associate, and the two plotted
and carried into execution the following horrible crime: McNutt got his
life insured for $5,000, his wife being his beneficiary. It was a dark,
stormy night when McNutt and Winner enticed into this paint shop an
unsuspecting mutual friend. Here they murdered him in cold blood. They
then set fire to the paint shop and took to flight. After the fire
was put out, the charred remains of the murdered man were found, and
supposed to be those of McNutt, the owner of the building. The wife,
cognizant of the awful deed which her husband had committed, followed
the remains of the murdered man to the grave, dressed in her garb of
mourning.

Shortly after this she applied for the insurance money on her husband's
life. Some doubts were raised as to the identity of the body. Detectives
were employed to make an investigation of the case. They made use of a
deception, and thus got the woman to confess. They told her that they
had found an accomplice who had confessed the crime, and was in jail.
They promised the wife that if she would tell the truth they would not
prosecute her. She consented. She narrated the sickening events as they
had been plotted in her presence and under her roof. Officers were now
despatched to find the murderers. McNutt was found in Missouri plowing
corn. Winner was found near Wichita. They were brought to trial,
convicted, and sent to prison for life. Winner was unmarried at the time
of his conviction. His father and only brother are very wealthy, and
living in Kansas City. I have been told they offer $20,000 for Winner's
pardon. McNutt is a very useful man in the prison. He has charge of
the painting department. He has done some fine work on the walls of the
prison chapel, covering them with paintings of the Grecian goddesses.
Both of these prisoners hope to receive pardons. Whether they will
regain their liberty is a question which the future alone can answer.

THE HOG-THIEF

In the coal mines, as before stated, the convicts are permitted to
converse with each other. I improved this opportunity of acquiring the
histories of the five hundred criminals with whom I daily worked, eight
hundred feet below the surface. I would talk with a fellow prisoner,
and get the details of his crime as we sat together in the darkness.
Understanding "short-hand," I would go to my cell in the evening and
jot down what I had learned during the day. I had no fears of any
one reading my notes,