Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-01-17
MARATHON MYSTERY
A Story of Manhattan
BY BURTON E. STEVENSON
Author Of "The Holiday Case
Copyright 1904 by Henry Holt and Company
Bv BURTON E. Stevenson
convroht. 1904. by Henry Holt and Company.
A Story of Manhattan
Author Of "The Holiday Ca

his familiar devil. looked at Godfrey
with the liveliest admiration. This
constructive reasoning was something
which certainly was quite incapable
of.
$50 that ] on Thompson's arm was
the initial of his real name." observed
Godfrey. II thought 1t was: 1t had
been there n long time, and an eff
fort had been made to erase 1t. After
n man has started on the crooked path
he doesn't want any tattoo marks on
him; they make Identification too easy.
For Johnson, then, we'll hereafter read
Thompson
l nodded: was beginning to be con-
vinced
'Well," continued Godfrey. Tire
maine and Thompson, then. were ar
rested in New York July %, 1885, at
low resort where they were having
a carouse. They had beaten and rob-
bed another sailor. 1t seems that moth
ing was left Of the 10000 francs. and
naturally Tremaine found it difficult to
go honestly to work again. The fourth
clipping, undated, but probably some
months later, shows that Tremaine and
Thompson were sentenced to three
years each in Sing Sing. But they
didn't stay there so long" he added.
turning to the next clipping, "at least
Tremaine didn't. On the night of Jan.
2, 1886, in the midst of tremendous
snowstorm they managed to hide
themselves in one of the workshops
and afterward to scale the outer wall.
In the morning Thompson was found
at the foot of the wall with his head
cut open and nearly frozen. Tremaine
got clear away. Thompson was
brought around with the greatest difn-
Guilty and would say nothing except to
indulge in terrible imprccations against
his companion. You see," concluded
Godfrey, looking up, I'VE begin to get
at the motive"
EYES," agreed; 'it's very plain.
now you've started on the right track.
It's a good deal like Columbus egg"
Godfrey smiled and turned to the
sixth clipping, the longest Of them all.
Its that way with most mysteries"
he said, ''and here's the internal EVIL
lence that all this theorizing Il pretty
straight. It's the clew, too. which
we've been seeking 30 long"
st explains Miss Croy don's presence
hereY' I asked, intensely interested
and deeply stirred.
'Just thatg' he said, and shot me a
triumphant glance Let us see II you
can catch it. The clipping Is In French,
and, though my French isn't OF the
highest order, I can get the sense Of it
pretty well. 1t Is dated Suresnes and
is evidently a letter from provincial
i correspondent to Paris newspaper,
who, like most other provincial CORE
spondents, is delightfully."- vague. How
ever, 1 gather from it that on the night
Of Sept. 16, 1891, beautiful young
English girl-name not giyen-ran
away from the convent school Of the
Sacred Heart at Suresnes and that the
next morning she was safely married
to gallant Frenchman'-Tremaine, Of
course-by the cure. Of the little village
of Petits Colonies. The marriage was
quite regular though no doubt the
cures fee was larger than usual-for
the banns had been published as re-
quired."
.But STILL" 1 objected, II don't see
that that explains anything"
LET me help you. It was this clip
ping happened to look at first the
night we found the body. / read two
or three lines aloud, then Simmonds
put it back in the pocket. 1t must
have been those few lines which told
Miss Croydon the nature of the clip
pings and their Importance to her. The
date line would have been enough to
do that. Besides, II she'd 4lready
known Of them she'd have taken them
before we got here"
"You mean Miss Croydon is the girl
who ran away with Tremaine? But,
then, she couldn't have been more
than ten or twelve years old in 1891"
ELEVEN" corrected Godfrey, and I
was struck by the radiant expression
of his face us he took yellow paper
from his pocket. Let me read you
two sentences from this old report con-
corning the Croydon family. You
ought to have recalled them, my dear
Lester"
"Go ahead" said helplessly.
Eldest daughter, Edith, born In
France, Aug. 20. 1874. Educated at
school there, but broke down from
overstudy and returned to Beckenham.
Religion, Catholic Now" he demand
ed, "do you understand who 1t was
married Tremaine at Petits Colonies
in 1917"
At last saw 1t, and 1 could only. sit
and stare at him, marveling at my
own stupidity. This was the key-the
key to the whole enigma. Miss Croy-
don had taken her sisters place, had
tried to buy him of to get him out OF
her sisters way. 1t was Tremaine
who had opened the door; it was Ire
maine whom she had come to the
Marathon to meet. But-and started
upright-since they were Catholics,
only his death could release Mrs. Del
roy! Perhaps it was Thompson. after
all, and his death had released her!
But. no, and in an instant the whole
terrible position Of the elder woman
burst upon me. She was not Delroy's
wife; she was
T.