Newspaper Page Text
Complicated
Case
The Man Who Wa» Accinod of
Having Murdered Himself.
By CUTHBERT BAUER.
Copyrlglu. Itoo. liy Ainerli'iin I’rniw
ArtnoMutlon.
I mil mi II11i'ltrUt111! 11‘ mini. I nover
com ml! I i'il n crime In my life, ^ll•»•l»^
oven ilI<1 n dishonest iitM, mill yiM 1 urn
In Jnll iieetlsud ni' mimli'i'. This may
not In.' astonishing. Ini' many an liiim
cent man lias not only Iii'imi accused ni'
hut. lias hut'll I for lllill'ili'l'. Imt
what Is I'omiirliiilili' In my i-asu Is iInn
I nm nt'i'UHi'il ol' nuinli’i'lm! iiiysol?.
Perhaps this Isn't i|iiil■■ rli'iir. IT II
Isn't. It Is i'lllii'i - iK'i'illlsc llic rase Is a
very ttoniplIt'iilimI mu' or I am uni in a
fit comlll Inn of in I in I In inn k(* li i*lt*ar.
The only way to iiurnvul the inalli'r so
thnt It t'lin liu uiuloi'Klooil is In lull I he
Btory from I lie beginning.
Twelve years ago I ciiiiip to Merlford.
n young innn of twuniy live, to look for
a joli. I linil no fniiils, anil, nm get
ting a position nt unci'. I ran in debt lo
my In ml Indy. A nmn I li piiHscil, amt I
hnd fount! nothing to do. My In ni I Indy
told me Hint If I didn't pay up by the
next Saturday nlglil she would have
mo nrresleil for a common vagrant and
swindler.
That same day while walking alionl
looking for a Job I ini't a man on the
street who looked so mui'li like me
that I stared at him us we passed.
He Hinted and hiiIiI:
"You intisL be a Ida of mine. Yon
look enough like me in lie my own
brother."
"What's your nameV" I asked.
"William Higgins."
"1 nm Nicholas Van Winkle."
We couldn't inne any relationship,
but lie asked me Inin a beer saloon,
where we pursued tImt mid oilier
subjects, lie was mi iiislmmlliig fel
low and won my eonllileiico so far
Hint I (old lifm of my linmicliil Iron
tile. Wlinl did lie do hill whip out a
roll of new, crisp hills mill Invile me
to help myself, I demurred at Incur
j’lng obligations lo a stranger. ImI lie
Insisted ami dually literally furred
upon me four teu-ilollar hills, saying
that lie was sure from the likeness
between us we laid sprung from a
common stuck and lie didn't propose
tliai any ktusnmn of Ills should suffer
so long as he had plenty of money. I
asked him for Ills address Unit 1 might
return the loan liftin' gelling a posi
tion. He put Ids lilimi on my shoul
der and said, ''I won’! tell you. lest
you roll yourself lo pay me before you
are ready.” Willi that ho went out
somewhat suddenly nml left me very
much surprised at all Hull had oc
curred.
The only thing to do was to consider
the episode a pleee of good luck. and.
going to my landlady, 1 gave her
three of tile hills, keeping (lie other
for current necessities, which 1 pur
chased 1 mm cil la toly.
The nexl day a policeman came to
the house and produced a warrant for
my arrest. The charge was passing
counterfeit money, mid the accuser
was a druggist of whom I had bought
n toothbrush anil from whom 1 had
received change for a toil dollar bill.
Of course the generosity of my new
found friend was now perfectly plain
to me. 1 didn't know and don't know
now wliut lie expected to gain by the
transaction unless he hoped lo use me
Inter. My landlady on seeing me
inarched away by a policeman under
u charge of passing counterfeit money
took the hills 1 had given her to her
bank, where they wore pronounced
spurious. When 1 was brought up for
examination both she mul the drug
gist appeared- against mo. 1 told a
straight story, but without effect.
