Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-12-09
Continued from Page one.)

band, with the exception OF 70 which
Is beuueathed to the son.
The legal technicality rising here Is.
That should the son be convicted OF
the crime, he cannot inherit the prop
erty. and then who are the legal heirs
Should the husband, because of more
strength and vitality, have lived the
longer the property goes to his iegai
heirs. And still, should the circum-
stances prove that the woman had nv
ed the longer, then the property goes
to her heirs. However, should 1t be
proved a case of suicide and murder,
and the son exonerated of any respon-
sibiIity for the crime whatever, the
money and property will go to him as
me legal heir, as II no will had been
made by either of the dead persons.
It is thought about $1,000 is IN the Au
rusta banks besides the value OF tn'
farm. Herein lies motive. which tins
authorities do not deny, still seems I'M
possible for Eldridge to have fore
seen in any generalization of such al
act.
The fimpossibility Of placing the time
of the crime can be readily foreseen.
No one knew how long the flames mao
been smouldering, how long they toof
in reaching the Kerosene and suddenly
fiaring up, to lick up the prostrate
bodies of the old man and lady iying
on the fioor. No one can tell how long
they had been lying there before the
smoke was noticed by the neighbors
issuing from the north window.
DIR. H. F. Merrill is equally positive
that he saw, the old man about the
house. about $50, Sunday morning, and
another man is equally positive-his
name was James Small--that he saw
Young Eldridge about the house, about
$50.
Conflicting with this statement, are
those Of Gardiner people, ana the
statement of young Eldridge himsel
that he left the house, at O'CLOCK on
the fatal morning, and that ne was IN
Gardiner. at $50. The tracing OF Eli
dridee's movements in Gardiner VIII pe
found in another column
Here il is that the conflicting state
ments as to the time and places where
Eldridge Is seen. furnish further proc,
for the police, that Eldridge mish'
have possibly committed the crime as
late as o'clock. 1t is almost impossi-
HE TO peace together the stories OF
those who say they saw him ana mahe
a perfect alibi. A time here and there
missing or overlapping, leaves gaps
while not long enough for him 10 ieas.
Gardiner and commit the crime ano
return, furnishes a room for doubt.
u,dridees extreme nervousness
vrban seen on the street around ~ OF
1880. that morning, and his assertions
that he felt crazy also form important
threads IN the web.
The county attorney has in mis- pos
session a long maple club, with wnicn
he may find that the blow that ieiieo
them. one or both. had been struck
Though in stating to the journal re-
norter. Monday evening. he said ne
hardly thought any blow had beer
struck with this club.
Ye. on the end of the club Is a stain
which upon minute examination Nigh,
be blood stain. The club Itself Is Only
one OF the many circumstances Speak
ing Of possible murder.
Still the authorities adhere. in Ger.
tain ways, to their first theory o.
double murder The fact of the milk
can partially filled. being found be-
meath the stove. upholds this theory
that the murderer wished to cover up
his crime. The finding. Monday. OF q
teapot full of kerosene is another clue
found, which tends to show that the
murderer. whoever he was, intended to
make good Job of it.
Again their enters into the case. the
mysterious man. who. still further
weakens the web about young Ed
ridge. This man, answering fairly well
the description Of the Eldridge boy, got
on the o'clock Sunday morning car
out OF Lewiston, arriving at Spears
Corner about 9.03 He got off the car
here, and walked toward the Halo
well road. He carried a light colored
suit case, and wore no overcoat. He
had on dark clothes. The authorities
are particularly anxious to find this
man. as no one seems to know anything
about him
IA to the possible escape Of MUIR
derer without being noticed, he could
have fled to the woods directly back
Of the house and made his way to Gar
diner, unnoticed.
The prisoner has retained Frank w
harrington Of Augusta as his counsel
Young Eldridge sits quietly in his
cell at the county Jail little realizing
just what the crime is with which he
Is charged. He reiterates his claim OF
innocence. declaring he has committed
no murder, and believed he had beer
arrested for drunkenness and contem-
plated suicide.
He declared he knew nothing of the
crime until told, last night, by the
county attorney The announcement
startled him, and partially drove the
liquor from his befuddled brain. He
was not able TO grasp the whole signi-
ficance of the thing and still fails te
show any emotion one way or the 9TH
err.
He claims he left his fathers home
about in the morning OF the day they
were found dead. He does not say how
he reached Gardiner. but says lie did
attempted TO pawn his suitcase, borrow
IS from one Of his friends: and told
when he was told In turn that a muir.
der had been committed between /.
and IL. that he had been in Randolph
to see q woman at that time, and facts
have shown that he was there twice al