The Brussels Post, 1926-12-15, Page 7....ittat'a•tt
(Copyright) by MARY ROBERTS RINEHART
•01..hifear
"Suppotto the worst to happen,"
said Matthew Arnold to the portly
jeweler from Cheapside; "supposo
even yourself to be the viethu; 11 n'y
a pas d'homme necosaaire,
groat mundane movement wont.' A -ill
go on, the gravel walks of your villa
would still be rolled, dividends would
still be paid at the bank, omnibuses
. would still run, there wo.ttitl hit the
same old rush at the corner of
Fenehurch Street." . .
This is the sixth. It was on the
fourth, then, a rew houre after Hal-
liday had gone to the city, that a taxi
Aopped hero, anti Greenough got out.
There seemed to me to he a trifle
more than his usual ponderouencae
in 1104 manner, and a di2t1llet von 2,78-
tration in the way he looked at ine
as. I came down the staircase. At
the steno time, he was civility Avail,
and he Aated his -en-and matter-ef-
fect:1y, They had a staff working on
the diary and he knew 1 would like
to be preemie when it was ,finiehed.
"It's a long job," he said. "But
we've split it into a half dozen parts,
•and It ought to be ready by eight, or
half past."
It was six then, and as our early
dinner was almost ready, T aeked him
to stay. We ate eheerfullv tnough,
took the seven -fifteen eXprese .from
ami were in town and at
the county building at sonlething be-
fore ten. I was surprised biet not
startled to find Benchley, the Sheriff,
there, and three or four other mon,
including Hemingway, the „Diatrict
Attorney. Hemingaty held some typ-
ed sheets in his hand when we en-
tered, and was reading them earefel-
ly. Halliday was standing by a wine 1
dow staring out into the ;quart', and
the first indication I •had that any !
thing was wrong was the 'expression
on his fete as he turned • am' saw
5110.
The second was a polite invitation
to Halliday to leave the vamil, add
his manner of receiving it. •
"PM staying," he said flatly. "If
there's any objection to that, I shall
advise Mr. Porter to make no state-
ment and to answee no queetione, un-
til he can be properly proteciod."
"Protected?" 1 asked, "Protected
from what?" a
"From this strong-arm outfit"
said Halliday, and surveyed the room
with his jaw thrust forward.
"I alle undler arrest?"
Hemingway put down the mere
and took off his glasses.
"Certainly not," he said "Your
young friend is being slightly drama-
tic. I know that you waat this mys-
tery solved as much as we do; more,
since it directly concerns you. Thlo
is not le trap, Mr. Porter; we shall
-ask you some questiots, and I hope
you will answer them. 'That is all."
"I reserve the right to interfere in
'
as of .any trick," Halliday put in.
"We have framed no' trieh quest-
ions," Hemingway said quietly. "We
want the facts, that's all
„H -e rang a bell, and a secretary
came in, My mouth was drr and
some one placed a glass of water be-
fore me,' From that on, for four
hours, I answered questions; at the
end of that tint 1 walked out, still
free although slightly dizzy. . . .
(Note: Halliday has recently sec-
ureda copy of the stenographic
notes of that night: Ai: they would
make a small volume in themeolvesi
I give here only such portion. -ae
seem to forward the 'flarartive.)
Q. You name, please.
A. William Allen Porte.'.
Q. Age?
A. Forty-six
•
Q. Your prof ession is—?
A.. 1 am a professor of anglash
literature at— 'University.
Q. -You own the properee at Oak-
ville, known as Twin Hollowe?
A. I do, I inherited it. something
more than a year ago, on the death
•of my uncle, Horace Porter.
Q. Had you known,that this pre-
. -7•77,77-.:.
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Billheads
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Stationery painted at The,
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perty Wila tocome to you on your
timiltoe death?
A. It was always underetholl be-
tween us. He hail 110 Other holre.
Q. Had you any previous aitimain-
tenee with Mr. Bethel? 1 meat:, be-
fore lie took year house?
A. None whatever.. I never eney
aim until he came lo take poeseeiion
•ef the house.' His secretary inepecte
ed the house, and negotiation.; were
nrried on through my attorney.
Q. In any of your talks with Mr,
Bethel, did you gather that he hell
known Mr. Horace Porter, previous
to his death?
