The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1912-10-10
CcopyrIaht s. tho International Press Bureau.l

Have these negroes confessed?"
asked.
"No, but they VII after few days
of what we're giving EN-" laughed
the sheriff. ooh, wen get 'em all
right"
He readily agreed to 1t us talk
with the prisoners. TO us they told
the same story they had told at the
time of their arrest: at the time the
murder must have been committed
they were busily engaged in shoot
ing craps in colored poolroom in
the poorer part Of the town.
where did you get the money to
shoot with?" asked Cluffer, suddenly
WED been wuhkin for Mr. Brooks
who runs the brickyard wheelin'
bricks all day" was the instant an
swer. Gle done paid us off and we
goes over to dis place and shoots a
little craps an eyenin'. We got folks
can swear to dat"
''Where were you between the time
you quit work and the time you were
arrested" / shot at them.
I'VE went straight to dis poolroom, =
they answered. I'VE wuz dere all Deb
time"
Next morning we investigated their
story quietly. We found Brooks at
his brickyard, and he substantiated
the negroes story about being paid
off. They had left the brickyard at
Ave minutes after fiye and at the
poolroom it was said they had ar
rived at 6:15, and had remained until
late at night when they were ar
rested.
Gross off the coons," said Clutter.
"They never hau a finger in this pie.
knew it the minute / saw EN-; coons
always try to look foxy when they're
lying. Those coons were just plain
scared. Let's go look at the situa-
ton"
The Bauder home we found to be
exceptionally striking even in that
town of prosperous homes. Bauder
was florist who had become a mil.
lionaire by investments in oil, but he
still conducted, in the fields, imme-
diate1y back Of his house, the florist
establishment that had given him his
start. In front of the house was the
great, we'll kept lawn upon which the
10 year old son had been foully done
to death.
"Mr. Bauder," ! said, "did your lit.
tie boy have any possessions on his
person or elsewhere that might tempt
a robbers"
Him? That little fellow?' burst
out the old man. mo. he didn't have
a thing not thing. o, hold on"
He stopped as if something had come
forcibly to his mind Well, now
he said, 81 never thought Of that. He
had savings bank with $50 in IT.
and I haven't seen it since he since
we found him on the lawn"
A hurried and thorough search Of
the house was made for the bank. 1t
could not be found It was not in its
accustomed place in the child's room
or elsewhere. It could not be found
"There," said Clutter as we left the
place, us your motive Let's get
away and smoke and think it Owe"
We went back to the hotel, and pro
ceeded to lay out our theory, HAY
ing established the fact that the
child's bank with $50 in it had dis
appeared on the same night as his
murder it was apparent that the two
we're connected; the boy had been
killed for the bank, slain by some mis-.
creant who valued that paltTy sum
beyond a child's life. But how was
this connection to be established in
way to further our work? The boy
had been put to death out ON the
lawn. The bank usually was in his
room. There had been no burglary
OF the house. No one had entered ii
to take the bank How could the per
son or persons, who killed the boy,
get the bank? Did they get it before
they committed their savage crime, or
afterwards? Was the murder the
main crime, or merely an incident to
robbery? Or was the robbery q
mere incident to the murder?
The chief had said that we prob
ably would find robbery to be the mo-
tive. If this was So then the person
or persons who killed the boy did so
because he stood between them and
the bank. They had to get him out
of the way to get tbbt fifty dollars.
They wouldn't have killed uIln other
wise. But the bank was-or usually
was-up in the boys room In the
house, where no intruder had entered.
why should they kill the boy out on
the lawn to get fifty dollars in one
of the upper rooms of the house?
Either" said !, the boy had
caught them taking the bank-or he
had the bank with him.'s
Clutter sat up rigidly,
"Wow!" he said. That's some
bunch. Either someone had taken
the bank, and he knew who it was
and was going to tell on them, and
they killed him to keep him quiet
or he had it with him. believe we
are beginning to see. toward the light,
Being in charge of the case I said:
.'Cluffer, 1 suggest that you so to
work in the Bauder home and get ac-
quainted with the servants. 1 viii get
Job in the flower houses, I've got
bunch that points that way"
Next day the Bauder home had a