The Washington times., 1922-11-05
THE dismal bowling of dog in the

THE dismal bowling of a dog in the
/, shadowy depths of Mount Hope
- Cemetery, not far from st. Louis,
the other night was so unusual that Au-
ust cHeidmann, sexton of Mount Olive
Cemetery, just across the road from
Mount Hope, became uneasy. Never be-
fore in all the nights he had watched over
the wraith-like stones had the pastoral sill
ence of the graveyard been so disturbed.
1t was his own dog, too. He could tell
by the deep-throated voice. No wonder
Mr. .Heidmann fdgetcd in his bed. His
watch told him that it was nearly nine
o'clock The persistent barking continued.
"Something unusual is going on tonight"
thought Mr.. Heidmann. 81 will just pull on
my clothes again and see what this un-
earthly barking is all about"
Slipping a hashlight into his pocket the
sexton let himself into the open and
walked around the house, thrusting the
rays of the light into every darkened cor
ner. Nothing was found amiss. Then the
pip men, some distance from the house,
claimed his attention. But the fashlight
revealed nothing unusual there. All
seemed we'll So he started back to the
house again.
As Mr. Heidmann reached the door his
dog. about three hundred yards away, as
he estimated the distance, began to howl
again. Mr.. Heidmann flashed his light over
the graves in the direction of the sound
and called the dog. He came running,
and as Mr.. Heidman stopped over to pat
his back he noticed remnants of fresh
red-colored clay on the dogs paws.
Mr.. Heidmann comforted the animal for
a while and heard no more of his protest
ing barks that evening.
Later on, that very same night, about
1890, o'clock, the wooden garage and re-
pair shop on Telegraph road, four miles
away from the cemeteries and operated oy
Harry r. Brenn, was burned to the
ground.
Mrs. Brenn first raised the alarm. With
in few minutes an impenetrable veil OF
flames wrapped the entire building. To
the neighbors who gathered she explained
that not twenty minutes earlier she had
left the garage, where she had awaited the
coming of her husband. But he had not
returned.
Within short time the entire garage
with all its contents was destroyed and
the cry went up that the charrcd remains
of Brenn had been found among the ruins.
These were removed to the Hoffmeister
undertaking rooms, where Mrs. Brenn
-..,,o. orlars for their hurial
Next day Herman Bruins, one Of the
caretakers at Mount Hope Cemetery,
started to cut weeds, and near where he
was Working noticed broken casket lying
in the bushes. This, soon afterward,
led to the discovery of an empty grave
about seventy yards distant. Coffin and
grave had been those of Celestine Schnei-
der. a pretty young telephone girl who
had been buried but a month before.
The investigation which followed rivals
the horror tales of Poe or Gaboriau. The
evidence discovered showed that the bark
ing dog had evidently frightened whoever
was robbing the grave into taking desper-
ate measures for the accomplishment OF
his purpose.
The casket was pulled from its protect
ing box of rough pine, dragged to clump
of nearby bushes, the hinges hacked open,
evidently by shovel, and the body stolen
from, its silken lining. Then all was left
in disorder-the grave still open and the
broken casket strewn on the ground in
the cuncealing bushes.