Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1894-06-08
A WEIRD MYSTERY.
Tracing a Dark Crime.
BY ALEXANDER ROBINSON, ii. D.
CHAPTER xvIGJ-tContinued.)

evidence that the man had been in the
Seabury house on that terrible night
At first my search was without avail.
I looked in every crack and Granny |
could find, but success did not greet my
efforts. If he had brought anything
with him tho man seemed to have been
careful enough TO have securely hid
den it.
Still did not despair 1t was not my
nature to give up easily.
The moro difficulties that arose, the
more determined appeared.
My search was continued with ever in.
creasing vigor,
Half of the ten minutes had already
elapsed, and / could expect to hear tho
FOOTBALLS of the Colonel on the dark and
harrow stairs at any time.
While I searched l kept my ears open
for such sounds.
=. At last l believed | was rewarded. In
a.dark hole, where it had evidently been
thrown contemptuously as of little value
because it was alone, l found a silver
spoon.
E, 1t was old and light.
Upon the end was engraved a namo.
read it with such satisfaction as the
huntor can feel when his game is sighted
along the gun barrel, or perhaps the
angler when, a violent tug announces
that his Inc has been taken by the wary
ti>asS.
A ntIlc diplomacy now and the game
vas surely mine.
The name was "Scabury."
The spoon had come from the house
where the murder had been committed.
MIR. Kctcham had been right in read
ofC COln Gain
tho pantry window.
io hal teen there. This man knew
,aore concerning the mysterious murder
than perhaps any living soul.
If he had not committed the crime
himself. then he could tell who did.
~. felt savage delight in the thought
that low held q key to unlock the
mystery.
Mr. kctcham might yet be forced to
learn the truth from me-
My hopes beat high. threw the lone
spoon back whence it had come.
Why had he taken that one article,
only to cast it contemptuously aside when
no reached his den? All the rendering
of this answer would lift the veil from
the whole.
-. meant TO solve it very soon
-
this spoon on tho scene OF actlOn gave
my theory a hard blow.
If was to look upon the man as the
Nemesis, following his intended victim
from cline to cline with but one object
in view-tha death of old Doctor Sea-
bury, what in the wide world could he
mean by carrying off this solitary spooni
Was it his nature asserting itself?
He was burglar by profession, and on
seeing a spoon lying in his way as he
made his retreat from the house, ne
could not resist the temptation to pick
ituD The act was done mechanically,
and when on reaching homo he found j
IN his pocket with the hated name o.
Seabury engraved upon the end, he cas-
it from him in the lofticSt of scOrD.
: This was my only standing ground.
I could not but confess that it was
Z rather fiimsy foothold, but it was the
: best could find.
On the other hand, what?
Suppose this man was simon-pur'
burglar, who had never heard OF Sea
hurry before- and who had entered the
house of the old Doctor intent on rob
! bery-why-had he failed to accomplish
his end?
This was an-iHtercsting question.
To answer it properly would have t.
know exactly what passed, and through
him alof7e could this be gained
1t was easy to believe that he ha(
been in the house about the time th
crime was committed.- -
Hence, it was necessary to find ou
what had scared the burglar away. Ha(
he seen the murder done? Perhaps HI
had caught glimpse of Mr. Ketcham q
he hastily entered the dimly lighted hall
-and recognizing tire detective, had fec
tho moment11r other went upstairs.
On the basis of this tAe0ry-Haaaaz!ti5.t .tV
Il remembered | did not accept as yet
this was a very reasonable conclusion
and ono which would bear further anal
ysis.
These thoughts were not laggards.
They flashed through my mind witt
Intense rapdity | saw the two path
open before nc, and must soon know
which it was for INC to tread.
BY this time l expected to hear M
Quondam friend returning. Surely all q
ten minutes had passed away since Ii
went off.
I listened to hear him, but as ycJ ther
were no sounds to indicate that he wa
coming up the stairs
Perhaps l could not Go better than I
look around some more. There might b
other things to discover.
| was in the act of putting this ide
into execution when far down below
head some one on the stairs.
Was it.the Colonel?
The unknown was undoubtedly comm
ND the stairs with all the rapidity h
could thr0w-int0 the movement.
Immediately ! began to wOnde
whether anything had occurred to alarr
the man. In 10 other way could | ac
count for the mad haste with>which h
sscendcd the rickcty stairs at the risk 0
bis life
With no little anxiety then waitc'
fer his appearance on the scene.
had not long to wait
Ths footballs drew nearer until the
wers IT the top of the upper stairs
Ih.a lhcre could be heard a hand groI
ing e. Ilg the wall as if for the door,
When the door opened as expected
Colonel Cain pushed into the room.
pne hand he caSpcd the back bott,'
with the other he closed and locked tn
door. his face was expressive OF III
viilS ;. alarm.
CHAPTER XIX.
kept COOL =.
There was no use getting cxcitel, t'
tbOnuh the hllT OIf