Counterfeit bills had been shoved Into
circulation, and the police had been
looking for the shovel', 1 was held
for trial nml spent six weeks In Jnll.
Then 1 was tried. As there was no
evidence copneetlng mo with il ping
of counterfeiters, I was ncipiltleil and
released.
lint one thought absorbed me—to get
even with the iiimi who.had played
the trick on me thill Imd kept me six
weeks In a horrible cell and ruined
me In the place where I had Intended
to settle. I walked the streets hoping
to meet him till 1 was so weak from
hunger that 1 couldn’t walk any
longer, then gave It up. Hut all the
wlille 1 was thinking of a plan for
revenge. At last 1 concocted one tlnil
might catch the counterfeiter and (mu
lsh him for something mere than
breaking the government money laws
I went to a wood In the outskirts of
the town and to a tree pinned a piece
of paper on which I had written In a
trembling hand that I was about to be
murdered by a man who had forced
me to pass counterfeit money, 1 hav
ing threatened to put the police on to
him and Ills gang. 1 described the
man who had given nu> the spurious
bills. In doing so of course 1 de
scribed my own personal appearance,
but 1 didn't cure for thnt. for 1 pro
posed to disappear from the place and
play dead. Having taken this the
only moans I could 1 li ink of to gain
ray revenge, 1 converted myself into a
tramp and did not stop moving until
1 had gone some 1,200 tulles from the
town where l had had so much trou
ble. At the end of my tramp 1 found
a man who gave me a job. and 1 re
joiced that iu hist I bad reached a
haven of rest.
One rooming 1 took up a newspaper
and read the account of my own mur
der, Every effort had been made to
find both luy body, dead or alive, and
my murderer. The police had sent out
thousands of dr: tlhirs giving the do
Hcrlptlun of III in that I had written,
and II had lieon mpied In ninny news
papers.
1 in l ice.I mie day on looking up slid
.dimly in my employer dial he was
scrutinizing roe. Il had occurred to
me before i Ills Hull my giving a do-
sciipihm ol my murderer Unit would
answer ns well lor me as for him
might lend In serious complli'iillous.
Indeed, nflor seeing the description of
the supposed murderer in the newspa
per I had hei'oine very anxious. The
ruHiili was that when I snw my em
ployer looking at me as if comparing
me with Hie description I turned pale
He looked away, and Hint ended lie
mailer, a I least for the lime.
Several days later a man enine In
tlie store where I worked, hail so'ie-
words with my employer and I lien, a
vmielng toward me. eyed me sharp 1 :,
then lie look a printed slip I rum lie
poekcl nml rel’errcil lo II. evl.leinl'
comparing me with It. At Iasi lie innl:
out a pair of hiiTideufl's. pul them ii
my wrists anil led me out of lln
store, li didn't occur in me In pn -
test or lo ask any questions. I knew
I was to lie inlcen back to the scene of
my former iroubles to answer lo the
charge of having murdered myself.
Ii didn't appear to me then thnt I
should have any trouble In Identifying
myself. I resolved to say thnt I had
succeeded In getting away from the
man who had Intended t > murder me
and hnd left that pan of the country
altogether. It didn't occur to mo that
such a story In the face of n charge
of murder would appear pretty thin.
The til’s! realization'of my danger that
came lo me was In talking with the
official who was taking me back to
Slei'H’ord. I told him Hie story Jus:
as I have Hills far (old It hero. And
what was Ills comment'/ II was tills:
"Young man. If you can't make up
a heller yarn I hull Hull you’d boiler
be prepared for the worst.''
This sliiriled me. I had deemed It
a misfortune to lie taken back to
Merlford on a eii.se of mistaken Iden
tity mid in he pm to the trouble of an
oxpluimllou, bill tlnil I would ho liable
lo convlciion lor murdering my own
self had appeared so monstrous Hint il
had not even cnlorod my head.
