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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 18, 1921)
12-M THE BEK: OMAHA, SUNDAY. SEPTEMBER 18. 1921. FOLLIES OF THE PASSING SHOW By Hanlon CPrvW, ?, y M rubht Uiftr C , TM M m WthWanTatMMWanMaVAsaaMalW ' ' S ypcKtf ' v; T-.;- -:;-.Vr 'v VC:' : '... - Clothes and the Woman .';:-:,;F ':;'V:-'r':-''--.-'-;;;vV 1 h e w o m ci f Dancing Master's Slayei Makes Fatal Blunder in Singing Favorite. ; Song of Victim. .Thomas Hacker planned the murder of hi friend mest cleverly, but Just when he thought discovers' was Impos sible a button revealed , his guilt and ha wss arreated. '- ', -, (Copyright, 1921. by the World-Wide mw service,- unc.j By NAZARIENE OAAN KANN1- "...'.. BELLE, When Thomas Hocker decided to murder his friend, .James Delarue, lie determined not to make any mis take that Would lead ' to his detec tion. He .was; well aware that many clever murderers had ..proved them selves no match for, the emissaries cf the law, but he was young ! and vajn enough to believe' that' he was soing to be 'one of- Sthe very few vrimtnaljs-ta escape justice. ; The idea came. to him one Janu ary evening, when, 'after leaving the sootshop- irt :which v he was em ployed, be met Delarue at the end of ine raincr areary; iuiiijuii onctu .rwi that week Hocker had! been haunted by - impccuniosity.;. . He owed his brother money, and his wages were too smtll to satisfy his tastes, and then there was ' Sarah . Philip, ; ths pretty little dressmaker, with whom he was very much 'in ' love. H wanted to make her presents in or der to impress her. with his impor tance. 'M he' .haur told her. that ne .vasva gentleman ; of," independent means, it-Was not surprising; that she hould expect to betalfen to the best. seats in, the; theaters and the most expensive ' restaurants." ' and Hocker was qurle 'conscious; of her surprise when he fed '.her into Cheap ..eating houses..;' He 'was now feeling certain that she WOuld; refuse rtohave any thing more t do .wittf him, not . be cause he was poor; but .because he had lied to her; unless he could raise sufficient capital to continue his de ception. ; iA ' " . , As he was busy! with his thoughts he heard his Christian name pro nounced affectionately, if . chaffingly, by Delarue. '.'--. "Day-dreaming again, Tommy? exclaimed the dandified teacher of musk, who was proud of his repu tation as a lady-killer. Hocker laughed and " took his friend's arm. . "I'm glad to see you,- - Jim," lie taid warmly. "You're "the best friend I've got,', and I don't know what I should do without you." It was the sort of remark that Delarue liked. Ia his own circle he was treated as a nobody, for few per sons took the overdressed coxcomb jeriopslv. and it was only his nn-; Wubted cleverness as a teacher that 'enabled him , to . retain his pupils: Outside 'the- music ',. room-they ig nored hinf, and Delarue was forced to seek his society among shop "as sistants, .persons for whom he pre tended to. have the profoundest con tempt,' although he was really their inferior. But he regarded "himself as a professional man, and he liked to pose as rich and benevolent. It was .noticed, however, that he , sel dom gave away a dollar. ; ; The "Hanger-On.", The friendship with , Hocker had come about as the result of a chance meeting, and .the young shoemaker had from the. first openly shown his admiration for the music teacher. Hocker had - been trained to be a schoolmaster, and therefore ' was quite .well educated. Failure to pass his examinations had, however, pre vented his obtaining a position, and he had had to go into trade," but he was intelligent, and , good-looking, and Delarue was only too pleased to accept ; him as ; a. hanger-on and friend. Such'was.the position; of the two men who now took. a stroll to gether towards the west, end of Lon don. ' ' ' "Where: are you going, Jim?" Hocker' asked - when they came in sighVof Piccadilly 'Circus.. : "Oh, r thought of -a little dinner, with a bottle of wine," his friend, an swered lightly. - - '. . -i ' -. "Well, you'll have to pay for it," remarked the younger man .with a certain grimness, "for I'm absolutely broke:" . 1 rDelarue came to a stop, and stared at him. : ' ' ' ' ' "I'm sorry to hear that." Jie said, and thrust his hand into his pdeket and . produced ..a quantity of gold coins. "-"Take one," - he continued, with unusual - generosity. ! "You can repay me when it suits you; I won't be a - hard creditor. , And now we'll have that dinner I. spoke of."' Hocker tremblad with greed as he touched he nearest $20 gold.'piece,: for. he was dazzled by the display, never-, having imagined" that, such riches came the Way of 'James De larue. . - . ' -.. "You must . be making a fortune, Jimmy," he remarked enviously, when thev were seated at the corner table in the restaurant "Oh, I do pretty well," answered Delarue, who was " a borri boaster. "I have more pupils than I can pos sibly manage properly." That was a lie, but fiocktr believed it. "And although I recently doubled my 'fees they, wont keep away, lesterday J was paid . six of my accounts, and that's why I have so much cash on me."