The Irish standard., 1903-06-20

as very few Of his tracks could be
seen there. These facts told that
much in his favor.
The unknown person, however,
seemed to take deep interest in
the corpse. His tracks made almost
a circle around it, and as his foot
had slipped here and there in the
snow it was evident that he had
tugged at the body and turned it
over. There was also reason to be-
lieve that he had examined the poclz-
cts of the clothing. as the coat was
thrown open in such way as to
suggest that the inside pocket had
been rifled, or at least searched. This,
however. could be dismissed as mere
surmise, for the contents of the pock-
cts must have been extracted at the
time of the murder.
Il am afraid this clew will not
amount to much," said the chief.
"Why?"
"For the reason that I can imagine
very clear explanation of the last
comer's action. He stumbled by acci-
dent upon this dead body, with it's
face down. Naturally he would turn
it over the better to see who it was.
Failing to recognize the dead man, he
would probably search the pockets
to see if there were any papers that
would lead to his identification"
''If that be the case" said Warde,
''and this is an honest man, would
not his first impulse be to notify the
police?"
eyes, or else some of the neigh
bors''
IF he has notified any of the
neighbors it is reasonable to suppose
that their curiosity would have
brought them hither by this time.
People, as you know, will walk miles
to sec a dead body, specially where
the death involves some horror, but
there is as yet no evidence that any
curiosity exists in this neighborhood.
1t is also certain that the stranger is
in no hurry to notify the police, for
he has continued on his way instead
of returning to town. If this man
is square he will some time to-day
revea! his identity by notifying the
authorities"
But he may not be square. He may
be a man with a bad reputation, one
who knows that his discovery of such
a crime would direct suspicion on
himself. Or he may have noticed that
the crime had already been found out
by some one, Wright's tracks being
conclusive evidence of that"
II should not judge that the person
who made these tracks was yaga-
bond or a rough customer him
self. You will observe that they
were made by broad and fiat shoe;
indeed, L am sure the mysterious
stranger wore arctics. Now arctics
are worn almost exclusively by per-
sons in fairly good circumstances"
"Your reasoning is very ingenious, -
said the officer admiringly; "but still
it would hardly be fair to connect q
stranger who comes along to-day and
stumbles upon a dead body with a
murder committed day or two ago.
But there is nothing to do now but
await the coming of the coroner's
jury"
In making their examination, the
two men had been careful not to ap-
proach too near the body, which was
left with the tracks in the snow just
as they were. That page of evidence
was allowed to remain as it had been
found, and if it contained any reve-
lations the coroner could not COM
plain that they had been confused.
Warde, who was n good draughtsman,
drew on large piece of paper as ac-
curate picture as possible of the
marks in the snow about the body.
He also made careful measurement
of the footprints made by the stran-
ger, and then drew facsimile of it
upon his paper. He also measured
the distance between the tracks, and
averaged them. The chief did not
pay any particular attention to the
movements of the young journalist,
regarding them as the harmless ac-
tiSities of an amateur detective.
Furthermore, he fancied that the
coroner's jury was approaching. as
he could hear the sound of human
voices, and all his interest was now
centered in the inquest.
Despite the lack of interest shown
by the officer in Warde's conjcct,lres,
the latter was by no means satisfied,
and he took it into his stubborn head
that he would follow up those foot
steps and discover it possible who
was the person that had made them
and what he had been about. This
unknown had also discovered the
murder, and it seemed to Wardc that
he certainly ought to be identified and
made to tell just what he knew about
it.
Relying, therefore, upon the chief
of police for the details of the coro-
ner's inquest, Warde continued his
Investigations of the tracks.
CHAPTER III.
Irving Warde followed the foot
prints in the snow with ease and
celebrity, and as he did so his mind
was actively specializing upon the
case, in which by this time he had be-
come as absorbed as a chess player
is in the courtly strategems Of
queens and knights. His intutions
told him that plain, ordinary robbery
had not prompted the crime; and, if
the minor crime had been committed,
it had been for the purpose of veil
ing the real motive for the murder.
When he had gone some distance