The star-independent. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1904-1917, 1915-04-01
A Valued
Pocket Piece
BY JOHN Y. LARNED

death and the military funeral that
was given him when his body was
sent home. Thirty years after his
death l was paid silver dollar bear
ing date of 1868. Since it marked the
date of my fathers death in battle, I
priced it. and, instead Of parting with
1t, cut on 1t my fathers initials.
One day while travelling fell in with
a young man, with whom I chatted
On entering the station at Cleveland
the car door was thrown open and a
trainman called: cleveland. All outw
The young man. surprised that the
train would go no farther, made in
quiries and discovered that he must
stop overnight In Cleveland. He at
once began to examine the contents of
his pocketbook and found that he had
barely enough to pay his bill at hotel.
| asked him to permit me to lend him
some funds, but he refused, saying
that he had just sufficient to get
through. / insisted on his taking more.
and he said If had any loose change
in my pocket he would accept it as a
loan. The only coin I had was my
pocket piece. After n moments hesi-
tation | handed it to him. He tried to
get my address in order to return the
loan, but we were leaving the train in
crowd, and hurried away.
Not long after this the newspapers
were filled with accounts of the muir
der of Richard Thornton. wealthy
man, In Buffalo. The case was one of
those mysterious happenings that at
tract widespread attention. A nephew
of the deceased. Edgar Thornton. was
accused Of numbering his uncle in or
der to secure his estate. The murder
ed man was very old. bachelor. and
his household affairs were administer.
ed by Mrs. Ferguson, widow. who.
the evidence seemed to indicate. was
endeavoring to induce him to make a
VIII in her favor. The state attor-
ney, by patching together bits of evil
dence. made Il very good case, show
Ing that the nephew. In whose favor
will had already been made. fearing
that the woman would succeed in Sc
S"''hS chN SiN ilS Nv tllt
had murdered his uncle to prevent his
doing SO.
Mrs. Ferguson swore that Edgar
Thornton was with his uncle on the
night of the murder, the two beixg to-
gether i'll the uncle's bedroom. She
claimed to have heard high words be-
tween them. Edgar had left the house
at IL o'clock. She did not see Rich
ard Thornton till the next morning.
when she found him dead. with a pill
low pulled over his face. A weak
point in the prosecution was that
some 5000 that the deceased had
on hand in desk was missing. The
state attorney declared that the ac-
cused had taken the money in order to
make it appear that the murder had
been committed for the purpose of rob
berry.
L read the newspaper reports of. the
trial, missing only one days rep
The next issue of the paper mentiond
that the accused had endeavored &
prove an alibi.
The servants in the house were all
against Mrs. Ferguson. testifying that
she kept Mr.. Thornton in sort of i'm
prisonment, but they We're persons Of
no education. and their evidence was
easily pulled to pieces by the prosecu-
tor. Indeed. Mrs. Ferguson proved that
they had been literally tipped by Ed
gar Thornton whenever he had called
on his uncle
1t did not take me long to make up
my mind that the accused was guilty.
He could not have been innocent unless
Mrs. Ferguson had periured herself in
testifying that he was with his uncle,
and the only person with him, on the
night of the murder.
l read the summing up of the case
by the prosecutor. and my attention
was attracted to these words
The prisoner has claimed that on the
night the murder was committed he was
travelling on train between Cleveland
and Buffalo.
My meeting with the man to whom
] had loaned a silver dollar flashed
upon me. Could this Edgar Thornton
be the person | had met? That per-
son was to remain over i'm Cleveland
at hotel The accused claimed to
have been on a train.
A human life might depend on nv
action. j took train for Buffalo and
when | arrived went to the courtroom
where the trial was being held. In the
prisoner recognized my fellow trav-
eler. l called for his attorney, told
my story and was put on the stand. I
testified that on a certain date-the
evening of the murder-I had entered
Cleveland with the accused and had
loaned him a silver dollar, which I
described. The prisoner produced the
identical dollar l had given him with
the initials and date I had scratched
on it,
There was a sensation in the court
room.> A man who was about to be
convicted of murder was acquitted and
was heir to fortune. When l asked
how he happened to have been on a
train instead of in hotel in Buffalo
he said he had found passage on a
milk and passenger train.
Mrs Ferguson had perjured herself to
be revenged on the man to whom she
nad lost her fortune.
When Edgar Thornton went to his
nome on his release he found it filed
with flowers from sympathetic friends.
have the pocket piece, more valued