Morris tribune., 1904-05-14
The Ereat settle
in the room of death

X
alton by a criminals hand. The boa
Of delicate black net which encircled
her neck rose fresh and intact to her
chin; nor did the heavy folds Of her
rich broadcloth gown betray that any
disturbance had taken place in her
figure after it's fall. If jewel had
flashed at her throat, or earrings
adorned her ears, they had been re-
! moved by a careful, if not loving,
hand. But I was rather inclined to
think that she had entered upon the
scene of her death without ornaments,
such severe simplicity marked her
whole attire. -... ,:....
rs elegant as the rest Of her clothing.
! lay near her on the floor. 1t had been
taken off and thrown down, manifestly
by an impatient hand. That this hand
was her own was evident from a small
hut very significant fact. The pin
fhich had held it to her hair had been
! thrust again into the hat. No hand
! but hers would have taken this precau
! lion. A man would have flung it aside
! Just as he would have flung the hat.
| Question:
! Did this argue natural expectation
IN her part Of resuming her hat, or
was the action the result of an uncon-
scious habit?
Having thus noted all that was pos
! yible concerning her without infringing
on the rights Of the coroner, next pro-
reeded to cast about for clews to the
Identity of the person whom consid-
cred responsible for the extinguished
candle. But here a great ,disappoint-
ment awaited me. I could find moth
ing expressive of a second persons
presence save a pile of cigar ashes
scattered near the legs of a common
kitchen chair which stood face to face
with the bookshelves in that part Of
the room where the candelabrum rested
on small table. But these ashes lock-
ed old, nor could 1 detect any evidence
Of tobacco smoke in the general musti-
ness pervading the place. Was the
man who died here a fortnight since
accountable for these ashes? If so,
his unfinished cigar must be within
sight. Should l search for it? No, for
this would take me to the hearth and
that was quite too deadly place to
be heedlessly approached.
Besides, l was not yet finished with
the spot where l then stood. If l
could gather nothing satisfactory from
the ashes, perhaps could from the
chair or the shelves before which it
had been placed. Some one with an in
terest in books had sat there; some one
who expected to spend sufficient time
over these old tones to feel the need
of a chair. Had this interest been
general one, or had it centered in par
ticular volume? 1 ran my eye over the
shelves within reach, possibly with an
idea of settling this question, and
though my knowledge of books is linn
tied could see that these were what
one might call rarities. Some of them
contained specimens of black letter, all
moldy and smothered in dust; in others
saw dates of publication which
placed them among volumes dear to a
collectors heart. But none Of them.
SO far as l could see, gave any evil
dence Of having been lately handled:
and, anxious to waste no time on
puerile details, l hastily quilted my
chair and was proceeding to turn my
attention elsewhere when | noticed
on an upper shelf a book projecting
slightly beyond the others. Instantly
my foot was on the chair and the book
in my hand. Did 1 find it of interest?
Yes, but not on account of it's con-
tents, for they were pure Greek to
me, but because it lacked the dust on
its upper edge which had marked
every other volume had handled.
This, then, was what had attracted the
unknown to these shelves, this-let me
see if can remember it's title-"DisqUi-
sition Upon Old Coast Lines" Pshaw.
l was wasting my time. What had
such dry compendium as this to do
with the body lying in it's blood few
steps behind me, or with the hand
which had put out the candle upon this
dreadful deed? Nothing. l replaced
the book, but not so hastily as to push
1t one inch beyond the position in
which I found it. For, If it had tale
to tell, then was it my business to
leave that tale to be read by those
who understood books better than l
did.
My next move was toward the little
table holding the candelabrum with
the glittering pendants. This table
was one Of nest standing against
nearby wall. Investigation proved
that it had been lifted from the others
and brought to it's present position
within a very short space of time, for