A. Never.
Q. When you rented the house, did
you retain any keys to 47
A. I have a full set in my poe-
seseion., •
Q. You hail access tO the 'house,
then?
A. I never used my keys, if that's
what you mean.
Q. On the night of the 2arh July,
Mr. Bethel's secretary was attacked
outside the kitchen door of the
house, rind managed to ring the bell
there befone he fell unconerions.
Just where wore you, e, Mr. Porter,
when that bell rang?
A. The police have my etatement
as to that, By the sun -dial.
'Q. Doctor Hayward was on the
road in his car; you were by Bat sun-
dial close to the house. Yer'when
he reached you, you had apparently
only found this boy. Is that cor-
rect?
A. It seems to me that the, ques-
tion there might he, was Hayward oe
the main road that night, as he says,
or nearer to the hoose than he ad-
mits
Q. You own a boat, I believe?
A. I inherited one with the pro-
perty, 'A sloop:
Q. Do you sail the boat yourself?
A. I don't know one -end of it from
the other
.Q, in your various conversations
with Mr. Bethel, did he ever nem -
tion the character of the bailee? By
that, I mean any curiqus quality in
the house itself?
A. He recognized such a quality.
Yea.
1)10 he• ever mention a letter writ-
ten by him to ri-Mr. Cameron, here
in the city? J. member ef the Soc-
iety for Physical Research? Rein
Hoe .to the house?
A.. Never. Bat I know of the let-
ter. Cameron sent me word of it a
day or so ago.
Q. Are you a believer ,in epiritune
hem?
A. I never, have been. Recently,
however, 1—
(Note: Here I' caught a werning
glance from Halliday and el -tonged
what I had intendk to saYil
Receetly I have been trying to
preserve an open tnind on thesub-
J"Cte., Why recently? /
A., For one thing, Mr. Bethel had
found the house queer; lo had the
secretary
Q. On the day you asked the sec-
retary to luncheon, the 'intention wits
to ellow Mr. Bethel to go through
his room?
A. Bethel? Certainly not.
Q. I shall read you this entry from
Gordon's diary. (reads) "Ponta. eel: -
ed -me to lunch to -day, so B. could
go through my mom. Thee loft the
knife, het at least they know I have
- A. That's a lie. I asked him to
luncheon so Halliday could seareh
Inc room. It was Halliday who found
the knife, You can ask idea
Q. We'll let that go, just now, and
come to the night you were foundain
the house, Mr. Porter, by Mr. Halli-
dny.
A. I wasn't found in the 110001' by
Mr. Halliday. We had .etarted Tor
it together. The maid, Ani Coch-
had reported a quarrel between
Mn. Bethel and • Gordon, and Halt
Gordon had gotie away. You emust
remember that we suspeeted the boy
of being the' killer. I was tingious
and went for Haiti -tiny,
Q. What time 414 the maid tell
you this?
A. About seven thirty, possibly
eight o'clock.
Q, .And when did you go for, Mr,
Halliday? -
A. It was about eleven, 1 imagine.
Q. What did you do in the toter -
A. She wns nervous and 1 took her
home. After that ate bad callers,
Q, Did you see Mr. Bethel in that
interval?
/, Ne
Q, Had it ocemed to you that
flordee might be going to see the
prilien?
A, 1 • neva thought of it. • Why
elleteld he be going tO the 'DO:Bee?
Q. Did Mr. Bethel thiek of it?
A. I've told you; 1 diden •-ee• bine
Q. On the night of the -senior ill
017 house at Twin Hollowe, who led
you to your discovery of th
A. My wife hoard the telepa
ring, and I went to it. All three
buildings are on ono lima and the
roeeiver at the ninin houee vette down,
j heard a erash, and heavy- breathing
nee r lei telephone.
Q. That made you suepieieas?
A. I had been expecting trouble
between alr. Bethel and Gordon,
Q. Why did you expect trouoie?
A, I knew they had quarreled. Mr:
Bethel had told nut that it was he
who had Ariz* Gordon, miet acmes
him .for a burglar, and that Gordon
turnip:whet it.
Q. When did he toll you lhitt?
A. I don't know exactly. About
three days before the murder I
think.
Q. Can you remember the burden
of that conversation?
