The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1897-10-15
The INSPECTORS CLEW,

ATE one night ! stood ON the pIa,
L. FORM OF a certain London terminus
awaiting the arrival of the Midland pA
press. ! had received orders from head
quarters to shadow the leader OF ,
notorious gang ot'smushcrs, "andns III,
gentleman in question was expected (
arrive III London by the ll:ij, ! lit IN,
PIPE and placed myself In a p]ositin,
qualified to permit Of n cIosc scrutiny OF
every passenger quitting the train.
Presently the headlight Of the engine
ewing round the bend. aud the express
slowed into the station. The next IN.
slant all was hustle and confusion. For
Al quarter Of an hour or more | stood
iherc, until the %clattcr of the departing
passengers hadthinucd down to isolated
footsteps, and only the railway EN-.
PloScs and myself remained,
l was disappointed. the face | had
locked for was missing. the man whose
presence ! had expected had not an
J'earcd. The purtcrs were now busy
iinn thciri inspection of the vacated car.
ridgeN, and ! was iuwardly rcmarkinr
upon the particularly deserted aspect
"i the station, when II cry, followed by
the sound of running feet behind me,
struck my ear. | wheeled round. 4
porter with white face aud ewes start
lug with horror dashed by me. lie re
turned a minute or two later with the
station master, to whom was known
officially.
Come along, Inspector nombcy," he
said, rs he hurried by. | followed him
immediately.
Under the p%ortcr's guidance we tray
etscd half the length of the platform,
aud drew up suddenly before Il second
class carriage, into which the porter
silently pointed. | looked in. On the
flcor lay a man. and along the floor in
II thin stream, collected in a pool in
ont particular spot, was blood.
The man lay there with his lcps
SPRAYED apart, his arms flung out limp.
ly on either side, his hands tightly
e'enched; no twitch, no movement.
struck a match and stopped down. The
light CLEANED duly ia the ghastly |
patch, but revealed no trace Of any
thing in the shape OF a clcw.
For u moment or two | pccrcd about |
on and under the seats, when, lust MS
The match became a mere glowing
splinter, ! caught sight of a dark ohicc,
lying in a corner. 1t was Il
81 g~recn-corered weekly, rolled UP tight.
" III the form of Il ball. islippcd it into
any pocket, and, giving orders to a few
IN the little crowd that had already col
lcctcd, | stepped u onto the platform
while sturdy arms lifted the body and
4 onNryed it to the waiting-room. Leay.
lug the carriage to be locked and mn.
coupled | followed.
The deceased was well dressed. I'm,
clothes were of foreign make and
appearance. In his pockets | found
gold and notes to a large mount. bu,
me- a scrap of paper likely to aid his 1
Identification. Even his railway ticket
missing.
The doctor, on his arrival, very
promptly pronounced life extinct, and
10 a bluish.red stab over thr :
of the heart, and a slight in.
under the left shoulder blade
added: "A clean drive of the knife like
hat speaks for itself"
In due course the body was conveyed I
o the rlortuary, there TO await identi- {
lcation and inquest. On examining the
VIPER found in The carriage | made A |
discovery. Upon the pages Il
we're strange streaks, varying in color r
rom a dun coppery brown TO bright a
rimson-blood, undoubtedly. In 4
the inevitable conclusion forced 5.
self upon me, The murderer had cyi. I
entity wiped his foul hands upon the lc
aper, crushed il up and thrown il un. u
or the seat. !,
There was a morbid fascination for is
in that copy, in those smcars; n
orrtble, grcwsome interest became NJ W
'ched 10 thos pages-two especially a,
'tracting my attention. On n mage "a
as the blurred imprint of four fingers d,
Il thumb; on the other were four y,
mes only; n short and thin, two "a
lick, heavy strokes, and one a mere b,
l reasoned. The thin line drawn in
'wer Than the others stood, say. for the III