The evening world., 1914-03-28

founded on absolute fact.
she modelled 10 on the famous
"Brdm" case, nhich stirred alt New
En0Idnd N the '9Os. Mrs. RineAayf
sac TIE ponderfui fiction Possibilities
Of sxch a c0se and Wope u into fAts
newesf aHd best Of her Noreis. Here
70 her sfory Of the sfraW0e o1air:
BY Mary Roberts Rim chart.
Z CAME across the material for The
After House" In the most casual
way. II was tho summer OF 1919.
q hot stAriit night, and two or thres
people were sitting on the lawn In
front OF tho Allegheny County Club.
In Some way tho conversation drifted
to the sea. perhaps because we were
20 far away from It. Finally We got
to sea mysteries. Tho marie Celeste"
remember, was under discussion.
At last tho group narrowed down
to n prominent Pittsburg lawyer and
myself. The lawyer was Thomas
Patterson. He said: II have often
thought that there was q great story
to be written around the murders Of
the Herbert Fuller. and also believe
that In that case there was q grave
miscarriage Of Justice" I was i'm
mediately Interested. He told me the
main facts OF the story and later So
cured for mo an account Of tho crime
and trial In n magazine for lawyers
OF 4 date seventeen years ago.
On July 3. 1896. the Herbert Fuller.
lumber schooner bound for Rosario.
In the southeastern phrt OF South
America, sailed from Boston. She car
ried cargo Of dressed lumber piled
five feet above the deck. Openingu
were left In slowing this unwieldy
cargo to allow entrance to the two
deckhouscs. and since the sluASoer
made sort of deck itself. q rail wa
thrown up around II for the protec-
tion Of the seainen In rough weather.
) The crew Of tho Herbert Fuller con-
sisted Of tho captain. whose name
was NaSh: tho first mate. named
Thomas Bran: a second mate. and
six mon In tho forecastle.
The captain was accompanied by
his wife and arranged to take a paa-
senger. This passenger, q young Har-
ward student named Lester HAW-
thorne Monks OF Brooklinc. was tak-
Ing q sea voyage for his health. He
visited the harbor and saw the hrst
mate. Brum, who advised him not tt
go on a sailing vessel. In spite oi
that Monks engaged passage from the
| captain. The captain gave him his
| own cabin, and slept on a cot In the
I..k. f~x k.A hA
| mates also had quarters In the after
house. Thus In the after house were
the captain. his wife. the two mates
and Monks. the passenger. The crew
OF course. was housed forward In the
forecastle.
NIGHT OF THE MURoERA.
The vessel with Its twelve people
sailed from the wharf In Boston on
July 8. The captains wife made the
beds and took care of the pD0ms Oi
herself, her husband and tho paSsen.
ger. The 18th Of July and the tenth
day out was Monday. Tho captain
and his wife were on good terms, but
there was n restraint between the
firvt mate and the captain. At
o'clock that night the passenger went
to bed and about an hour later the
captain went to the chartrOom and
lay down on his cot. putting out the
light there,
From his position N the wheel the
steersinan could Bee into tho chart
room. as the floor lay two feet below
tire level OF the deck. and tho steers
man stood on a grating two and a
half inches above the deck. The only
light that shons from tho window
near the wheel was from the lantern
In the main cabin. which waS turned
down to what the steward described
az a half blaze" The wheel was
about three feet from tho house and
the extreme starboard handle Of the
wheel waa four feet diaxonally from
the centre OF the window. The win
dow was u very small ono. There
were seven iron guards In front OF II
ono and five-eighth inches apart.
The steward went to bed at s.30
o'clock In the after house. his bunk
being next TO the galley. At 10 O'Clock
the first mate was in his room: the
second mate was on watch on deck.
the steersman was at the wheel and
two men were on the lookout. The
rest OF the crew were In forecastle
the only exception being that Charlie
brown, a Swede, whose real name
was esterberg. had blsught his bed
out OF the forccastle because OF what
he called "insects." Brown was
sleeping on deck under the long boat
In the forward part Of the vessel.
At midnight. eight bells. tho watch
changed. The first mate came on
S,ck. Charlie Brown came art from
his bed under the long boat and took
the wheel. The schooner was about
500 miles from Boston out at sea.
before 2 O'Clock "A noise In the
chartroom startled Charlie Brown.
He sSd at the trial that he looked
through the window and saw the first
mate In the act Of striking whoever
lay on the cot with something that
mad a handle like an axe Half a
minute or less after. he said. he
heard a woman shrek. In Ave or six
minutes the fret mate came In sight
on deck. walking aft across the top
Of the deckhOuse.
II was the duty OF the first mate
to strike tho ships bell. Soon after he
came aft Bran struck four bells, the
first nate called out to Loheac, -Four
& l.