THE MYSTERY
-OF-
A HANSOM CAB.
]'Y FKKiil S U. II! MK.
CHAI'TKR I.
WHAT Till. t4 AR«rs" -Mil.
1 Hl' following import njv
""•«# peared in the Argus news
4 paper of Saturday, the
•JSth of July. Is :
"Tiuth is said t/ 1 >#• stranger than
fiction, and certainly tif extraordi
nary murd»*r which t« ».k place iti
Melbourne on '1 hur-«!;i\ night, or
rather Friday morning goe- a long
way toward edifying this saying.
A crime ha- been committed by an
unknown within a short
distance of ti '- ]» i ir• ei {• V' -treets of
thi- great «ty, and i- s»n rounde«l l>y
an impenett able mystery. Indeed,
from tin* n;»-'urc of the crime its-!f.
the place w here it w;i committed.
and tlx* fact tint the as-assin has es
caped Aitliout leaving a trace behind
him, n would -et m a- though the
can: it-»«•!f had been taken bodily out
of one of iilxiM au > novels. and that
his famous d»■ t»• tive Lecorvj only
would be able to unravel tt. The
facts of tin* case an* simply these:
' )ii the "JTth da} of July, at the
hour of twenty minute.*- to '2 o'clock
in the morning, a hansom cub drove
up to the police station, in Grey
street, St. Kilda, and the driver made
the startling statement that his cab
contained tlie bodv ot a iruifQ whom
lie had reason to believe had been
murdered.
"lieing taken into the presence of
the inspector, the cabman, wlio gave
his name as Malcolm Roycfion, re
lated tbe following strange story:
"At the hour of 1 o'clock in the
morning, he was driving dov n Col
lins streef JFuvtf. mm w ills monu- I 1
luent he was hailed by a gentleman
standing at tin* corner by the Scotch
church. He immediately drove up i
and saw that the gentleman: who
hailed him was supporting the tie- !
ceased, who appealed to be very in- I
toxicated. Both were in e-reninT
O
dress, but the deceased had no over
coat on. while the other wore a short
covert coat of a light lawn color,
which was open. As Koyston drove
up, the gentleman in the light coat
said. Look here, cabbv. here s &ome
feliou awfully tight, you'd better
1 ake him home!
"hovston then asked him if the
drunken man was his fiiend, but ti:is !
the other dt-nied, raying that lie li*»d
just picked him up from the foot
pith, and ih 1 not know him froi£j
Adam. At this luoment thedeceased
turned ht> face up to the light of the
• amp unuer which both were stand
ing, aud the other seemed to reco ,r -
O
ni/.e him, for he recoiled a pace, let
t«M^ r ttie diunken man fall m a heap
oi the pavement, and gapping out
'You: In- turned on h.- lit.-*!, anil
u i.lv I rapidly away ,1 >wn Ru->♦ *il
in the iut ction i f liouike
stl e« t.
"Koyston wh- -T vi ir aft- r hia
a?; 1 won del ;ng at hi- ,-tra: _;e con
duct. when e w - recall* 1 t.i i :u _
self by the tv.ck \ of tin- d
ceased. who hti -,tru_r--l 1 to l-'s
r • j > i •
■ !, at: iwa . i.ok -on t the Ir j>
po-t, swaying t- and fi » I wr *
i \
g >;ne, lie » i;,l m a t! irk v. •«>, . •>;.
Kilda. He then tried t-> et i, to •
t'.ie cab. b it was too Iru- k to d > -o.
and tn.ahv sat down atriin on the
1 ;r> emellt >. *• g this, K >Tvi . t
i to t :»•' cab w;?! - .. , . ; , :
'
*♦i ' K
It> thf Cab. ;t j>. . ;
• 1 * \
>• t * ! ! . .! '
!t \ sti»u turn- it;. ;, > ■,
tt, W i.t !. .-; • ;
i
St ell holding up the deceased, close
to his elbow. Koyston said. 'Oh,
vou ve come back, and an
swered, *\ es, I ve changed my mind,
and will .»ee him home As he said
this he opened the door of the cab.
-tepped in beside the deceased, and
told Houston to diive down to St.
Kildi. Royston. who was giad that
the friend of the deceased had come
to look after him. drove as be had
be'-ti directed, but near the ( hucih
of England Grammar school, on the
St. K: 1.1« road, the gentleman in the
light coat called out to him to stop.
He did so. and the gentleman got
out jf the cab. closing tie door after
' him.
