Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1894-12-29
CHAPTER IX.

he !..i Thought If nothing else but the
lone inn crime The peculiar circum-
stances of the case fascinated him great
~ Decidedly should be detective, ~
he said laughingly. Il have been in
venting al kinds of theories in connec-
tion with this matter. BY the way, my
idea of searching the shipping list was
q good one.
Excellent. You received my letter."
Il did, with much pleasure. So Fran
els did not arrive in England until the
9TH of June?"
No! Therefore it was Francis whom
| met at the Fen inn, who was killed
10y his brother and it is Felix who now
passes himself of to Olivia Bcllin As
Francis.
Does she not guess the imposture?"
''No. 30 far az 1 can see, she firmly
believes Felix to he Francis. You were
also right about the hiding of the
corpse "
''You don't say so:" cried Mcrrick,
highly delighted. Ibid Felix ride out
t. the Fen iun and hide the body, Us
surmised?"
He did. / have the evidence of the
livery stable keeper to prove that he
hired :: horse on the llth and did not
return till midnight. g"
During which time he disposed OF
his brothers body"
Precisely. tracked his horses hoof
marks to the POOL wherein l am con-
WINGED the body lies hidden"
''Egad! You are wonderful man,
Denham. Did you have the pool drag
ged for the body?"
Not yet. l wished to tell You all my
discoveries before doing So
MANY thanks. am so interested in
this case that it is great pleasure for
me to follow it step by step
Il wish no thanks from you, Merricl, +"
said / heartily. 1T is rather the other
way, As your reasonings have led me to
these important discoveries: First, that
Felix was i'll Paris; second, that Francis
did not arrive from Chile till this month,
and, third, that Felix himself hid the
corpse. BY myself ! should never have
discovered so much. But l have made
one most famous discovery.
''Yes? And that is?''
~ know how the crime was commit
ted and by whom"
You don't say sou exclaimed Mer-
rick in much excitement "Have you
seen Strcnt?"
mo. II was not Strent who killed
Francis Briarfield.
You don't mean to say is was Rost
Strent:"
NO 1t was Felix himself.
Aierrick uttered an exclamation o.
surprise and remained silent for few
minutes.
But you said yourself that Fell!
never came to the inn on that night,
he objected.
$50 | thought, but it appears that
was mistaken. Fundy, the livery stabl'
keeper, told me that Felix hired a hors,
from him on the 10th and Il tn of June
On both occasions he did not return til
midnight. Now, Francis was murdered
on the 10Th, and his corpse disappeare,
on the 18th. Felix is therefore respon
sible for both the murder and the con
cealment of the body.
THAT is purely circumstantial evi
dence."
l laid down the arrowhead on tn
table
This is proof positive" said tri
,mphantly. with that piece of fin
Francis was killed"
Really said Merrick skeptically
picking up the arrowhead. with srcl
clumsy instrument he must have bun
gled the job considerably.
4 &C., -,
cd in virulent poison.
1.-The deucer' cried Merrick, drol
ping it hastily. "Why did you N
warn me of its danger? l might ha,
cut myself and gone the same way
poor Francis Briarfield. How do yo
know the murder was so executed?'
II told you about the discolort
wound in the palm of the right hand.
AIerriclc nodded.
well" continued, that was Il
cause of death, as there was neith
scratch nor violence OH any other pa
OF the body. l picked up that arro'
head in the fireplace of the dining roo
of the Fen inn, where it had doubtle
been thrown by Felix after the COZ
initial Of the crime.
Whore did he get the arrowhead
That is just what puzzled INC for
long time. Fortunately remember,
that the entrance to Bellin Hall w
deckcd with n perfect armcry Of s:va
weapons. ] made AN excuse of lookii
mt the picture gallery and so gained {,
mission to the hall.
did you find anything likely to co
firm your suspicions:'
Eyes. ! found that an arrow Ii
been removed from the wall
How could you tell that
because the weapons were aIrang
i'll patterns, and one of the patterns "
incomplete. Moreover, OIL compari
that arrowhead with those OH the W;
found it was precisely similar i'll a
pearMrcc
''humph,' said Merrick though
fully. There is only one deduction
I've taken from all this. Felix stole {
arrowhead, and knowing it to be p