M
THE FALLS CITY TRIBUNE , FRIDAY , AUGUST 4 , 1905.
THE SOLVING
O.F A M.URDE11.
BY GRANT JONES.
It is not often that u railway
company runs special trains for
the accommodation of persons
wishing to attend a murder trial.
The London , Chatham and Dover
Itnilwny company did so upon the
occasion of the trial of Percy Le-
frey Mapleton , at Maidstone , on
November 4 , 1881 , "in consequence
quence of the vast public interest
in the case. " 1 traveled down in
one of these trains , with Mon
tagu "Williams and other barris
ters engaged in the trial. The
train was besieged by a crowd of
the general public. As a celebrat
ed and cynical legal gentleman
remarked , "we might have been
going to a race meeting. "
1 doubt whether , among all the
assassins 1 have seen in the deck ,
1 have met one who was more dan
gerous than Lefroy as he chose
to call himself. He was a tall ,
weedy looking young fellow of
about 25 , thin , with sunken
'
cheeks , dark , short hair , and a peculiarly -
culiarly pallid complexion. He
was neatly dressed in a dark suit ,
with a turn down collar , and a lit
tle knotted dark blue tie. His
bearing was of the exaggerated
theatrical type.
As he appeared in the dock ,
and walked forward to its front ,
every gesture seemed artificial ,
and his eyes glanced round as if
he were surveying his audience ,
expecting their approbation.
He was charged with the mur
der of Isaac Frederick Gold on
Monday , June 27 , in a BrjgMon
express on the London , Brighton
& South Coast railway , between
Three Bridges and Balcombe.
The case was one which presented
many extraordinary features.
Montagu Williams had beenespe-
dully retained to defend the
prisoner. The attorney general
himself went down io Maidstone
to lead the prosecution. Lord
Chief Justice Coleridge , it is said ,
in arranging the circuits of tin1
judges , took some care that he
should himself preside at the Le
frey trial. The court was crowded
to suffocation.
For some weeks indeed the
whole nation had been excited
over the miscreant , now safely
caged in that dock in the Maid-
stone criminal court. As people
unfolded their newspapers on the
morning of June 28 their eyes had
fallen upon .he startling words in
the heaviest type calling their at
tention to one of the most cruel
and dastardly crimes ever perpe-
tratcfl. And the perpetrator had
disappeared.
Isaac Gold was an aged Lon
don gentleman , who had retired
from business , and who had gone
to live in the suburbs of Brighton.
On the morning of June 27 lie left
home and came to London to col
lect some money owing to tim ,
and he caught the two o'clock ex
press to Brighton from London
bridge on his return journey. Ik-
was well known to the station oili
rials , and was seen by them com
forrably seated in a first-class-
smoking carriage reading a news
paper as the train started out of
the station. lie was doomed never
to reach the end of that journey
alive.
As he sat snugly ensconced in
his corner , lazily glancing at his
paper , and nearly asleep , over
come by the intense heat of the
day , a tall , thin young man in a
dark frock coat , with dark hair
and small side whiskers , and with
a low felt hat worn rather on the
back of the head , walked slowly
up and down the platform , Ian
guidly looking into the carriages ,
as if in search of a comfortable
seat. At last he opened the door
of the carriage in which Mr. Gold
sat , and entering took his place
in it.
it.At
At 23 minutes past two o'clock
the express car was swinging
through Croydon. A few minutes
later , with a shrill shriek of its
whistle , it plunged into the mile
long Merstham tunnel. As the
engine uttered that shriek a pas
seuger named Gibson , in a second-
class compartment of the train
heard five quick , sharp explosions
"Fog signals , " he remarked to a
companion.
Eight minutes later the express
was speeding past the village ol
Horley. Two or three hundret
yards from the line are some cot
tnges , and in the window of one ol
these a woman was sitting busilj
sewing. As the train whirled by
she raised her eyes from her work-
to gaze at it. "Look , Hhdda ! " she
exclaimed to her daughter , who
was in the room with her. "Look
at those men in that carriage !
They are fighting or having a
game. "
Following her pointing linger
with her eyes , Hhodu Brown also
distinctly saw those men for an
instant. They were wrestling , she
thought. She could see them
'waving their arms. "
About one mile from Brighton
the express drew up at Preston
Park for the collecting of tickets.
When the ticket collector came
ind threw open the door of one of
the first-class carriages he drew
back with a cry of amazement. In
me corner was a passenger , pale
ind exhausted , his features and
: lreus smeared with blood. He
liad no hat. his clothes were torn ,
ind his tie and collar had uppar-
entlybeen wrenched forcibly from
Ills neck.
