Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1897-09-09

dr1cks SAID nothing until they were in
side and he had closed the door; then
he coolly lighted another cigar and
went on:
"You must pardon me. really. cap
tain. but ! have always worked with
men who understood my awkward
ways. They usually let me alone: and
forgot that you don't know my meth
DDS. am great economist OF time
when ! am in thinking trim. and, as
had already arrived at the only conclu.
sion possible in your case. at least at this
stage. was working on the other mat
ter mentioned"
Conclusion? What conclusionw
cried Welsh.
"Why, thought you were following
me step by step, UP at the mayors;
though now do recall that you made
one or two proposals that rather seemed
to indicate lack Of proper caution"
"Why. saw absolutely nothing" re-
piled Welsh. ITO be frank. thought
you were helplessiy stumped, and were
simply trying to kill time and make
favorable impression on the ladies"
II was trying to be agreeable, Welsh,
confess it, That's my style. 1t makes
an unpleasant job pleasantr to all
concerned II you ever have to hand
cuff a woman. tell her she has pretty
wrists, and she won't mind it half SO
much"
II am at sea-" said Welsh. land COM
pIetely overheard"
Hendricks leaned back, threw his feet
on a desk and chewed the end OF his
cigar II did not expect to find what |
discovered up there" he said, musingly.
"but when once got started the whole
chain of circumstances began to unroll.
and was so easy to follow that felt
as if were playing with toy. | could
have kicked myself for having to ap-
pear to take it all so seriously. was
tempted to make joke Of it. When
was half through, ! wanted to throw
down my hand and say: Look here,
hold so and so. and ri bet my reputa.
ton you haven't thing!'"
Pm still in deep water" said Welsh.
II saw the bullet hole, her tracks, the
fellows tracks, and that was all. The
nervousness Of the ladies and the may.
or's anxiety absorbed me. ="
Il did not 60 there to sympathlze
with anyone" answered the detective.
II was looking for facts. But follow me
now, and draw your own conclusions
as we 60. Well. what was the first in
congruous thing that happened after
we arrived? Why, If You remember,
Mrs. Walters SAID she was sure she
heard the report before she felt the ball
pass through her sleeve. The distance
was about 100 yards, and If the differ
ence were noticeable at all II wouli
have been. scientifically, you know. ex-
actly the reverse"
But surely" protested Welsh. you'd
hardly expect an excited woman to pe
correct about such a minor detail as
that"
Mrs. Walters was not excited"
Hendricks answered. "You must have
noticed that. II she had been. should
not have made a point there. However.
that was only little thing to start
from, but it was sufficient, as found
out later. The next thing did was to
examine the hole 10 her sleeve. What
did 90 that for? To find out il It were
made by a bullet. 1t was rather too
dark in the house to see well. but out
in the sunlight got another look. |
saw that it really was Il bullet hole. |
noticed Il few black specks on the cloth,
but, without being openly impertinent, l
could not decide whether they had been
caused by powder or 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 moment, so let's continue She
next showed us her tracks. Did you
notice how deep and distinct they were?
1t 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 | marked the spot
where Mrs. Walters stood with my
umbrella; after that, you know, we
went over to the fence. There is a
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. was tempted to laugh
outright, but it would have spoiled
everything. so smothered my amuse-
ment."
Il saw nothing remarkable about