- .-'.'. "Isn't it rather dangerous?'' asked the shoemaker, who was so excited that he conld hardly cat, and fully believing all he heard, "Vou-inight be robbed!' ! "I can look atter myieli," said the i music master confidently. "And II trust the banks. Come now, Tommy, guess how much I have on me?" '"One ; hundred and fifty dollars," said Hocker promptly. "Four hundred and forty-five' doL lars, my boy," exclaimed the ' older man .Patronizingly, ,"and i in '. four days' time I'll have double ' that amount, ior more accounts are. due, "'' "But you'U put it in th bank, won t you? whispered Hocker,. his eyes on fire and his brain throbbing. , "This is my bank," . said Delarue, tapping his pocket. . ' An Hour Later. When an hour later, their dinner was finished, Hocker' mentioned casually that he would be going to Hampstead the iollowmg 1 hursaay evening. ,V ' ; : -"Why, that's the day I give a les son at a house near the Heath," said Delarue,. surprised at what he took to be a coincidence, tor he had tor- gotten that he had already disclosed details of that engagement ' to his friend. . ",. . - j . ' : ' . "Then meet me a quarter to seven near" -the Bull Inn," Hocker said promptly;- "and we'll see each other home." ' They parted after repeating their mutual promises to meet at "Ham p stCad, but before -he; reached home Hocker . had -. resolved to murder Delarue. and possess, himself of his money.'- - ? . .. ..- - His first-move was yto create a number of false clues to lead the po lice . astray when they found the body, . and,-' : after., considerable thought, he. realized, that it would pay him to make the most of De-larue's-popularity, with the fair sex, It occurred to him that with a little trouble he could invent a set of cir cumstances, melodramatic yet cred ible, which would appear to have led up to, the crime, and he-eventually decided to bring into the business an imaginary sweetheart of the teach er's, who, out of revenge, was to lure him to a lonely spot and murder him. ! Delarue was ' in the habit of boasting that no woman could resist him, and, therefore, it was fairly cer tain that when his corpse was found and the-,"clues" Hocker intended to provide i examined, the. detectives would look for the woman in the case, and never think it was entirely the work of a man. Night On the Heath. For hours he worked in secret composing the letter which was to be thrust into Delarue's pocket the moment he was a corpse, and he discarded a dozen efforts before find ing satisfaction", but at last he com posed the epistle which pleased him, and a few hours later he was on his way to meet Delarue- on his return from the music lesson.' " It was a dark, gloomy, and for-j bidding night in February, when Delarue crossed the' road near the Heath, and. inquired ii the shadowy j - - f. .. - figure was his friend; it was a night made for such a crime as Hocker in-, tended, and that was the reason why he cheerily greeted Delarue, and.re ! fused to share the latter's depression borne of the darkness and the cold. "I know every inch of the Heath," said Hocker confidently when . his friend nervously expressed a wish to know where they were going; "Trust to me I'll take you by a short cut", Twenty: minutes later they were walking side . by . side in ; a narrow path leading towards the most de.-, serted part of - Hampstead - Heath.' The two men might have been quite alone-in the .world, for the silence that prevailed was uncanny, and it was difficult to see more than a jard ahead. '. "It's horrible!" muttered Delarue, pausing. He turned and saw Hocker raise his right hand,; and then suddenly- realizing his danger shrieked "murder 1" He never spoke again, for the next moment something crashed down on his head, and he was hurled to the irround. As he fell he clutched wild- 1v at hie assailant, and .caught', him,: by the overcoat, but his lifeless fin gers almost instantly reiaxea, , anu he lay on his back dead.; , ' , Without the slightest compunction Hnclcer knelt beside the corpse- and searched the oockets franticr.lly., He found about $25 in bills and some. small change, and these, ntn; tne gold watch, and chain, he-concealed, about his own person, muttering curses at his ill-luck in not finding more, but he did. not 4incw , until"; later that- Delarue had lied to , him about, his takings, "and; that 5 tlie; handful of money he had displayed four days previously had belonged to a relative, for whom he bad col lected it. Thus it may "be. said, that; Delarue's habit ' of- boasting 'was' mainly responsible for his : violent end. , l v " ' - ' V When the murderer had -satisfied himself that he had obtained all the plunder he rose and walked away. He had not gone a hundred yards,, however," when in the act of glanc ing back, he was startled to see a policeman's lantern flashing'arnOngst the bushes, and a little later a cry ot amazement proclaimed the fact that the corpse of James Delarue had been found. , . The Problem. What ought he to . do now? Hocker stood and - pondered, the problem in the icy darkness. His first decision was to fly,- but an insatiable cariosity