"I have been murderously at
tacked and fired at , " he said. "Is
there a doctor near ? 1 am faint.
Can you get me some water ? "
Some water was brought , while
the station officials consulted as
to what was best to be done , and ,
as there was no doctor handy , it
was suggested that the stranger
had better go on to Brighton
only a minute's journey and two
of the officials were put in the car
riage with him.
Before the train started tin.
stranger got out for a moment's
air upon the platform. As he
walked up and down the platform
one of the porters noticed a piece
of gold chain hanging out of hi. "
shoe , and , stooping down , he
seized it and dragged out a gold
watch.
"That is mine , " said the stran
ger. " 1 put it there for safety. "
And the porter handed the watch
to him.
In a few minutes the three were
at Brighton , and , proceeding to
the stationmuHter's room , the pas
senger told his story.
He was , he said , Alfred Lefroy ,
and he lived at an address in Wai-
lington. lie had entered the train
at London Bridge , taking his
place in a first-class carriage with
two other passengers , one of
whom was an aged man of medi
um height with slight gray whis
kers , and dressed in dark clothes.
The other was a fresh-complex
ioned individual of about 40 , with
dark whiskers , no mustache , and
dressed in a dark-gray suit. Nei-
they of these persons spoke to
him as he entered the train , and
as they arrived at the tunnel ,
after leaving Croydon , he saw a
flash and heard a report of fire
arms. Springing up from his seat ,
he was felled by a terrible blow
on the head , which rendered him
unconscious until he came to Pres
ton Park.
"I have been robbed and nearly
murdered , " he protested. "You
must do your best to catch these
two men. "
He could ; ; ive no further partic
ulars and could nor guess what
had become of his assailants , and
the police , having been sum
moned , accompanied him to the
hospital , where his injuries were
seen to. They were superficial ,
and there was nothing to account
for that prolonged insensibility in
the carriage. While the doctor
was attending to him the detX'c
Tives searched his clothes. They
found a few shillings in his pock
ets , some pawn tickets , and sev
eral Hanoverian sovereigns
flash coins often used by tricks
ters for the purpose of impressing
unsuspecting people with an idea
of wealth. Lefroy protested that
he knew nothing of these. His
assailant must have put them in
his pocket.
An examination of the railway
carriage'revealed signs of a terri
ble outrage having been attempt
ed or perpetrated in it. There
were the marks of revolver shot.s
on the woodwork.
The conduct of the police called
in the first place to investigate the
mystery excited much comment.
Lefroy's injuries having been
seen to , one of the officers went
with Lefroy back by the train to
the address he had given at Wai
lington. As the train they were
in stopped at a station on the way
from Brighton , the stationmas
ter came to the carriage and in
formed the officers that the
searchers sent out had discovered
the dead body of an old gentleman
a Mr. Gold on the line near
Balcombe tunnel. Having seen
Lefroy into his lodgings at Wai-
lington , the detective , left him.
"If you should want me for any
thing to-morrow , ' ' said Lefroy ,
calmly , as he bade the officer good
day , "you will find me here or at
my club in the Strand. "
A short lime later the oUlcer
was again at the house. He had
received a message warning him
lo detain Lefroy , as it was evident
that a murder had been commit
ted. But Lefroy , he was told , had
left the house almost immediately
after his arrival , and none knew
where he had gone. lie had fled !
All the witnesses declared that
Lefroy , during his questioning by
the railway officials and police ,
showed remarkable coolness and
readiness in explanation. It must
have been a fearful nervous effort.
But he succeeded in allaying all
suspicion and excifcd their pity
as they looked at him with those
terrible stains upon him. Judg
ing by them , he must have lost a
large quantity of blood. As .1
matter of fact the blood was that
of his victim , Mr. Gold.
The railway company and the
government at once offered a re
ward of 100 for information lead
ing to the murderer's capture ,
and placards were issued bearing
the descriptions of Lefroy , his portrait
trait , and specimens of his hand
writing. A likeness of him which
npjK'ared in a daily paper led to
his capture.
Lefroy had taken refuge in
lodgings in a little house in
Smith street , Stepney. lie in
formed his landlady that his
name was Clarke , and that
he was an invalid engraver from
Liverpool. His conduct was mys
terious and excited his landlady's
suspicion. He stayed in all day
and kept the blind of his room
his window looked , out into the
street drawn close down as if
fearful of anyone looking in. His
landlady had seen the picture in
the paper. She consulted the po
lice respecting "the strange
young man. "
The detectives Swanston and
Jam's who visited Smith street
to interview the mysterious
lodger , recognized him and
pounced upon him at once.
