here they had been found on the night of the murder, and Bucholz,
with a smile, answered him:

"Oh, my dear fellow, you make a mistake; the murderers threw them
there."

Sommers looked incredulously at him for a moment, and then replied:

"I did not ask you whether you killed the old man or not; but you
must not think me such a fool as not to know it."

Bucholz laughed, a hard, bitter laugh, and the glitter of the
serpent's came into the wicked blue eyes, but he made no denial.

"I never thought when I first became acquainted with you," continued
Sommers, "that you knew anything about this murder, but rather
thought you an innocent, harmless-looking fellow. Indeed I never
imagined that you had nerve enough to do anything like that."

Again that diabolical laugh, and Bucholz, holding out his right arm
without a tremor of the muscles, replied, ironically:

"Oh, no; I have got no nerve at all."

The next day they referred again to the finding of the articles
hidden in the ground, and Sommers informed his companion that Mr.
Olmstead had secured the axe that was in the barn, and regretted very
much that he had not taken it when he was there.

Bucholz looked troubled at this information, but, rousing himself, he
inquired:

"What kind of an axe did you get?"

"Why, I got one as nearly like that in the barn as I could--about as
thick as the iron bars on the door of the cell there."

"Yes, that is right," said Bucholz, eagerly, while a glow of
satisfaction dashed across his face.

"I don't know about that," replied Sommers. "How large were the
wounds upon the head of Mr. Schulte?"

"One was about three inches long."

"Was that the wound that was made by the sharp edge of the axe?"

"Yes! yes!" replied Bucholz, eagerly.

"Well, how large was the other wound?"

"Well," said Bucholz, musingly, and making a circle of his thumb and
forefinger, he held it up before the detective; "I should think it
was a hole about this large."

No tremor of the voice, no shaking of the hand, as he held it up,
but, with a cold, unfeeling look, he made this explanation.

"I am afraid that the axe I bought was too large, because the back of
it was as broad as the bar upon this door--about two inches."

"That is right enough," quickly replied Bucholz, "because if you
would take the axe and strike the blow upwards behind the ear, where
that wound was, you would strike the head with the edge of the back,
and that would crush in t