The Wingham Times, 1915-03-25, Page 7March 25th 1915
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THE WINGHAM TIMES
AMMENEMEMUONSTME
Ory t5Kr-,�,•
the Case
Jennie Brice
ut
By MARY
Copyright, 1913,
ROBERTS RiNEHART
by the Bobbs-Merrill Company
S`-
EilltrilEMEENA
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SYNOPSIS
Jennie Brice and her husband, Ladley,
quarrel. She disappears from Mrs. Pit-
man's boarding house during a Pittsburgh
flood.
There was ah um of conversation from
tile other end, and then another man
came to the telephone.
"Cali you fled out where Miss Brice
has gone?
"I'll see,"
I went to Ladley's door and knocked.
kir. Ladley answered from just be-
yond.
"The theater is asking where Mrs.
Ladley is,"
"Tell them 1 don't know," he snarl-
ed, and shut the door. I took his mes-
sage to the telephone.
Whoever it was swore and hung uT
the receiver.
All the morning I was uneasy—I
.hardly knew why. Peter felt it as I
-did. There was no sound from the
Ladleys' room, and the house was
•quiet, except for the lapping water on
the stairs and the police patrol going
back and forth.
' At 11 o'clock a boy in the neighbor-
hood, paddling on a raft, fell -into the
water and was drowned. I watched
the police boat go past, carrying his
jittle cold body, and after that I was
-'.rood for nothing. I went and sat with
Peter on the stairs. The dog's conduct
bad been strange all morning. He
had sat just above the water, looking
at it and whimpering. Perhaps he
was expecting another kitten or—
It is hard to say how ideas first en-
ter one's mind. But the notion that
Mr. Ladley had killed his wife and
-thrown her body into the water came
to me as I sat there. All at once I
• seemed to see it all --the quarreling the
day before, the night trip in the boat,
`.he water soaked slipper, his haard
g;;°ace that morning—even the way the
1
spaniel sat and stared at the flood.
Terry brought the boat back at half
past 11, towing it behind another.
"Well," I said from the stairs. "I
hope you've had a pleasant morning.''
"What doing?" he asked, not looking
at me.
"Rowing about the streets. You've
-had that boat for hours."
He tied it up withodt a word to me,
'but he spoke to the dog. "Good morn-
• ing, Peter," he said. "It's nice weath-
• er—for fishes, ain't it?" .
Ele picked out a bit of floating wood
, from the 'nater. and, showing it to the
dog, flung it into the parlor. fetor
Went after it with a splash. Ile was
pretty fat, and when he cattle heel: I
-heard him wheezing. But what lie
brought back was not the stick "f
wood. It was the .knife I use I'or ela-
ting bread. It had been nu a shelf in
the room where I had slept the night
before, and now Peter brought it est
of the flood where its wooden battle
i:.had kept it afloat. The blade was tiro -
ken off short.
It is not unusual to Ilnl one's house.
'hold goods floating ;indit ll dinette.
Hood time. More th;ti Uliee I've lest a
..chair or two and seen It after the wa-
iter bad gone down. new senuhlieu :toil
painted, in Molly Magnin s kttclt'a
.next door. And perhaps now enol then
a bit of lurk would .,nue to nae n dog
kennel or a chicken house. or it kitch-
en table, or E'vea. aA ha 1 ipt`Ill'Il onr e,
a month old belay in a VIsalcu .•male.
that lodged against lay hark fence and
had come forty miles. as It 19rhed out
with no worse misluap Ihat it eoial iti
oSifil'hen(L
'THE WEAK SPOT
IN THE BACK.
When the kidneys get ill the back
;gives out:
But the back is not to blame.
The ache comes from the kidneys,
'which lie under the small of the back.
Therefore, dull pain in the back, or
sharp, quick twinges, are warnings of
sick kidneys—warnings of kidney trouble.
Plasters and liniments will not cure
a bad back, forthey cannot reach the
kidneys which cause it,
Doan's I:CiOney Pills reach the kidneys
themselves. They are a special kidney
and bladder medicine. They heal the
diseased surface of kidneys and bladder.
and help them to act freely and naturally.
Mrs. Chester Ron titin, Port Coulofige,
Que., writes: "I had been troubled with
sore back for over four years, and could
get nothing to do me ally good until
I heard of your Doan's Kidney Pills.
I got three boxes, and took them and
now I am •completely cured."
