Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1907-06-13
". THE PERIL
RICHARD PARDON,
A VICTIM OF CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE.
BY B. T. FARJEON-
N OF CIRCUMSTAMTIAL EVIDENCE
Bv B. T., L,FARJEON.
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mans pockets"
obstructive Of your theory" OBJ.
served Mr.. Mortlock.
Don't be too fast, sir, begging your
pardon. Seeing's believing"
He unlocked the dispatch box. The
money was gone!
The inspector looked at Mr.. MOrtlock
,triumphantly, and said:
"How about my theory now, sirT'
"You are right. The murderer Is also
n thief"
"Now, sir" said the inspector to me.
"can you tell me what shape this
money took?"
II can," replied. "There were five
hundred sovereigns, and four thou.
sand five hundred pounds In Bank OF
England notes."
do you know anything Of the num-
bers of the notes, sir?"
II do not"
"To your knowledge, did deceased
part with this money, or any Of 1t,
since his arrival?"
mo"
"He may have banked 1t in a local
bank?"
"He has not stirred out Of my
grounds"
THANK you, sir. The numbers OF
the notes may be written down some
where on these papers"
1t was during this search that ]
made another discovery. -
"The will is gone" l cried. M
"The will?' said the inspector.
"My uncle's will. saw it the night
before last"
"Did you read 1t, sir2"
Il did not, but know its purport."
"Any objection to say what 1t was,
slr?"
"None at all. 1t made me his heir"
"But what would be the use of the
will to the murderer" asked the In
spector, more of himself than us.
Leave that to me-" 1t was the de-
tective who spoke, for the first time,
81 should like to have little private
conversation with your servants, sir"
my entire household is at your dis
posal. For Heavens sake. sift this
dreadful affair to the bottom. will
reward you well"
"I do not think there will be much
difficulty" said the detective. with un'
usual modesty in one Of his class.
"There are three clews-four. may
say"
"Four?"
"Four. First, the money. The sover.
eigns may be spent; not so easy with
the bank notes. We shall trace their
numbers. Second, the ring. The mur.
derer holds it. and will keep 1t. They
never have the pluck to throw such
things away. I shouldn't wonder" he
said, contemptatively, "if he sometimes
puts it on his finger. There's fascina-
ton in diamonds, sir. Third, the cord
with which the deceased was strangled.
That's trifle, you'll say. Not at all.
Keep it about you, and 1t may be found.
Burn it, and the act may excite atten-
tlon. Throw it away. say in n garden
or street. and it may be picked up.
Throw 1t into the water, and 1t will
float. 1t must he strong piece Of
cord with which that"-pointing to the
body-"was done. 1t must be thin
piece. Conclusion-whipcord. Fourth,
Samuel Fleetwood. He has disap.
peared. Even If he were to come on
a sudden among us, he wouldn't be al
lowed to 60 away again. It's no use
stopping here any longer. l shall feel
obliged If you will write down on this
piece of paper the names Of every per-
son in the house, and the positions they
occupy. I propose to say a word or
two to them-me and the inspector-in
Samuel Fleetwood's room. One by one,
SIR"
). While I wrote down the names Of all
the persons in my house the officer
put the papers back in the dispatch
box and locked it. Then, but not in
my presence, every person connected
with my establishment had a short In
terview with the officers. Even my
wife and daughter were not spared.
After that the detective and the inspec-
tor took their departure, leaving the
policeman in charge Of the rooms.
Thoroughly exhausted and worn out,
I went into the sitting room, where
the ladies of the house, dressed now in
mourning, were assembled. The Clan-
ronalds, to whose ears the news Of the
tragedy had already Travelled, were
with them, and shook hands with me,
in mute sympathy for the trouble that
had fallen upon us. Mr.. Clanronald
drew me aside. and we exchanged a
few words In hushed tones.
Harry told me-" said Mr.. Clanron-
aid, "that your unhappy uncle did not
seem to regard him with favor. When
you and l first spoke together about
our children's affection for each other,
/ was not acquainted with your uncle's
name, and If you had mentioned 1t
should doubtless have looked upon 1t
as a coincidence. the name Of Wilmot
not being a very uncommon one. But
after hearing what Harry had to say,
I could come to no other conclusion
than that your poor uncle and I knew,
one another in the past, very, very,
many years ago, and that 1t was,