drew him back to the fatal spot "Hello, whats up." he asked. starting when he found av stalwart officer stadding beside I'.e !ody. ' . , "A bad business, sir," answered the constable, who was glad to have some one to talk to just then. "A sergeant has gone for assistance, but he'll be back presently." Hocker was sympathetic and of fered the man a sip from his brandy flask, but it was declined, and a few' minutes later the sergeant reap peared, -accompanied by two Civilians and a stretcher. . Without wasting a moment, the body.' was reverently placed on the stretcher, ; and, with , Hocker in at tendance, conveyed to the nearest inn. but the murderer did nof enter with it. Here the body was searched, and the " letter "planted" on it by Hocker recovered by the senior po liceman present. y The murderer watched the officer from the gravel path outside the win dow of the, room in which the little scene 'was taking place;' and. he chuckled from sheer relief when, he overheard his exclamation, "Here's the solution!" and saw the others- cluster eagerly around him.. .The murderer was so cool and confident that he went straight from the Heath , to visit Sarah Philip, the girl' he loved, she commented on the, fact that his clothes were not so tidy as usual, but she was ' satisfied with the explanation that the weath er was responsible for that, ahd for more than an hour he remained with her. His first act ow reaching home was to repay his brother the money he owed him. and ,he astonished "his father by making him a present 'of a dollar. Then he wentto'.bed and slept soundly until , he .was , roused and Reminded that he -would-1 lose his job, if he did not' hurry, as he was : due at the .shop in -less --than half an' hour. . V ' The Letter. V '; - The letter found by. the police 'in Delarue's pocket .was -addressed "James Cooper, sq.," and it read as follows: ' '. "My Dearest James I have so often resigned myself to your- will and embrace that I find -myself in the situation w-hich makes it neces sary for me to leave home shortly. I would rather die than- doubt either your love or your honor, yet do not oh, do not be ashamed to own me. If you cannot at present 'give me the title of wife, conceal me -from the cruel finger of scorn. Heaven has been my witness that I have;loved you but too dearly. Let me be hap py in the conviction that one day you will restore me to your arms forever. Ease my suspense by meet ing me tomorrow at the place where, alas! you have always made me happy. Yet not so if you will not put one smile of hope and comfort on my countenance. You can render me torever light-hearted and happy, ori forever heart-broken and conscience-stricken. Oh, that a bended knee might procure the former lot! Ever yours. Caroline." "That points to a -woman he has law into, her own' hands," said the sergeant eagerly. Ah inspector standing by sniffed contemptuously. . , "A. woman who commits murder from motives of, revenge doesn't ,rob her victim," he remarked curtly ,v"I believe this is the doing of a man. No girl could have killed a powerful man such' as James Cooper' evidently was." , . ; ' The inspector's pronouncement created a sensation, and he intensi fied it when he ordered the sergeant and two constables to return to the spot where the .body had been found and make a thorough search. , They did so, and some hours afterwards reported that all they had found was a large btrtton. The inspector seized it triumphantly. 1 his was torn irom a man s coat,", he cried decidedly, "Now we need only get some one to tell, us who James Cooper was, and the rest ought to be' easy if only we have a little luck. ' A;; ;-; Thrill of Horror. . . The' news of 'the , crime caused -thrill of , horror, and Hampstead itrtmediately ' became the destination of ' thousands of curious- Londoners who wished to view the spot: where the. crime had been committed. , The papers published 'columns - dealing with the affair, and the police ; cir culated a description of the corpse all, over London,' and asked " help towards identifying it. , They had not long -.to wait before they obtained police " notice inquiring for .."Caro line." Doubtless he congratulated himself on his cleverness. Two nights after the murder Hocker was invited to a musical party," and he had no hesitation m accepting. All those present were friends, and when he was; asked to contribute to the general entertain ment he sat down at the piano and sang a song which Delarue had taught him! It was a callous act, which was dfestined to bring its own punishment, for some one in the room identified the tune with the murdered man- and began to talk of the mystery, and before Hocker quite knew what was happening,' the wVin! nartv. with the sole exception of himself, was loudly and excitedly discussing the crime. A fierce argument raged, roundjficult to establish le.rue's, I believer"- he " rctnaried, ' with a sympathetic glance; . "Yes," said Hocker blandly, "Ht was one of my best pals, and his death was quite a blow to me." "When did you first hear of it?" . asked the officer, pretending to b absorbed in the quality ot Ins drink, "When I read about it in the ' papers," was the immediate" reply. This was a lie, because the inspector knew that Thomas Hocker had been on Hampstead Heath on the Thurs-... day night, and had known -of the murder then. An officer had idenji ' fied him as the man,- muffled un to the neck, who Jiad paused in the ; roadway to light a cigar, but if it: had not been for that act Hocker's identity would have been very dif- ' tli "Cam ne'.' ctter. . . "I don't believe .it's genuine; it was written by a man!" some one cried, and Hocker trembled and was, glad no one was looking at him. "Why, how pale you are, Tommy!" said a girl-friend, and her remark drew everybody's attention to him. Losing his temper, he clenched his fists.