"I am glad you have found me , ' *
declared Lefroy. "I am sick of it
and should have given myself up
in a day or two. I am sorry I ran
away. It puts such a wrong com
plexion on things ; but I could not
bear the exposure. "
The jury quickly returned a ver
dict of guilty , and , pale and trem
bling , Lefroy listened , apparently
all unnerved , to the sentence of
death. When the lord chief jus
tice finished , however , he had re
covered some amount of self-pos
session.
"Gentlemen , " he cried , striking
a theatrical attitude and in im
pressive tones , as he lifted bin
hand to Heaven , "the day will
vome when you will knowthatyou
have murdered me ! "
He was hanged three weeks hu-
er after having tried to delay his
fate by making an absurdly impu
dent confession of another mur
der of which he did not know even
( lie leading details.
Struck It Bight.
Krankleigh Yes , I am seldom
fooled on a point of physiognomy.
Now that man yonder I never
saw him before , but I'll wager
that lie has to shoulder heavy re
sponsibilities. Pardon me , sir , but
would you mind telling us your oc
cupation ?
The Unknown Sheer not. Oi
carry a hod ! Cleveland Leader.
The Human Owl.
The cynic is one who never sees
a good quality in a man , and never
fails to see a bad one. He is the
human owl , vigilant in darkness
and blind to light , mousing for
vermin , and never seeing noble
game. H. W. Beccher.
Money of American Heiresses.
At any rate it will never get so
that a foreign aristocrat will re
fuse to marry an American heiress
because her father's money is not
above suspicion. Denver Repub
lican.
His Experience.
Knicker Have you never heard
the call of the wild ?
Becker No , I always take my
shoes off and try to get in as qui
etly as possible. N. Y. Sun.
Not His Fault.
Tom I thought you were on the
water wagon.
Dick I was. But high places
always make me dizzy , and I Jjell
off. Detroit 7ree Press.
SMART DUCK IN NEW ROLE
Rnieed Brood of Chickens and Tnught
Them to S.vlm in Short
I Time.
I have ween a pet duck raise a
I brood of chickens , and before they
were ( wo weeks old she had them
well versed in duck language , and
had them taught how to swim ,
says a writer in Forest and
Stream. The reason 1 have for be
lieving that they understand duck
language is this : That if a hawker
or crow ( lew near she would give
one harsh quack and every one of
the chicks would scud away into
the woods , and after the danger
wan past she would give five or
six gentle quacks and out they
would come without the least ap-
perranee of fear.
Hut the greatest performance
was the way she impressed it on
their minds that it was time they
learned to swim. One foggy , cold
morning , early in the spring , when
they were about a week old , 1
heard her using some of the worst
duck language that I ever heard
and the chicks were yelling all
kinds of bloody murder. I ran out
to leain what was ( he trouble , and
there she was at the edge of the
water , grabbing the chicks in her
mouth and throwing them in the
river , and they were scrambling
out HO fast that she never had
more than one-half of the brood in
the water at one time. 1 knew
that the water and the weather
were so cold that she would have
them so chilled in a short time
that they would all die , so I shut
: ier up in the coo ] ) and kept her
there for several days.
When I again let her out she
took the chickens to the water and
gave ( hem another lesson in swim
ming , and she repeated this sev
eral times a day , and in three or
four days she had them educated
so that when she would go into
the water and call to ( hem to come
along they did so without any hes
itation. She apparently had sense
enough not to keep them in the
water long at a time , and that I
en reasoning , for it certainly wa.
nor instinct.
FOLLOWED HIS DIRECTIONS
Doctor's Instruction Are Adhered To
and Still His Services Were
Again Rendered Necessary.
"What on earth have you been
eating , Brown ? " asks the doctor
who lias been called in hurriedly
at midnight , according to the Chicago
cage Tribune.
"What ? " groans Brown.
"You have been eating some
thing that was eminently unfitted
for your digestion. How many
times have I told you to confine
your bill of fare to fruits and veg
etables , and "
"Look here , Doc. If I hadn't
followed your- scientific sugges
tions I wouldn't have had to rush
over here to-night. First ( hing , I
ate some apples and berries and
nuts and raisins , because you said
they were fine to begin the day on.
