Show t 4 44 4 H hH tt 4 4 Old Man in e Imm Duster 4 4 4 r j 4 7 4 3 4 A Strange Story Sto of Mysterious Murders 4 Dont you ever e miss the eld old life lifer he asked as the three of or us set st t in my Greene street home sipping hot bet Scotch I Ian and an d old yarns Ji had ref referent erent eren e to my l leaving the force but I I could in all honesty sty answer lr Not as I much mu as you would Imagine im ne Although 1 I am tm no longer lo r on Il the pay roll I yet have ha my diver sons And Anti realty really some I of or the most peculiar cases I ever ver hap happened happened peu d upon have come to me since since re resigning resigning signing Such as the tho Spotted Bull Dog Dos Dogs suggested s ted Kenton Well WeIl W yes I responded That was unique but devoid of all ugliness no brutal features you know It was vas a pretty enigma and I 1 wish all criminal problems were vere resulting in as little harm Do you rou ever run across any cases i as complicated as those sat down by Doyle In his Sherlock Holmes stories asked Jim refilling liis bIs pipe Although I call him Jim like Kenton and my myself myS myself self S lf he was past the prime of life Ufe Three old cronies we were who had I only the vast nast to live in inNo inNo No uNo and yes I answered I have known of some extremely e remely puzzling af affairs affairs affairs fairs that balked all efforts of solution solution solution tion affairs seemingly blind yet made clear bv by a trifle But I have never be believed believed believed in this deduction theory Doyle is a brilliant man to invent such de deductions deductions deductions but of course he works backward If a It man could possess the quick q ck intuition of his Holmes he could make extremely clever guesses but in inthe inthe Inthe the long run would be led completely astray by his very acumen It dp in real life to put down every even sun sunburned sunburned sunburned burned man as ac coming from India or every worn sleeve as belonging to a 8 typewriter Is there any truth in this sporadic Dr Hyde business in inquired inquired Inquired Kenton Kento uA A little I said running over in my mind different crimes and their t perpetrators perpetrators perpetrators Did I ever tell you about a out the theold theold theold old man in the th linen duster No both replied Lets ha h v pe it It began like this Back in the days when Jim Fisk was commodore of the Fall FaIl river steamboats I had occasion to go to Newport Completing my busi business business business ness there I took passage for New Nw NewYork NewYork York in the same boat I had come comedown comedown comedown down on Early in in the morning I was up to see the sunrise It being a 8 fad of mine when afloat As quite a number of us were chatting near the rail on the port side there was considerable consid rable of a splash in the water below and a deck hand cried out Man M n overboard We all sprang forward and a d leaned over I the rail while not a few grabbed hold of ropes ready to throw to the unfortunate There he is one man cried pointing excitedly They were revers reversing reversing reversIng ing the engines meanwhile He act acts queer muttered some one at my left Then we saw the reason for it For Foras Foras Foras as the suns first shaft struck the water the man rolled over and assumed an almost upright position while a ray of U ht flashed across his face fac reveal revealing revealing ing a dark d rk red discoloration Hes He been shot through Ute tiLe head bead cried c ie feek k hand belo r who was in hi a better bettel post position postS S tion to see The right r g t arm of the corpse waS ivas now flung upright f probably probably probably ably by the action of the t tl water from the propeller and anJi seemed to point above us We ve we all Ux looked ked to the upper deck and there hanging far out with a face wearing the th most malignant hate or hellish glee gle Leel Jever I ever saw sau was an old man ma whose long white whitehair whitehair whitehair hair and beard marl hip cu W rV all allon r ed R buton but buton on gaining the upper deck he was gone goneA A steward informed us that such sucha a per person perI person son dashed d by him and tillIt he h wore a long linen duster He also saip salli sai that I the man was muttering something to himself wholly unintelligible By B this time the ship was vas in commotion We in informed informed informed formed the captain of what we e had seen and at once orders were given to search the ship No passenger Were found answering the description A sec see second second ond search was made every passenger I being behig scrutinized Then all hands were inspected but with the same Desalt resu It On I reaching the West street pier officers were stationed about the gangway and as the passengers filed ashore all were again subjected s to close examination e min But no old gentleman vaa wa found wearing white hair or beard Then Thep the boat was given a second overhauling ling with the former success UIt It created a great deal of x Ite ment mont at he time tind the papers were full of it itA itA UA A year passed and I had it 0 O I should remar that the booy bod r of the man was secured red a aday aday aday day after fter the murder was committed For it was murder the hole in the t head having been made by a revolver held at close range As I was 1 had forgot forgotten ton n it when I received orders to sail at once for Savannah to after a case there On the first night out I II I I had been playing whist in the th Smoking ok oking ing room m and did di not leave tl table until quite late As I entered the sa so saloon saloon loon I heard a cry at he farther end and thought I saw some one dart into a passageway The Tl e saloon was deserted and dimly lighted I hurried forward not expecting to find any anyone one so was startled when I stumbled upon a young man sprawling in a pool of blood and moaning feebly I called for help and tried to bolster him up My Sly partner at atthe atthe atthe the whist table now appeared and sev several several