The North-Eastern Weekly Gazette. — 1891-04-04 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

DEBTOR.  A policeman in Clerk-street was called in by the excited commission agent after the visit of • very quiet-looking customer to listen to his strange story of robbery awl attempted murder, but as the man's sonolusion was that Solomon, the complainer, was mad, I was sent out afterwards. Solomon had a very unobtrusive shop, with obscure windows and door. The front part was a storeroom, ead was in charge if a clerk. The back part was also • storeroom, but had at one aide • smell Place per off, which was occupied by Solomon him. self as a ceanting-zoom. Two hours had elapsed since the strange crime, yet I found him still pale and excited, and boiling over with indignation at the way he had been done. "It was that drunken grocer, Peter Alexander, down in the Pleasance, that did it," he exclaimed, in a blast of bitterness, "a man that you'd think hadn't the courage to kill a mouse, or the wit to look two yards ahead of him; but he must be mid," he added, conclusively, "drink has evidently tumid his brain, so I don't want to be hard on him if you only get back that £43." As the policeman had just made the same charitable remark regarding Solomon himself, I made no comment, but waited for more light. He was a man of shout 45, with grey, bushy hair, which he had tousled up into • terrible burgled mass, which, with his rolling eyes and excited speech, gam him more than a "nisei" eipsexenee. Timm he was is bachelor; aid eleeikeeselileist elhalahserife laird more often than monied men,. and eertabilr are more ecoestrie generally. On the whole, I thought the poliesman had come to • pretty shrewd conclusion. "Alexander awed me £43, which I couldn't get out of him, though I threatened till I was tired," continued Solomon, evidently as unoonscious of his appearance as • man with • smudged face. "So I summoned him for the money, and then be seems to have got frightened, for he Came in to and asked to see me, and paid the money, mailing as if he had.been going to a wedding, I expected that he would want to palm another order sit me, but he didn't. He paid the money, got his , receipt, and went away. If I had given him • fifty. pound note he couldn't have looked more pleased when he put on his gloves and hat and left. I ex- I Faded he'd come back, but not for a day or two,l and then only to give 11111 an order, which I had I made up my mind to refuse; but I didn't expect anything like what happened," and he stopped to shudder and wipe the oold sweat of terror from his brow. • " You see Where 1m sittingnow with my back to the door V!, he resumed, as I made no comment, but to study his face and manner. "Well, I was sitting just so *bent ten minutes alter he left, when the door opened softly and someone came in. I thought it was Tom, my clerk, and as I was busy I never looked round. The door was shut, and in. moment more I. was gripped by the collar, and looked renod to see Alexander leaning over me with madnesn in his eyes, his hair all standing up, his Lands all bloody, and a great double-edged dagger ip his baud... The blade waa sharp se a razor,  eerishily 4  said.iq've—poilsiieiliour—cleek, and 111 do the same to you unless you hand over that £43." I was quite taken by surprise, and se upset I didn't know what I WOA doing, so I reached out to the drawer there and took out the bunch of notes just as he had given me them ten minutes before, and handed them to him. "Now, you must give me five minutes to escape—swear it, or I'll slice your head oif," he said; so I swore it, and-he pockoted the money and left. I esited live minutes, and then staggered into the front shop, and found Toni working away at his desk, just as if nc.hing had happened." !` ljad he not seen the man come in ?"  ' Oh, yes; but here's the strange thing—he says there was nothing wrong with him when Jog name back—no blood on his hands, no awful knits in his no excitement in his manner or madness in grasp, lie simply said he'd forgotten to say something to me, and went in, and., out in a • sh-risht. and said'  ,