I was still hungry , so I tackled a
rape fruit and some early canta
loupe ; then some oatmeal and
lK'iit and other grain prepara
lions ; for lunch I had spinach ,
dandelion , nut cutlets , fruitsalad.
more berries and plenty of whole
wheat bread ; then I was hungry
this evening and ae plentifully of
watercressbananas , apples , nuts ,
spinach , citlc , cabbage , potatoes ,
young onions , lettuce , radishes ,
cherries , tomatoes , and aH the
rest of the blood-cooling , flesh-
making , nerve-building fruits and
vegetables , just the ones you have
so constantly and consistently
recommended to me. And now "
But ( he doctor , lost in thought ,
was trying to figure out what sort
of a diet to put the man on.
Lucky Doctor.
In France it is not only the un
educated who plunge in the pub
lic lotteries. They are patronized
by all classes , and a Calais doctor
has just found Dame Fortune
more kind than he was ever likely
to find Aesculapius. His name
is Dr. Hue , and he took a whole
ticket in the last issue ofPanuma
lottery bonds. He has just re
ceived notification that he has
drawn the grand prize of 20,000.
Dr. Hue was chief surgeon to the
hospitals of Calais.
Occupied.
First Cook An' what was yez
talkin' about ?
Second Cook Oh , we was dis-
ciiHsIn' the mlBtreas problem.
Puck. 1
ANTS BUILD GOOD ROADS.
They Arc ns Smooth ns If Contented
from End to End Greatest
Constructors on Earth.
The greatest road builders in
the world are a sjK'cies of red ants
found in South America. In build
ing a road they carry minute par
ticles of clay , with which they line
all the roads as well as ( he galler
ies and passages of their nests till
they look as smooth as if cemented
bj a master mason. Some idea of
( heir number can be formed when
i ( is remembered ( hat the whole of
this road to their ( ree , perhaps
nearly half a mile long , is densely
thronged with a multitude going
out empty and coming back with
( heir umbrellalike burdens , while
thousands upon thousands swarm
in the doomed ( ree.
That this vast army is under tin1
best discipline can be proved bj
\saohlng ( them only a few mo
meiits. The drivers are constant
ly running up and down giving
their orders to ( he workers , which
( hey do by touching heads for a
moment. The individual so
touched will stop , turn back , hurry
forward or show in some such way
that he is following some com
mand. But a belter proof of the
discipline is found in the fact that
when the army meets with an ob
stacle , such as a log or large stone
there is a jam of ants on both sides
and they run about in dismay and
disorder. Instantly ( he drivers
hurry up , showing ( he greatest ex
citement , and run over , around
and under the iniM'diiiient | to find
the best way out of the difficulty.
When they have decided ( hey leadoff
off ( he line of march in the proper
direction. But until they take
this step ( he workers make no at
tempt to pass the obstacle.
When a selection of a level piece
of ground has been made a per
pendicular shaft some eight inch
es in diameter and six or seven
feel deep is formed. This is for
drainage and ventilation , never
for ingress or egress. If the
ground slopes Ihe shaft is horizon
tal , the mouth , of course , being at
the bottom of the hill. From the
perpendicular shaft , commencing
at the bottom , radiate galleries ,
like the spokes of a wheel set at
a slight angle. At the end of eacli
series of galleries' spokes a circu
lar gallery is made , forming ,
as it were , a set of wheels one
above ( he odicr. In , or rather
above Ihese circular galleries the
nests or dwelling places are con
structed. These are oval in shape
and about a foot long. The nar
row end of the oval is downward
and opens into the roof of the gal
lery , and as Ihe spokes always
slope slightly toward the shaft no
tropical rains , no matter how
heavy , can enter the homes and
breeding places of the ants.
NO FOOD FOR ELEVEN DAYS
Blind Indian Falls Into Mine Shaft
and Subsists Until Friends
Rescue Him.
Macey Ball , a blind Modoc In
dian , living three miles northwest
of Seneca , fell into an abandoned
mining shaft about ( iO feet deep ,
over which brush had been hcai > ed.
Eleven days later Ball was res
cued. "There must have been con
siderable water in theshaft"sayri
the Hustler , "as the Indian de
clares he never struck bottom.
