Half an hour later Mrs. Bauer's body was found in a lonely lane. She had been shot twice, in the chest and neck, and subsequent examination established that the bullets had been fired from a .25 calibre Colt revolver.
半小时后,鲍尔夫人的尸体在一条偏僻的车道上被发现了。她中了两枪,一枪打在胸部,另一枪打在颈部。随后的检验证明,子弹是从一只0.25口径的柯尔特左轮手枪中打出来的。
The crime aroused the utmost indignation and local organizations offered a reward of $8,000 for the identification and conviction of her murderer, the dark man wearing tortoiseshell spectacles who drove a Ford car and owned a 25 Colt revolver, a combination of conditions which could be fulfilled by one man only, the murderer himself.
这种罪行引起了极大的愤慨。当地机构提供了8000美元的酬金,来指认和判决杀死鲍尔夫人的凶手:一名黑皮肤、戴着一副玳瑁眼镜、开着福特汽车、拥有一只0.25口径的柯尔特左轮手枪的男子。可以满足所有组合条件的只能是一个人,那就是凶手本人。
It did not take Harry Hoffman long to realize that the description of the wanted man fitted him almost exactly. He was dark-skinned; he often wore tortoiseshell spectacles; he owned a Ford Sedan and he possessed, quite legitimately, a Colt revolver. He had no alibi for the afternoon of 25 March. Hoffman panicked. He sent his gun to his brother with a letter telling him to keep it in a safe place and he set out to manufacture alibis for the fatal afternoon.
哈利·霍夫曼没有花费多长时间就意识到,自己与该通缉犯的描述几乎完全吻合。他皮肤黝黑,经常戴着一副玳瑁眼镜,拥有一辆福特轿车,而且还合法拥有一只柯尔特左轮手枪。他没有3月25日下午的不在场证明。霍夫曼惊慌失措。他把他的枪邮寄给了他兄弟,并写了一封信告诉他把它存放在一个安全的地方。他还着手伪造了那个致命下午的不在场证明。
Nor did it take the police long to realize that Hoffman, the local man, fitted the description of Mrs. Bauer's killer. On 17 April they came to see him. Police Patrolman McCormack, he was told, had identified him as the driver of a Model T Ford he had seen at 4:25 pm, fifteen hundred yards from the scene of the crime, coming from the direction of South Avenue on the afternoon of 25 March.
没过多长时间,警察也意识到,本地人霍夫曼与杀害鲍尔夫人的凶手的描述相吻合。4月17日,他们找到了霍夫曼。他们告诉他,巡警麦科马克已经确认他就是自己在下午4点25分时看到的那辆福特T型轿车的司机。25日下午,麦科马克在距离犯罪现场1500码的地方,看见那辆车从南大街方向迎面开来。