The Portland daily press., 1894-09-26

The gardener who had taken them up
brought them again. 1t was fine but
strong wire, fastened to the ground by
small iron pegs.
Are the wires in the exact place?''
II put the pegs in the very holes, sir, !"
replied the gardener. ''You can SEQ the
holes yourself, sir.
'And now should be glad to be left
alone little said. II want to make
some minute Investigations
My wish was complied with, and went
down on my hands and knees to examine
I was well satisfied. In five minutes
had made an important discovery
I next examined the window where the
burglars had entered from the outside
and then entering the house I went up
stairs and with the help of the maid ex-
amined the bedroom. The window had
been left half open, the maid said, as
master was so particular about fresh
air." Next l inspected the footsteps, a
matter of some difficulty, considering the
number of people who had been there
since. But finally i traced them across
flower bed into the shrubbery, where they
were quite distinct. Only one person had
passed there, and came to the conclusion
the sapient police had evolved two robbers
from their inner consciousness. But what
interested me more was that the palings
which separated. the shrubbery from a
public byway had lately been tarred and
were not yet dry. The robber had climbed
over the palings, and whoever he was he
must have carried away little of the tar
on his person. In fact, the marks of his
fingers were quite distinct
I felt tolerably satisfied, and having
walked to. the postoffice and sent tele-
gram I stroiled round the village till the
reply came. 1t was then O'Clock, and as
dinner was not until 8 l took longer
walk through the forest.
On getting back had pleasant hall
hour in the billiard room with Mr.. Eng
strom.
Captain dyer returned just in time for
dinner, and I was only introduced to him
as we entered the dining room. He was
faultlessly got up, of well made figure and
handsome features bearing large traces OF
dissipation. AS for his speech, he had an
invincibie objection to the letter ''r" and
carefully avoided Its use.
We had finished soup when begged
thousand pardons for leaving the table for
a few minutes My host looked little
surprised at my want Of manners, and the
as though were a new kind of animal
I was only gone few minutes, but it was
time well spent
When we reached dessert and Mrs. Eng
strom had left the table, led the CONVEX
sation round to the burglary and induced
the captain to give his version. I waited
till he had finished, and then, looking OF
him steadily, said:
ttNovy rothor c,Yr;o,1c
Captain dyer, that you should fall owe
the wires when they were quite three fec
away?''
Engstrom stared at me, and the captain
did not answer till he had drunk glass
of vino.
what do you mean, sir''' he asked at
last.
Il mean," replied, still watching him
keenly, twas it not curious thing that
you should be tripped up by blades OF
grasss And is it not curious also, went
on mercilessly, ''that your servant, OF
rather your accomplish, should be stand
ing under the bedroom window here at
the same time he was in London?''
The captain sat dazed and pale and mo-
tionless, though his hands trembled, and
Mr.. Engstrom gasped out, Mr.. de Warre
whatever are you suggesting?"
II suggest, 1 answered as steadily as
before, THAT the burglar is sitting before
YOU
'Sir,'' thundered Mr.. Engstrom, pale
with emotion, you are forgetting your
SELF To accuse my old friends son of be-
ing thief PreposterousP'
'This is not your old friends son. Mr..
Engstrom. Captain Olyer of the Thirty
eighth hussars is at present with his regi-
ment at Woolwich and replied to me to-
day. Here is the telegram:
Captain Olyer to De Warre-Am
here. What is the meaning of this in
quiryf y
The pseudo captain had risen and looked
round as if seeking means to escape.
'sSit down." cried Engstrom, land il
you want to cave yourself from jail make
full confession. De Ware, beg your
pardon
''Don't trouble about that" I said. 1
"Of course 1t was hard to credit it,.
The poor wretch sat down again and
stammered out his story. His name turned
out to be Odgers, an ex-sergeant in the
hussars, expelled from the army in dis
grace His accomplish, who acted as his
servant, had hidden the Jewels in the
wood, near the house, till they could safe
~ be removed.
AT breakfast the next morning had to
relate how had unearthed the conspiracy
First of all" said, 'sthe fact that the
burglary occurred shortly after you had
brought the jewelry from London con
WINGED me- that the thief was some one in
the house, and when had the wires re-
laid and found that the captain had fallen
three feet away from them-a fact which
discovered from the impression made by
his knees and the toes of his boots-I
thought things were very suspicious
against him. Up stairs I found that it
was little trouble for him to slip into your
wife's room and throw the casket down as
soon as she left the room l learned that
he had been the last to appear at the din
ner table, and tho case was strengthened.
At the railway station discovered that
man answering to the description of his
servant had arrived from London by the
$50 train, and not by the 9:15 as it was
made to appear. What effect the telegram
had yen already know In tracing the
footsteps through the shrubbery found
that whoever had passed over the palings
Yn11St haEa aa7spjad aNyay game If the lar M,