The Red Cloud chief., 1905-11-24

vi y ''N 80,
tainly has not been for the last quarter
of n century-but before that-well, It's
not so certain. And there's one strik-
ing point which seems to Indicate his
guilt"
"Yes-you mean, OF course, her re-
scmblancc TO his daughter"
Precisely. Such II resemblance must
exlst-n resemblance unusual. even
striklng-or il would not for II moment
have deceived Rogers. We must re-
member, however, that Rogers office
was not brilliantly lighted and that he
merely glanced at her. still. whatever
minor differences there may have been,
she had the air, the general appearance,
the look. of Miss Holiday. Mere facial
resemblance may happen in II hundred
ways by chance, but the air, the look,
the altogether Is very d~iifcrcnt-it In
dicates II blood relationship. My the
DRY is that sine Is an illegitimatc child,
perhaps -four or five years older than
Miss Holiday"
l paused to consider. The theory
was reasonable, and yet II had Its
faults.
Now, let's see where this leads u.s."
he continued. Let us assume that
Holiday has been providing for this
illegitimate daughter for years. At
last, for some reason, he Ia induced to
withdraw this support, or, perhaps, the
girl thinks her allowance insufficient.
At any rate, after, let us suppose, In
efrectual appeals by letter, she does
the desperate thing OF calling at his
office to protest In person. She finds
him incxorable-we know his reputa-
ton for obstinacy when he had once
made up his mind. II reproachcs
him-she Is already desperate, remem-
bcr-and he answer with that singing
sarcasm for which he was noted. In
an ecstasy OF anger she snatchcs up
the knife and stabs him; then, In an
agony of yemorse, endcavors to check
the blood. She sees mt last that II Is
useless, thst she cannot save him, and
leaves the office. All this Is plausible,
isn't IT."
VERY plausible" | a%ssented, look
ing at him In some establishment. You
forget one thing, however. Rogers tes-
tilted that he was intimately acquaint-
ed with the affairs of his employer
and that he would inevitably have
known of any intrigue such as you
suggest"
My companion paused for n mo-
ment's thought.
81 don't believe that Rogers would
so inevitably have known OF It," he
said ut last. but, admit that-then
there Is another theory. Holiday has
not been supporting his illegitimate
child, who learns of her parcntage and
goes to him to demand her rights. That
fits the case, doesn't itT'
EYES," admitted. 1T also Is plausi-
BILE"
ut Is more than plausible" he said
quietly. whatever the details may
be, the body Of the theory itself Is un-
impeachable-it's the only one which
fits the facts. l believe 1t capable OF
proof. Don't you see how the note
helps to prove ltT'
"The note?'
| started Mt the word, and my suspi-
at him quickly, but his eyes were on
the cloth and he was rolling up innu-
merable little pellets of bread.
"That note" he added, proved two
things. One was that the writer was
deeply interested I'm Miss Holidays
welfare; the other was that he or she
knew Rogers, the clerk, intimately
more than intimately; almost as well
as Il physician knows an old patient"
81 admit the first" ! said. You'll
have to explain the second"
''The second is self evident. How
did the writer of the note know OF Rog
ers' infrmity"
"His lnfrmityW
"Certainly-his color blindness. con
8 Tess I'm puzzled. How could any ont
else know 1t when Rogers himself
@ didn't know II? That's what ] should
like to have explained. Perhaps there's
o only one man or omn In the worlt
t who could know. Well, that's the on
who wrote the note. Now, who is itT'
= But" I began quickly, then stopped
{ Should | set him right, or was this
r trap he had prepared for me?
q His eyes were not III the cloth now
but on me. There was a light In then
I did not quite understand. I felt tina
l must be sure of my ground before
u went forward.
ut should be very easy to race tn
u writer OF the note" l said.
THE police have not found 1t So"
"No?"
q AM l.o, ta tl,n IanrIynay