
stopped there with my automobile for
gasoline. Mr.. Armstrong had been
playing cards. When l saw him there,
he was coming out of the card-room,
talking to Mr.. John Bailey"
THE nature of the discussion-was
it amicable?"
Halsey hesitated.
"They were having dispute" he
said. 81 asked Mr.. Bailey to leave
the club with me and come to Sunny
side over Sunday
Isn't it fact, Mr.. lines, that you
took Mr.. Bailey away from the club
house because you were afraid there
would be blows?"
THE situation was unpleasant
Halsey said evasively.
AT that time had you any suspicion
that the Traders bank had been
wrecked"
NO"
What occurred next?"
"Mr. Bailey and 1 talked in the bill
liard-room until two-thirty.'
"And Mr. Arnold Armstrong came
there, while you were talking?"
Eyes. He came about halI-past two
He raped at the east door, and
admitted him.
The silence in the room was in