Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-03-24


Porter. IF this jury allows itself to be
misled by gold purse and two petals
OF a yellow rose, We are unworthy to sit
on this case. Why. Mr.. Coroner. the long
or, at least, unfastened all through the
night We have that from the buffers
testimony. He didn't lock them last
night: they were found unlocked this
morning. Therefore. l hold that an in
truder, either man woman. may have
come in during the night, accomplished
the fatal deed and departed without any
one being the wiser. That this intruder
was woman is evidenced by the bag
she left behind her. For. as Mr. Craw-
ford has said, If Miss Lloyd denies the
ownership of that bag. it is not hers
After all, these declarations were proof
Of sort If Mr.. Porter and Mr.. Philip
Crawford. who had known Florence
Lloyd for years. spoke thus positively of
her innocence, it could not be doubted.
And then the voice of Parmalee again
sounded in my ears.
"Of course Mr. Porter and Mr. Craw-
ford would stand up for Miss Lloyd: it
would be strange if they didn't. And of
course Mrs. Pierce will do all she can to
divert suspicion. But the evidences are
against her"
They only seem to be-" I corrected.
Until we prove the gold bag and the yell
low rose to be hers there is no evidence
against her at ALL
''She also had motive and opportunity.
Those two points are of quite as much
importance as evidence
''She had motive and opportunity" 1
agreed, but they were not exclusive. AS
Mr.. Porter pointed out, the open windows
gave opportunity that was WORLDWIDE;
and as to motive, how are we to know
who had or who hadn't it ~
You're right, l suppose Perhaps l
am too positive of Miss Lloyd's implica-
ton in the matter, but I'm quite willing
to be convinced to- the contrary.
The remarks of Mr.. Parmalee were. of
course, not audible to any one save my
made by Mr.. Crawford and Mr.. Porter.
and which, strange to say. amounted to
an arraignment and vindication almost
in the same breath, had a decided effect
upon the assembly.
Mrs. Pierce began to weep silently.
Gregory Hall looked startled, as if the
mere idea of Miss Lloyd's implication
was a new thought to him. Lawyer Ran
dolph looked considerably disturbed, and
1 at once suspected that his legal mind
would not allow him to place too much
dependence on the statements of the girls
sympathetic friends.
Mr.. Hamilton, another of the jurors
whom I liked, seemed to be thoughtfully
weighing the evidence He was not so
well acquainted with Miss Lloyd as the
two men who had just spoken in her be-
half. and he made remark somewhat
efficiently.
Il agree, ne SAID, with the sentiments
just expressed; but 1 also think that we
should endeavor to find some further
clues or evidence. Had Mr.. Crawford any
enemies who would come at night to kill
him? Or are there any valuables miss
ing? Could robbery have been the mo-
tive?"
'It does not seem so' replied the coro-
ner Nothing is known to be missing.
Mr.. Crawford's watch and pocket money
were not disturbed"
srTba nf the a
strange factor in the case put in Mr..
Orville, apparently DESTROYS of having his
voice heard as well as those Of the other
jurors.
Yes" agreed Mr.. Monroe: land yet it
is not strange that the criminal carried
away with him what might have been a
proof Of his IDENTIFY
docs. Miss Lloyd own a pistol?' bIurt-
ed out Mr.. Parmalee
Gregory Hall gave him an indignant
look, but Coroner Monroe seemed rather
glad to have the question raised-prob
ably so that it could be settled at once
in the negative.
And it was.
NO" replied Mrs. Pierce. when the
query was put to her. Both Florence
and I are desperately afraid of firearms.
We wouldn't dream of owning a pistol
either of us
no way decisive. Granting that Miss
Lloyd could have been the criminal it
would have been possible for her secretly
to procure revolver, and secretly to dis
pose Of it afterward. Then. too. a small
revolver had been used. To be sure, this |
did not necessarily imply that a woman |
had used it, but, taken in connection with |
the bag and the rose petals, it gave food |
for thought.
But the coroner seemed to think Mrs |
Pierces assertions greatly in Miss |
IIloyd's favor and, being at the end of
his list Of witnesses. he inquired if any |
one else in the room knew of anything |
that could throw light on the matter.
the coroner then directed the jury to re-
tire to find a verdict. The six men |
passed into another room. and think no |
one who awaited their return apprehend- |
ed any other result than the somewhat |
one Of person or persons |
And this was what the foreman an
nounced when the jury returned after |
their short collocution.
Then. as jury. they were dismissed, |
but from that moment the mystery of
Joseph CrawfOrds death became the alb
sorbing thought Of all West Sedgwick.
1.-THE murderer of my brother shall be
found and brought to justice! declared |
Philip Crawford, and all present seemed |
to echo his VOW
Then and there Mr. Crawford retained |
Lawyer Randolph to help him in running |
down the villain, and, turning to me, |
asked to engage my services also.
To this 1 readily agreed. for I greatly |
desired to go on with the matter, and |
cared little whether l worked for an in !
dividual or for the state.
OF course Mr.. CraWford'S determination |
to find the murderer proved anew his |
conviction that Florence Lloyd was above |
all suspicion. but in the face of certain |
details of the evidence so far 1 could not |
feel so absolutely certain of this.
However, it was my business to follow |
up every clue, or apparent clue, and every |
bit of evidence, and this l made up my |
mind to do, regardless of consequences.
l confess it was difficult for me to feel |
regardless of consequences, for 1 had a |
fear that the future was going |
to look dark for Florence Lloyd. And If |
1t should be proved that she was in any
way responsible for or accessory to this
nothing to do with discovering that fact.
But back of this was an underlined but
insistent conviction that the girl was in
nocent and that 1 could. prove it. This
may have been an inordinate faith in my |
own powers. or it may have been hope
born Of my admiration for the young
woman herself. For there is no doubt
that for the first time in my life was
taking a serious interest in a WomanS
Heretofore I had been a
general admirer Of womankind, and 1 had |
treated them all with chivalry
and respect. But now I had met one
whom 1 desired to treat in a far tenderer
way, and to my chagrin I realized that |
toward a girl already betrothed.
So I concluded to try my best to leave
Lloyd's personality out of the
question, to leave my feelings toward her