He reverted to the newspaper again and read aloud the following article:
“‘MYSTERY UNSOLVED.
“‘The motive for the brutal assault suffered by Captain Casper Dillon last Friday evening is still an unsolved mystery. The circumstances, as stated by him and in part corroborated by a witness of the assault, afford no explanation of the outrage, which is said to have been entirely unprovoked.
“‘The one man who was run down and arrested by the witness mentioned, moreover, still forcibly denies that he was one of the assailants, and asserts that he was only trying to protect Captain Dillon, and ran away only in pursuit of the two ruffians who had assaulted him, and who succeeded in making their escape.
“‘Captain Dillon was returning to his lodgings at the time and had nearly arrived at his door. The street then appeared to be deserted. When passing the entrance to a narrow court, however, in which his assailants evidently had been lying in wait for him, Captain Dillon was set upon from behind and struck senseless with a bludgeon of some kind. The assault was so quickly committed that he had hardly a glimpse at his assailants, insufficient to identify them, or positively determine their number.
“‘Paul Makepeace, a lawyer living in the same street, turned a corner just in time to see the three men running away and the insensible form of Captain Dillon lying on the sidewalk. Makepeace at once gave chase, overtaking one of the fleeing men in Indiana Avenue, where he was given in charge of a policeman.
“‘The arrested man is Thomas Carney, and he is well known to the local police. He has twice been convicted of petty larceny, and is said to be of a depraved and desperate character.
“‘Carney insists, nevertheless, that he was walking some thirty yards behind Captain Dillon, when two men sprang out of the court and felled the captain to the ground. Carney protests that he does not know either of the two ruffians, in pursuit of whom he claims to have started, and who appeared to have no other designs upon their unsuspecting victim.
“‘This is confirmed in a measure by the fact that Captain Dillon was not robbed of anything, though he had considerable money and jewelry on his person. The thugs, on the other hand, may have feared to complete their work.
“‘In the gutter near which Captain Dillon fell was found a false beard and mustache, evidently a disguise worn by one of the thugs, and which presumably was torn off and lost in the brief combat.