Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1910-08-04

ting polfceman on guard.
While this was in progress William
Burch was locked In his own room
with a detective.
my uncle has been poisoned" he
said, "by some one whose left thumb
is missing. l wish you to find that
person. If you don't shall either be
executed for murder or imprisoned for
life or go forth man with blighted
reputation. was the last person
known to be with my uncle before his
death. In a few days or at most a
few weeks shall be arrested.
These are my disadvantages. On
the other side, am heir to my uncle's
estate and can pay my lawyers and
you we'll. | care nothing for them
provided you succeed. Go. Find the
man with the missing thumb"
In just two days from that day Will
liam Burch was arrested for the muir
der of his uncle, John Trevor. After
the usual delay the case came to trial
Mrs. Morton was the first witness for
the prosecution, and one of the first
questions asked her was If there had
in the deceaseds room. She replied
that there had been and when ques.
toned further testified that the ac-
cused had taken it away.
This without any other evidence was
enough to convict Burch. Another fea-
ture alone was also sufficient to that
end. Burch was his uncles heir. A
III, od,
self cinched the other two. Being
put on the stand by his counsel and
asked what had passed between him
and his uncle at their last interview,
Burch said:
MY uncle sent for me to tell me
that he was intending to marry. This
would turn his property away from
me. He proposed to make my inter
est in it dependent upon the will OF
the lady he was to marry. To this
objected"
All wondered at this admission,
which indicated plainly that in order
to save an estate which was TO pass
to another the prisoner had murdered
the owner.
A witness for the defense had been
summoned in the person of Edgar
Whipple, bookkeeper at the bank
At this point Burch's counsel called
Whipple to the stand He was pale,
nervous man, who seemed to be dread
ing the ordeal before him.
The examination Of the witness de
veloped that he had been carrying on
his books a deficit of some $4,000
which he had lost in speculation. The
next move of the defense was an at
tempt to prove that he had visited Mr..
Trevor on the afternoon of the muir
der, that Mr.. Trevor was the only per
son who knew of his defalcation and
that subject. All this the witness de-
MED, and as there was no proof of II
the opinion OF those In the courtroom
was that n mistake had been made in
attempting to establish it.
Without dismissing the witness coun-
sci for the defense gave an order to
an attendant, who disappeared and re-
turned carrying a pasteboard box,
which he placed on table before the
lawyer. The cover was removed, and
he lifted by its base from the box a
silver bottle holder.
Every person in the courtroom bent
forward with eager attention. Natu
rally 1t was inferred that this was the
missing article that Miss Morton had
testified the prisoner had removed.
sensation was expected, and sensa
ton was realized. Counsel for the de
fense, still holding the bottle holder by
its base, carried 1t to the jury box.
breathed on 1t, handed microscope to
the juryman nearest him and invited
him to examine the surface. This
process was repeated with every jury
man. Then, carrying the holder back
to the table, the lawyer set 1t down
and said:
Gentlemen of the jury, this stand
held the bottle used when the murder
was poured into the glass of whisky
by some one who held 1t in his left
hand, the thumb OF which was miss
ing. This person then dropped in the
glass dose of prussic acid. which has
since been found there by experts
You have examined the silver surface
and have found the imprint OF a hand
with the thumb missing. That imprint
came from the moisture of the hand
that grasped the silver. 1t dried out
but | revived 1t with my moist breath.
that you could all see It, that you
might all have proof that the person
who committed the narder was a man
with missing thumb"
Then, turning to the witness, the
lawyer said:
Hold up your left hand"
Instead Of obeying the order the wit
ness fell over In faint. He was pick
ed up and placed on a chair and as
soon as he came to himself an officer
lifted the witness hand, the thumb %
which was missing. 81
William Burch was acquitted. the
jury not leaving their seats. He in
herited a fortune from his uncle and
settled a handsome annuity on the
lady whom Mr. Trevor was to have
married.
The man with the missing thumb
died before being brought to trial