WOOD EXAMINED. SAYS JACKSON BETRAYED THE GIRL. HE IS RELEASED WITHOUT BOND.
It was just 11:30 o'clock when Wood was subjected to an examination in the Mayor's private office. The father and uncle of the young man were present. The examination was as follows:
"William Wood."
"How old are you?"
"Twenty years old."
"Where do you live?"
"Greencastle Ind."
"You knew Pearl Bryan?"
"Yes sir."
"Very well?"
"Yes. She was a second cousin of mine."
"Does your family visit the Bryans?"
"Yes sir."
"Where you intimate with the girl?"
"No, sir."
"Did you know that she had been betrayed?"
"Yes sir."
"How did you find that out?"
"Jackson told me."
"What did he say?"
"He told me that he betrayed her in September."
"Did he tell any one else that?"
"Yes sir, he did. A young man in Greencastle."
"He will substantiate your statement then?"
"Yes sir."
"Did you receive any letters from Jackson about the condition of Miss Bryan?"
"Yes sir."
"When?"
"About the 10th of January, I think."
"What did he say?"
"He said that he was going to have an operation performed on her if he could get hold of enough money."
"Did the girl know of that at that time?"
"Yes sir."
"How did she find that out?"
"I told her myself."
"Why did you do that?"
"Because I wanted to shield her."
"Was the letter you received from Jackson the only way that you knew that the girl had been betrayed?"
"No, she told me herself when I was out at the house several weeks ago."
"What did you say to that?"
"I told her to wait until I heard from Jackson."
"You took a great deal of interest in the case, did you not?"
"Yes, I would have done the same if she had been my own sister."
"What arrangement did Jackson say he had made when he wrote to you?"
"He said he had procured a room in Cincinnati, and that she would be taken care of by an old woman."
"What else did he say?"
"He said that the operation would be performed by a doctor and chemist who was an old hand at that kind of business."
"Did he mention the name of the doctor?"
"No, he said the party was a friend of Walling."
"Did the plan suit you?"
"Yes, I thought it was just the thing."
"What did you tell her?"
"I told her that I thought it would be best for her to go."
"At that time you thought you would accompany her?"
"Yes, sir."
"Why did you change your mind?"
"Because my father requested my staying at home."
"But you met the girl at the depot when she came to Cincinnati?"
"Yes, sir."
"What day was that?"
"Monday, January 27."
"Did you have a long talk with the girl?"
"Well, I talked with her."
"About the operation?"
"Yes, sir."
"Did she seem pleased?"
"I never saw her so happy in my life."
"Did you have any other business at the train?"
"Yes, sir, I came to meet my father."
"Where had your father been?"
"To a quarterly meeting at Terra Haute."
"Then Miss Bryan left on the same train that your father came home on?"
"Yes, sir."
"Were you over in Cincinnati before?"
"No, sir."
"When did you see Jackson last?"
"When he was at home. It was on a Sunday. I think about the 5th or 6th of January."
"Where you with him very long?"
"Yes, nearly all day."
"Where did Jackson go when he left Greencastle?"
"He came to Cincinnati on an evening train."
"Do you know Walling?"
"No, sir."
"Never saw him?"
"Never in my life."
"Ever see a picture of him?"
"Yes, I saw a tin-type of him when Jackson was at home."
"Would you recognize that picture if you were to see it?"
"I think I would."
At this juncture of the examination Chief Deitsch went to get a picture of Walling but failed to find it.
Wood was taken down to Central Station and registered.
He gave his name as William Wood, aged 20, residence South Bend, Ind. After registering he went to the Grand Hotel with his father.
Excitement was running high by this time. The crowds in and around the City Hall, where the prisoners were, steadily increased, and the gravest fears were entertained by the officers. Cordon's of police lined the passage-ways from the Mayor's and Superintendent's offices to the cell-rooms below where the prisoners were confined, and every movement was guarded with the most jealous care.