several eral servants We found he lie had been stabbed or rather slashed across the neck the tile cut extending down to hi his right shoulder It was a wicked wound and bled bed prof use y But as It had missed the jugular and there were two doctors aboard beside t te e boat phy physician we believed it was w not fatal ReStoratives were given the how flow of ot f blood checked and the victim placed In his berth rth When Wb D questioned que as to how bor it happened he could only tell us that as he v was as 18 about to enter the pas passage passage sage age leading to his hie hJ stateroom he ex en experienced experienced a shock a burning sensation and realized that an old man with white hite hair and beard wrapped in a along along along long light garment was wall pushing by him The Th knife with which the blow was given was picked up a few feet in inside inside inside side the passageway pas It was a common butcher knife and bore the boats mark markI I took the captain aside and related the murder on the FaU Fall River boat bat of or ofa ora ofa a year previous He remembered it and at once took steps for a most thorough search But as in the other case no old man was found Excepting a judge of the supreme court one oe or two con COD congressmen gressmen and several well known mer merchants merchants merchants chants of New York Y rk city no DO men of ot advanced age were on board The om officers officers cers eels of the boat were anxious that the Fall River mystery should not be coupled with this affair but in some manner It got out You never saw such sucha a nervous crowd Although the boat was as now brilliantly lighted no one would go about alone The servants were extremely agitated and moved to obey orders In pairs The next day saw no abatement in the dread of the theold theold theold old man who had vanished so com corn completely Once when wh Judge S 5 ap approached approached two youngsters on the for forward forward forward ward deck I noticed that one of them reached for his hip S Several veral of ot the women were in hysterics and nd one of oft them tiem t em on learning my identity 1 clung to tomy tomy my arm all ajl day long And I must ad admit admit admit mit that I r felt a 8 little shaky You see I had passed pas ed through h something of the same once before Only in the former case the agony was not prolonged But here we were In a boat bot out of sight of land knowing that somewhere in our midst mid lit was a murderer all the more ter terrible terrible terrible because he was wu not known Passengers with withdrawn drawn revolvers L ransacked each stateroom while the boat boa officials examined every inch of or orthe the vessel I took but little part in m these proceedings for I remembered the past and did not look for any so solution 7 lution Iu lon of the mystery As AB night drew on again the fear increased who next was the th look in every eye Armed Armell watchers guarded guard l the he more remote parts of the boat whIle the passengers to a 8 person almost huddled together in inthe inthe inthe the saloon I 1 believe belleve a few whose staterooms opened off from the saloon did retire but not an eye was closed in sleep throughout the night Along Alon about 2 I determined to take a little scout about on my own hook and slipping sUpping on some ome sneaks with loaded revolver in my hand I set setout setout setout out I must have prowled about for over an n hour when I reached a passage leading back to the cabin As I was vas about to enter it I remembered red It was the same one through which the mur murderer murderer murderer derer fled on the night before A light was dimly burning near the center of the passage and under it I could dia dis discern cern a watchman who was evidently asleep as For some reason I looked be behind behind behind hind me AH An was clear but feis s I 1 turned again I experienced the great greatest gr at est cot shock of my life For bending over oyer the recumbent guard was the old man manin manIn manin in the linen duster with a wicked look looking looking ing lug knife upraised I J jet et tout out a yell that ought to have reached the mainland and thrusting forward my revolver let go With an answering shriek the old man turned and dropped his weapon I hope never again to see ee such a look Of devilish de ferocity as shone from his face Of course all this took place m itt ma ina itta a second then I 1 knew my bul bullet bullet bullet let had gone wide Without the knife however I was not afraid of him bim and anel with another yell I jumped forward But quicker than I the old man darted a few steps down the passageway and into a stateroom After him I sprang prang but found the door locked ked I jumped against it but It did not Dot give way en tn entirely entirely With another lunge I had it opened A womans scream greeted me ine and I saw that the occupant wa was sitting up in her ber berth her eyes eye full of terror The window was open and anti with scant courtesy I rushed for this I could hear the passengers crying out outto outto outto to one another and running about The woman behind me stopped screaming Turning from froni the window my eyes nu t ther her ber face in a mirror I then d the horrible truth for tor the face wore the same look of fiendish Intensity I had seen in the passageway pa When the boats people found me I 1 had her handcuffed haBd and she was writh writhing writhing ing In a maniacs frenzy She was wv a sporadic murderer r and she was also the young woman who had clung to me meso meso meso so tenaciously during the preceding day I trembled as I thought of my danger What about the whit lair lair and l lin linen linen n nen en duster broke m In Kenton fenton whose pipe had gone out in the meanwhile We found them stuffed under her herberth h herberth r berth also the false beard I ex cx explained e She died inside of a year in ill ina illa a lunatic asylum I shall keep a light for a week muttered Jim as they I Ito to leave Are you ou sure dead inquired Kenton slipping on his great coat |