_Bucholz in Prison._--_Extravagant Habits and Suspicious
Expenditures._--_The German Consul Interests Himself._--_Bucholz
committed._
Sorrowful looks followed the young man as he was conducted away, and
frequent words of sympathy and hope were expressed as he passed
through the throng on his way to the depot, but he heeded them not. A
dull, heavy pain was gnawing at his heart, and a stupor seemed to
have settled over his senses. The figures around him appeared like
the moving specters in a horrible dream, while a black cloud of
despair seemed to envelop him.
He followed the officers meekly, and obeyed their orders in a
mechanical manner, that showed too plainly that his mind was
wandering from the scenes about him. He looked helplessly around, and
did not appear to realize the situation in which he was so suddenly
and unexpectedly placed.
He experienced the pangs of hunger, and felt as though food was
necessary to stop the dreadful pain which had taken possession of
him, but he made no sign, and from the jury-room to the prison he
uttered not a word.
It was only when he found himself in the presence of the officials of
the prison, whose gloomy walls now surrounded him, that he recovered
his equanimity, and when he was ordered to surrender the contents of
his clothing, or submit to a search, his eyes flashed with
indignation, and the tears that welled up into them dropped upon his
pallid cheek.
With a Herculean effort, however, he recovered his strong calmness,
and drawing up his erect figure he submitted in silence to the
necessary preparations for his being conducted to a cell.
But as the door of the cell clanged to, shutting him in, and the
noise reverberated through the dimly-lighted corridors, he clutched
wildly at the bars, and with a paroxysm of frenzy seemed as though he
would rend them from their fastenings; then, realizing how fruitless
were his efforts, he sank upon the narrow bed in a state of
stupefying despair.
The pangs of hunger were forgotten now, he could not have partaken of
the choicest viands that could have been placed before him, and alone
and friendless he fed upon the bitterness of his own thoughts.
In vain did he attempt to close his eyes to the dreadful
surroundings, and to clear his confused mind of the horrible visions
that appalled him. The dark cloud gathered about him, and he could
discover no avenue of escape.
The night was long and terrible, and the throbbing of his brain
seemed to measure the minutes as they slowly dragged on, relieved
only at intervals by the steady tramp of the keepers, as they went
their customary rounds. The lamp from the corridor glowed with an
unearthly light upon his haggard face and burning eyes, while his
mind restlessly flitted from thought to thought, in the vain attempt
of seeking some faint relief from the shadows that surrounded him.
All through the weary watches of the night he walked his narrow cell,
miserable and sleepless. Hour after hour went by, but there came no
drooping of the heavy lids, betokening the long-looked-for approach
of sleep. At length, when the darkness of the night began to flee
away and the gray dawn was breaking without, but ere any ray had
penetrated the gloom of his comfortless apartment, he threw himself
upon the bed, weary, worn and heart-sick--there stole over his senses
forgetfulness of his surroundings, and he slept.
The body, worn and insensible, lay upon the narrow couch, but the
mind, that wonderful and mysterious agency, was still busy--he
dreamed and muttered in his dreaming thoughts.
Oh, for the power to look within, and to know through what scenes he
is passing now!
Leaving the young man in the distressing position of a suspected
criminal, and deprived of his liberty, let us retrace our steps, and
gather up some links in the chain of the testimony against him, which
were procured during the days that intervened between the night of
the murder and the day of his commitment.
It will be remembered that he had been placed in charge of two
officers of South Norwalk, who, without restraining him of his
liberty, accompanied him wherever he went, and watched his every
movement.
Bucholz soon developed a talent for spending money, which had never
been noticed in him before. He became exceedingly extravagant in his
habits, purchased clothing for which he had apparently no use, and
seemed to have an abundance of funds with which to gratify his
tastes. At each place he went and offered a large note in payment of
the purchases which he had made, the note was secured by the
officers, and was invariably found to contain the peculiar marks
which designated that it had once belonged to the murdered man. He
displayed a disposition for dissipation, and would drink to excess,
smoking inordinately, and indulging in carriage-rides, always in
company with the officers, whose watchful eyes never left him and
whose vigilance was unrelaxed.
The State's attorney was indefatigable in his efforts to force upon
Bucholz the responsibility of the murder, and no means were left
untried to accomplish that purpose. As yet the only evidence was his
possession of a moderate amount of money, which bore the marks made
upon it by the man who had been slain, and which might or might not
have come to him in a legitimate manner and for legitimate services.
The important fact still remained that more than fifty thousand
dollars had been taken from the body of the old man, and that the
murderer, whoever he might be, had possessed himself of that amount.
It was considered, therefore, a matter of paramount importance that
this money should be recovered, as well as that the identity of the
murderer should be established.
The case was a mysterious one, and thus far had defied the efforts of
the ablest men who had given their knowledge and their energies to
this perplexing matter.
Mr. Olmstead, who remained firm in belief in Bucholz's guilt, and who
refused to listen to any theory adverse to this state of affairs,
determined in his heart that something should be done that would
prove beyond peradventure the correctness of his opinions.
About this time two discoveries were made, which, while affording no
additional light upon the mysterious affair, proved conclusively that
whoever the guilty parties were they were still industrious in their
attempts to avert suspicion and destroy any evidence that might be
used against them.
One of these discoveries was the finding of a piece of linen cloth,
folded up and partly stained with blood, as though it had been used
in wiping some instrument which had been covered with the crimson
fluid. This was found a short distance from the scene of the murder,
but partially hid by a stone wall, where Bucholz and Samuel Waring
were alleged to have stood upon the night of its occurrence.
The other event was the mysterious cutting down of the cedar tree,
whose branches had been intertwined with others, and which had
evidently been used as an ambuscade by the assassins who had lain in
wait for their unsuspecting victim.
Meantime, the German Consul-General had been clothed with full
authority to act in the matter, and had become an interested party in
the recovery of the large sum of money which had so mysteriously
disappeared. With him, however, the position of affairs presented two
difficulties which were to be successfully overcome, and two
interests which it was his duty to maintain. As the representative of
a foreign government, high in authority and with plenary powers of an
official nature, he was required to use his utmost efforts to recover
the property of a citizen of the country he represented, and at the
same time guard, as far as possible, the rights of the accused man,
who was also a constituent of his, whose liberty had been restrained
and whose life was now in jeopardy.
The course of justice could not be retarded, however, and an
investigation duly followed by the grand jury of the County of
Fairfield, at which the evidence thus far obtained was presented and
William Bucholz was eventually indicted for the murder of John Henry
Schulte, and committed to await his trial.