In his
pockets were found no fewer than six valuable gold watches, three in the
various pockets of his waistcoat, one in his ticket-pocket, one in his
breast-pocket, and one small one set in a leather strap and fastened
round his left wrist. The obvious explanation that the man was a
pickpocket, and that this was his plunder, was discounted by the fact
that all six were of American make, and of a type which is rare in
England. Three of them bore the mark of the Rochester Watchmaking
Company; one was by Mason, of Elmira; one was unmarked; and the small
one, which was highly jewelled and ornamented, was from Tiffany, of New
York. The other contents of his pocket consisted of an ivory knife with
a corkscrew by Rodgers, of Sheffield; a small circular mirror, one inch
in diameter; a re-admission slip to the Lyceum theatre; a silver box
full of vesta matches, and a brown leather cigar-case containing two
cheroots—also two pounds fourteen shillings in money. It was clear,
then, that whatever motives may have led to his death, robbery was not
among them. As already mentioned, there were no markings upon the man’s
linen, which appeared to be new, and no tailor’s name upon his coat. In
appearance he was young, short, smooth-cheeked, and delicately featured. One of his front teeth was conspicuously stopped with gold. On the discovery of the tragedy an examination was instantly made of the
tickets of all passengers, and the number of the passengers themselves
was counted. It was found that only three tickets were unaccounted for,
corresponding to the three travellers who were missing. The express was
then allowed to proceed, but a new guard was sent with it, and John
Palmer was detained as a witness at Rugby. The carriage which included
the two compartments in question was uncoupled and side-tracked. Then,
on the arrival of Inspector Vane, of Scotland Yard, and of Mr.
Henderson, a detective in the service of the railway company, an
exhaustive inquiry was made into all the circumstances. That crime had been committed was certain. The bullet, which appeared to
have come from a small pistol or revolver, had been fired from some
little distance, as there was no scorching of the clothes. No weapon was
found in the compartment (which finally disposed of the theory of
suicide), nor was there any sign of the brown leather bag which the
guard had seen in the hand of the tall gentleman. A lady’s parasol was
found upon the rack, but no other trace was to be seen of the travellers
in either of the sections. Apart from the crime, the question of how or
why three passengers (one of them a lady) could get out of the train,
and one other get in during the unbroken run between Willesden and
Rugby, was one which excited the utmost curiosity among the general
public, and gave rise to much speculation in the London Press. John Palmer, the guard, was able at the inquest to give some evidence
which threw a little light upon the matter. There was a spot between
Tring and Cheddington, according to his statement, where, on account of
some repairs to the line, the train had for a few minutes slowed down to
a pace not exceeding eight or ten miles an hour. At that place it might
be possible for a man, or even for an exceptionally active woman, to
have left the train without serious injury. It was true that a gang of
platelayers was there, and that they had seen nothing, but it was their
custom to stand in the middle between the metals, and the open carriage
door was upon the far side, so that it was conceivable that someone
might have alighted unseen, as the darkness would by that time be
drawing in. A steep embankment would instantly screen anyone who sprang
out from the observation of the navvies. The guard also deposed that there was a good deal of movement upon the
platform at Willesden Junction, and that though it was certain that no
one had either joined or left the train there, it was still quite
possible that some of the passengers might have changed unseen from one
compartment to another. It was by no means uncommon for a gentleman to
finish his cigar in a smoking carriage and then to change to a clearer
atmosphere. Supposing that the man with the black beard had done so at
Willesden (and the half-smoked cigar upon the floor seemed to favour the
supposition), he would naturally go into the nearest section, which
would bring him into the company of the two other actors in this drama. Thus the first stage of the affair might be surmised without any great
breach of probability. But what the second stage had been, or how the
final one had been arrived at, neither the guard nor the experienced
detective officers could suggest. A careful examination of the line between Willesden and Rugby resulted
in one discovery which might or might not have a bearing upon the
tragedy. Near Tring, at the very place where the train slowed down,
there was found at the bottom of the embankment a small pocket
Testament, very shabby and worn. It was printed by the Bible Society of
London, and bore an inscription: “From John to Alice. Jan. 13th, 1856,”
upon the fly-leaf. Underneath was written: “James, July 4th, 1859,” and
beneath that again: “Edward. Nov. 1st, 1869,” all the entries being in
the same handwriting. This was the only clue, if it could be called a
clue, which the police obtained, and the coroner’s verdict of “Murder by
a person or persons unknown” was the unsatisfactory ending of a singular
case. Advertisement, rewards, and inquiries proved equally fruitless,
and nothing could be found which was solid enough to form the basis for
a profitable investigation. It would be a mistake, however, to suppose that no theories were
formed to account for the facts. On the contrary, the Press, both in
England and in America, teemed with suggestions and suppositions, most
of which were obviously absurd. The fact that the watches were of
American make, and some peculiarities in connection with the gold
stopping of his front tooth, appeared to indicate that the deceased was
a citizen of the United States, though his linen, clothes, and boots
were undoubtedly of British manufacture. It was surmised, by some, that
he was concealed under the seat, and that, being discovered, he was for
some reason, possibly because he had overheard their guilty secrets, put
to death by his fellow-passengers. When coupled with generalities as to
the ferocity and cunning of anarchical and other secret societies, this
theory sounded as plausible as any. The fact that he should be without a ticket would be consistent with
the idea of concealment, and it was well known that women played a
prominent part in the Nihilistic propaganda. On the other hand, it was
clear, from the guard’s statement, that the man must have been hidden
there _before_ the others arrived, and how unlikely the coincidence that
conspirators should stray exactly into the very compartment in which a
spy was already concealed!