Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-10-31

tinize that particular piece Of fence
may be explained by his distaste for
snakes-a certain copper tinted spe-
cies of which was given to wrigsling
up to the topmost rail to bask in the
warmth.
Late that afternoon Farmer Brown
was found dead near his barn, with a
bullet hole through his head. Now,
nobody in the county would have
thought of suspecting Farmer jenkins
of the deed, had it not been for Pat
rick, who, with many others, hurried
to the farm to view the still form OF
Brown and comment on the crime.
Farmer Jenkins was there with the
others, offering his most sincere SYM
pathies to the widow and children. On
his way to the Brown estate Mr.. Pat
rick has lost his whip, and his horse
without a whip, was a questionable
means Of transportation. He recalled
that during the morning he had seen
several likely willows growing in the
woods beyond the fence, and he decid-
ed to cut a few stout. supple branches
to lash his animal into obedience.
Then he made the discovery that he
had left his knife in his barn, and
what was more natural than that he
should borrow knife from his friend
Mr.. Jenkins? The county sheriff was
present, and was glad to accept Pat
ricks invitation for stroll across the
pasture to the forest.
Just as the men were about to climb
over the fence Patrick's aversion to
reptiles again manifested itself. and
he looked along the top rail cautiously
He espied the knife marks in the wood
that had not been there that morningi
why" he said to the sheriff, these
were not here at II o'clock! There
are just two cuts. Whoever was here
waiting for Brown, let us assume, be-
came nervous. l know that Brown
could be seen clearly from this spot
and it was from this direction the bull
let must have come"
Alighting on the farther side of the
fence the officer and Patrick viewed
the scene and at this juncture Patrick
opened Jenkins's knife, and placed II
on the new surface Of the wood that
was shown in the V-shaped incision
The blade fitted perfectly.
The men said nothing, but a quiet
investigation started. The balance OF
the chain of evidence was soon weld
ed Not a single link was missing
Jenkins owned a 3S-calibre rife. A
bullet fired by a gun Of this type was
found in the ragged wound in Browns
| breast Then a neighbor recalled the
old horse trade-and the early threats
Of Jenkins against Brown. The foot
prints of Jenkins were found in the
soft soil not only et the point In the
fence, but also at different Iiaces lead
ing from and to his own home.
Another farmer, who had driven
past the Jenkins farmhouse "a couple
of rods from the country road) had
seen Jenkins cleaning his rifle. On
/
wound was found the initial "J' cut
with a knife and the youngest son OF
Jenkins told at the trial how he had
decorated all the bullets he had found
| in the same manner.
Still, not one of these facts would
have likely come to light had 1t not
been for the unassuming attitude oi
Patrick, who had been at the right
places at the right time-who had for
gotten the vital things he should have
forgotten and whose feelings toward
the snake family had caused him tc
notice the top board of the fence in the
morning-when it was free from knife
marks-and again in the afternoon
when the telltale nick gave the clew
And If Farmer Jenkins had refrained
from his thoughtless act Of cutting in
to the weather-beaten board he would
never have paid the price at the bus
mess end of the hemp cord.
That so trifling thing as a tooth
pick should lead to the arrest, con-
viction and execution of a criminal
seems too farfetched for any tale-and
yet!
One noon two friends lunched at the
same restaurant. We will call them
D and e. To E D explained that the
same night he was going on jour-
ney; that he had, in fact, already Sc
cured his transportation, and that he
would be gone some weeks. Indeed, II
he found things agreeable he might
not return at ALL
At the elimination Of the meal the
waiter brought several quill tooth
picks to the diners and E noticed, cas-
ually, that the one D used (and after
ward placed in his pocket) had a pc
culiar dark mark girdling it's middle
The incident passed from his mind
and after bidding D farewell and a
prosperous trip e went about his bus
mess.
The next morning F, a realty agent,
who had failed to return to his home
during the night, was found in his Of
flee stabbed. He had evidently died
instantly. His safe, which had ap-
parently not been locked, was rif1ed of
it's monetary contents.
With this agent E had dealt more or
less for several years and moved more
by morbid curiosity than by friend
ship he visited the scene of the mur-
der. Almost the first thing that caught
his vision was a quill toothpick with a
dark mark encircling it's middle. and
he gasped.
Imparting his suspicious to the po-
lice he dismissed the matter from his
mind as being pure coincidence. But
D was subsequently arrested while
embarking for Europe, and, after con-
Tossing his part in the crime, he took
his own life. Being nervous over the
act he was about to perpetrate he had
talked with F to put him off his guard
and had unknowingly drawn the quill
from his pocket, later casting it on the
floor. He had killed the real estate