The Spruce Street Tragedy

a fair question?" asked George,

House," was th

o find out so

t Strouse, and I expect to learn something about

oing into it t

es

n's men are

nage to hoo

e how it ca

ut we shall

ey arrived i

Spicer, "you have be

wer, "I think I kn

the passage into the back

d him through a narrow passage

mselves in the yard back

ed one of the

as l

ed the

entered, closely

r-room, he saw, through the open door, three men grouped together in chairs, while a coff

issipated in a small degree by an oi

ld Spicer, with his lip

was the answer;

r, isn

I believ

o is th

w; I can't s

; let's hear what

it was the worst experience I ever had. I neve

ut it, old fello

n order not to attract too much attention, we laid it over on the back seat

piece of woods. As we entered the woods I thought I hea

, and we looked b

sprung from the carriage, Jim on his side and I on mine; a

"what the deuce was it

"what did you see wh

at the very moment our eyes rested upon him, he started forward, placing one hand on the front sea

ought you would have been fr

ll turn out?"

consult. While we stood there, a man with a heavily-loaded wagon drove up

e city for Dr. White, and that it had sudden

age. We told him about half a mile ahead. 'Come on and show me, then,' he said. 'I have a rifle and two

horse had merely gone to one side of the

gon, lighted it, and approached the

, 'and see what starte

hat the dead man had not altered his po

rpse was dressed on to the wheels. The motion of the wheels had then pulled the robe so that the corpse wh

e trembling with emotion, "and so you don't

ourse

e often thought-- Go

the foot of the casket, Webbe

this was raised to permit the circulation

r the window to regulate the force of t

making a noise as if somebody's dress was rubbing against the side of a wall. The s

then, that Mr. Webber promptly concluded, from the direction of the noise, that it came from the interior of the coffin, or that t

n despair at the thought of see

the murdered woman, and his imagination, wrought upon by the story he had just heard,

of the chair, and

hich was distinctly heard by all, came

dashing out of the bar-room, flew

ted after their fleeing companion, and never even so much a

"I think we shall be able to get into t

getting out again? In ten minutes those fools will

mind the getting out. If necessary, you know

time Stricket will

ll we get back, even if

ready to dive into the

But, by Jove! I've forgotten my

t light on t

do, bring

y when they come bac

st likely they'll think Mrs.

augh, George entered the barroom, and securing the

ow raised th

ash-heap, and taking the lamp from George, wai

nel, which they found much wider and higher than

stance, they came to a door that

med Morgan, "suppose

ld Spicer quietly, and taking ho

te heavy, but it moved on it

"those hinges have been oil

d them, and fou

e one-was foun

t, which they found, as Morgan had alre

o quite evident that it had more recently been used as a secret rendezvous, and to some extent

him with a thoughtful ex

inking of?" sudd

men have assembled here and slept here. That they could not do without

d a moment, the

s of the tunn

t tu

h which we reac

oses tightly, and the tunnel has

I give

my boy, we must

eorge immediately began

the most likely place would be about opposite the door through which they had entered

foot square, close to the ground,

front of this aperture, a trap-door, which ope

These the two detectives descended, and immediately found

or, which, with some difficulty, they opened, and fo

ght it would turn out something like this. Now let us make certain of th

Morgan, pointing to a

should think," returned Spicer; "bu

had not been used as such for a long time. It contained only a very high step-ladder, which was stan

" said Old Spicer, p

nd ourselves when we

hrough less than an hour ago, if I am

you're righ

I thin

matter is

ld up a mome