Doan's Kidney Pills are 50e a box,
3 boxes for $1.25, at all dealers or mailed
direct on receipt of price by The T. Mil.
burn Co., Limited, Toronto, Ont.
When ordering direct specify "Doan'tf."
But the knife was different. I had
put it on the mantel over the stove I ,
was using upstairs the night before
and hadn't touched it since. As I sat
staring at it, Terry took it from Peter
and handed it to me.
"Better give me a penny, Mrs. Pit-
man," he said in his impudent Irish
way. "I hate to give you a knife. It :
may cut our friendship."
I reached over to hit him a clout on
the head, but I did not. The sunlight
was coming in through the window at
the top of the stairs, and shining on
the rope that was tied to the banister.
The end of the rope was covered with
stains, bright with a glint of red in
them.
I got up shivering. "You can get
the meat at the butcher's, Terry," I
said, "and come back for me in halt
an hour." Then I turned and went
upstairs, weak in the knees, to put
on my hat and coat. I had made up
my mind that there had been murder
done.
I looked at my clock as I went
downstairs. It was just 12:30. I
thought of telephoning for Mr..Reyn-
olds to meet me, but it was his lunch
hour, and besides, I was afraid to tele-
phone from the house while Mn Lad -
ley was in it.
Peter bad been whining again.
When I came down the stairs he had
stopped whimpering and was wagging
his tail. A strange boat had put into
the hallway and was coming back.
"Now, old boy!" somebody was say-
ing from the boat. "Steady, old chap!
I've got something for you!"
A little man, elderly and alert, was
standing up in the boat, poling it
along with •an oar. Peter gave vent
to joyful yelps. The elderly gentle-
man brought his boat to a stop at the
foot of the stairs and, reaching down
into a tub at his feet. held up a large
piece of raw liver. Peter almost went
crazy, and I remember suddenly that
I had forgotten to feed the poor beast
for more than a day.
"Would you like It?" asked the gen-
tletnan. Peter sat up. as he had been
taught to do. and barked. The gen-
denten reached down again, got a
wooden platter from a stack of them
et his feet and. placing the liver on it,
put it on the step. .The whole thing
was so neat and businesslike that I
could only gaze.
"That's a well trained dog, madam,"
said the elderly gentleman, beaming
at Peter over his glasses. "You should
not have neglected him."
"The flood put him out of my mind,"
I explained, humbly enough, for I was
ashamed.
"Exactly. Do you know bow many
starving .flogs and cats I have found
this morning?" He took a notebook
out of his pocket and glanced at it.
"Porty-eight! Forty-eight, madam!
And ninety-three eats! I have found
them marooned in trees, clinging to
fences, flouting on barrels, and I have
found them in comfortable houses
where there was uo excuse for their
neglect. Well, 1 must be moving on.
I have the report of a cat with a new
litter in the loft of a stable near
here."
He wiped his hands carefully on a
fresh paper napkin, of which also a
heap rested on one of the seats of
the boat and picked up an oar, smil-
ing benevolently at Peter. Then sud-
denly he bent over and looked at the
Stained rope end tied to the stair rail.
"What's that?" he said.
"That's what I'm going to find out,"
1 replied. I glanced up at the Lad-
leys' door, but it was closed.
'l'Ite little man dropped his oar and,
fumbling in his pocekts, pulled out a
small magnifying gloss. He bent
over, holding to the rail, 'and inspected
the stains with the glass. I had tak-
en a fancy to him at once, and in spite
of my excitement I had to smile a little.
•'IIumph," he said and looked up at
me; "that's blood! Why did you cut
the boat loose?"
"I didn't" I said. "if that is blood
I want to know how it got there.
That was a new rope last night" I
glanced at the Ladleys' door again,
and be followed my eyes.
"I wonder," he said, raising his
voice a little, "If I come into your
lcitcheu if you will allow me to fry a
little of that liver. There's a wretch-
ed Maltese in a tree at the corner of
Fourth street that won't touch it
ra w."
I saw that he wanted to talk to me,
so I turned around and led the way to
the temporary kitchen I had made.
"Now," he said briskly when he had
closed the door, "there's something
wrong here. Perhaps if you will tell
me I can help. If' I can't it will do
you good to talk about it My name's
Holcombe, retired merchant. Apply to
First National bank for references."
"I'm not sure there Is anything
wrong," 1 beg n. "1 eucss Pm- only
nervous and thinking little things are
big ones, There's nothing to tell."
