Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1891-02-26

DI6lD the locb tudt III OedDuIy HOutu
have been fool to have kept his deadly
enemy in the house with him all these
years"
@I do not attempt to explain it, Doctor.
All the same, 1 have a theory, which
must be proven false before leave this
] trail and take up another"
II am deeply interested, sir. Have
you any objection to telling me about
doctor, relying on your discretion I
will tell you the theory that has come to
me.
This young girl appears incapable of
doing such a thing, but do not forget
that appearances are deceiaul. Men OF
my profession dare not put much faith
in them We would be humbugged out
of our boots by the fair Delilahs, just as
was Samson in days Of old
There is no apparent motive Hence
will manufacture one and fit It 70 the
case
SYou remember the words on the back
Of the photograp PHI LeonOre-the cause
of my sleepless nights and watchful
days
@Strange that he should write that Of
one who was under his roof, and, to all
outward appearances, as dear to him as
ever daughter could be.
Il fancysI have guessed the cause. She
/ - 6uUltCI " MS VI AAodAANIa - Jul ~
deep in her liquid eyes.
during these states of lunacy, brief
though they may be, it becomes her one
| desire to take the life of her benefactOr-
You, physician, need not be told that
insane persons are generally more rabid
against those who love them than stran-
i gers"
True, true" 1 murmured, fascinated
/ by the clever construction he was putting
upon the mystery.
%Supposing this to be the case, then,
we have the whole mystery solved. The
old Doctor felt that some day his love for
her would cost him his life, and yet he
would not tear loose the tendrils of love
that had twined about his heart by sep
arating himself from her.
~Who she is or where he got her we
do not know; that is the secret OF the
| dead
Ale prepared for the worst, and when
in the early watch of the morning he
saw her before him he realized that his
hour had at last come, and swallowed
the poison to save her from committing
q crime"
had to confess 1t looked plausible.
At the same time did not believe the
old detective had much faith in it,
@Mr. Ketcham, you present very
| strong case, but If 1 can read you Alright
| you have not much faith in it."
al shall stick to it, Doctor, until it has
| been proven false.
| "You forget one thing, sir"
%What is that2"
~Tell me what object could this girl
have had in entering that room by two
different means. You remember we are
positive the assassin climbed the vines
and craWled through the open window. "
@Ah, Doctor, under the circumstances,
1 would say that the assassin had played
| clever trick, and had climbed that
| trellis Of vines to ward of suspicion. We
| know that LeonOre did not do that, cum
ming though insane people may be. You
have been in the garden, Doctor"
"HOw do you know that?"
ain three ways. l saw you from the
stable. Then L found your tracks, and,
last of all, can discover traces of the
loan of the garden on your shoes"
There was no use trying to deceive this
man, even in fun. Nothing seemed to
|. escape his eagle eve.
| 81 confess the soft impeachment sir
1 was in the garden"
~You Investigated the ground at the
base of the yines?"
81 did,
~And found foot prints there?"
SYes5
~Now, in your Judgment, Doctor, was
it man or woman who made thOse?'
hesitated before replying.
%If a man, then he must have been OF
small stature, for they were not much
larger than boys feet"
"Then you grant it as within the range
of possibility that they were caused by q
i wOman?"
at is possible, and even probable"
HHaving been there on the ground be
| fore me, I want to ask, Doctor, whether
| you made any discovery"
started, having completely forgotten
the little instrument had picked up.
This I now drew out of my pocket anC
placed in his hand.
Mr.. Ketcham seemed to attach more
Importance TO 1t than 1 had deemed pos
sIble. He examined it all over, care
fully.
doctor, where did you pick this up?'
he finally asked.
among the roots OF the vines. It wa
partly imbedded in the soft soil, anC
gave evidence of having fallen fIOm somt
height"
%Allow me to keep It. will say Their
Is q chance of this tool becoming a yer!
important factor in this terrible affair.
ait is burglars tool. believe
~YOu are quite right You followed
the tracks to the low portion of the wall
Now, what impression did you reach?i
~@Only this, sir. That the party mus
have watched the house some time, 70
they seemed perfectly familiar with tn
peculiarities OF the grounds"
@Very true, Doctor. Miss LeOnOre ha
gone out, 1 believe"
~She said she was going for walk
"Under the circumstances, 1 may b.
pardOned for visiting her room in Orde
to see whether or no can find clew Il
this mystery; would to heaven that
might acquit her; at the same time.
must do my duty"
He was again the stern arm Of justice
I shivered at thebare thought of hi
power being hurled against that frai
young girl to crush her, and yet bust
ness was business, as 1 well knew.
~Meet me in the room where he lies
Doctor. have some further investiga
tiOns to make there"
With these words Mr.. Ketcham lef
me, passing out in his usual nOiseless style
! so that unless one were watching, i
would be impossible to tell when he went
1 remained, buried in thought
Could Leonore be saved from this fat
which seemed TO be stretching out it
arms to embrace her?
felt as though were her only friend
and she had said, oh, so sadly, that i
ever she were in need Of friends IL wa
now.
A thought came to me.
What If the trail did come home {
|, her, and Mr.. Ketcham proved his word
true? Then she had committed tn
crime while laboring under a tempOrar
, tit OF insanity.
Would the law hold her responsible?
That was a pretty question, and one
did not feel competent to decide.
CHAPTER WI.
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