~ He won't let me take him home.'
he -aid. \-o I'll just walk tack to the
cit v, and \ oil can drive him to St.
K i!t!a.
••'What street, sir' asked Koy
ston.
•• -Grey street, I fancy." said the
other, 'but my friend will direct you
when you get to the Junction."
•• • Aill the too much on. sir' said
Rov-ton, dubious'y.
"•Oil. no: I think he'll be able to
tell vou where he lives. Its Grey
street or Ackland street. I fancy. I
dmi't know which.'
"He then opened the door of the
cab and looked in. 'Good night, old
man. lie said. _ The other apparently
did not answer, for the gentleman in
the light coat, shrugging his shoul
-1 ders and muttering "sulky brute,
closed the door again. He then
gave Koyston half a sovereign, lit a
cigarette, aud after making a few re
marks about the beauty of the night
walked off quickly in the- direction of
Melbourne. Koyston drove down to
the Junction, and having stopped
there, according to his instructions,
he asked his fare several times where
he was to drive him to. Receiving
no answer, and thinking that the
deceased was toodr&nk to answer, he
got down from his seat, and opened
the door of the cab. r-nd found the
1
deceased lying back in the cornel
j wlth a hftii kifd wrib the inten
tion of rousing him, thinking that
he had gone to sleep, v. hen on touch
ing him the deceased fell forward,
! and oil examination, to his horror,
j he found that he was quite dead.
I Alarmed at what had taken place.
; and suspecting the gentleman in the
light coat, he drove to the police
sta ion at St. Ki da. and there made
the above report. The body of the
deceased was taken out of the cab
and brought into the station, a doc
tor being sent for at once. On his
arrival, however, he found that life
was quite extinct, and also discov
ered that the handkerchief which
was tied lightly over the mouth was
saturated with chloroform He had
uo hesitation in stating that , from
the way in which the hand.kercheif
was placed, and the presence of
chloroform, a murder had been com
mitted, and from all appearances the
deceased died easily and without a
The deceased is a sJender
tian, ot med'iim height, with a dark
complexion, aud is dressed in even
ing dress, which will rentier identifi
cation difficult, as it is a costume '
wLic:; not any distinctive mark to
tendti it noticeable. There were no 1
pa J vers nor car. Is found on the de- 1
c» a*-d f;om which his name could be «
discovered, ai.d the clothing was not
marU-d in anv way. The handker-
how* ver. which was tied across I
: :s mouth, was of'white silk, and k
'.ii ked in one of the corners with 1
T :e li tters •(). \\ .' in rtH j sl Jt.
a - -ass; n. of course, may have used s
'■is "ii iuii. Ikerchief t«"> commit the
ci ime, >o ti.at if the initials are those
1 s " ,vn 1 -ime thiy may ultimatelv a
to liis dt tection.. There w i.I
1 - ai. i: qui>t hehl on the b nlv of f
' ' : : - . whei :
• t, some videncemay be elicited 1
L:i } sul v e the my rv."
'• 1«y n. rnli - i—,j, .* y; ,
V. ;s 11 , - m ;, r .\
•I- al i. V. t ;; ; , t
-'-i ii Ui« :.ci t t"l,e matt* i \
has been obtained which may throw
some light on tlie mysterious murder
in a hansom cab. of which we gave a
full description in .Saturday s issue :
'Another hansom cabman called at
the police office and gave a clew
will, no doubt, prove of value
to the detectives in their search after
the murderer. He states that he
was driving up the St. Kilda road un
Friday morning about half-past 1
o'clock, when he was hailed by a
gentleman in a light coat, who step
ped into the cab and told him to
drive to Powlett street, in East Mel
bourne. He did so, and, after pay
ing him. the gentleman got out at
corner of Wellington parade and
Powlett street and walked slowly up
Powlett street, while the cab drove
back to town. Here all clew ends,
but there can be no doubt in the
minds of our readers as to the iden
tity of the man m the light coat who
•rot out of Rovston- cab on the St.
Kilda road, with the one who en
tered the other cab aud alighted
therefrom at Powlett street. There
could have been no struggle, as the
cabman Houston would surely have
heard the noise had an\ taken place.
The supposition is. therefore, that
the deceased was too drunk to make
any resistance, and the other, watch
ing his opportunity, placed the hand
kerchief saturated with chloroform
over tne inouth of his victim, and af
ter a few ineffectual struggles the
letter would relapse into a state of
stupor from such inhalation. The
man 111 the light coat. juJging from
his conduct before getting into the
cab. appears to liave known the de
ceased, though from the circum
stances of his walking away 011 rec
ognition, and returning again, shows
that his attitude toward the deceased
was not altogether a friendly one.
