Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1899-10-04

paTUlCular SET OF CneSSlIle0
"No, sir"
"And have no idea what they were
like2'
"Well, sir, heard Mr.. Dobson say
that they were Indian work in ivory,
very finely carved with figures, ele-
plants, men on horseback, and the
like
All the time that Dauent had been
questioning Thompson his eye had
never ceased to wander over the room,
from the window to the bookcases, from
the bookcases to the lofty chimney piece
and back to the window again. Those
round panes in the doors of the dark
oak bookcases seemed to Darrent to
glare down at him like wide open eyes
wide open, staring eyes that never
closed night or day, eyes that had gazed
down on Josiah Marsden score upon
score of times, eyes that had witnessed
the murder.
What was Josiah Marsden doing that
fatal nighta Was he sitting, solitary
and alone, by the fire, the gray ashes of
which still filled the CRATE. reading one
or other Of those treasures Of literature
that lined the shelves2
Darrent walked round the room and
infinitely examined the fastenings of
the bookcases No; the dust proved that
they had not been opened for weeks.
Had Marsden been seated there at the
table with the chessmen and board in
front Of him, working out some prob
lem, when the assassin had crept noise
lessly in, stolen behind him and stabbed
him to deathf
Was there nothing in all that room
70 afford one tiny clew to the murderer
Had there been struggle between
the murderer and victim, and In it had
there possibly been tiny thread of
material torn, or button wrenched off,
or an ornament broken, that could af-
ford something Of clewf With eyes
fixed on the floor, Darrent stood think
ing, while Thompson waited respect
fully on one side. Darrent paced the
length Of the room from the window to
the fireplace several times and pom
dered At last he paused in one of his
journeys and gazed out over the whiten-
ed country. From the house to the riv-
er not a footmark marred the surface.
The snow that had drifted on to the
broad window sill was undisturbed.
There had been no escape that way.
He faced round an stood with his
back to the light. The wintry sun was
shining full into the library and throw
ing ribbon of color across the floor,
and in its track upon the polished wood
something white glittered. It was only
tiny speck, but it caught Darrent's
eye. He stopped, picked it up and ex-
amined it closely. 1t seemed to be q
broken piece of ivory, little mite of
lacelike fligree. He looked at it in the
full light Of the window, and suddenly
1t dawned upon him that here was his
clew, here in this tiny scrap. for OAR
rent felt confident that il had formed
part Of the ornamental carving of q
chessman, and it was q set Of chessmen
that some one had been at great pains
to secure from that very room.
Yes, here was the clew Once let him
trace the set Of chessmen that had been
obtained from The Grange, once let
him find that one was damaged and
satisfy himself that this fragment fitted,
and the first step in the discovery of
the murderer of Josiah Marsden would
be accomplished.
He carefully wrapped the piece of
ivory in cigarette paper and placed it
in his pocketbook.
CHOW, Thompson, he said to the
officer, who had been interestedly
watching his proceedings, 81 think I've
seen enough of this room, for the pres
emit at any rate. Let us turn our atten-
tion to thorough search of the rest of
the building. The murderer seems to
have entered in the ordinary way, but
he did not depart the same way as he
entered. Therefore, Thompson, he knew
of some other means of exit, and what
we have got to do is to find ii"
Darrent had already arrived at the
conclusion that the murder had been
committed by some one who possessed
an intimate knowledge of the structure
Of The Grange itself and of some secret
means of escape. There must be secret
means Of exit from the building-of
that he was confident-but whereof
That was the trouble, and that they
would have to discover. That the en-
trance had been in the usual and ordi-
nary way and the exit in some unusual
and extraordinary way was certain,
and that gave rise to two possible the
cries. One was that the murderer was
merely an ordinary visitor, with origi-
nally no i'll intent Something which
might never be solved had led to a
quarrel with old Marsden, and that had
ended in struggle and his death,
whereupon the murderer, acquainted
with the structure of the building, had
escaped by the secret way. Or, on the
other hand, the assassin had entered,
with malice aforethought, determined,
for some reason of revenge, upon the
death of Josiah Marsden, intending aft.
or the committal of the deed to make
use Of The secret route and leave nc
trace of his escape. In either case il
proved thorough knowledge Of the
house and the existence of some private
means of exit, and that was what they
must discover.
Together they left the library and
began their search. From garrett tx
basement they ransacked every room
but could discover nothing Dust reign
ed supreme everywhere. and the mos
careful investigation revealed no posi-
BILE hiding place or means of escape.
After several hours thorough search
Darrent and his assistant conclusively
satisfied themselves that the murderer
was not concealed upon the premises
How, then, had he escaped2 He hat
not gone out by the front door. Thel
he must have escaped from the back O
The Grange, and yet from the house tt
the river the snow lay in one smooth
undisturbed mantle of white. Not
telltale mark betrayed the way Of tn
murderer's fight.
On the left of the entrance hall, op
posite the library, was the only othe
room that seemed to have been in con