The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-12-06
THE WOMAN
WITH
THE BIRD HAT
BY DONALD CHAMBERLAIN

IL. .. Nui 4. TiIiluuu tooh hNNe
from "a woman. and the only thin,
about her remembered was that sh
wore hat with u bird on It.
Not long after took up her Tickle
the train snol Into tunnel. Nowaday
in all passenger trains on well regulat
Cd roads one or more lamps are light
ed. hut in those times they didn't ligh
up--nt any rate. not unless the tunne
was very loug one ] was in the GU
where the woman with the bird ha
was sitting, and when VIC entered the
tunnel / sat down In the rear seat next
the door, During the passage In thu
darkness wheE we were about hall
way through. rec;on-I heard moan
or course one can't tell where sound
eyes, but 1t seemed To me IN this in
etonce TO come from about the center
OF the car. I remembered that there
were two men sittin. on the left IN
different seats and man and a We.
man, also IN different seats, on the
right. The woman was the one with
the lird in her hat and was sitting a
few seats forward of the center OF the
car. We were approac hing the end OF
the route which accounted for there
being so few persons in the car
Naturally, as soon as we shot out OF
the tunnel. l looked over the passen-
gers to see If anything had happened
to any of 'em. / noticed that the wo-
man In the bird hat had sunk down
against the window. l ran to her. and
the first thing ! noticed when ! reach
ed her was blood on her dress Her
face, too, was white as a sheet. She
looked to me as If she were dead, and
IL turned out that she was. There was
a doctor in the next car in the rear,
who, being summoned, examined her
and found wound In her breast made
evidently by Il knife.
As soon as | regained my wits l
looked over the persons who had gath
cred around the woman. l didn't see
a guilty face among them. recalled
how many passengers were in the car
when we entered the tunnel and miss
ed one man. but which one of the men
I couldn't tell Then it occurred to
me to go through the train and inyesti-
gate. / also questioned the brakemen.
All the information | gathered was
from the brakeman on the car where
the murder had been committed, who
said that when we entered the tunnel
he came into the car and sat down in
the forward end seat. rs | sat OH the
rear end. While we were in the tun-
closed. it seemed. very carefully so MS
to make no noise. He felt 1t press
against his foot.
Months passed. and there was no ex-
PLANTATION of the mystery. confess |
never entered the tunnel after that, |
without bit Of shudder. though /
utter the murder we always had the /
cars lighted before going into it. But I
after year had elapsed | grew used
10 1t and thought no more about it. /
One day when we were approaching
the tunnel. | was passing down the
aisle OF. the second car. which was the
one in which the murder had been
done. when | noticed a man sitting in
one of the seats with wild eye In his
head muttering to himself. He seem
normal cerebral activity. so ] passed
IN without paying attention to him.
'ame back into the car Immediately
litter we had passed through the tun-
1el and saw the same man at a wash
basin next to the saloon washing his
lands.
Having no duty to perform till we
reached the next station. took seat
IN the car and within ten minutes after
he man had washed his hands he got I
up from his seat. went to the basin
md washed them again. Though bit |
surprised. | thought nothing of the
natter. but when. after the next stop.
went through the car to take the +,
ickets saw the same man washing !
lis hands again | began To notice the
act. Within an hour he washed them a
i've times.
had long before read In paper an fl
ccount of French murderer who Ii
ave himself away by continually ,ry- ?
ne to wash blood from his hands and q
robabiy this suggested the thought :,
hat perhaps this man was trying to !,
o the same thing. The next connect
lg link was remembering tnat muir "
ercrs are drawn irresisribly to. the b
enc of their crime. and III yht not this Il
ian have killed the woman in the bird d.
ecorated hat! n
Taking seat directly behind him
nd pointing to where the unfortunate
oman had sat. said to him:
That woman over there seems TO L
, ILL.,"
There was no woman near. where
Dinted. -
what woman?" he asked. fright ar
red look coming over his face.
''The one with the bird on her hat oh
He had no power to speak further. ia
had applied the third degree" which =
his case was n very simple process
left him. but kept an eye on him to
e end of the route. having instructed
TO telegraph for the police Al
meet us at the station on our ar
raj.
The man pleaded guilty to the mnr- II,
r and suffered the penalty OF his ~