The Washington times., 1906-01-14

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Grey brought out the words with a
snap, but the keeper answered him
without hesitation.
THAT is the point. sir" he said.
THAT is why am not responsible for
the masters death. / set the gun at
a-ieveI Of eight inches from the ground,
which / recIoned would take the fox
about the shoulder. Some one altered
the elevation Of the muzzIe after 1 had
gone"
..The second forked stick that sup
ported the gun was in the mud. Might
il not have sunk under the weight. and
thus have raised the mueller
mo. sir 1 had pushed it through
the mud down to the gravel. Il was
a good foot deeper when l went 20
look at it, A man must have used
great force to get It so far through
the gravel"
What became of the gum"
After they carried Sir Andrew
away. I must have gone OF my head
for awhile. What would they say TO
me for setting such trap for MY mas
ter? That was the onfy thing ] could
think about. ran back and pulled up
the sticks. and carried away the gun
To the cottage here.
But you saw the policeman arrest
the man whom we may presume to be
the murderer"
Yes. sir; but I was too wild to rea-
son it out. made up my mind this
morning to tell them I'll about il at the
inquest. That is the truth
did you use the punt last nlght?''
''No. sir; 1t must have been the man
that was caught missed her this
Of q.
in the reeds near the island where she
had drifted. Though I don't see how
you could have known anything about
the punt. sir"
1.-THE iron-shod pole had Clipped the
landing-stage The other man had
ferriecs himself across rather than use
the causeway And now please fetch
me the plans and the gun"
When Warner returned. Grey slipped
the envelope into his pocket and ex-
amined the weapon with great care.
swapping the lock twice.
You had eased the trigger, chr
Yes. sir; / thought a light pull
would be best, so I oiled and loosened
the screws"
Tie little man handed It back to him
and turned away, staring over The lake
toward the distant woodlands, with
his 1.-THE hands claSped behind his
back.
THAT fellow. sir-he must have done
it. don't you Think" asked the under
keeper.
so it would seem. Warner said Adj
dington Grey over his shoulder
1t was Il o'clock on the f.HnHing
day when Grey was announced. was
sitting in the garden % my friends
cottage smoking my pipe and reading
the paper. From within the villa came
the sound OF whistling that told OF my
host working at his academy picture.
Why. Grey" I said, what brings
you here2"
He seated himself in a corner Of the
garden bench and lit a cigarette.
Il went back TO London last night"
he told me. And as I had 10 pass
your friends house on the way from
the station 10 AirIie hall, I thought I
could call and see you"
ANY further news2
81 have had an interesting visit.
The botanist with the beard has stepped
into a leading part in our little tragedy.
Mr.. Philips"
DO you mean
yes, believe him to be the murderer
OF Sir Andrew Cheyne"
Then the man under arrest is limo
cent"
That scarcely describes him-but he
had no hand in this crime"
"ConfOund you and your riddles" I
said. Where is the murderer? Have
you caught him2'
There is a carriage 1t the door. II
you care TO come along. perhaps I may
he a HE To Sfanvy him to Won 4"
1t was swift horse from the sta
bles of Airlie Hall, and we covered the
ground quickly There was little talk
between US. Twelve had struck when
we stepped out at the overhanging
porch Of the old gray mansion and
walked through into the library that
overlooked the terrace and the lake.
BY the window, twisting his cap in
his nervous fingers stood Jake War
ner. Grey NODDED him a good morn
ing and then slipped away with q
word OF apology.
The detective gentleman wired that
he wanted to see me-" said Warner
anxiously. do you know why. sir?''
1 told him no, and he dropped into
an uneasy silence. l amused myself
by walking from picture TO picture,
for the walls were hung with SPLEEN
did portraits-Gainsboro Lely and
Romney-it was a veritable exhibi-
tion of those masters. At last the
door opened and the little man ap-
peared, glancing from one TO the other
Of US with his shrewd, Observant eyes.
VIII you follow me. II you pleas? ''
he said.
We tramped up the great staircase.
wide sweep OF polished oak, where
dozen men could have walked
abreast, and so down high-roofed
passage into a majestic bedroom. In
the center stood venerable four-post
bedstead. The columns that support
ed the canopy We're finely carved, and
over the head was a faded coat-of-
arms pictured in the needlework Of
200 years ago. The lattice windows
, were open. From without came the
: faint piping of the nesting birds
Upon the bed lay something COW
cred with white sheeting.
le Grey walked up to it and paused,
staring hard at the keeper. who stood
beside me. Then with a gentle hand
he lifted the sheet. On the pillow lay
= the head Of an elderly man, dark and
full bearded.
Warner stepped back. clutching my