Abbeville progress. (Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, La.) 1913-1944, 1914-01-03

and. though he had been forbidden to
make more than a cursOry eXamina-
ton Of the body till the coroner came,
he had not hesitated to declare after
his first look that the wound had not
been made by a bullet but by some
sharp and slender weapon thrust
home by a powerful hand. tYou mark
that. Mr.. GryceD As this seemed i'm
possible in face Of the fact that the
door had been found buttoned on the
inside, We did not give much credit to
his opinion and began our work under
the obvious theory Of an accidental
discharge of some gun from one of the
windows across the court But the
doctor was nearer right than We sup
posed. When the coroner came to
look into the matter, he discovered
that the wound was not only too small
to have been made by the ordinary
bullet. but that there was no bullet to
be found in the woman's body or any
where else. Her heart had been
reached by thrust and not by a shot
from a gun. Mr.. Gryce, have you
not heard a startling repetition of
this report in case nearer at hand?
Up three flights from the court,
with no communication with the ad-
joining rooms save through a door
guarded on both sides by heavy pieces
Of furniture no one person could han
die the hall door buttoned on the in
side. and the fire escape some fifteen
feet to the left, this room of death ap-
peared TO be as removed from the ap-
prOaCh of a murderous outsider as the
spot in the writing-rOOm Of the Cler-
mont where Miss Challoner fell.
"Otherwiso, the place presented the
greatest contrast possible to that
scene of splendor and comfort. | had
not entered the Clermont at that time.
and no such comparison could have
struck my mind. But have thought
Of 1t since, and you, with your expert
ence. will not find it difficult to pic
tUre the room where this poor WON
an lived and worked. Bare walls. with
just a newspaper Illustration pinned
up here and there. bed-tragicaIly
occupied at this ir-oment-a kitchen
stove on which boiler, haif-flled
with steaming clothes still blbbled
and foamed-an old bureau-a large
pine wardrobe against an inner door
which We later found to have been
locked for months, and the key lost
some chairs-and most pronounced of
all. because of its position directly be-
rore the window. pine bench support
ing a wash-tub of the old sort.
CAS- it was here the woman fell, this
tub naturally received the closest ex-
animation. A board projected from
its further side, whittier it had evi-
IDENTIFY been pushed by the weight Of
her falling body; and from its top
hung wet cloth, marking with it's
lugubrious drip on the boards be-
meath the first heavy moments of ST
lence which is the natural accompani-
ment of so serious survey. On the
floor to the right lay a half-used cake
of soap just as it had slipped from her
hand. The window was closed. for the
temperature was at the freezing point,
but it had been found up. and it was
put up now 20 show the height at
which it had then stood AS we all
took our look at the house wall oppo-
site, a sound of shouting came up
from below. A dozen children were
sliding on barrel slaves down a slope
OF heaped-up snow. They had been
engaged in this sport all the afternoon
and were our witnesses later that no
one had made a hazardous escape by
means of the ladder of the fire escape,
running. as have said, at an almost
unattainable distance towards the left
And that is as far as We ever got
The coroner's jury brought in verdict
Of death by means of a stab from some
unknown weapon in the hand of per-