The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1903-07-02

his crime, perhaps to assure himself
that his victim is really dead. Posi-
bly, it was important that he should
know this beyond the shadow of a
doubt. Having satisfied himself and
not wishing to be seen on that path
way, he crosses to the short cut and
returns to the Devils Den. There he
falls in with the crowd going to the
scene of the murder, and to throw
suspicion completely off the track, he
goes back with them to witness the
proceedings"
Miriam's interest deepened visibly
as Warde developed his hypothetical
case.
But" she said breathlessly, "my
fathers watch, knife and cuff but
tons traced to Herbert-how can that
be explained?"
81 can offer no solution as yet, but
there is one thing in connection with
that which requires explanation. The
same afternoon that your brother
pawned your fathers watch he also
pawned another watch at another
shop. 1t could not have been his own,
for in his destitute circumstances he
would have pawned or sold that long
ago. Whose watch, then, was it, and
what part does it play in the trag-
edy? When that. question is an
swered perhaps we shall have the
key to unlock the mystery"
Miriam Wright was easily imbued
with some of Warde's own belief in
his theories, imperfect as they were.
They went over the whole ground
carefully together, and when at last
he arose to take his departure she
begged him earnestly to continue his
task and help her brother. She had
an idea that the police were in league
against him, and Warde seemed to be
the only friend they had.
When Irving Warde returned to the
city he began to realize that he had
shouldered a big job. Here was a
case SO plain as to stagger almost
any one. The hand of fate seemed to
be in it. By having in his possession
those pawn tickets calling for. the
murdered mans articles, Wright's
doom had apparently been sealed.
How could they have come into the
young mans hands unless he had
taken them from his father? The
old man had been murdered and
robbed, and the articles of which he
had been robbed and for which, he
bad apparently been murdered had
been traced to Herbert Wright.
AS an offset to this he had as pegs
on which to hang a theory:
l. The arctics.
2. The unidentified watch.
If he could find out who wore the
a~rctics, it would enable him to deter
mine what part the wearer played in
the tragedy, if any; but he had little
hope that he would be. able to make
any progress in this line of inquiry.
And the watch? Even suppose an
owner were found for it, he might
be some one who had been robbed,
and another crime would be laid up to
Wright's account without helping his
case at all.
That afternoon Warde called at the
JUL oAo oouSAC Oil 1uIcIflcW Will
Wright. The latter was evidently
very much bewildered wei the drift
of affairs, and he showed it in his
face as well as his speech. Warde
assured him that he believed in his
innocence and that he would try to
establish the fact; but Wright de-
clined to say anything regarding the
case that could help the reporter in
his researches.
Il am entirely innocent of this
crime. My father was killed with a
pistol, and I have not had such a
weapon in my hand for months.
There is an old pistol in my house
that has been lying there untouched
for over a year. I can see that in
order to clear myself, MI. Warde, it
will be necessary for me to establish
the guilt of another man. That is a
hard part, an injustice I may say, of
circumstantial evidence. Without
offering direct proof of a mans guilt,
it ave a network about him so
plausible ana so apparently convinc.
ing that it is almost impossible for
him to establish his innocence. Cir
cumstantial evidence assumes that
am guilty, and then challenges me to
prove that I am not. 1t would be
impossible for me to prove an alibi
because the time of the killing is not
exactly located. 1 have a suspicion OF
my w about this case, but I do not
feel warranted in telling what it is.
You would declare it too wildly i'm
probable to merit a moments belief.
/ must think the whole thing over be-
fore 1 say anything to anybody"
At this moment all further CONVEX.
sation was interrupted by the appear.
ance of Wright's wife. Warde saw
that she was a pleasant-faeed, rather
good-looking young woman, who had
evidently undergone a hard spell OF
sickness. He further saw that the
meeting between husband and wife
was Of the tenderest character, and
then he went away.
There vas at least one person, he
thought, who believed in Wright's in
nocence absolutely.
On his way back to his office, he
! stopped az the Office of Col. Franklin.