The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-02-12

beneath. Neither the flowers nor the earth showed
any sign of having been disturbed nor were there
any marks upon the narrow strip of grass which
separated the house from the road. Apparently
therefore, 1t the young man himself who had
fastened the door. But how did he come by his
death! No one could have climbed up to the win
DOW without leaving traces Suppose had
hred through the window, he would indeed be a
remarkable shot who could with a revolver inaict
! so deadly wound. Again, Park Lane is a fire.
quented thoroughfare; there is a cabstand within
a hundred yards of the house. No one heard a
shot. And yet there was the dead man. and there
J the revolver bullet, which had mushroomed ont as
sOtt-nOsed bullets will and SO inflicted a vound
which must have caused instantaneous death Such
were the circumstances of the Park Lane mystery
which were further complicated by entire absence
OF motive, since, as L have said, young Adair was
not known to have any enemy and no attempt had
been made to remove the money or vauables in the
room.
! All day l turned these facts over in nv mind
endeavorlng to hit upon some theory which could
reconcile them all, and find that line of least
resistance which my poor friend had declared to
/ be the starting point of every investigation
confess that made little progress. In the evening,
strolled across the park and found myself about
g O'Clock at the Oxford street end of Park Lane
group of loafers upon the pavements all STARING.
up at particular window directed me to the house
which L had come to see. A tall thin man with
colored glasses, whom strongly suspected OF being
a plaln-clOthes detective, pointing out some
theory OF his own while the others crowded round
to listen TO what he said. | got as near him as /
could but his observations seemed to me to be
absurd so l withdrew again in some disgust As
did so | struck against elderly. deformed man.
who had been behind me, and l knocked down sew
eral books which he was carrying / remember
that as picked them up observed the title of one
of them, "The Origin of Tree Worship" and it
struck me that the fellow must be some poor biblio-
phlle who, either a trade as a hobby, was a
collector of obscure volumes. / endeavored to
apologize for the accident but it was evident that
these books which had unfortunately maltreated
were very precious objects In the eyes of their
owner. With snarl of contempt he turned upon
ms heel, and | his curved back and white side
|whiskers disappear among the throng.
Ny observations of No 427 Park Lane did
little to clear up the problem in which was inter
ested. The house separated from the street
by low wall and railing the whole not more than
i've feet high 1t perfectly easy therefore for
anyone to get into the garden, but the window was
entirely inaccessible since there water pipe
or anything which could help the most active man
TO climb it. More puzzled than ever. ] retraced
my steps to Kensington. | had not been in nv
study five minutes when the maid entered TO say
that person desired to see me. To my astonish-
ment It was none other than my strange old book
collector. his sharp, wizened face peering out from,
frame of white hair. and his precious volumes
dozen of them at least, wedged under his right arm.
You're surprised to see me, sir" said he in
strange, creakng voice
] acknowledged that 1 was
well, I've conscience. SIR and when I CHANGED
to see you go into this house, I came hobbling