The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1897-05-29

MA Z 70, 1897.
oorr6ot about such . minor detail ~
that
mrs, Walters was not excited"
Hsndzicks answered. ''You must have
noticed, thst # she had been, I should
not have made a point there. However,
that was only little thing to start
from, but It. was sufficient, as I found
out later. The next thing did was to
examine the hole in her sleeve. What
did do that for? To find out if itwere
made by bullet. 1t was rather too
dark in the house to see well, but out
in tho sunlight got another look. I
saw that it really was bullet hole. I
noticed few black specks on the cloth,
but, without being openly impairment, I
: could not decide whether they had been
caused BY powder OF SCOT, for the gown
was gray"
"At that distance? Who ever heard
: of-"
''Hold on! not SO fast! All, see you
are not following me; but you'll catch
on in q moment, so let's continue. She
next showed us her tracks. Did you
notice how deep and distinct they were?
It was the first thing that struck me.
Her mother is twice as heavy as she is,
and stood in the same sort of soil, but
her feet made hardly any impressions.
Don't. forget that l marked the spot
where Mrs. Walters stood with my
umbrella; after that, you know, we
went over to the fence. There is
minor point here in Mrs. Walters
being the first to see the footprints be-
yond the fence, but we will pass that,
and come to the footprints themselves.
Did you notice nothing remarkable
about them, captain? No? Well, in
all my experience never saw such COM
,ical footprints. I was tempted to laugh
outright, but it would have spoiled
everything, so smothered my amuse-
1nent.", :>.
II saw nothing remarkable about
them" said Capt. Welsh, impatiently.
.'They were made, captain, by mems
slippers, a number ten, with very thin
soles. The heels had been well pressed
down into the soft clay, and so were the
middle parts of the soles, but the thin
edges all round had turned up so easily
that only a faint impression of the bot
tom was left"
....What did you deduce from that??'
asked. Welsh. still perplexed.
THAT they were worn by feet not
half large enough for them, though
they had doubtless been drawn on over
q pair of boots. Il saw by the shape OF
the track that the right one had come
of once as the wearer drew it from the
mud .4 s=..~
"Ah! curious!" exclaimed the cap
tain; "but 1 don't yet see what you are
driving at, though think you suspect
but how could you? Why"
'But that is not ALL" the detective
went on, smiling. "You remember. per-
haps, that asked if it had rained out
there. recently: Well, was trying to
account. since there has not been any
rain lately, for that naturally dry spot
ofrclay being soft enough to have re-
:ceived such distinct footprints. On
close examination, detected the faint
>semicircular mark of vessel in the
edge, of the grass, and. at exactly the
right distance from it, a spot where
little water had trickled down from the
spout on the clay"
.....Ah. the watering pot!" cried Welsh.
,.s.'Wonderful! wonderful! Now l know
what all that rigmarole to the garden
er meant" -;
/. Eyes. and found little water in it.
too. and learned that it had last night
been left on the floor when Robert de-
clared that he usually hung it up. and on
had left a trace of the very clay in
which we found the footprints. But I
AIN too fast; foryou remember, as stood
ut the big tracks. sighted along over
the fence at my umbrella on the lawn"
II remember" said Welsh. with
laugh. ''And I own l thought you
were making blooming ass of your
self, and simply pretending to make
Investigations when you knew you
were wholly at sea. But what were you
doing it for?''
: .'When / got my bearings in that
way, l calculated that the handle of
my umbrella was just about where her
sleeve must have been when she was
bending over. AS 1 sighted along at
it, saw that if bullet were fired from
where I stood and passed through her
sleeve it must-as it would naturally
20 in straight line-strike a certain
portion of the wall Of the conservatory
beyond her. Ifound, on examining tho
wall. that it had not"
$50 You knew no shot had been fired?"
calculated the captain.
s..No, not that" returned Hendricks,
"for there were the specks on the gown,
you know. was, you see, convinced
that the specks were made by revolver
at short range. =and a woman of nerve
made them, captain, for the ball passed
very near the arm"
~.'I begin to see what you suspect"
said Welsh. "but am so much aston
ished that am unable to grasp it all.
Surely she could not be"
'~.'Wait till have finished" the detect
i've interrupted. Don't jump to con-
illusions. don't think you were watch
ing my work in the mayors study. for
you seemed on pins and needles to get
sway"
"You don't mean that you did not
really want to write that note?"
mo; for wanted her to do it." said
the detective, with smile, taking from
his pocket the threatening letter adj
dressed to the mayor, and the note