"If you can't prove uu alibi," added
my keeper, "ynu'ro gone."
“Whin's an nlihi?" I asked,
“Itelng somewhere else at the time
the murder was committed.”
“Kill I shall prove that t nm the
man I am accused of murdering."
lie turned and regarded me with a
cynical smile,
“See here," he said, “I've been mixed
up with cases like yours for twenty
years, Juries are ready lo believe a
lot of rot from a prisoner with whom
they sympathize, but my advice to
you Is not lo endeavor lo work off on
them nhy Audi rubbish ns that."
This frightened me. 1 leaned back
ou the cushion of the seat as well as
my handcuffs would permit and gave
myself over lo the most gloomy re
flections.
When wo reached Merlford and 1
had been examined, not having any
means with which to employ counsel.
1 was assigned one. lie enmo to the
Jnll and heard my explanation. When
It was finished ho said that ho would
not think of conducting a case on any
such Improbable line as that and if I
Insisted on his doing so 1 must And
another defender.
What was I to do? Ill I those people
who wore used to such cases agreed
that l must not claim thnt 1 was my
self. 1 asked my lawyer whom he
thought I'd hotter claim to bo. Ho
said that It: didn't make any difference
what my name was. Criminals usual
ly had plenty of mimes and used such
ns were convenient under different cir
cumstances. The only point In my fa
vor, ho added, was thnt the body of
the nmn 1 had murdered had not been
found, lie would make as much of
this us possible and expected thnt he
would bo would bo able to got mo off
with a sentence of life Imprisonment
Instead of death.
He. seemed to consider this quite a
comforting assurance. For myself I
thought that even Imprisonment for
life In the case of one who had com
mitted murder on himself or suicide.
If It can be so construed. Is rather
hard lines. However. 1 told my law
yer that 1 wouldn't-venture to suggest
a lino of defense lo one who knew the
law perfectly, and ho might consider
mo either dead or alive, Innocent or a
murderer, ns he snw tit. To this be re
plied that there had undoubtedly been
eases'where a lawyer knew his client
to bo Innocent, but the evidence had
boon so strong against him thnt lie has
advised him to plead guilty nnd throw
himself ou the mercy of tlie court.
1 won’t go Into the details of the
trial. My lawyer was congratulating
himself that he would get mo off with
u life sentence when the police, who
bail long suffered before the public
for wlmt was considered their negli
gence In the ease of my murder, by
continued digging in the wood where
1 had been murdered unearthed a
body. 1 learned long afterward that
It came from a corner of an old burial
lot. Rut it was enough, with all the
other cl^ vlnclng evidence against me.
to hang me.
The only bit of good luck 1 have had
at all lias been the capture of tlie gang
of counterfeiters to which my - double
belonged. I begged my counsel so ba rd
to And him that to humor me he did
so. The result was the bringing into
court the real murderer of tlie mun
who was not murdered. Which of us
would have bad to swing for the mur
der If the other one had been absent
1 don't know. I am going out a free
man, and I propose to disfigure myself
so that I will never again look like
anybody.
THEIR FINAL_QUARREL
She Said It Wa« Irrevocable, but He
Knew Better.
It was all off They had quarreled,
finally and Irrevocably. It doesn't
matter now what It was about. The
chances lire tImt In tliolr anger neither
remembered anything except that he
hnd disappointed her In some awful,
unforgivable way and she bad seized
the diamond engagement ring from a
dainty, slender finger and thrust It
upon 111tn with n gesture of infinite
acorn.
For an Instant he held the circlet In
bis hand ruefully. For another In
stant lie paced the porch, hands In his
pockets, head low. Ills voice quivering
with emotion as ho pleaded. Sudden
ly he stopped In front of her.
"That's final. Is It?" he inquired.
"Final," she replied Icily. "No man
with a spark of" —
k "All right!" he snnppod. "Tills
tiling's no use to me, then."
nis right arm shot out like the arm
of s ball pilcher, and n second later
the tinkle-tinkle of moinl on the con
crete walk half n block away told her
lie had thrown the ring away.
