He thought himself a priest of heaven, appointed to make ghastly
sacrifices at certain signals from on high. The signals I am not
sure of; he turned taciturn after his capture and would not talk.
I am inclined to think that a shooting star, perhaps in a particular
quarter of the heavens, was his signal. This is distinctly
possible, and is made probable by the stars which he had painted
with tar on his sacrificial robe.
The story of the early morning of August 12 will never be fully
known; but much of it, in view of our knowledge, we were able to
reconstruct. Thus--Jones ate his supper that night, a mild and
well-disposed individual. During the afternoon before, he had read
prayers for the soul of Schwartz, in whose departure he may or may
not have had a part I am inclined to think not, Jones construing
his mission as being one to remove the wicked and the oppressor,
and Schwartz hardly coming under either classification.
He was at the wheel from midnight until four in the morning on the
night of the murders. At certain hours we believe that he went
forward to the forecastle-head, and performed, clad in his priestly
robe, such devotions as his disordered mind dictated. It is my
idea that he looked, at these times, for a heavenly signal, either
a meteor or some strange appearance of the heavens. It was known
that he was a poor sleeper, and spent much time at night wandering
around.
On the night of the crimes it is probable that he performed his
devotions early, and then got the signal. This is evidenced by
Singleton's finding the axe against the captain's door before
midnight. He had evidently been disturbed. We believe that he
intended to kill the captain and Mr. Turner, but made a mistake in
the rooms. He clearly intended to kill the Danish girl. Several
passages in his Bible, marked with a red cross, showed his inflamed
hatred of loose women; and he believed Karen Hansen to be of that
type.
He locked me in, slipping down from the wheel to do so, and
pocketing the key. The night was fairly quiet. He could lash the
wheel safely, and he had in his favor the fact that Oleson, the
lookout, was a slow-thinking Swede who notoriously slept on his
watch. He found the axe, not where he had left it, but back in the
case. But the case was only closed, not locked--Singleton's error.
Armed with the axe, Jones slipped back to the wheel and waited. He
had plenty of time. He had taken his robe from its hiding-place in
the boat, and had it concealed near him with the axe. He was ready,
but he was waiting for another signal. He got it at half-past two.
He admitted the signal and the time, but concealed its nature--I
think it was a shooting star. He killed Vail first, believing it
to be Turner, and making with his axe, the four signs of the cross.
Then he went to the Hansen girl's door. He did not know about the
bell, and probably rang it by accident as he leaned over to listen
if Vail still breathed.