A. Very well. He said that he Wai,
enepigioue of the boy; that he war,
WI ak antl viainue, and posinbly
He knew he wet; going out at
night. On the night of the 20111 of
July Gordon was out, end he dragged
himself downstairs. When he hoer('
him tit the kitchen door he struck
him, nut he maintained that he had
not titd him. I believe that ,pereon-
ally. He had one useless hand.
Q. Did you .ever have any reason
to believe that Mr. Bethel exagger-
ated his infirmity?
A, Exaggrated it? What do you
mean?
Q. You believe he was as helpless
as ha appeared?
A. I can't imagine it man aesum-
ing such a thing. . .
Q. Now, Mr. Porter, you have said
that the telephone receiver at the
main 1101150 was down, and you heard
over it enough to alarm you?
e-
• • •
Q. It rang, and you worit to it?
A. Yee.
Q. How could it ring, if the other
receiver was down?
A. As a matter of fact, .1 didn't
hear it. My wife said it had rung,
and to satisfy her 1 went to it. .
Q Did the t G , ever
approach you on a matter of Mon-
ey?
A. Money? - don't underecand the
question.
Q. Did he ever ask you foe mon-
vet'? Or intimate that he nee led it?
- A. Never. He said sometWhe onea
about giving up his position. . . .
Q. Where was he, the night you
held the eonpersation with Mr. Beth-
el, relative to him?
A. Here in the city, I believe,
Q. And Mr. Bethel thought he
might have gone to the police?
A. That's the second time you
have intimated that Gordon had
something to tell the police. I can't
talk le the dark like this. If any-
body wanted to avoid the police, it
Waa this boy. . • .
Q. I am going back to the night
Mr. Halliday found you in the
hous
A. He didn't find me. We had
started there together.
Q. You say you saw a figure et the
-loot of the stairs, and five at it?
A. T latent,' to fire.
Q. You didn't recogaize thie fig-
ure?
A. No.
'Q. It was not Mr. Pgithel?
A. Bethel? No. He vies looked in
Ids voom, . .
Q, You say you are not a spiritua-
1 1st ?
A. Certainly not.
Q. You htive never made aim ex-
periments in spiiritualism?
I have been present- ec ono or
two seances,
Q. When? Recently?
-A. We have held two sittings in
the main house within the last few
days.
Q. When did you first hear of the
symbol of a triangle within it cir-
cle?
A. If you wart in conneetion with
the criii»es—
te, Before that, You told Mr.
Greenough, some 'time ago, that you
had heard of it in some other con-
nection. -
A: I tai him 1 luul happened en
it in an old hook on Black Magic,
and told a group of womeei about it.
It AWLS a pueely faeeticeis mania
Q. Can you account for its use 1
1(111111(11011 with then° crimes?
A 1 have no official knewledget that
it was iwed in connection with these
crimes. Only with • the sheep -killing.
Q. But you know it was so used?
A. I know it Was used ono when
Mr. Geeenotigh did not find it.
'Q. Whore was that? •
•
A. On a tree where tho Morrison
truck Was discoveved, I have -hoard
it was on. Carroway's boat, but
don't know that. I know it was dte
liberately put on my car, after M.
Halliday was hurt.
Q. You say, put on the ehr? 1)0
you indan by thet, Mr. Bethel did it?
A. Bethel?. How could he? We
IleVe thought lately that Gordon WO
THE BRUSSELS POST
resnonsible. Wo found a piece of
hie eipleer near by.
(e. .You have felt ulI along that
Gordon was guilty?.
A, I won't say that. 3 wouid eay
Heat the burden of the iivithince
(Heated that he was guilty, Mr. Hal
1,74,4 111141 i•orisidera171,.7 dollia or
his guIlt
Q. Have yoll ever eonithliired that
it might be Bethel who hill eci Goa
don?
A. Never, He couldn't have done
it. -
-Q. But if he had hail neeistenee?
A, Are you tolling me that Bethel
did kill Gordon?
Q. I tun telling you that somebody
killed Gordon, Mr. Porter, Hie body
was waehed ashore at Bassi Cove this
.morning.
September 7th.
Halliday has: saved me from tamest
by giving to the pollee the informa-
tion he has been gathreing all sum-
mer. Has tirade a • quiet gesten..,
whieh is like him, and giver no buck
Lo life, liberty, and the pursuit of
litoratUre.