"Oil!" she cried, and there was sud
den anguish In her lienrt, "I didn’t
mean It! We must find It—nt once."
"I don’t care for It," he snld stub
bornly. “Life has mighty little now
to make"—
"Silly!" she cried. “Help me—Imme
diately."
He couldn't lot her go alone, with
night coming on. so. nfter proper re
luctance. lie followed. In the euger-
ness of searching nil her anger melted
It took a long time, blit finally lie
stooped quickly nnd exclaiming, “Here
It Is!" held up Hie diamond ring.
What happened iu Hie next hour Is
nobody's business except their own
Tho human, masculine part of the
slory was disclosed to Ills bosom
friend lale thnt nlglil In Hie quiet of
their room.
"Had It In my pocket all Hie Mine."
lie said. •‘Threw a qiint'ii',' down the
street. And, dad tiling It. I d'dii'i find
It either!"
Bill It did the work - Kansas I'ily
Times.
SPLITTING A FICTUr"
One Case Where the Hr'f Proved
Greater Than the Whole.
There is no palmer who lends lihn-
self to "splitting" so nnii'li a> I’- n-
cclll—I. e.. n division of Hie panel lain
two purls so as to form scpnrnic j n--
turos. Years ago I sold in n Mr. Bin
tery of Loudon ball'a Roiii' i'ili, wiiioli
Is now owned by Herr Ktiufimititi "f
Berlin. 1 have myself seen Hie oilier
half of the picture, as well ns Hie pic
ture In Its entire slate
In one ease I can recall the half
proved greater Ilian Hie whnli*. A.rcr
tain Signor Bni'lll hoqui'nilti'il a vain
able Botticelli lo Ills nm grandsons,
who were twins Rm. allInmgli twins,
these two young men were rill her
qunrrelsoiue and liml no insic in com
mon. One proposed lo sell the picture,
which had been palnled for oni'ot their
ancestors. Il Is said, by Botticelli' him
self. The el her would not consent.
The first then proposed that the oilier
should buy Ills share and keep Hie pic
ture himself, tie took me with him.
and I assigned I lie value of tlie pic
ture nt 5,000 lire, saying I would giy
that for It. The brother declined and
suggested placing the jiiciini' In ilic
custody of an aunt pending an adjust
ment of the terms. "Oh, very well."
cried Ills brother, (lying Inin a passion.
“If you won't buy mid won't lei me
sell there’s only one tiling to do." and
before any one could Interfere he emp
tied three chambers of a revolver Into
the panel, completely destroying one-
half of the composition, Including a St.
John nnd a Joseph. The picture be
ing sent to me to restore. 1 could do
nothing with It nnd strongly advised
separating Hie panel. Shortly nfter I
did so the owner died, and I disposed
of the work for 0,000 lire to Adolph
Knoll. It Is now, I believe, In Russia.
—E. Pnnzoue In Strand Magazine.
Too Lavish.
Mrs. Dobbs was trying to find out
the likes and dislikes of her new
boarder, and all she learned Increased
her satisfaction.
"Do you want pie for breakfast?"
she asked.
"No, 1 thunk you," snld tho new
boarder. With a smile. "Pie for break-
fnsi seems a little too much.”
"That's Just the way I look at It."
said Mrs. Dobbs heartily. “1 say pie
tor dinner Is a necessity, nud pie for
supper gives a kind o’ finlshlag touch
to the day, but pie for breakfast Is
wlint 1 enll putting on airs."—Youth’s
Companion.
The Ueual Sequel.
When they reached Montreal on their
elopement Chicago seemed far, far
away, and they were both homesick.
"I will Just telegraph the letter 'F'
to father." snld the beautiful bride.
“That will mean forgiveness.”
“Better make It^ two 'F’s,'" advised
the young bridegroom.
