Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-01-24
He took a cigar and struck a match.

| ne tOOh Il cigar anu Slruch udlSu-
| 'rhere were" he assented, with a
smile, "a number of details that didn't
get before the public. Most of them
have an unfortunate tendency to impli-
| cate Miss Croydon
He got up and walked across the
room and placed his finger over little
| hole in the woodwork OF the bedroom
door
There's where the bullet from her
/ revolver struck he said. There's no
| doubt abCSIt that 1t was taken ont
| and found To fit. I'd give Il good deal
| to know who it was she fired at and
/ why she fired. l tell you, Lester, the
| more one thinks about that affair the
| more inc0mprehensible it becomes,
there are SO. many questions which
seem unanswerable. Who was Thomp-
son? How did he get in condition to
receive herr Was the murderer Il
friend of Thompson's? If not, how did
he get into the rooms? Above ALL why.
after he had. knocked Thompson down,
should he stand over him and shoot
him through the heart? That savors
more of a wild Least than Of Il human
being"
He paused Il moment il sort of
helpless perplexity, then sat down alb
ruptly and turned 10 ne.
What We're your points, he asked.
THE first" | said, looking at him,
will, L 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 l repeated the story
Higgins had told me. When l had fin
ished, he sat gazing into vacancy, his
lips compressed.
Il see it puzzles you" 1 said at last,
enjoying his perpleXity. Il confess |
couldn't make anything out of it,
Puzzles met 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
We'll, let's pass over it for mo
ment. What's the second point? Is it
another staggererT
Not Il staggercr, but another twist
to the puzzle. l imagine. Did Thomp-
son have any jewery on him.
"Jewelry? Not bit. He was practi-
cally in rags"
where was his body lying?''
Right here" and lie indicated the
SPOT with his foot
land right there" l said, two days
later I found this. pressed into the
carpet" and l took Il little paper packet
from my pockctbook.
lie opened it carefully and looked
at what lay inside. Then he whistled
softly.
"A diamond. by all that's wonder
full"
Tell me what it came out Of" 1
said.
lone of Il group. | should say; or
perhaps a border around larger cen
trail stone
PRECISELY" l nodded. And last
night 1 happened TO notice that Mrs.
Tremaine wore IL 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 a mighty pretty bit of evil
dence,'' he said ut last, though, of
course, it may be only coincidence.
Taken by itself it isn't worth Il cent;
in connection with other evidence it
would be worth Il great deal"
And there isn't any other?''
"Just one little bit You say Ire |
maine comes from Martinique. Well, |
among Thompson's clothes l found |
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 1 pointed out. ''all that
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 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 my feet on sosd ground; l
could-sh. who's that"
A door opened and n 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.
Go Be Continued.)
The Dreadnaught Success. :