The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1898-04-28

divan. Hendricks sat down and drum
med on the table with his fingers.
Lampkln and Kola stood near the door.
say, Hendricks, all jokes aside"
said Ralph, "are you detectives-you
fellows with names that are household
words, as 1t Were-are you ever badly
| mistaken?'
Seldom when we get along as far
as have with you," answered the de-
tectlve AT any rate, you are an agree
able prisoner. You make it a pleasure
instead of a task 1 may say you fill
the bill Ideally"
The fire of Ralph's wit seemed to die
out. His face grew serious.
"There is no use going further with
this said he. Tell me frankly what
evidence you have against me-
Hendricks took cigar case from his
pocket. He passed it first to Ralph,
then to Lampkin and the adept. Ralph
was the only one to accept, and he be-
came amused again when he tried to
get a match from his pocket and was
prevented by the handouts
"You may as we'll unchain me-" he
said. II promise not to break away. 1t
would be folly for me to try to down
the man at the door, you three and
your hosts Of hidden demons, who are
the genii of the masters dark lantern. "
Il don't think shall run any risks,
said the detective, striking match and
holding it to the end of the young mans
cigar. GA bird in hand,' you know,
60 WI fxx,@ $to > 49,
mans put it.
Ralph nodded.
"The only thing that puzzles me-"
he said, els my arrest. 1t is incongru-
Gus. | am the stone that spoils the
mosaic. 1 ought lot to be in it, but it
seems that | am. Hendricks, | have
had queer sort of admiration for you
in the past, but have never thought
you could be stupid enough to arrest
the wrong man under any circum-
stances. If you don t unchain me before
l explain, you shall cease to be my ideal
detective. %
Il should dislike that" answered
Hendricks, ''but I presume my pride
must sutfer-that is, if you are the
wrong man.
Ralph pulled two or three times to
keep his cigar alight. Suddenly he bent
his puzzled gaze again on Hendricks.
Tell me exactly why you have ar
rested me-" he demanded. "You are
woefully off the track. Honestly, that's
fact.
"Am I?'' Hendricks shrugged his
shoulders and glanced slyly at Lamp
kin, whose eye he caught. II know
that on the night of the murder you
came in at the side gate and crossed the
grass in bee line for the Month walk.
I found your tracks, the only footprints
not explained by others, near the body
of your father. These tracks traced to
certain point on the walk, where
"Wheve the maker of them vanished
in the air like the nightmare we saw
just now, put in Ralph, with smile.
$50 it seemed at first agreed Hen
bricks, ''hut the other day Wilson, the
gardener, recalled the fact that in order
to surprise the young ladies, who had
expressed desire to have swing, you
had yourself late in the afternoon hung
one from bough of a big oak. The
night your father was killed it was
hanging at the edge of the walk, not
five feet from the spot where the foot
prints ended What had become of the
swing Wilson could not imagine, but
found it in the hollow of the tree above
the lower boughs. -
Hendricks paused, knocked the ashes
from his cigar and took two or three
draws at it, his eyes the while fixed on
the young mans face.
Ralph smiled.
well" he said, ego ahead"
''It suddenly occurred to- you" COD
tinued Hendricks, that the sand was
taking the impression of your feet, and
you sprang to the swing. You climbed
one of the tow ropes to the boughs te
which it was fastened and then drew
the swing up after you. After this you
unfastened the rope and crammed il
into the hollow of the tree: "
@"What did do then?'' asked RALPH
cool1y. II swear, you. have as many
eyes as water beetle. Iwonder II ever
you could tell what next did. "
Lampkin, who had; had considerable
experience with criminals, decided ad
miringly that this was the coolest oul
prit he had ever met He glanced a
the adept and was astonished to see
broad grin on his face.
You crawled out on long bougl
till it bent down to the roof Of tn
wood she'd" answered Hendricks. "Thl
reached, you next went from it to tn
roof of the wellhouse, thence to the roo
of the veranda. thence into your room
through an open window.
pretty goodP' said Ralph calmly
But has it occurred TO you, Hendricks
that some one else might have done al
this?''
II went into your room and searches
it" went on the detective. 81 foun
|