It seems that in some way , when
he arose to the surface of the wa
ter , he caught on to something
long enough to keep from drown
ing , and had dug a hole in the side
of the shaft with his hands large
enough to crawl info , and then.
he had remained the entire 1 1 days
without food of any kind. A rope
was lowered to him and he placed
the noose around his body mid wa
pulled out. He seemed none the
worst for his fasting , as he was
able to walk home , about half a
mile. Sam Lawyer had been out
hunting for the missing man , and
his dogs , passing the shaft , heard
the Indians making queer Hounds ,
peculiar to his tribe , and set up a
howl. Sam looked into the shaft ,
but could see no one , as Macey had
burrowed deep enough to be en
tirely out of sight , but he heard
him and secured the help of Ben
Lawyer and Tom Welsh and they
rescued the imprisoned man. "
The Morning After.
Guest ( to bell boy ) Is this a
foundry ?
Bell Boy No , sir ; this is a hotel.
That thumping you hear is on
inside of your bead. Detroit
Free Pre .
MUSSELS FIND MANY USES.
Sonio PnctB About a Familiar Shell-
llsh At Its Best in the Spring
How to Cool : Thr.m.
Mussels are at ( heir best in the
spring. Mussels thrive In bays
and inlets , on sandy bottoms , to
which , and ( o one another , they
itInch by ( heir byssus ( breads ,
these being slender filaments issu
ing from between ( he shells , says
a New Yorkwriter. . They are
sometimes in great beds extend
ing over a hundred acres , thou
sands of bushels of mussels being
obtained in a single bed.
Fishermen go for mussels as
soon as the ice is out of ( he bays
in the spring , and sometimes
when wind and \venlher are pro
pitious ( hey sandwich in a trip for
mussels between the en'l of one
fishing trip and the beginning of
another. There are plenty of mussel -
sel beds within easy reaching dis
tance of New York , and once on a
mussel bed a load for a ten-ton
sloop might be dredged up in a
single tide.
So with good luck a fisherman
could go to a mussel bed 20 , ! l ( ) or
10 miles distant , and get a load of
mussels , and be back in New York
ready ( o sell them , all within two
days.
The profit on ( he trip depends on
what he gets for his catch. If
there should be many boat loads
of mussels in the market at the
same time he would get less for
( hem ; but if he should happen to
come in when mussels were scarce
he would get more. If he got , say ,
$1.25 a barrel , about an average
price , and he had from 50 to 75
barrels in his sloop and he had
made a quick trip and disposed of
his catch quickly ( here would be
fair money in it.
But ( he fisherman takes chances
in mussel fishing , just as lie does
in every other sort of fishing.
Fishermen sometimes eat mus
sels fried , but the great bulk of
mussels consumed are pickled.
The mussels are first boiled , and
( lien picked out of ( heir shells , and
then what is railed the heard ,
which consists of the inward ends
of the byssus threads , is removed , ,
and with it a little sac into which
the mussel is likely to have
drawn more or less sand. Then
the mussels are put up in jurs in
pickle , with a few spices added.
Pickled mussels have long been a
familiar ilem of free lunch , and
people buy them as well to carry
home.
The mussel is a much cheaper
shellfish than Ihe oyster or the
clam , but still it is not eaten to
the same extent. There are people
ple with whom the mussel does
/io ( agree , because of its rich
flavor. But there are epicures
Who are fond of them , and who
like ( o eat ( hem occasionally , and
no mussels may bo found on Hie
bills of fare of the finest restaur
ants.
Junkmen who go into the coun
try buying junk sometimes take
down their jangling bolls and
stow them away somewhere in the
wagon and take into the country
a wagonload of mussels , which
( hey dispose of to larmers , trad
ing the. mussels , maybe , for junk.
Pickled mussels have been
shipjKMl from New York at least
as far away as Chicago ; so thai ,
altogether the quantity of mus
sels disposed of in the Gotham
market is considerable.
Novel Way to Kill Shurkn.
The engineers in the British
navy have a very effective way of
killing sharks. They seal up , i
dynamite cartridge in an empty
can , and put the can inside a large
piece of pork. The pork is thrown
overboard on a wire which has
been connected with an electric
battery. When the shark takes
the bait the
engineer presses a
button , which explodes the car
tridge and kills the fish.
A Beginner.
lie The airships do not seem
( o be perfected yet. The great
problem is how can a man be kept
up in the air ?
She Well , I saw you out horseback -
back riding the other day , and it
looked very much a if you were in
the air most of the time ! Yonkers -
kers Statesman.
His First Attack.
She ( toying with the ring ) And
am I the first woman 3-011 ever
loved ?
He No , indeed. At the early
age of seven I thought seriously
of eloping with my teacher. Chicago
cage Daily News.