Ile came out late kiet night, end I
understand is still asheen. lie hat
had veey little slop, poor lad„ for a
long time.
I myself collimeed this morning,
and Hayward brie put me back to
bed. Edith, spreading my eoverings
neatly before Greenough came up,
says I am now so thin that:
"You really make a- hallow Wil-
liam. If It were not for pale feet,
nobody would know you are there!"
It is imposisblei to record in da-
ta my conversatioh with Green-
ough; •aovering as it did more than
an hour. He came in, I thought,
slightly uncomfortable and perhaps a
little crestfallen, and I mozioned
to a chair. He sat down and mopped
his face with his handkerchief, and
after that stooped and rather delib-
aentely wiped his shoes with it, Then
he straightened and looked et me.
"Well, professoe," he said, "it's a
darned queer world, there's no deny-
ing k."
"The world's all right. le's the
people in it who mess thitigti up."
"Like fleas on a dog," was his
rather abstracted comment. He fele
,in his pocket, with much the same
gesture as on that early visit of his
when lie had drawn the eriangle
within the circle on the baelt of an
old envelope. Whether tli 3 move-
ment was reminiscent to hint, a.e it
was to me, I cannot say. But he
glanced at me quickly and then smil-
ed.
"Sort of had me going, you 014,
there for a while!" he said. "But I
was getting peetty close to the facts
before this diary came along. Of
l course, it helped."
I' He had Gordon's diary in his hand.
"Naturally," he said, fingering the
book, 'gour young nem s muta-
tion was valuable; Pre not diecount-
ing that. The hand -print on the win-
dow board foe instance. I'l have
found it sooner oil later, but it saved
time. And the young lady, toe.
She's done her bit, all eight I've
been handicapped by being roo well
known around here. 'And Starr's a
fool."
He snapped out this last stotement
and I gathered that he was still
smarting under the knowledge thet,
without Halliday and Edithhe
would still be nowhere. It wae,, more
or„ less, his defenee.
. "Of coune," he said, "ever since
wo got hold ot this &ere of Gore
don's, one thing's been pretty clear.
Bethel wasn't working Morita Ac-
cording to what 3 saw of him it
wasn't possible. Ho couldn't mien
have made a getaway without help.
The only question -was, who'd help-
ed him."
"So you picked on me?"
"Well," he said wryly, "you'll
bave to admit that you've remand to
go out of your way all summer to
get into :trouble! As a matter of
fact, I didn't pick on you; it was
Gordon." He looked At my clock,
"I've only got an hem.," 'he said.
"Yoim niece is sitting on the stairs
now, holding a etop-evateh on me, I
can't read you this thing, but I min
tell you what's in it. And believe
me, that's plenty." . .
Briefly, then, the deelphering of
the diary had left nee in a veey bad
position. When they had finished it,
it was Benehley'e ideato arrest me
at once. ..Thoy had the boy's body,
it fad they had kept to themselves,
and 1 was within an ac'e' of a charge
of murder.
liut Halliday had stayed.
"He seemed to feel there was
trouble canting," 'Greenough mid,
"He hung around And drove us all
crazy. He insisted, a$ he'd brought
the key, on his right to reasl the stuff
as it came through; and at it wont
on, he didn't know exactly what to
do,
"Finally, seeing whet WAS in the
air, he made a trade with us, Ile wee
willing, to have you brought In and
interogated, hut on Condition that if
you Weeren't held he'd Come over
with something of his Mi. You get
WEDNESDAY, DEC, 11, MA
the point, of couree. 'There's e re-
ward involved, and he'd been 1101411110
out on us a bit." He wave -1 his
hand. "That's natural. We don't
hold 11 111181(14 him. But the point 1t7,
he made his trade."
Coming to my examintitlea,
ensveers had apparently liepreeed
Hemingway satisfactorily. Oa the
ether hind, added to the dieryti con-
tant snspicion 111C, wds Grc•-
oil,tvit'S own case against me. • Ile
piteeed over that rather oiiily. -
"1 vetieta trying to make out e
eme againat you," he eaid. "As a
matter of feet, you could:f7 leive
been the num who attacked LIAM,
day. You weren't bore."