"Gracious, dear! And what will two
•F’s' mean?"
“Why, forgiveuess and funds.”—Chi
cago News.
Poor Memory,
"She made a horrible break at
Green’s dinner party the other night.”
“What was it?"
“Called the hostess by her first hus
band's name."—Detroit Free Press.
The Old Master.
Mistress—Has anybody been to see
that old oil painting 1 bought? Mnry-
No, ma’am. Somebody called to see
the old master, but I said he was out
—London Scraps.
Hot Walking
Hot Riding
You can’t get away from the heat; but you can keep it
from hurting. Whenever you’re hot, tired or thirsty
Drink
YOUR MEMORY.
If It Seams to Pell You Just Give It ■
Good Jogging.
Memory dues nut "full" (except In
loss of all tin* faciiltlesi; It simply gels
weak and languid for want nt use. Just
us ibu physical organs do. People of
ten say "My memory Is falllug" when
It Is really ns good ns ever If they
would give it it chance.
A word, ii dale, a mime, an incident,
cornua up. or. rather, fulls to come up
when you want It, There seems to be
no possible, wny of remembering It.
You make two or three efforts, give up
and say, "There's no use; It's gone
from me."
Nonsense! It hasn’t. It Is there just
as much ns It ever was, only there are
a lot of things over IL Keep at work,
bring your will to bear upon It, try and
try and try, and nfter awhile you can
got it.
And, better, you will find thnt tho ex
ercise required In remembering It will
help you next time and that a little
toll nnd determination put together
will accomplish wonders In the whole
range of fucultles.
Look over your memory, see where
you are most deficient and exercise It
in thnt respect. You can do It at any
odd time, while you are walking, rid
ing. resting after a day’s work, listen
ing perforce to a dull speaker. Don't
let u few failures discourage’you. The
long corridor of recollection lined upon
both sides wltb valuable material will
be opened for you because of your im
portunity If you use It.—Exchange.
It refreshes mentally and physically—relieves fatigue and
quenches the thirst. Wholesome as the purest water and
lots nicer to drink. 5c Everywhere.
Delicious - Refreshing - Wholesome
Send for our free booklet “The Truth About Coca-
Cola.” Tells all about Coca-Cola, what it is and why it
is so delicious, wholesome and beneficial. 2-T
THE COCA-COLA COMPANY, Atlanta, Ga.
BY THE SEA
WHERE OCEAN BREEZES BLOW.
EXCURSION RATES
VIA
(entrap* Georgia
Railway
QUICK AND CONVENIENT SCHEDULES.
SPLENDID SERVICE FROM PLACES IN
GEORGIA AND ALABAMA.
ASK YOUR NEAREST TICKET AGENT FOR TOT A I, RATES,
SCHEDULES, ETC.
Physicians Advise
the use of a goodlaxative, to keep the bowels open and prevent the poisons of undigested
food from gettinginto your system.
The latest product of science is-VHLVO Laxative Liver Syrup, purely vegetable, gentle,
reliable and of a pleasant, aromatic taste. Velvo acts on the liver, as well as on the
stomach and bowels, and is Of the greatest possible efficacy in constipation, indigestion,
biliousness, sick headache, feverishness, colic,flatulence, etc. Try VF 1
LAXATIVE
LIVER SYRUP
Electric
Bitters
Succeed when everything else fails.
In nervous prostration and female
weaknesses they are the supreme
remedy, as thousands have testified.
FOR KIDNEY.LIVERAND
STOMACH TROUBLE
it is the best medicine ever sold
over a druggist’s counter.
Court Calendar.
• COWETA CIRCUIT.
E. W. Freeman, Judge; J. Render Terrell
licltor-General.
' Meriwether—Third Mondays in February
August.
