_ THE DETECTION
CHAPTER XXIV
Sommers returns to Bridgeport.--
An Interview with Mr. Bollman.--
Sommers allays the Suspicions of Bucholz's Attorney, and engages him as his own Counsel. The cold, bleak winds of March had yielded to the warm and invigorating showers of April, and these had brought forth the bright flowers and fragrant grasses that grew and blossomed on this beautiful May morning, when Edward Sommers left the confining walls of the prison at Bridgeport. More than two months had elapsed since he entered its frowning portals to commence the isolated life of a prisoner, and a sigh of grateful relief escaped him as he gazed around upon the brightness and beauty of the scene that was spread before him.
There was but little time given him for indulgence in these soothing and agreeable reveries. There was work for him to do, and he must summon up all his energies for the task before him. His release had been accomplished, and the promised revelation of Bucholz would be made to him in a few days, but he must visit those who had an interest in his welfare, and to whom he was responsible for his actions. He would also be enabled during the few days of rest to strengthen his shattered nerves and prepare himself for the important duties which would soon devolve upon him. He therefore took the train for New York and arrived there in due time.
To William Bucholz the absence of his friend and confidant was a severe blow, but as he realized the service he promised to perform for him, and the prospect of safety that was opening before his despairing mind, he became reconciled to his lonely fate, and waited patiently for the return of the man who was expected to devote himself to his interests.
The suspicious actions of Brown, the prisoner who had watched their movements so zealously, had not escaped the notice of both Sommers and Bucholz, and, on leaving, the former had cautioned his companion particularly and repeatedly against saying anything to him or to any one else about matters connected with his case.
At the end of three days Edward Sommers returned to Bridgeport, and, selecting a private boarding-house, he took up his abode there and prepared to carry out the plans that were to be arranged between himself and William Bucholz.
He considered it of paramount importance at the outset to disabuse the minds of the attorneys for Bucholz of any suspicion in regard to the relations existing between them, and with that end in view he paid a visit to the city of New Haven, and finding Mr. Bollman, the counsel who had acted for both of them, at his office, he engaged him for the conduct of his own case when it should come to trial.
In the course of the conversation which ensued, Mr. Bollman turned suddenly to Sommers, and said:
"Do you know, Mr. Sommers, that I have earnestly and repeatedly warned my client against you? I had reason to believe that the prosecuting attorney had placed some one in the jail to cultivate the friendship of William Bucholz, in the attempt to obtain a confession from him, and I thought you were the man. William would not listen to this, however, and I myself believe now that such is not the case as regards yourself, but I told him that he must not trust any one with whom he was associated, nor make a confidant of any one in the prison. A man in his position, you know cannot be too careful."
Sommers listened attentively and good-humoredly to these remarks, and finally informed Mr. Bollman that he knew Bucholz had been warned against him, for he had told him so.
"But, Mr. Bollman," continued he, "you need not be afraid of me, for I have given him the same advice myself."
"Do you know of any suspicious persons in the jail?" asked Mr. Bollman.
"I cannot tell with any certainty," replied the other; "but I do not like the looks of one of the hall men, nor of that treacherous-looking Brown, who is always spying upon the actions of the inmates of the prison. I have warned Bucholz against these men myself, and I do not think he has given them any information whatever."
After a protracted conversation, during which Sommers labored diligently and successfully to erase any latent suspicions from the mind of the attorney, Mr. Bollman at length said:
"Well, Mr. Sommers, to be candid with you, my suspicions were the most decidedly aroused when I had my interview with Mr. Olmstead, the State's attorney, about your bail. He evinced an unwillingness to reduce the amount, and expressed a belief that you had known Bucholz before you came to the jail. His manner of speaking led me to think that he knew more about you than was good for my client, and I felt sure that he had been the means of placing you in the jail to watch him."
"I quite agree with you, Mr. Bollman; it did look suspicious," said Sommers; "but Mr. Olmstead asked me the same questions when I spoke to him. I suppose he thought from our intimacy that I must have been acquainted with him before he was arrested."
With this explanation, and the ingenuous manner in which it was given, the mind of Mr. Bollman seemed to be at rest upon this subject, and their further conversation related to the case in which Sommers himself would appear as defendant, and in which Mr. Bollman was to act as his counsel.
Sommers informed him that he had seen the gentleman whose name had been forged, and that, in consideration of the family connections of the accused, he had agreed not to appear against him, and that there would be very little danger of his conviction of the crime of which he was charged.
This appeared to be very gratifying information for Mr. Bollman, who therefore anticipated very little trouble in clearing his client and earning his fee.
It was further arranged between them that a letter should be sent to the relations of Bucholz in Germany, who had not as yet displayed any sympathy for the unfortunate man or made any offer of assistance to him, during the hour of his trial.
One noticeable feature of their conversation was the evident avoidance by both of them of a discussion of the probable guilt or innocence of the accused man, nor did either declare his belief in his innocence.
Mr. Bollman expressed himself very carefully: "I have followed up the theory of his guilt, and it does not agree with his own statements or those of other people. Then, again, I have taken up the theory of his innocence, and this does not agree with his story either. It is a most extraordinary case, and sometimes it seems to me that it cannot be otherwise but that William Bucholz is the guilty party; and then, again, there are some of his actions that tend positively to show that he did not do it. I am at a loss what to say about it myself."
Sommers gave Mr. Bollman to understand that he believed in the guilt of the accused man, but that, in despite of that fact, he was willing to help him to the extent of his power.
And so they parted, and Edward Sommers returned to Bridgeport to be near his fellow-prisoner, and to carry out the plan which was to be entrusted to him.
As he stepped from the train upon the platform, he was surprised to see the figure of Thomas Brown standing in the doorway of the station, evidently waiting for the train to bear him away for the time. Upon making inquiries he ascertained that he had been released on bail, and that he had found friends to assist him. He never saw him again. Whether this individual was an embryo detective, who was desirous of discovering the mystery of the Schulte murder, or whether he was simply a victim of intense curiosity, was never learned.
He disappeared, and, so far as his relation to this narrative is concerned, was never heard of again. _