As he opened the door and stepped into the room where
he had killed the woman, two police officers sprang out and seized
him. The man screamed like a wild beast taken in a trap and sank
down.
"Oh! oh!" he cried, "it was no use! it was no use to do it!" Then
he recovered himself in a manner and was silent. The officers
handcuffed him, summoned the patrol, and took him at once to the
station house. There he said he was a Mexican sailor and that his
name was Victor Ancona; but he would say nothing further. The
following morning he sent for Randolph Mason and the two were long
together.
IV
The obscure defendant charged with murder has little reason to
complain of the law's delays. The morning following the arrest of
Victor Ancona, the newspapers published long sensational articles,
denounced him as a fiend, and convicted him. The grand jury, as it
happened, was in session. The preliminaries were soon arranged and
the case was railroaded into trial. The indictment contained a
great many counts, and charged the prisoner with the murder of Nina
San Croix by striking, stabbing, choking, poisoning, and so forth.
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