Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-10

Puzzles me-" he repeated. getting up
again ana walking nervously about the
room. Why. It's the most astounding
tnlng ever heard-it's the most unexplain-
able feature of this whole unexplainable
case. l should think she'd never want to
enter these rooms again. But perhaps Hig
gins was mistaken" he added. stopping
short.
That might be- admitted. though he
swears he wasn't"
We'll, let's pass over it for a moment.
What's the second point? Is 1t another
staggerer?
Not a staggerer-but another twist to
the puzzle. imagine Did Thompson have
any jewelry on him?"
"Jewelry? Not a bit. He was practically
in rags"
Where was his body lying?'
Right here" and he indicated the spot
with his foot.
And right there" l said, two days
later, found this pressed into the carpet"
and l took the little paper packet from
my pocket book.
He opened ii carefully and looked at what
lay inside. Then he whistled softly.
"A diamond, by all that's wonderful
Tell me what 1t came out Of, l said.
"One of a group. l should say; or per-
haps a border around larger central
stone"
Precisely 1 nodded. And last night
happened to notice that Mrs. Tremaine wore
a pin with just such an arrangement of
stones. One of the small diamonds in the
border was missing"
Godfrey wrapped up the tiny bit Of crys-
tai and handed it back to me with an ex-
ceedingiy thoughtful face.
That's mighty pretty bit of evidence,
he said at last though. of course. 1t may
be only coincidence. Taken by itself, 1t
isn't worth cent; in connection with other
evidence, II would be worth great deal.
And there isn't any other?"
Just one little bit. You say Tremaine
comes from Martinique. Well, among
Thompson's clothes found a peculiar nut,
JloI 10 hicl, only in
West Indies When you add to this that
Thompson's clothing was all such as is
worn in the tropics, the presumption Is
pretty strong that he lived for while
somewhere in Tremaine's neighborhood'
I nodded then my face fell.
After ALL l pointed out, 'all that
amounts to nothing. Both Tremaine and
his wife can prove an alibi. They weren't
In the building when the crime was COM
mitted. You yourself saw them coming
back
"Yes-but it's a significant fact that no
one them go OUT
"Oh, WELL l said, with sudden revulsion
of feeling, that doesn't prove anything,
either We mustn't let our suspicious carry
us away, Godfrey. If you knew the Ire
maines, you'd see how ridiculous 1t is to
suspect them-on no better evidence than
this, anyway.
II don't suspect them" corrected God
frey. smiling I'm simply seeking the
truth. If the Tremaines are innocent,
they very probably are. it will do them no
harm for us to investigate them little
No" I agreed; "of course not"
And that's just what l want you to do.
You're here on the inside. Keep your eyes
and ears open. In the meantime I'll set
our newspaper machinery at work to look
up Tremaine's career. Maybe, in that way,
we'll get enough foundation to start
theory on"
And the dlamond?'
The diamond may not have come from
the pin, at all. It's no uncommon thing to
lose stone like that. Or If 1t did, she may
have dropped 1t here at some other time
perhaps she was in here the next day to
have look at the body"
II doubt that" l objected. She's not a
woman who'd have a curiosity for that
sort OF thing
Well Wen puzzle it out in time. If
l only had a chance to study Tremaine, to
hear him talk, to watch him without being
seen. That would be worth more to me than
all this theorizing Then I'd have my feet
on solid ground; could-so who's that?"
A door opened and a step crossed the
hall. There came tap at my door.
Godfrey shot me one electric glance; then,
lightly as a panther he seized coat and hat
and disappeared into the bed room, leaving
the door slightly ajar.
(To be continued tomorrow