Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1906-12-21
fuptly ana turned Is me.

w AoI WClO yOui POlAI6S ne uSkcu.
1.-THE first" said, looking at him,
will fear, help to tip the scale
against Miss Croydon. She came here
the morning after the inquest and
tried to rent this apartment"
He stared at me, astounded, his cigar
in the air, while repeated the story
Higgins had told me. When had fin
ished. he sat gazing into vacancy, his
lips compressed.
II see it puzzles you." said at last,
enjoying his perplexity. II confess
couldn't make anything out Of It,"
Puzzles mew he repeated, getting
up again and walking nervously about
the room. why, It's the most as
founding thing ever heard. It's the
most unexplainable feature of this
whole unexplainable case. should
think she'd never want to enter these
rooms again. But perhaps higgins was
mistaken" he added, stopping short.
THAT might be-" admitted, though
he swears he wasn't"
"Well, let's pass over it for a mo-
ment. What's the second point? Is it
another staggerer?"
mot staggerer. but another twist
to the puzzle, imagine. Did Thomp-
son have any Jewelry on him?"
"Jeweiry? Not bit. He was practi-
cally in rags"
where was his body lyingT'
Right here" and he indicated the
spot with his foot.
"And right there" I said, "two days
later found this, pressed into the
carpet" and took a little paper packet
from my pocketbook.
/. He opened it carefully and looked
at what lay inside. Then he whistled
softly.
"a diamond, by all that's wonder
full"
"Teil me what 1t came out Of"
said.
"One of group. I should say; or
perhaps border around larger CEN
trail stone"
Precisely" nodded. "And last
night happened to notice that Mrs.
Tremaine wore 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
crystal and handed it back to me with
an exceedingly thoughtful face.
That's mighty pretty bit of evil
dence." 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 it
would be worth a great deal"
"And there isn't any other7'
"Just one little, bit. You say Ire
maine comes from Martinique. Well,
among Thompson's clothes I found q
| peculiar nut. called a snake nut, which
grows only in the West Indies. When
you add to this that Thompson's cloth
Ing was all such as Is worn in the
tropics, the presumption IS pretty
strong that he lived for awhile some
where in Tremaine's .neighborhood."
nodded; then my face fell
after ALL" pointed out, call that
amounts to nothing. Both Tremaine
and his wife can prove an alibi. They
weren't in the building when the crime
was committed. You yourself saw
them coming back"
well, We'll puzzle it out in time. If
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 NV feet on solid ground: |
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. hat?"
A door opened and step crossed the
hall. There came tap at my door.
Godfrey shot me one electric glance
then, lightly as panther, he seized
coat and hat and disappeared into the
bedroom, leaving the door slightly ajar
l. ITO be continuad)