Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1896-08-13

| tbat the bed had much the same ap..
pearance that il had when he visited
the room on the morning or stark
weather's disappearance. Inc pillow
was indented as by a mans head, d
the coyerlet was slightly disarranseu.
There was one detail in the room. now
ever. that had not been there before.
II consisted of a cord running from tue
head OF the bed up the wall across me
/ ceiling over little pulley wheels. to une
key In the door. \ glass Win Tue
dregs of some liquid in IL was on the
stand. ,,,,.;..
Vow. Doctor" whispered PhiiDrick,
..I'm going to lock you In mere ipr q
moment. You keep II lantern anu
stand by this chair. Keep your eyes
on the bed" -.
He withdrew the key from the lock
and opened the door. DR.. Wlhaihs
falt as If he were about 10 be 1nltiated
into some secret order by means OF u
irving He would not nave
admitted that he felt trepidation, Out
ha was conscious of a sense OF pro-
found apprehension.
..You don't mind, l hope?" suggested
| Philbrick, pausins.
NO: hurry
philbrick stepped into the hall and
closed the door. A moment later the
doctor heard the key grating In the
lock His eyes were upon the bed, ana
his blood ran cold as he saw the edge
nearest the wall sink. sink, until the
entire body of the bed hung straight
down from the frame. and in the dim
light of the lantern he saw Il hole ex-
49, 80 ..~ %lvatOh tho nDnH I'D
from its depths came the gurSIihS anu
kissing of the Miniski.
The doctor stood perfectly stlii.
Again he heard the grating or the Key,
and with the same steadiness OF motioh
the bed assumed its former position.
Then Philbrick opened the door ana
came i'm, a somber smile on his race:
do you see now, DOCTOR he WINS
pered.
Partly" responded the doctor.
LET us look more closely.
Philbrick turned the key from the in
side this time and again the bedside
descended. Both men drew near the
edge of the hole and looked down.
Philbrick attached the rope the doctor
had brought him to the lantern n
lowered Ii. Part way down 1t hit an
obstruction.
That's one Of the spikes" remarked
Philbrick. look close and you cab
see That the walls of that narrow well
are lined with spikes. They are or the
same kind that are used on the PROBES
sor's wonderful loom for making wire
nets. They account for the mutation
on Stark weather's body and they will
account for the ~mutiiations on the pro-
fessor when he is found. They also
account for the scratches on my hand
and face, for although i couldn't have
| climbed lfp the well without them; 1
couldn't dodge them all in the dark
ness
.Then you swan across the river and
under the house,
Pretty nearly. | really entered the
river from this side. but / got under
the house and then assembled 10 this
room. 1t was the only way of verify
ing my theory, for if the door had been
unlocked the hole would have closed
and no one would have thought of
locking the door from the inside TO see
the machine work"
But what if the door had been
forced?''
1T might not have worked then. but
in all probability your clever constable
would have taken pinchers and turned
the key from without. That would
have released the mechanism. the bed
would have swung into place 10y the
time the door was opelsed, and nobody
would have been the wiser. Besides. |
wanted 10 settle the thing in NY own
way"
II can quite understand tnat," said
the doctor, "hut this isn't the end of
your work, I'm sure"
Far from it. There remains for your
satisfaction an explanation OF the rea-
son why the professor killed Stark
weather, | take it you know how it
WAS done?"
Il am not sure Of the details. | sup
posed it was by electric shock. but
where and how Starkweather ignorant.
ly made the connection, | don't KNOW"
Its i~mmater.al, but we can infer it
easily. 1t was enough for me when |
saw the symptoms of electricity on
St~arkweather's body that the profess
sor had killed him. / knew why il was
done, and didn't care how. Let's 90
down stairs"
In the corridor where Starkweather
fell dead Philbrick said:
"Retsey says Starkweather went in
here; the professor said so. too. though
that doesn't count. Betsey told me
this evening that she had g the pro
1essor working owe this fioor at night
You may have the floor ripped up If
You like; | don't care for the detail
but a guess that you will find moth.
ing directly beneath this spot. You
viii. however, be able to trace where
electric wires used to run from tho
dining table to this point. one
ing with the handle of the shop doo-
the other with the board on VIII
man stands when he opens the
iou will not find the pole of a battery
III the floor now. or in the shop for i
is II Thousand to n that the professor,
DESTROYED 1t after it had served his MIR.
pose, for there is no doubt villa fever
tnat the murder Of S~tarkweatber was
planned months before it took Mace
Ihat was why the house was so re-
constructed as to permit of the MAKING
OF chat extraordinary well. The main
trouble with the professors scheme
was Betsey's unexpected view of tbo
dead man. That brought about n chain
or circumstances with which Won or,
familiar, and i'm which tho ,roso.aa.