| Show P y M i STRANGER THAN A DIME NOVEL murder revealed ajr an oll letter after two acari concealment st lou republican the vandalia train arrived at the union depot yesterday morn ing bad on board sheriff bieber of greene county mo and a young man named james II ickman the letter was a n the hand of the sheriff the two bound for ash grove mo a station i t e st louis and san franchio co hotd not from springfield the outward bound train did kojl leave until ten minutes to nine P M and in the interim the sheriff took bis prisoner to the four courts as tho easiest place to keep him it wa thero that the was interrogated by a reporter he said thai blickman was charged with murder this caused the reporter to get his pencil out and get to work tho sheriff told the story of alie crime and it i an interesting te one only a year ago james in was a thriving young farmer ke kept company with a girl nanel kale rice who wai one of cf ash grove they loved too well K and ere the nar ariage day arrived a child was born she hid her shame living on and no letting her or bis inov her trouble lie seemed true to lier for awhile and always promised to keep the vow that he lid made that he would marry her ariage day never arrived one daiy he went to her ami told her that he loved another an intended to mitry her this cruel confession so wrought upon abc girls feelings that be threatened to expose him if he did so to the people of the village and to his father and mother who were alive and well thought of lie did not expect this promised to break ait the new engagement which her bad already made and marry alie wo nan ho bad wronged as soon as the banns could be duly proclaimed instead of doing this he returned to his new love time lew about when bickman bad to marry at one of the two women that one WAS his latest love who had brothers who bad an inkling of treatment of his first victim and who were determined that be should jilt no sister of theirs bickman man finding himself between two fires wrote a letter to kate alice lie told her as she valued her life to keep the contents of it secret and to meet him that night in an out of the way place she obeyed bis request leaving her home on the night of september 19 she was never teen at all again but two days later her body was found at the aide of the field with a bullet through her brain and 11 by her side there were no signs of 11 struggle the pistol no one had ever seen be fore those abc knew of her troubles that it w is a case of sui ide and who did not know of them thought tb sama thing atio body of the girl was laid in tho grave hickman it would appear was so overburdened with guilt that he re solved to leave thet cene of the murder lie transferred iiii gordly goods into cash as so in as possible and left telling who took the trouble to ask that he wa going embark prise but little wi said concern lug his departure and labs it until one day about three months ago the mother gail fiade a discovery di covery while looking over some of her daughter old she found the one that had been written to her upon the very ol 01 tho murder iha mother concluded amol t once that that lefler was ilie decoy bich led to her amli teis death she consulted the authorities ties and they quick about investigation the case the mother still held the revolver that hd been found with her daughters body she had never found ahe reil owner of itin fact no one had invoked for the real owner the authorities looked and strange to av aund upon very short inquiry kick man bad purchased t is revolver but a few days before tho garlt biath this fact together alth his sudden disappeArance caused further inquiry to be made his parent professed ignorance as to his this il was thought implied aeilt they were watched and it was foahd that tany did reamo letters from him these postmarked aarl III the deputy was sent on up supposed Eup posed murderer ha found him upon a piece of pot fir froan the wa and to the acene of hn crime since the authorities first commenced the murder they hive found overwhelm ing evidence of guiel |