^^Coweta—First Mondays in March and Sep
Heard—Third Mondays in March and 8ep
her, J] *
Carroll—First Mondays in April and Ootc
Troup—First Mandays tn May and Noten
CITY COUBT OF NEWNAN.fl
itor" A ' F ° St ’ Judee > W * L ' Stallings, S
Quarterly term meets third Mondays In J
ary, April, July and October.L^. MBM
BANKRUPTCY COURT.
R. O. Jones, Newnan, Ga., Referee tn B
rnntPV for prillntiiAu rtf ffonui.n rr.
BARGAIN HUNTING.
The Strenuous National Game of the
American Women,
There Is always something impres
sive about u crowd that is swayed by
a single emotion. You get nil Impres
sion of force, says Mary Heaton Vorse
in Success Magazine. These women,
who n few moments ago hnd been
quiet shoppers, formed n mob. They
swayed and pushed as though moved
by a common Impulse toward a table
where were tlie embroideries. From'
their throats came n little dull growl,
a curious noise—the' whisper of a mol)
The noise of a mob in Joy nr in an
ger or In fright or just its restless
murmur us it waits is different'from
ntiy other nolsc^thnt comes from tlie
human throat—quite distinct, of a cu
rious anljnal timber. I beard it once
on the occasion of the throwing of a
bomb, again from u crowd waiting for
a bank to open and a third time iu a
theater when lire had been culled,
and now here It was tn miniature from
a couple of hundred women waiting to
buy ten cent embroideries.
They, were poor women with shawls
nnd baskets, women with babies In
their arms, women with threndbnro
clothes carefully brushed, who must
think before spending each dime Id
the dollar, but for once Indulging in
the great sport of American women—
bnrgnin bunting.
Edward Everett.
Edward Everett was one of tho most
purely literary of all American orators.
Among the more eminent scholars and
statesmen bt our land no one has ever
been more deservedly honored for in
tellectual power, purity of character,
public and private, and for clearness
and perception of judgment than Ever
ett. To the efforts of Edward Everett
more than to any other one person ts
to be credited the raising of funds
sufficient to purchase the home ot
Washington at Mount Vernon. He de
livered a lecture on the character of
that great man more than, a hundred
times and gave the proceeds to tho
Ladies' Mount Vernon association. He
personally placed over $00,000 In the
treasury. It is probable thnt his ora
tory won for benevolent purposes at
least $100,000.—St. Louis Republic.
The Oldest Reliable Date.
It used to be supposed that the most
ancient civilization of which real rec
ords had been found dated from B. C.
3500. This had relation to Born and
its earliest knowu Inhabitants, but Ur.
Eduard Mayer, professor of ancient
history nt the University of Berlin,
studying the Egyptian calendars on
the monuments In the state museum
of the German capital, discovered that
the date B. G. J2-H ts frequently cited
as thnt Iu which the early Egyptian
astronomers Hrst calculated their soinr
year from the rising of the star Sinus
This Is by far the oldest reliable date
lu the history ot tho human race.
Tho Word “Belfry."
The word "belfry" had originally no
connection with "bell,” au Idea which
Is now Intimately associated with the
term. The first meaning given Is
"wntehtower." from the middle Eng
lish “berfry," a wntehtower. The firs(
part of this word Is connected with
"borough." the second with "free." As
the practice grew of hanging "bells"
In such towers people reminded them
selves of the fact by changing the
word “berfry” into the modern "bel
fry."
No Chance.
“Why don't you ask that young man
up to tea some evening, dear?"
“1 don’t believe it would do any
good, mother. He's a confirmed bach
elor."—New York Journal. i
A College Pun,
“Can ycur horse jump?"
“1 don’t know. I never asked tim."
“Really! Why not?”
“I'm afraid be might take a fence."—
Harvard Lampoon.
Appropriate.
“What do you suppose Is tlie song of
the desert?"
“I don’t know, but I should think it
would be 'Tae camels are coming.'
Exchange.
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Foe Bachachc Kidnctcamo Buiooco •'
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