"Naturally," I agreed gravely, "I
wasn't here. Of course, if 1 hail
been here—at
He glanced at me qUiekly.
went Miele to the night or h •
"The question was whether to hold
you or not. You may remember
going out, when it ie-ae mem, tied
talking to Holiday outside? Well.
it was then he made the trade."
Apparently the feet that Gordon
had been the 'victim hail no: been
the surprise to the police the: it hati
been to me. For one thing, tho
microscope had shown one detail
whech the deteetive had net mention-
ed to nut at the time. Caugbe
tweeo the handle of the knife anti
the blade had been a sheet piece of
hair, The microscopee howed Ole
hair -not only young, •a matter read-
ily determined, and the approximate
color of Gordon's; it ale° showed it
liberally coated with pomade. Poor
Gordon's ,,glistening, varnished heir!
But Greenough- had been inclined
to think at first that there had been
two vie -tires instead of on.
"Dying and passing on," ho says,
"Is not like taking your thumb out
of a bowl of soup. Tt's bound., to
leave eorne sort of a hole."
And there had been no hole. If
Bethel bad died and passed on, 710
one apparently missed him. As•time
went on and no queries were receiv-
ed, th thing began to look ominous;
as though Bethel himself hall been
biding away, under an assumed
name.
The idea that Bethel hal had an
enemy from whom he was hiding,
and who had found him, begau to
intrude -
"But," he said, with engaging
franhnese, "that eliminate,' you.
And you ateulde't be eliminated.
You yeere like some people you've
seen, when diere'et a erare.riennin
eboutt alwaye getting in front of tl•te
inaohine and- bite the pietere."
" 'Anil the king will not ha able
to whip a int, but I shall bi, nt the
fay!, ef it,' " I quoted. 11. 10 jlii!tl
call.U•r
Thcli itann. the diary, and 11.0r,lial
;troop:in
ole In Unmistakably, ftwi in
11 way they hail not 11101111111 01. Not
718 tqleiny, but lei nevem/dice; Beth-
el biding there, with my eettriivence
and the two of lie, ho briare;
;melon:ally and I the 1111,111e, work-
ing 11111 i/II.W04711 114 50111., .3.1111.4it1' dee
sign whieh i•Von the bey could not
indenture',
revealed between the paralytic rund
tho boy; each watching the other;
the guard up between than, white
tho servant ia in the room, and then
down ugain. The boy recklessly
mocking, the. old man grim and wait-
ing.
(To Be Continued).
BUSINE8SThJ
orH 5 Industrial Mortgage and
▪ Savings Company, of Sarnia
°mart., are proparcd to aaviinet, money pa
lllortgace. lf,1011
:10
i'11 111:11,1' Vel'into 10 itmtfar
istt and 011101'
The Industrial Wiortgaget
and Savings Company
C. C. RAMAGE, D.D.S., L.D.S.
BRUSSELS, ONT.
Graduate Royal College of Dental
Surgeons and Honor Graduate 'uni-
versity of Toronto. Dentistry in ail
"WhatiAeer. It le," Gorden hail its branches.
I written, shortly after the Morrison Office Over Standard Beak,
girl'e disappearance, "lute got ()id -
Phone 240
eal, help " Anti h • • 1 • if
guilty. But he it not sure of that;
fiven suspects Bethel, in one en-
try, of being leee helphee
appeared, and possibly of "working
on his own," He abandone 1 that
idea, however, and there Wits it time
when he suspected Thomas. IVOO a
time when he thought of Pringing
suepieions to Inc.
But Bethel was beginning to let
afraid of him. He thinks Bethel
knows he has dieeovored the boat
He grows alarmed, and bnys a knifes
he records "that he can 111.10O care
of himself." But the is bravado
in it. Later on, he finds that he fa
occasionally stealthily locked in at
night, for three or four hours, and
he buya rope and hid% -it hi Ins
room. After that matters moved
rapidly.
He found the gun room window
enleeked on certain nights gait e, •
a watch on it. And on one such
night Bethel tried to kill him.
"He tried to kill m0. last night,"
he writes On the 27th of July, and
goes On to say that Bethel couldn't
have tied him, and that "maybe itt
was Porter." From that time on Ile
suspected me.
And Bethel was watching him.
Nothing is so dramatic in all the
diary as the situation unconsciously
azkait, a. Laxavr
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TH
EIS POST