"Here is a chance for some of our
detectives to render themselves fa
-1 mous. and we feel sure that they
will do their utmost to trace the au
thor of this cowardly and daring
murder."
CHAPTER 11.
THE EVIDENCE \T THE INQUtST.
At the inquest held 011 the body
: found in the hansom cab the follow
: •
ing articles taken from the deceased
; 0
were placed on the table :
1. Two pounds ten shillings in
gold and silver.
2. The white silk handkerchief
which was saturated with chloroform
1
aud was found tied across the mouth
of the deceased, marked with the let
ters O. \V. in red silk.
•I. A cigarette case of Russian
leather, half tilled with cigarettes.
i. A left hand white glove of kid
—rather soiled—with black seam«
down the back.
Samuel (Jorby. of the detective
office, was- present in order to see if
anything might be said by the wit
nesses likely to point to the cause or
to the author of the crime.
The first witness called was Mal
colm Royston. in whose cab the
crime had been committed. He told
the same story as had already ap
peared in The Argus, and the fol
lowing facts were elicited by the cor
oner :
v V Can }ou give a description of
the gentleman in the light coat who
was holding the deceased when you
drove up? (
A T did not observe him very
closely. £- my attention was taken up (
by the deceased ; and. besides, the
gentleman in the light coat was in
the shadow.
(J Describe him from what you
saw of him.
A H'e was fuir. I think, localise I
i-ouM his moustache, rather tall. ,
ind in evening dre.-f. with a light
?oat over it. 1 could not see his
r ace very plain]v. a- he wore a soft
• .t hit. which was pu.led dowr. over
.is e\ >. •
V. hat kind of a hat wa- it he
■ i*■ 1 :]♦ awak» ' *
V \♦ -. Tie I . i:ii .1 . - : »; .
.■.v .a: 11.- ,", j■> ' v » i
■ ■ "i ! e
Q. What did he say when you
asked him if he knew the deceased*
A. He said he didn't: that he had
just picked him up.
• Q And afterwards he Mewed to
recognize him'
A. Yes. When the deceased
looked up he said "\ou! and let
him fall on to the ground; then he
walked awav toward Bourke street.
*
Did he look back'
A. Not that I saw.
Q. How long were you looking af
ter him?
A. About a minute.
Q. And when did you see him
again?
O
A. After I had put deceased into
the cab I turned around and found
him at my elbow.
(>. And what did he say ?
A. I said, "Oh! you've come
back." ai d lie said. 4, Yes, Ive
changed mv mind, and will s e him
home." and then he got into the cab
told me to drive to St. Kilda.
Q. He spoke then as if he knew
the deceased?
A. Yes: I thought that he only
recognized him when he looked up,
O 1
and perhaps, having had a row with
him. walked away, but thought lied
come back.
( v ). Did you see him coming back ?
A. No; the first I saw of him was
at my elbow when I turned.
Q. And when did he tret out '
A. -Tu-t as 1 was turning down by
the grammar school. 011 the St. Kilda
road.
Q. Did you hear any sounds of
lighting or struggling in thecal) dur
ing the drive ?
A. No; the read was rather rough,
and the noise of the wheels going;
over the stones would have prevent
ed me hearing anything.
(,). When the gentleman in the
light coat got out did he appear dis
turbed ?
A. No; he was perfectly calm,
Q. How could you tell that?
A. Because the moon had risen
' MUM A COU It! jumilty.
Q. Did yon see his face then*
A. No; his hat was pulled down
over it. I only saw as much as I did ;
when he entered the cab in Collins
street.
Q. Were his clothes torn or disar
ranged in any w ay?
A. No ; the only difference I saw
in him was that his coat was but
toned.
(,). And was it open when he got
in ?
A. No; but it was when he was
holding up the deceased.
Then he buttoned it before he
came back and got into the cab 9
A. Yes, I suppose so.
Q. What did he say when he got
out of the cab on the St. Kilda road?
A. He said that the deceased would
not let him take him home, and that
he would walk back to Melbourne.
And you asked him where to
drive the deceased to *
A. Yes; he said that the deceased
lived either in Grey street or Ack- 1
land street, St. Kilda. but that the t
deceased would direct me at the 1
.Junction. j
Q Did 3 011 not think that the de-
ceased wa- too diunk to direct vou ' H
A. Yes, I did : but his fuend said (
that tl.e sleep and the shaking of the
cab would sober him a bit t>v the
time I got to the Junction.
