Page:Under three flags; a story of mystery (IA underthreeflagss00tayliala).pdf/37

 "I visited the bank in response to a note which I found when I returned home from my—from the postoffice," Mr. Felton states.

"The note was from Mr. Hathaway?"

"It was."

"And its contents?"

"The note merely said: 'Come to the bank immediately.'"

"Have you the note with you?"

"No; I tore it up," replies Mr. Felton, and the expression which accompanies his words is noted by Ashley, who is scanning narrowly the countenance of the banker.

"The note had been left at my house a short while before I returned home, my servant tells me," proceeds Mr. Felton. "I went at once to the bank." The witness has grown so agitated that he is obliged to seat himself, and his voice is hardly audible in the stilled room.

"The front door was slightly ajar and I walked through the bank to the directors' room. The door to this apartment was locked; I unlocked it and entered. Mr. Hathaway lay face downward in the middle of the floor, I should think. I thought he might have fallen in a shock and went to lift him up, when I saw the blood. I felt for his pulse, but there was no motion." The voice of the witness breaks as he utters these words and he covers his face with his handkerchief.

"Were there any evidences of a struggle?" the coroner asks, after a moment.

"Yes. Mr. Hathaway's office chair was overturned and the directors' chairs were disarranged. One of the drawers in Mr. Hathaway's desk had been pulled so far out that it had dropped to the floor and the contents were spilled. A lot of old ledgers that had been piled in the closet were toppled over into the room. I glanced into the closet and then turned my attention to the open vault. I found the cash drawer in the safe withdrawn and empty except for a couple of canvas bags of silver and nickels. I then hastened to find Sheriff Wilson."

"What hour was it when you entered the bank?" asks Coroner Lord.