"Nonsense. I come down the street
in my boat.. A white faced gentleman,
with a cigarette, looks out from it win-
dow when I stop at the door and ducks
back when I glance up. I come iu and
find a pet dog,obviously overfed at or-
dinary titres, whining with hunger on
tU<. stairs. As 1 prepare to feed blot at
i I
pale woman comes down, trying to inlet
a right hand glove on her left hand
and with her jacket wrong rade out,
What ail I to think:"
I started nnd.lool.e t -at toy rout. Ile
was right. And when as I tried to
talc, it off lie helped Isle real even pet-
ted mu+ on the shoui,ler- what with his
Wildness and the tong morning atilt%
worrying, and the slerploss nit ht, I be-
gan to cry. IIe had a 'Ivan itanc.ker.
eidef in my hand before 1 had time to
think of one.
"That's it." be said. "It crib do you
good, only don't snake a noise about it
If it's a husband on the anillntl flood
spree don't worry. madam. The} al-
ways come at'uuttd itt thin' to white-
wash
hitwash the ceilurs.'
"It isn't a husband, 1 sniffled.
"Tell me about it," he :will There
was something so kindly in his fare
and It was so long since I had had a
hit of human sympathy that I almost
bloke down again.
CHAPTER III.
SAT there, with a crowd of
children paddling on a raft
outside the window, and
Molly Maguire, , next dour,
hauliug the morning's milk up In a
pail fastened to a rope, her doorway
being too narrow to admit the milk-
man's boat, and I told him the whole
story.
"Humph!" he exclaimed, when I had
finished. "It's curious, but—you can't
prove a murder unless you can pro-
duce a body."
"When the river goes down we'll
find the body," said I, shivering. "It's
in the parlor."
"Then why doesn't he try to get
away?
"He is ready to go now. He only
went back when your boat came in."
Mr. Holcombe ran to the door and,
Slinging it open, peered into the lower
hall. He was too late. His boat was
gone, tub of liver, pile of wooden plat-
ters and all!
We hurried to the room the Ladleys
had occupied. It was empty. From
the window, as we looked out, we
could see the boat, almost a square
away. It had stopped where, the
street being higher, a doorstep rose
above the flood. On the step was sit-
ting a forlorn yellow puppy. As we
stared Mr. Ladley stopped 'the boat,
looked back at us, bent over, placed a
piece of liver on a platter and reached
it over to the dog. Then, rising in
the boat, he bowed, with his hat over
his heart, in our direction, sat down
calmly and rowed around the corner
out of sight.
Mr. Holcombe was in a frenzy of
rage. He jumped up anti down, shak-
ing his fist out of the window after the
retreating boat. He ran down the
staircase, only to come back and look
out the window again. The police boat
was not in sight, but the Maguire chil-
dren had worked their raft around to
the street and were under the win-
dow. He leaned out and culled to
them:
"A quarter each, boys," he said, "if
you'll take me on that raft to the
nearest pavement"
"Money first," said the oldest boy,
holding hiss cap.
But Mr. Holcombe did not wait He
cwnng out over the window sill, hold-
ing by his bands, and lit fairly in the
:enter of the raft
"Don't toren anything In that room
until I come back!" he called to me.
and, jerking the pole from one of the
boys, propelled the raft with amazing
speed down the street.
The liver on the store was burning.
There was a smell of scorching through
the rooms and a sort of bluish haze of
smoke. I hurried back and took it off.
By the time I bad cleaned the pan Mr.
Holcombe was back again in his own
boat He had found it at the end of
the next street, where the flood ceased,
but no sign of Ladley anywhere. He
had not seen the police boat
"Perhaps that is just us well," he
said philosophically. "We can't go to
the police with a wet slipper and a
blood stained rope and accuse a man of
murder. We have to have a body."
"He killed her," I said obstinately.
"She told me yesterday he was a fiend.
He killed her and threw the body in
the water."
"Very likely. But he didn't throw It
here."
But in spite of that he went over all
the lower hall with his boat, feeling
every foot of the floor with an oar,
and finally, at the back end, he looked
up at me as I stood on the stairs.
"There's something here," he said.
I went cold all over and had to clutch
the railing. But when Terry had come
and the two of them brought the thing
to the surface it Nees only the dieing
room rug, which i had rolled up and
forgotten to carry upstairs!
At 1:30 Mr. Holcombe wrote a note
and sent it off with Terry and, bor-
rowing my boots, which had been Mr.
