The Spruce Street Tragedy

g chapter had occurred in the back parlo

ccupied this house for some time, had fitted

lin, the widow of Frederic Catlin, was still his housekeeper, and they kept one ser

, and this room Old Spicer had chosen for his

visit to this retreat. The wonders and trophies it contained were legion, and f

his room, and spent as much o

d for this reason George Morgan, his adopted son, had recently purchased a beautiful residence on Academy Street, the garden of which

ood, having moved into a pretty cottage on Green Street, and th

ome Place, crossed Olive Street, entered Court, a

fice, made such inquiries of the offic

inent members of the detective force; they were over in Sp

rs of the police, he and his friends walked to Church Street, where th

where the murder had been committed, and Old Spicer at once began to

new, had been, in the early history of the Turn

basement, and divided into six ten

Spicer most, and as he wandered about it he was for

where for years Mrs. Ernst, and two of her thr

sual authority. She had not, however, he said, renewed her license for the present year, although she expected to do

ve proof that she did not strictly interpret the license law. Ale barrels, beer kegs,

inside doors led into the little rooms, each of which was furnished with one or two chairs, a l

ing to a little alley through which York Street could be reached. Four doors op

Chief Bollmann, Coroner Mix, and all the detectives, including Spicer, Stricket and Morgan, who had a pretty good knowledge o

pared the surroundings, because of the abrupt and unexpected halls and turns, the scanty furnishings, and the

r a hole in the ground to store away wood, they discovered a room with three or four chairs and

t for the patrons of the widow. It might also answer the purpose of a card or smoking-room. A

Besides these there were found a woodshed and tool-room, and a suspicious looking trap-door that covered what

looked in; the entrance was

rly into the black darkness. The hole had a mysterious look a

ck opening, mysteriously shrugged his shoulders, shook his hea

ck-yard, Mister Detective; and just let me tell you it'll

" questioned Old S

what I s

shall act upon it later." Then he closed the tra

furnished on the same scale of poverty as the rest, and the first glimpse into it would not hav

f the interior, for a paper screen two and a half feet high and two feet wide stood at the end of the

tition wall back of the bar. In the tool-room were a hat

cture of Napoleon Bonaparte surveying a battlefield with his generals. A pictur

th the milkman," said Morgan, "there were

he glasses?" a

ng but soda-water. The

got here before the police

on, who resides in the brick block next south of this, came in. He had only just returned f

assumed auth

men, women and boys making excursions through the several apartments

ephoned to headqu

hen Detective Brewer made his appearance in hot haste; and

scattering, I fancy," sa

ody was hunted from the basemen

t Coroner Mix

this case a little,

ughts of doing s

. "If there is any information I ca

s to work on as yet

r as I have been

now about the

to be a blissful ignorance on every hand, even regar

r family affairs to

up at the very outset of the

with regard to her relatives, surely something is k

this country between thirty and forty years, coming from Germany; an

a widow,

e had been married three times,

dee

irst died i

was hi

to the United States and met her secon

en with her, didn't

they started in the saloon-

ous row, wasn't there, i

with a bottle, nearly cracking his skull. Typhoid fever set in, and

nst, her third husband,

en years," w

o children,

so far as I have

the business, m

very hour o

ed at the dead b

" he remarked, "but, I belie

rs with a severe asthmatic attack. She was rarely seen outside

om rheumatism, I

a lameness, which was relieved somewhat by the assist

id go out

rvals, and then al

e well off-ri

tty fast. She owns this house, and the large brick bl

close-fisted," o

simonious disposition, and by some in this nei

s," remarked Stricket, in a musing tone; "for, if I remember right

roner, "years ago he was her counsel, but only

them. As they seemed very willing to talk, Old Spicer dete