Year: 1878

!ected to go down and work NJ
the case.


It was my trade or profes-
sion then--hunting down thieves
and assassins; and had been
so long at the business that a
telegram announcing any such
case was taken as coolly as if
the dispatch had related to some
ordinary affair.


Before noon | was at Colyille.
1t was a little hamlet about
twenty miles from New York,
and three miles away from the
railroad. / had answered the
telegram before leaving New
York, and people were there
fore expecting me. AS l step
ped on the platform a farmer
came up and inquired my name,
and l was requested to take a
seat in his one-horse ph@ton for
q drive to the village. He was
greatly excited, and we had
scarcely started when he com
menced talking.


/ soon learned that lady
was the victim--a rich old spin
ster, named Miss Williams.
She was a woman about forty
five years old, living in the best
house in the village and was
possessed of some fortune. She
had never been married, but
years before had adopted a boy,
who was now a young man of
twenty. These two, with a
couple of servants, made up the
family.


[ learned that the family al
ways retired at nine o'clock.
If Tom, the adopted, was out,
as was frequently the case, the
front door was left unlocked for
him to come in. He was not
considered a bad yonng man;
but he drank a little, smoked a
great deal, wore good clothes,
and might be classed under the
head "fast." AS for servants, |
had seen them, and that was e.
nough. Without asking them
a word l would have taken my
oath that they were innocent.


In working up a case | al
ways had theory, and / work
ed to prove that my theory was
correct. In this case it was
that Tom was guilty, and /
started to prove it. Going down

stairs I entered the bedroom.
The dead body was still there.
The blows had been dealt with
terrible force, and any one of
the four or five wounds would
have proved fatal. The deceas-
ed was i'll her night dress lying
on the bed, and | was not long
in ascertainin9 that she had
been placed there after death, or
after insensibility.


There were stains on the bed,
on the wall, and on the carpet
at the further end of the room.
Getting down on my hands and
knees, l found. that corner OF
the carpet had been loosened;
and turning it back | discover
ed two or more bank notes OIL
the floor. This, then, had been
a hiding place for her money,
of which she was supposed to
have a large sum.


/ decided that the assassin
crept in tore up the carpet and
was discovered as be was seiz-
ing the money. The old lady
had got out Of bed and ap-
preached him, and was struck
down as they stood together in
the corner. This was very
strong evidence against Tom.
Had she awoke' to discover a
stranger in the room she would
not have left her bed--or the
chances were against it-and she
certainly would have been
struck down near it, instead of
after reaching the corner. She
was killed in the corner-and
then her body placed on the bed
Il was sure of it.


If l had wanted any further
evidence of the guilt of Tom, !
found it about the corpse. On
the finger nail of the index fin
ger of the right hand waved
three or four blue threads-tiny
little things which a hundred
pair of eyes would have passed
by. There was a slitin the nail