Pitman's, investigated the dining room
'ind kitchen from a floating plank; the
doors were too narrow to admit the
boat But he found nothing more im•
portant than a rolling pin. IIe was not
at all depressed - by his failure. He
came back, dreriehed to the'skin, about
3 and asked permission to search the
Ladleys' bedroom.
"I have a friend coming pretty soon,
Mrs. Pitman," he said, "a young news-
paper man named Howell. He's a
nice boy, and it there is anything to
Skis I'd like him to have it for his
paper, lie and I have been having
some arguments about circumstantial
War News
Affected Her.
Many people who have been reading
the terrible war news from day to day,
especially those who have relatives at
the seat of war, have tcu,tue so nervous
that it is impossible for them to sleep.
The nerves have become a unstrung and
.
the heir: .. ,
perhaps aiTeeted,
llilba,. ti's
Heart and Nerve Pills will
build up the unstrung nervous system
and strengthen the weak heart,
Miss Hildia Diceire, Martintown,
'Out., writes: "In August, 1914,I was
out of school for my health. I was visit-
ing friends in. London, and heard of the
war, It made me no nervous that I
could not sleep, but after using Mil-
burn's Heart and Nerve Pills I improved
greatly, and could take my school again.
I have recommended them to many of
my friends."
Milburn's Heart and Nerve Pills are
50e per box, 3 boxes for $1,25 at all
dealers, or mailed direct on receipt of
price by The T. Milburn Co., Limited,
Toronto, Ont.
es3„p ts-s •
"Don't touch anything in that room,"
evidence, foo, rid 1 WOW—heir u like tb
work on this."
I gave him a pair of Mr. Pitman's
socks, for his own were saturated and
while he was changing them the tele-
phone rang. It was the theater again,
asking for Jennie Brice.
"You are certain she is out of the
city?" some one asked, the same voice
as in the morning.
"Her husband says so."
"Ask him to come to the phone."
"He is not here."
"When do you expect him back?"
"I'm not sure he is coming back."
"Look here," said the voice angrily,
"can't you give me any satisfaction?
Or don't you care to?"
"I've told you all I know."
"You don't know where she is?"
"No, sir."
"She didn't say she was Coming back
Your Liver
is Clogged up
That's Why You're Tired—Out of
Sorts—Hare Ao Appetite.
CARTER'S LITTLE
LIVER PILLS
will put you right
in a few days.
They do
their duty.
Cure
Consti-
n,
B mess, Indigestion, and Sick Headache.
5isgill Pill, Small Bose, Small Price.
Genuine must bear Signature
Di', A. N. Chalmers, medical ofliei r
of health, (ilttstrow, states that the
populnt.i at of the city on June 30th,
1914, was estimated at 1,055,930, the
increase during the year being 82,7at2.
Siberia has issued a proclamation of
strict neutrality in the war.
The Auditor -General has found that
about $250,000 of the $1,150,000 paid for
the two Chilean submarines was sent
to Seattle, and this is about the dif-
ference between the price paid by Can-
ada and that offered by Chile.
to reueai'se for next weeks s p'feue'P'
"Iter husband said she went away
for a few days' rest, He went away
about upon and hasn't come back.
That's all 1 know, r"•eept that they
owe me three trceks' sant that I'd like
to get hold of."
The owner of the voice hung up the
receiver with a snap anti left me pon-
dering. I
t seemed to l � h'
guE.t atATr.Lad
-
icy had been very reckless. I)id lie
expect airy one to believe that Jennie
Brice had gone for a vacation with-
out notifying the theater? Especially
when she was to rehearse that week?
I thought it curious, to say the least.
I went bark and told Mr. Holcolube,
who put it down in his notebook, and
together we went to the Ladleys'
room,
The room was in better order than
usual, as I have said, The bed was
made-•-wliiell was out of the ordinary,
for Jennie Brice never made a bed—but
made the way a man makes one, with
the blankets wrinkled and crooked be-
neath and the white counterpane pulled
smoothly over the top, showing every
hump beneath, 1 showed Mr. Hol-
combe the splasher dotted with ink as
usual.
"I'll take it off and soak it in milk,"
I said. "It's his fountain pen. When
the ink doesn't run he shakes it, and"—
"Where's the clock?" said Mr. Hol-
combe, stopping in front of the mantel,
with his notebook in his hand.
"The clock?"
I turned add looked. My onyx clock
was gone from the mantel shelf.
