a dreadful feeling in my heart that
something horrible had happened, and I was about to hurry away to the
hotel, to see if George was there, when I casually let my hand fall upon
the knob and turned it; to my surprise, the door yielded.

"By this time, quite a crowd had gathered outside, attracted by the
unusual spectacle of the closed bank, and the knocking at the doors. I
therefore left Mr. Rollo and Mr. Breed to keep the crowd from entering
the side entrance, while my clerk and I threw open the heavy shutters of
this room where we are now sitting. We then entered the main bank
through yonder door, and while I went to open the outside blinds, which
excluded every particle of light, my clerk walked down behind the bank
counter. He suddenly stumbled over something and fell, and as he got up,
he said that the floor was wet. At this instant, I flung open one of the
shutters, and simultaneously I heard a cry of horror from my clerk.
Running to the counter, I looked over and saw a terrible sight. My poor
boy--"

Again Mr. Gordon's feelings overcame him, and it was some time before he
could go on. Finally he was able to resume his story, though he was
frequently obliged to pause to wipe away his tears.

"My nephew's body was lying midway between his desk and the vault door;
he had evidently been standing at his desk when he was struck, as was
shown by the direction in which the blood had spirted. He had been
murdered by three blows on the back of the head, the instrument used
being a heavy canceling hammer, which we found close by, clotted with
blood and hair. The first blow had been dealt just back of the left ear
while George was standing at his desk; he had then staggered backward
two or three steps before falling, and the second and third blows had
been struck as he lay on the floor. Although it was evident that the
first blow alone was sufficient to cause death, the murderer had been
anxious to complete his work beyond any possibility of failure.

"The scene was most ghastly; George's body lay in a pool of blood, while
the desks, chairs, table and wall, were spattered with large drops which
had spirted out as the blows were struck. I shall never forget that
terrible morning, and sometimes I awake with a horrible choking
sensation, and think that I have just renewed the sickening experience
of that day.

"Well, I immediately suspected that the murder had been committed to
enable the murderer to rob the bank. I knew