Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1922-05-17

ASASS VI A0dLA, MIC, was
in dying condition. bullet
having drilled a hole through his lung
1T was only natural that Dennis
Tracey should take up the trail Of the
murderers. Tracey was Lawrence's
closest friend on the force.
No one knew anything about the
circumstances which led up to the
crime, and, apparently, there was lit
tie hope Of discovering any clue, be-
cause Lawrence, though not dead when
discovered on the following morning,
was extremely weak from exposure
and loss of blood. According to the
physicians, it was practically a GER
tainty that he would die without re-
covering consciousness.
After leaving orders at the hospital
that he was to be notified at once If
his friend showed signs Of being able
to talk, Tracey visited the scene Of the
shooting in the hope of being able to
find footprints or other evidence which
would assist him in the search which
he intended to make. The 1nvestiga-
ton. however: was entirely fruitless.
The dying policeman's revolver had
been fired three times, but without
effect-for Tracey found the bullets
lodged in the rafters Of nearby ware
house, sufficiently close together to
provide a hazy outline Of the place
from which LaWrence's assailant must
have fired. So far as Tracey was able
to reconstruct the affair, Lawrence had
come upon some one trying to break
into the warehouse, had probably
warned him by a shot over his head
and followed that by two other shots
which failed to take effect. The burg
lar had then turned and fired point
blank at the policeman, dropping him
where he stood.
But who was the other man?
This was the question to which
Tracey determined to devote as much
time as necessary, the problem with
out clue.
1t was late the following night be-
fore Lawrence's condition showed any
signs of change, and then only for the
worse. The physicians gave him only
a few hours to live, and Tracey hung
continually over the bed, hoping for
some word or sign which would pro-
vide an indication Of the murderer's
identity. Finally it came.
With an almost superhuman effort
the dying officer raised himself on one
elbow, and gathering every ounce Of
his fast-failing energy, whispered the
single word:
"Wil-kin-son
Then he fell back, dead.
But that last word was enough. Had
1t not been Tracey who heard it, it
would have meant nothing-for the
two officers had been secretly working
on number Of recent warehouse
burglaries and they alone knew Of the
suspected connection Of Daniel Will
klnson, son Of a prominent New Hamp-
shire family, with the one-man thefts.
Now Tracey knew that not only was
Wilkinson guilty of the burglaries, but
Of a far greater crime-the murder. of
Policeman Lawrence.
Putting himself in the place Of the
criminal, Tracey felt certain that the
latter would not remain in or around
Bath. He must have known that Law
renee had recognized him, and would
fear that the dying man would find
some way of imparting this knowledge.
1t was probable, therefore, that he
would head for some hiding-pl
where he would be comparatively safe.
Knowing that Wilkinson's family, in
an effort to whiten the character of
the black sheep, had sent him to sea a
number Of years before, Tracey
thought 1t likely that the fugitive
would attempt to Join the crew Of a
sailing vessel and lose himself in a
foreign port. He accordingly warned
the authorities Of all the New Eng
land sea ports to be on the watch
for man Of Wilkinson's description,
and then, securing leave Of absence,
he took up the search-combing the
Waterfronts Of every city and town
from the Canadian border to Boston.
1t was nearly six months later, at
ter he had almost abandoned hope
that Tracey wandered along the
Wl1aryes at Bangor and spotted the
man he wanted porting lumber into
the schooner Good Intent, at the foot
of the Railroad street wharf. With
out sound the policeman edged his
way along the dock until he was be.
hind Wilkinson, and then dropped on
top Of his man, flattening him to the
deck. Almost before he knew what
had happened the fugitive found him.
self handcuffed and on his way back
to Bath, there to be convicted of the
murder of William Lawrence, after
one Of the hardest-fought legal battles
in the history of the state, =.
The fact that, in. the shadow Of the
state prison wall at Thomaston, there
stands today a headstone bearing the
numerals 1885," does not close the
case, for there are many who claim
that the murderer had powerful friends
who succeeded in saving him from the
gallows and helped spirit him out OF
the country into the Canadian North
west. But Tracey, who is now house