Perhaps it seems strange, but from
the moment I missed that clock my
rage at Mr. Ladley increased to a fury.
It was all I had left of my former
gentility. When times were hard and
I got behind with the rent, as happen-
ed now and then, more than once I'd
been tempted to sell the clock or pawn
it But I had never done it Its tick-
ing had kept me company on many a
lonely night, and its elegance had help-
ed me to keep my pride and to retain
, the respect of my neighbors. For in
' the flood district onyx clocks are not
plentiful, Mrs. Bryan, the saloon-
keeper's wife, had one, and I had an-
other—that is, I had had.
I stood staring at the mark in the
dust of the mantel shelf, which AA'.
Holcombe was measuring with a pock-
et tape measure.
"You are sure you didn't take It away
yourself, Mrs. Pitman?" he asked.
"•Sure? Why, I could hardly lift it"
i said.
He was looking carefully at the ob-
long of dust where the clock had
stood. "The key is gone, too," he said;
busily making entries in his notebook.
"What was the maker's name?"
"Why, I don't think I ever noticed!"
He turned to me angrily. "Why
didn't you notice?" he snapped. "Good
God, woman, do you only use your
eyes to cry with? )',how can you wind
a clock time after time and not know
the maker's name? It proves my con-
tention—the average witness is totally I
unreliable."
"Not at all," I snapped. "I am ordi-
narily both accurate and observing."
"indeed!" he said, putting his hands
behind him. "Then perhaps you can
tell me the color of the pencil 1 have
been writing with."
"Certainly. Red." Most pencils are
red, and I thought this was safe.
But he held his right hand out with
a flourish. "I've been writing with a
fountain pen," he said in deep disgust
and turned his back on me.
But the next moment he had run to
the washstand and pulled it out from
the wall. Behind it, where it had
fallen, lay a towel covered with stains
as if some one had wiped bloody hands
on it. He held it up, his face working
with excitement 1 could only cover
my eyes.
"This looks better," he said and be-
gun making a quick search of the
room, running from one piece of furni-
ture to another, pulling out bureau
drawers, drawing, the bed out from the
wall and crawling along the baseboard
with a lighted match in his hand. He
gave a shout of triumph finally and re-
appeared from behind the bed with the
broken end of my knife in his hand.
"Very clumsy," he said; "very clum-
sy. Peter, the dog, could have done
better."
I had been examining the wall paper
about the washstand. Among the ink
spots. were one or two reddish ones
that made me shiver. And seeing a
scrap of note paper stuck between the
base board and the wall i dug it out
with a hairpin and threw it into the
grate, to be burned later. it was by
the merest chance there was no lire
there. The next moment Mr. IRA -
combo was on Ills knees by the lire -
place reaching for the scrap.
"Never (10 that under such circum-
stances," he snapped, fishing among
the ashes. "You might throw away
vaihiatbic -- Hello, Howell!"
I turned and saw a young men in
the doorway, smiling, his hat in his
hand. Even at that first glance I
liked Mr. Howell, and later, when ev-
ery one was against him and many
curious things were developing. l stood
by hint through everything and even
helped him to the thing he wanted
more than anything else in the world.
But that, of courser teas later.
"What's the trouble, IIolcombe?" he
asked. "Hitting the trail again?"
"A very curious thing that I just
happened on," said Mr. Holcombe.
"Airs. Pitman, this is Mr. Howell, of
whom 1 spoke. Sit down, Howell, and
let me read you something."
With the crumpled paper still un-
opened in his hand, Mr. Holcombe took
his notebook and read aloud what he
had written. I have it before me now;
"'Dog meat, $2, boat hire --that's not
it. Here. 'Yesterday, Sunday, March
4, Mrs, Pitman, landlady at 42 Union
street heard, twQ4t her boarders guar -
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?NC CCNTA,IP COMPANY NCW YORK CITY.
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teeing, a pian anti his wife. Man's
name, Philip Ladley. Wil'e's name,
Jennie Ladley, known as Jennie Brice
at the Liberty Stock company, where
she has been playing small parts.'"
Mr. Howell nodded. "I've heard of
her," he said. "Not much of an ac-
tress, I believe." -
'The husband was also an actor,
out of work, and employing his leisure
time in writing a play.'"
"Everybody's doing it," said Mr..
Howell idly.
' "The Shuberts were to star him In
this," I put in. "He said that the
climax at the end of the second act"—
Mr. Holcombe shut his notebook
with a snap. "After we have finished
gossiping," he said, "I'll go on."