,>. The gentleman in the light
coat apparently did not know whei«-
the deceased lived *
A No: he -aid it was »-ith»r in 'I
Ackland street or (ire\ -treet
(> Did \ou not think that >uii- t
ous '
A No; I thought he might 1 » a| ,1
ciub friend of the deceased. , .
How long did the man in the v .
iight coat fa.k to vou *
A About tive minut* ». v
And dui ing that \ f .j '
I.* trd no n..i>e in the cab *
A No; I il.MUjht tl.e . } r
. i ■! „ r one to s .( ei
Ai I r t:.- mmin t. . :
•• it -t. 1 •_' • Ir. jht * the ]. ■ . \
A. a* : . a| t ♦ !;» 1 '
A. He lit a cigarette, gave me a
half sovereign, an.l walktd otY tow
ards Melbourne.
Q. Did you observe if the gentle
man in the light coat had his hand
kerchief with him ?
A. Ob. ves: because he dusted
his boots with it The road wa>
was very dusty.
Q. Did you notice any striking
peculiarity about him
A. Well, no. except that he wore
a diamond ring.
Q. What was there peculiar about
that "
A. He wore it on the forefinger of
the right hand, and I never saw it
that way before.
Q When did you notice this '
A. When he was lighting his ci
garette.
Q. How often did you call to the
deceased when you got to the Junc
tion *
A. Thrte or four times. I then
got down, and found he wa* quite
dead.
(,>. How was he ly i»-g ' i
A. He was doubled up in the far
corner of the cab, vt-ry much in the
same position as I le-ft him wljieii i
nut him in. His head was hanging
on one side, and there was a hand
kerdhief across his mouth. When I
touched hi m he fell into the farther
corner of the cab, and then I found
out he was dead. I immediately
drove to the St. Kilda police station
and told the police.
TO 11E CONTINUED.;
A Hound I. Opinion.
E. Baiubridge Munday Esq.,
County Attv , Clay Co., Texas says :
"Have used El ctric Bitters with
most happy results. M\ brother also
was very low with Malarial Fever
and jaundice, but was cured by time
Iv use of this medicine Am satisfied
Electric Bitters saved his life.'
Mr. D. I. Wilcoxson. of Horse
Cave., Ivy. adds like a testimony, say
ing: He positively believes lie would
' nave nird. nan lr not l>e n for El en
trie Bitters.
This great remedy will ward'off as
! well as cure all Malaria Diseases, and
for all Kidney, Liver and Stomach.
Disorders stands unequaled. Price
50c. and Si. at Rovster's Drugstore.
°
There were only two happy men
in Asheville 011 the announcement
that H arrison was nominated ; Hop
Wo, and \\ op He. the Chinese laun
dryiuen. Mr. Harrison is in favor ;f
allowing Chinese laborer-, to coin*
in and compete with our laborers. Mr.
Cleveland says these cheap laborers
who will live on a handful of rice a*hi
a few rats should not compete with
our white or blaek people. Who
will our laboiing people sujipoit*
Citizen.
Tit on Klit it Would Kill 111 an.
CVutekvii.i.f, MisS. Feb 20. lsss.
Gentlemen : I suffered with exze
rna for nearly two years, and was
treated by three physicians, but they
could do me 110 gon«i. J «j»okeof try
ing S. S S. and they told me it would
kill me. but I tried it any wav, and
after taking six or eight bottle-. I was
completely cured, and have in ver
been bothered sinoe with it. and I
I fee; it a dutv to von and suflVnn"
** ►
humanity to make this -Vat ♦•merit.
H S I>« vr ■«
M».\ ri ucr H .1 W.'N 1' . nt T. \.
A] ril .» 1 ss•>
I o the Swift Spec C . At' ;!J { H t
Gent: ••men : Our b.'-v wl. u b,t
wo weeks old wa- attack, i with a
icroful- is affection that f>l a t;m«*
lest 1 yed her eyesight and
ati>ed u- to lespair of l.»-r life She
as treated by the be*t physicians
v -h !.«n. lit We ;1l ..1 y „ iV e
>.\.fi (■ ti l- . wLirh re.:eved
'•"i ' "*■* * • -1- > w j- },t.e
n 1 !. ar ly a c i.;M o: u . c .1. b«
:• 1 . \v, In :♦• «; y j , k: ..
T:- nb: i .!.i j, .. .
- r.'.a/.d free.
• '
n:». Gh.