The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-02-22
THE MINNEAPOLIS JOJRNAn..

they moved from room to room In the
search which was now being extended to
all parts of the house. AS saw these
men pass SO quietly but with such an
air of authority into rooms where
few hours before they would have hesi-
tated to put foot even upon, the genial
owners express invitation, experienced
such a realization Of the abyss into which
this hitherto well-reputed family had
fallen that lost for a little while that
sense of personal bitterness which the
predictions evinced by Miss Meredith had
so selfishly awakened.
But to continue the summary of events
Seeing Leighton withdraw upstairs fol-
lowed by an officer in plain clothes, who
had appeared on the scene as If by magic,
could not refrain from asking why he
was allowed to separate himself from the
Others and was much moved at being in
formed that he had gone up to sit by his
childs bed that child who Of all in the
house had found her Wonted rest.
That he could calm himself down to
such q task under the eye of one who
could have little sympathy with lbs feel
ings, whether they were those OF outraged
innocence or self-accusing guilt, struck
me as the most pathetic exhibition Of self
control had ever known; and more than
once during the busy hour that followed,
was visited by Heeting visions of this
silent man, sitting out the night under
the watchful eye of one who moved If he
so much as lowered his head to kiss the
only cheek likely to smile upon him on
the morrow as it had smiled upon him
to-day j. II
+ That the search for the missing phial
was likely to be a long continued one
soon became apparent to every one. Two
mon who had carried the investigation
into the room where the servants had
oh
back with the report that nothing had
come to light in that quarter. At the
same time two. more returned from above
with a similar report in regard to the
sleeping Of the three brothers
SWeetwaters and Gryce, who had spent the
last half-hour in the dining-room, ap-
peared to have an equally unsatisfactory
tale to tell, and I was wondering what
move would now be made, when inter
cepted a glance from the coroner cast In
the direction of the draWing-room, and
realized that the law was no respecter OF
persons and that she, she too, might pc
called upon to give proof OF not having
this tell-tale article upon her person.
The prospect Of such an indignity Of
FEEDER to one I regarded with more than
passing admiration unnerved me to such
an extent that I was hardly myself when
Dr. Frisbie advanced upon me With TINS
remark: ~.
Il regret the necessity, Mr.. Cultivate;
but the emergencies of the case demand
the same compliance on your part as on
that of the other gentlemen found upon
this scene of crime. 1t is needless to say
that YOU were here when. Mr.. Gillespie
died and have been close to certain
member of this family many times since
and, in short it is form which you as
a. lawyer will recognize and
NO apologies prayed, recalling the
one son Of Mr.. Gillespie who had not
been on the scene Of crime at the time OF
his fathers death.
An Intelligent glance from the coroner
convinced me that he. was thinking OF
him to-. Indeed, he seemed to be more
than willing to have me understand that
he exacted this thorough search in order
to fix the crime on Leighton. For II the
phial was not to be found anywhere IN
the house, the necessary conclusion must
be that it had been carried out or II by
the one person known to have left IT our
ing the critical half-hour preceding Mr..
Gillespie's death.
81 understand your thoughts, auoth
the coroner, who seemed to read my face
like an open book 1.-THE phial may have
been smashed on the sidewalk or thrown
into some refuse barrel. But that Would
be the unwisest thing a guilty man could
do. For its odour is -unmistakable, and
once it is found by the men l will set
now?" ......- ....~..-E..
Sweetwater was whispering in his ear.
1.-THE child? Do remember that the
father suggested she should be put to bed
undressed? Oh, cannot have you dis
turb the child. Used as am to the sub
terfuges of criminals l find it impossible
to believe that father could make use of
his child as medium of his own safety"
COR Miss Meredith?':'a the insidious
Whisperer went on.
"Or Miss Meredith. She may have the
bottle on her own person, but she would
never pass it over to the. child. No, moi
curb your eXtrayagances and contine your
enough to allow us to inspect his pock-
cts"
Here the curtain at the drawing room
door was disturbed and a pallid face
looked forth. 49,. .-.a,-..
Il pray you" came in entreaty from
Hopes set lips, spare this stranger,
whose only crime has been to show
kindness to man he did not know, in an
extremity he did not understand. Search
me; search Claire; but do not subject this
gentleman to an act so injurious. swear
that the phial is not on him! | swear,
She hardly knew what she was saying.
The heaped-up excitements of the last
two hours were fast unsettling her reason.
She held out her hands imploringly. II
don't know why I care SO much,' she
murmured in fresh expost ulation, ''but I
feel as if I could not bear it,
From that moment loved her, though I
knew this interposition in my behalf
sprang from her womanly instinct rather
than from the spontaneous impulse of
freshly awakened heart. I must have
shown how deeply I was moved, for the
coroner looked distressed, though he gave
no signs Of modifying his intention, and
I was beginning to empty my pockets
before his eyes, when Sweetwaters ex-
pressive countenance showed sudden
change, and he rushed again to the rear.
Here he stood a moment before the din
ing-room door, striking his forehead in
wrathful indecision; then he disappeared
within, only to shout aloud in another in
slant: ,--
'Fool! fool! And noticed when first
came in that the clock had stopped. See
see!" ...-@
We were at his side in an instant He
was standing by the mantelpiece,
with the heavy French clock tilted
up before our eyes. Under it, tucked
away in the space allowed to the pendu
lum, we saw small homeopathic bottle.
There was one drop of liquid at the bot
tom, which even before Mr.. Gryce lifted
the bottle to his nose We recognized by its
smell to be prussic acid.
The phial which held the deadly dose
was found.