Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1902-12-06

AttN ICS J0OS0 OVVC STWtttu u SUPERIOR OH
ctdl smile.
ously wrought piece OF eastern work
manship, probably Malay or Chinese
BE stopped short and looked at me.
Where have lately heard such a de-
scription?'
why, such a weapon was among
Mr.. Wentworth's curios."
"And be left suddenly last night?
Called away by telegram
he looked at me and at him, each
formulating the same thought 1t was
great jump, a big span OF possibility
TO leap, but we both seemed to accom-.
plish II with little difficulty.
at is just possible" said he. 'Sin-
gular, indeed. II our esteemed Mr..
Wentworth is not associated with the
society An escape, Davie. You must
feel your way more carefully"
l shuddered at the awful nearness
of the catastrophe, and to this day
cannot imagine why Mr.. Wentworth
did not use his dagger on me In prefer.
ence TO the clumsy contrivapce of the
exploding pistol. II one means to
murder, there Is no weapon to equal
the knife. For once that a bullet
brings down its intended victim II will
miss dozen times. But the knife.
driven by u steady hand. rarely fails In
its mission. II is the thing most to be
dreaded by all people whose position
causes the envy OF less fortunate NOR
tails.
Recognizing. then, its utility. | was
ut loss 10 comprehend the reason for
his neglecting the use OF it-taking II
for granted. of course that the pistol
was not fired by accident. And yet
his choice Of the pistol was not with.
out wisdom. Had 1t succeeded It Is
doubtful If even a suspicion would
have attached itself to his person. And
how near he had been to accomplishing
his purpose! Just that slight deviation
Of the head at the right moment had
upset all his plans and given me anoth-
er chance. The more thought OF II
the deeper was l impressed with the
belief that special providence was
watching over me. When one lives In
a whiri or excitement when ones
nerves can no longer be counted upon
to beat regularly. it is easy enough 10
fancy things. And, after all, unfor.
tunate as | esteemed myself, could
not deny that had some share Of luck
We returned-to town that afternoon
and In due course called at the Victo.
, ria hotel, but learned to our chagrin
that the widow and her daughter had
already left with friends Where had
they gone? The hotel officials did not
know, but suggested that we should
make inquiries at Great Scotland Yard
which was just round at the back. We
thanked them, but did not take their
advice. Unlike the police, we knew
who had committed the murder: al
least we had very few doubts. How.
ever. we thought that glimpse of the
weapon might confirm any lingerine
suspicion and with that object in view
called at the police office and begged
permission to inspect the knife, per
mission which was peremptorily refus.
ed by red faced savage clothed In a
little brief authority.
But | am not without information
which may throw considerable light
upon this crime" said my uncle.
The red faced one smiled a superior
official smile.
Yes; know" he said. "Pve 'ad 10
ere already who can lay their lands on
the murderer at n moments notice"
DO you know" said my uncle, that
your tone is hardly the one to adopt
when speaking to a gentlemanY
IF gentlemen will come ere with
such yarns he muttered as he turn
ed his great back on US. The sentence
was left unfinished, but it really re-
Guired no completion. The tone. the
movement and the shrug of the mass.
I've shoulders finished it as no words
could.
You are an exceedingly intelligent
Fellow" said my uncle. ''You ought to
succeed"
After the first vain attempt to discov.
er the whereabouts of the widow and
her daughter we abandoned our in.
qulries. After all, we could only have
heard what we knew or imagined, and
our story, If accepted, would render
Us anything but desirable acquaint.
Rnees. Therefore, after duly taking all
things into consideration, we decided
not to intrude upon the privacy of the
ladies', but from a distance watch the