- . . "I'm sick of this!" . he - cried,': angrily. "I came for music, arid, all I get is a lot of chatter about a mur riered man." - ' "But he was your friend, his host protested, : - ' "Well, what of that?" Hocker shouted, defiantly. "I'm off.. ' t His departure caused the party to the assistance they 'a""d- r " I break UP) and tWo young men: walk- 'kia.-nonhew and Went to the Dolicfil station to give . information, 1 and there he was requested to view the body. , When -he. did he instantly pronounced it to be. that of James Delarue. home, together discussed , the gentleman has been murdered. ' The j betrayed and deserted taking the V "Delarue?' Are-, you sure: ex claimed the inspector in charge. "You're' not mixing him up w ith a man' called Tames Coonct?" - i 'j Id know my nephew anywnere, sir," said the old ' gentleman, testily, ""and that's Jim's body right enough." The inspector, however, was not satisfied until half a dozen other relatives swore positively that it was Delarue. and it was only then that the letter addressed to "James Coop er,. Esq., 'was shown to the family. A 'cousin nervously examined it. ' ."I'm afraid it was addressed to Jim," he said, slowly.. "He. was in the habit of passing under the name of Cooper, sothat certain ladies of his acquaintance should not' be able to discover who he really was if ever-, they had. a quarrel with him." Tl.jindcrstand," remarked the of ficer, quietly,' and there and then was satisfied that the Hampstead Heath mystery would only be solved when "Caroline" was found and ar rested. . - Thomas Hocker duly read about the identification of the body, and he was overjoyed when he saw the aueer scene. .- -. 'T; wonder if Hocker . murdered Delarue, said the younger, sudden !v.- - ( If -.'' "I've been wondering, - too,'' his friend whispered. "But keep . your thoughts to yourself, tor there s no proof -agaiust him." ; '-- Jdt course, they could not be ex pected to know of the clue -of the button which a tat moment -was in the pocket of the detective who had been , commissioned to solve the Hampstead Heath murder mystery if he could!. ' A Button. It was the button from a man's overcoat that inspired the sleuth to forget all about the mysterious "Caroline for a time, and urn his attention to male friends of the late James Delarue. With the aid of the relatives of the victim he composed a list, and at the top stood the name of Thomas Henry Hocker. . "I'd like to see Mr. Hocker. saw the officer to a colleague. "Will you bring him to me?" Of course, they could no; arrest him, but it was easy enough to ar range a meeting, and in a quiet; saloon the detective shook hands with Hocker. . ry Hocker wa hanged for the mur "You were a friend of Mr. Dc-jdcr cf his friend. 'The next day there was a confer-" - ence at the police headquarters, when it was decided that an effort must be made to find the overcoat from' which the button had been torn." Everything pointed to the garment being in Hocker's possession, but the police hesitated to arrest him. How-r ,.,-AP Int. 1. . fT 1. . . . i- piece ot .evidence came into their; possession a written account bv Sarah Philip of her sweetheart's in t.erview;'w;ith her on the night of thfli . murder. . . Arrest of 'Hocker. Early, the following morning two. detectives entered the room where Hocker was still in bed, and informed him that they had a warrant for his arrest. In vain- did he protest against what he termed an "outrage."1 They insisted on taking him to th -station) and he had not been there two hours when the detectives re turned, with an. overcoat. - "Ts this yours?" he was asked in ms, pikOkllkfc ... -. jj, . jMl present save the prisoner looked again at the place where the second buttcn ought to have been. It wm missing, and the fact that it 'was ii' dicated that the mystery had beeq solved. " , Before the accused was placed i4 the dock at the old Bailey the au thorities . accumulated further ev' dence which established bevond a doubt that Thomas Hocker had ac companicd Delarue on the Heath. and when counsel for the prosecu tion had spoken everybody in tin crowded court, waited expectantly ta hear the defense. Greatly to th ' surprise of judge, jury and audienca. Hocker-condacted his own defense'-. and delivered a long and -passionate harangue, protesting his innocence with elaborate ingenuity. But the jury's verdict was "guilty" and a few weeks later Thomas Hen- . 1