The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1898-03-31

chain of circumstances began TO unroll,
and was so easy TO follow that / felt
as IL we're playing with toy. could
have kicl<ad myself for having TO APP
pear to take IL 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 I'll bet my reputa
ton you haven't thingl'"
I'm still in deep water" said Welsh.
81 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-"
81 did not go there to sympathize
with anyone" answered the detective.
II was looking for facts. But follow me
now. and draw your own conclusions
aS we go. 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 il the differ
ence were noticeable at ali il would
have been. scientifically, you know, cN-
actly the reverse"
But surely," protested Welsh. you'd
hardly expect an excited woman to he
correct about such minor detail as
that"
Mrs. Walters was not excited"
Hendricks answered. you must have
noticed that. If She had been. should
not have made a poiut there. However,
that was only a little thing to start
from, but it was sufficient. as found
out later. The next thing | did was to
examine the hole in her sleeve. What
did do that for? To find out if it were
made by bullet. II was rather too
dark in the house to see well. but out
in the sunlight ] got another look. |
saw that it really was "a bullet hole. |
noticed a few black specks on the cloth,
but. without being openly impertinent, 1
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 a 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 i'm 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? Wen. in
! all my experience never saw such COM
ical footprints. | was tempted to laugh
outright, but il would have spoiled
everything, so ! smothered my amuse-
Inent."
Il saw nothing remarkable about
Them said Capt Welsh, impatienrly.
-'They were made, captain, by mems
slippers, n 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 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
a pair of boots. | saw by the shape OF
the track that the right one had come
off once MS the wearer drew il from the
mud"
"Ah, curious," exclaimed the cap
tain; but l don't yet see what you are
driving at, though l 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, l was trying to
account, since there has not been any
rain lately, for that naturally dry spot
of clay being soft enough to have re-
ceiyed such distinct footprints. On
close examination, detected the faint
/ III IL NtSStl III Iut
edge of the grass, and. at exactly the
right distance from it, a spot where a
little water had trickled down from the
spout on the clay"
"Ah, the watering pot" cried Welsh
Wonderful. wonderful! Now know
what all that rigmarole 10 the garden.
er meant"
/ Yes, and l 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 il up, and on
the bottom of it the stupid rainmaker
had left trace of the very clay in
which we found the footprints. But |
am too fast; foryou remeuber.as stood
at the big tracks, ! sighted along over
the fence at my umbrella on the lawn
II remember" said Welsh, with a
laugh. "And / own | 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, 1 calculated that the handle of
my umbrella was just about where her
sleeve must have been when she was
bending over. AS l sighted along al
it, saw that if bullet were fired from