The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, 1922-01-19
True
Detective Stories
THE RED HAND

<< A LII aboard! All aboardi"
~ The guards who had charge
of the London local which was
due to stop at Hackney shortly after
six O'Clock In the evening, were even
more insistent than usual in their de-
mands one night In the summer, for the
make up time. But q cry, Of conster-
nation from one Of the men who was
boarding the train brought the at
tendants fiocking around him.
"LoOkI" he cried. pointing through
the glass Of the compartment toward
the cushions Of the seat on the far
side. My God, mani Don't you
seer They are soaked with blood
And there's a. mans walking stick and
black leather bag! Where's the oc-
cupant of this cempartmentT
That was the question which puz-
zled every member Of the London po-
lice force, and especially Col. James,
! Fraser, head Of the department..
| Where was the man who had very
evidently been murdered In the coachf
Who was he1
The black bag contained no informa-
| tfon whatever, and the walking stick
was merely an ordinary one, lacking
even initials. The guard who had
charge of that car said that he
seemed to recall two men getting into
that compartment at Fenchurst street,
in London" but he wasn't sure.
When Colonel Fraser examined the
car carefully, however, he found the
| print of q bloody hand-a hand with
! short, squat fngers-On the wall Of
the coach. evidently where the muir
derer had steadied himself after COM
the body?
This angle of the case was soon
cleared up by the discovery Of the
body Of a man near the railroad
tracks in Victoria park. The head
and face had been so disfigured that
Identification would have been almost
impossible. had 1t not been for the
card which was found In his vest
| pocket. by means OF this II was
found that the dead man was a GER
1 tain Thomas Briggs, chief clerk of
London banking house, who had been
on his way to visit his daughter In
Peckham. According to his asso-
ciates, he was in the habit Of carrying
considerable srm Of money with
him, and also wore a very handsome
watch and chain. When the body
was discovered, however, the watch,
chain and the money were missing.
Immediately after the body was dis
covered Colonel Fraser measured the
fingers Of the left hand, but found that
they were entirely too long and well
shaped to fit the bloody imprint on
the wall Of the coach.
Pinning his faith to the fact that
the murderer would probably try to
sell Briggs watch and chain, the no
lice settled down to watch all the
pawn brokers in and around London,
but DAYS passed without any develop
ments from this end OF the case.
Finally, just as Fraser was nearing
the end Of his patience a second hand
dealer In Cheapside reported that \
chain, similar to the one worn by
the dead man, had been brought into
his establishment on the day after the
murder. The chain. he>said. had been
placed In with some others, and had
slipped his mind. until he commenced
to go over his stock. The only de-
scription he could give Of the man
who sold 1t was that he was foreign
looking" In fact he felt certain he
was q German.
More in order to quiet the press
than because he attached any real I'm
portance to the discovery. Colonel
Fraser made public the details of the
dealers story. and ,he following morn
Ing man called at police headquar.
ters, bringing with him q card which
he said his daughter had found on the
floor OF the room recently occupied by
Franz Muller. The card bore the
name Of the secondhand dealer who.
had purchased the chain
Muller, stated Fraser's informant
was German who had boarded In his
house for some time past. but who
had suddenly disappeared, leaving
most of his effects behind him.
Didn't happen to leave a photo
graph, did he!"
"Yes, sir, ne did. Here It Is" and
the man produced a picture which the
secondhand dealer Immediately iden-
tilted as the man who had sold him
the chain.
1t was "A matter Of only few hours
to trace the German to steamship
office and to find that he had sailed,
~ hours before, for America. Wish.
ing his own men to have credit for
the capture. Fraser dispatched two of
them to New York on fast boat.
and when Muller stepped Off the
gangplank he was arrested for the
murder Of Thomas Briggs. although he
vigorously protested his innocence,
and stated that he had bought the
chain from man on the street. As
further proof Of his assertion he pro
duced Briggs watch, which he said
he had bought at the same time as the
chain.
Inasmuch as the guard who had
seen the men enter the coach at Fen.
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