The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1905-05-11


/ tering criminal. yet was q not quite
empty. Something lay there. and this
something. while commonplace in f.
self, was enough out OF keeping with
the place and hour to rouse my inter
est and awaken my conjectures. IL
I was a lady's wrar, 30 rich Ia quality
and Of such festive appearance that
II was astonishing to End Il lying in a
neglected state in this crumbllng old
house. Though / know little OF the
cost Of women's garments, do know
the value Of lace. and this garment
was covered with t.
Interesting as was this find, It was
| followed by one still more So Nestled
/ In the folds Of the cloak lay the with
cred remains Of what could only have
been the bridal bouquet. Unsightly
now and scentless, It was once beau
/ tiful specimen OF the florists art As
noted how the main bunch Of roses
and lilies was connected by long satin
| ribbons to the lesser clusters which
hung from IL / recalled with conceiva-
/ bic horror the use to which a similar
| ribbon had been put IN the room be
! low. In the shudder called up by this
coincidence l forgot TO speculate how
a bouquet carried by the bride could
have found its way back to this up
stairs room when. as all accounts
agree. she had fed from the pnrlor be
low without speaking or staying foot
/ the moment she was told Of the catas-
trophe which had taken place in the
library. That her wrap should be ~
ing here was not strange. but that the
wedding bouquet
That Il really was the wedding bou-
quet and that this was the room IN
which the bride had dressed for the
ceremony was apparent 70 the most
casual observer. But it became an es-
tablished fact when in my further
course about the room l chanced on
handkerchief with the name Veronica
embroidered IN one corner.
This handkerchief had an interest
apart from the name on IT, II was Of
dainty texture aud quite in keeping SO
far as value went with the other be-
longings of its fastidious owner. But
II was not clean. Indeed Il was
strangely soiled and this soil was Of q
nature | did not readily understand. A
woman would doubtless have compre-
lended Immediately the cause of the
brown streaks l found on Il, but it
took me several minutes to realize that
this bit of cambric, delicate as a cob
web, had been used to remove dust
To remove dust Dust from what2
From the mantelshelf probably. upon
one end OF which / found It. But no.
One look along the polished boards
convinced me that whatever else had
been busted in this room this shelf
had not The accumulation Of days II
not Of months was visible from one
end to the other OF its unrelieved sur
face save where the handkerchief had
laid, and-the greatest discovery yet
where five clear spots just to the left
OF the center showed where some
mans finger tips had rested. Nothing
but the pressure Of finger tips could
have caused just the appearance pre-
sented by these spots BY scrutinlzing
them closely I could even tell where
the thumb had rested and at once fore
saw the possibility Of determining by
means Of these marks both the size
and shape OF the hand which had left
behind II 80 neat and unmistakable a
clew.
Wonderful But what did II all mean?
Why should u man rest his finger tips
on this out of the way shelf7 Had he
done so In an effort to balance himself
for a look up the chimney No, for
then the marks made by bis fingers
!, would have extended TO the edge of the
shelf, whereas these We're in the mid
die OF IT, Their shape, too, was round,
not oblong. Hence the pressure had
come from above, and-ah! / had IT,
These impressions In the dust of the
shelf were just such as would be made
by a person steadyIng himself for a
close look at the old picture. And this
2 accounted also fof the overturned
chair and for the handkerchief used as
duster. Some ones interest In this
picture had been greater than mine:
some one who was either very near
sighted or whose temperament was
, such that only the closest inspection
/ would satisfy an aroused curiosity.
This gave me an idea, or. rather, i'm
/ pressed upon me the necessity OF pre-
: serving the outline OF these telltaIe
marks while they we're still plain to the
, eye. Taking out my penknife, light
" ran the point OF my sharpest blade
around each separate impression Till
had fixed them for all time In the well
worn vara.sh OF the mahogany.
This done my thoughts recurred TO
the question already raised What was
there In this old picture 10 arouse such
, curiosity In one bent on evil n not fresh
from a hideous. citme7 J. have said be-
/ fore thst the picture as a picture was
worthless, a mere faded sketch. az only
b for numbering up some old garret. Then
: wherein lay its charm. a charm which
E / myself had felt, though not 10 this
! extent? II was useless 70 conjecture.
= fresh difficulty had been added 10
( my task by this. puzzling discovery,
, but difficulties only increased my In
terest II was with an odd feeling OF
! elation that. in a further examination
Of this room. / came upon two addi-
tional facts equally odd and drrecon-
! cilable.
One was the presence Of a penknife,
? with the file blade open, on a small Ia
I ble under the window marked by the
The penhnifs and