"'Employing his leisure time in
writing a play,'" quoted Mr. Howell.
"Exactly. 'The husband and wife
were not on good terms. They quar-
reled frequently. On 'Sunday they
fought all day, and Mrs. Ladley told
Mrs, Pitman she was married to a
fiend. At 4 o'clock Sunday afternoon
Philip Ladley went out. returning
about 5. Mrs. Pitman carried their
supper to them at u, and both ate
heartily. She did not see Mrs. Ladley
at the time. but heard her in the next
room. They were apparently reconcil-
ed. Mrs. Pitman reports Mr. Ladley
in high good humor. If the quarrel
recommenced during the night the oth-
er boarder, natned Reynolds, in the
next room heard nothing. Mrs. Pit-
man
itman was up and down until 1 o'clock,
when she dozed off. She heard no un-
usual sound.
"'At approximately 2 o'clock in the
morning, however, this Reynolds came
to the room and said he had heard
some one iu a boat in the lower hall.
He and Mrs. Pitman investigated. The
boat, which Mrs. Pitman uses during a
flood and which she had tied to the
stair rail was •gone. having been cut
loose, not united. Everything else
was quiet, except that Mrs. Ladley's
dog buil been shut in a third story
room,
"'At a quarter after 4 that morning
Mrs. Pitman, thoroughly awake, heard
the boat returning and, going to the
stairs, met Latlley coming in. He
muttered something about having gone
for medicine for his wife and went to
his room, shutting the dog out This
Is worth attention, for the dog ordina-
rily slept in their room.' "
"What sort of a dog?" asked Mr.
Howell. Ile had been listening atten-
tively.
"A water spaniel. 'The rest of the
night or early morning was quiet. At
a quarter after 7 Ladley asked for cof-
fee and toast for one, and on Mrs. Pit-
man remarking this said that his wife
was not playing this week and bad
gone for a few days' vacation, having
left early in the morning.' Remember,
during the night he had been out for
medicine for her. Now she was able
to travel and, in fact, had started."
Mt' Howell was frowning at the
flour "If be was doing anything
wrong, he was doing it very badly,"
he sand
"Tins is where I entered the case."
said 1Ir Holcombe. "I rowed Into the
lower hall this morning to feed the
dug Peter. who was whining on the
staircase Mrs l'Itut:tn was coming
down. pale marl ,igttated over the fact
that the dog slurtlj heftily had found
ti":ttiti;.: au the iaat'iva downstairs a sett.
het helom:cing h, Ir -4 l,adltt• and later
a Irittc Ee lilt n hroic,•n a,: ale She main.
Lain ahaat she had the t,nlfe last night
upst.hi.s that it net broken and
that if `rias tutu a shelf in her
retua Mair sk I'he question
is, t:: E\ I, tcatfe taken?
Wh,. n ,Lis this titan
man ,,r huts he
nm
" 3tc': Holcombe anI are old enemies, `
be said. "Mr. Holcombe believes that
circumstantial evidence may probably
hang a man; I do not." And to Mr.
Holcombe,. "So, having found a wet
slipper anda broken knife, you are pre-
pared for murder and sudden death!"
"I have more evidence." Mr. Hol-
combe said eagerly, and proceeded to
tell what we had found in the room.
Mr. Howell listened, smiling to him-
self, but at the mention of the onyx
clock he got up and went to the man-
tel.
"By Jove!" be said and stood looking
at the mark in the dust "Are you sure
the. clock was here yesterday?"
"1 wound it night before last and put
the key underneath. Yesterday, before
they moved up, 1 wound it again."
"The key is gone also. Well, what
of it, Holcombe? Did he brain her
with the clock or choke her with the
key?"
Mr. Holcombe was looking at his
notebook. "To summarize," he said,
"we have here as clews indicating a
crime, the rope, the broken knife, the
slipper, the towel and the clock. Be•
sides, this scrap of paper may contain
Some information." He opened it and
sat gazing at it in his palm. Then,
"Is this Ladley's writing?" he asked
me in a curious voice,
"Yes.>,
I glanced at the slip. 51r. Holcombe
had just read from his notebook:
"Rope, knife, slipper, towel, clock."
The slip I had found behind the
washstand said "Rope, knife, shoe,
towel. Horn"— The rest of the last
word was torn oil.
Mr. Howell was staring at the man-
tel. "Clockl" he repeated.
tTo be continued)
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