Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1898-01-10

walk "Thcre are the footprints CT q
man and woman going from the gate
toward the house, Hendricks took a
folded ruler from his pocket and got
down on his knees. He first measured
the tracks leading to where the dead
man lay and then compared the meas
urement with those going toward the
house.
Impossible to be accurate in this
dry, gravelly sand,'' he said. 'fThe
masculine tracks are very nearly the
same size, and that's as near as l can
come to it. I shall find out what this
means, however, if I work on it the
rest of my born days
81 saw you pick up something beside
the body and put it into your pocket,
but could not see what it was, said
the doctor lis it a secret from me?''
The detective laughed good humored-
ly and put his fingers into his vest
pocket.
''Shan't keep thing from you. old
man. he replied. ''I'd trust you with
my head. Do you see this tiny thing?"
''It looks like the burned end of a
match, . returned the doctor, allowing
Hendricks to drop it into his palm.
"Does it look like an ordinary burned
end of a match?' asked Hendricks,
warming up to revelation and smil
ing boyishly
Il believe so, except that perhaps it
is very short. -
"Short? / should think SO when less
than quarter Of an inch of it has been
left unburned. Now imagine it blazing
and let me see you hold it between your
fingers. -
Lampkin made the attempt, holding
the bit of wood as near to the end as
possible 'sIt is all could have done,
he said. And it would have burned
my fingers, [ am sure The fellow that
struck it must have had tough cigar
to light.
"And been anxious to smoke, . added
Hendricks tentatively Then he. laughed
softly.
"Oh, see now" began the doctor
eagerly, and then he stopped suddenly
''But, no; Stanwood said he did not
strike match, and Ralph Benton said
his father did not smoke. -
'The murderer does, though, and
paused to light a cigar after he had
fired revolver within 900 yards of
house full of men and women" said
Hendricks, with dry laugh. cat
least, that's about all the explanation /
can get out Of the end of the match.
However, there is one thing you have
not yet thought Of as an explanation
for the match having burned down so
short. .
''What is that?''
81 wonder it did not occur to you
that it might have continued to burn on
the ground after it fell from the hand
of the man who struck it. -
Il have always said I was an ass,''
said Lampkin. "a 5-year-old child
could have thought of that
''Then the 5-year-old child would
have been far from the truth said the
detective, enjoying the game he was
playing. He held the piece of match
between the nail of his thumb and fore
finger and extended it toward the doc
tor. "You see. !" he began, that the
match has burned evenly all round; no
farther ON one side than another +"
"That's plain, replied Lampkin
Hendricks returned the tiny bit of
wood to his pocket and took a match
from his case and struck it.
Watch this he said, and when
the match was half consumed he laid it
still burning on the ground The fame
was Instantly diminished, for only the
top of the match continued to. burn
Presently it went out, and Hendricks
picked it up. &c., he said, with a
gratifed smile. 1.-The unburned part,
owing to the moisture of the earth, is
longer where it lay against the sand.
When I picked up the match near the
body of the dead man, it was lying
fiat on the sand as this one was just
now"
$50 you know it was held unusually
long in somebody S fngers?" said Lamp
kin.
81 have still another proof of it. -