Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1903-06-17
Mystery Of the
Bayou Woods
BY WALKER KENNEDY.
Copyright, 1903, By A. N. Kellogg Newspaper Co.
CHAPTER II.-CoNTINr-FD.

CHAPTER lI.-CoNTINuED.
When the chief of police entered
the place the barkceper. Mr.. William
S"ggs. looked up. slightly alarmed.
hen he seemed to reflect "A moment.
and the expression of alarm was sue
Sccded by one of relief The chief
mad never let his eye wander from
bills face, for it was to a certain cx-
tent an open page when read Alright.
Hhd BoggS at once put on an air of
defiance. the officer would have said.
rms fellow knows all about the .,f-
f"ir. but he will not tell" If he had
shown signs of fear when the officer
entered. and without appearing to
reflect had assumed a iaunty. n sus-
p'"ious or defiant air, the chief
""uld have been sure that Bill had
himself taken n hand in the crime.
1'ut when he stopped to reflect the
chic! knew just as well what was
passing in the scamp's mind as if he
had spoken out. If Bill had to review
ahc recent past in order to ascertain
whether there was anything for
which he could be wanted, il was evil
dent that he was not implicated in
the murder.
ihc chief told him that he and his
friend wanted to warm themselves
Tor n minute or two. asked him n
few questions. satisfied himself that
Bill had never even heard of the trar-
edy AID then departed.
That place offers every induce
meut To man to go out and assas-
sinate his fellow man, but this time
i believe it plays no part i'm the trag-
cdy. Our labor is simplified that
much; for where we have to examine
the denizens of the Den as witnesses
there * so much ornamental. artistic
md clumsy lying done that it is al
most impossible to get the truth.
Sometimes. however. those fellows
havc Il trick of telling the truth lust
10 throw the police off the track"
They now drove around the woods
until they came to the roundabout
path already referred to in the state
pncnt of Herbert Wright The horse
was hitched to tree and the two
men began TO pillow their way through
tho snow. 1t had melted just enough
10 make their footprints as distinct
* If they had been drawn by an ar
fist ON paper. Suddenly Warde called
attention to the fact that there were
two series of footprints in the snow
and that some one elese than Wright
Had traversed the path. II was fur
fbcr discovered that the footprints
were pointed in opposite directions :;
In other words, one of the persons
3ad been coming TO the city and the
other had been going from il. II
would he interesting TO know who
had taken the roundabout path from
fhe city and why he had done so. IL
occurred at once to the two men
chat perhaps Wright had gone back
by that route
This suggested an examination of
Che tracks, and n was Immediately
apparent that they had been made
by two persons. or at least by a
person who had worn two different
Kinds at shoes. for the FOOTPRINTS
were nothing alike IT was known
chat Wright had made the tracks
pointing to the city. but who had
made the others? Following the trail
wa easy, 50 the two men walked
rapidly along toward the scene of the
murder. This trip through the BAYOU
Woods was by no means inspirino
HE land was locked i'm a settled
gloom and the wind took its way
with desolate insistance through
The soIaber trees. No noise broke the
silence save such as was made bv the
shicf and the newspaper man. in
whose faces was wide dissimilarit y
0f expression. In the eyes Of the elder
therc was only the cold, calculated
interest Of man plying his accus-
tomed trade, while the face of the
after quiyered now and then with the
excitement of an experience too
aovel as yet, even in his reportorial
ffe, 10 leave his nerves entirely
.teady. They made a strange con
Erast walking side by side through
that weird silence of snow and forest,
and yet both were equally alert.
equally in earnest.
At length they came to the object
~ their search-the thing that had
sncs been John I. Wright, "the Cot