The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-09-29
The Bayswater
Boarding House

SoihPuSeu mostly OF private residences
From end to end there is no such
thing as an apartment card to be
seen over it's spotless fanlights or in
its neatly curtained windows; but there
are few clearinghouse of a super
Tor class, all priding themselves on
looking more private than the really
private abOdes next door or over the
way.
The most favored of these establish
ments was kept by Mrs. Lorimer, an
officers widow, whose prosperity had
never been in doubt since her daughter
Ida grew to years of discretion. And
discretion is a sorely needed asset for
a pretty girl whose business in life is
to aid her mother in making boarders
feel at home. For If the process is
overdone there is always the risk that
some male paying guest may make
himself too much at home, with disas-
trous results.
I had not been five minutes in the
house before / came to the conclusion
that some such breakdown in Miss Ida's
program had been the cause of my be-
ing hurriedly sent for from the police
station by the constable on the beat
AS the message contained the ominous
word murder" / need not say that
my footsteps did not lag. On entering
the front door 1 found the whole place
buzzing like hive of bees. White
faces peeped out of the dining-room.
whence the smell of coffee and bacon
told of an interrupted breakfast; from
the drawing-roon across the hall came
the suppressed murmur of wOmen's
voices, while a louder commotion on the
first floor landing indicated the CEN
ter of disturbance
Running upstairs, l found the con-
stable surrounded by a little knot of
persons who all seemed eager to fill
with their own surmises the note book
which as a matter of form he held in
his hand. At that moment Dr.. Win
thrOp, a local practitioner. well known
to me, emerged from an open bed
room door.
Yes, the poor fellow is quite dead"
he said, addressing a comedy middle
aged woman dissolved in tears, adding,
as he caught sight of me, "Ah, here
is Inspector Burke. Just step inside
here. Burke, please. and you, too. Mrs.
Lorimer- 1t may save time if we put
our heads together"
The weeping landlady and I followed
him into the room, where. so calm and
peaceful lay the silent figure on the
bed that it was difficult to believe that
anything was wrong. But drawing
aside the bed clothes, the doctor dis
closed the dreadful fact that the mo-
tionless figure was lying on sheets sat
UTated with blood, which had evident
ly welled from punctured wound over
the heart. The body was that of a
dark-skinned Oriental, dressed in silk
pajamas, the jacket of which the doc
tor had disarEanged to make his first
examination.
Roughly speaking. he's been dead
about five hours. which puts the crime
at O'Clock this morning" said Win
throp. He must have been struck in
his sleep and killed instantly. The alb
sence of weapon puts the theory of
suicide out of court, even If II were
surgically tenable. which il is not"
But" walled Mrs. LOrimer, with
clasped hands, the door was bolted on
the inside. We broke ii open to get in
when he did not come down to break
fast How could anybody have got
imp
The doctor shrugged his shoulders
That is for Inspector Burke to say"
he replied shortly.
For the first time removed my
eyes from the corpse and let them
range around the room, which was
fair-sized one, with a window facing
toward the street. The window was
open about three inches at the top,
Mrs. Lorimer explaining, in answer to
q question from me, that it was the
Cead mans custom always to sleep
with the window in that state Going
over to it, L saw that it was highly i'm
probable, though not actually impos-
sible, that an entrance could have been
effected by that route, in full view of
the road and the houses opposite as it
was.
Tell me as briefly as you can what
you know Of the deceased, his habits
and associations" I said, turning TO the
Iandlady.
Mrs. Lorimer's account of her late
boarder was enlightening as far as it
went, but somehow it left the impress
sion on my mind that she was holding
something in reserve. The lifeless clay
on the bed was that of Mr.. Chunder
Dass, a young Hindoo barrister, who
had been studying law at the Middle
Temple. He had been well supplied
with money and being of a generous /
and sOciable nature had been a favorite |
with the other boarders.
with the gentlemen, madam, or
with the ladies?" l interposed.
The question seemed to cause Mrs. |
Lorimer some slight embarrassment. |
with both" she replied after a mo-
ments hesitation. with the ladies /
most. perhaps. He was very musical, /
and was more often in the drawing /
room after dinner than in the smok- /
ing-roCm with the men,"
At this point 1 became conscious that |
some of the boarders cOngregated on 1
the landing were gradually pressing /
into the room, and 1 raised my voice /
rather sharply to bid them stand clear /
of the doorway. They most of them /
obeyed-all but a tall spare man with |
curious prOtuberant eyes and a stout, /
stupid looking individual in a loud /
check suit, to whom the former was |
whispering, regardless of my injunc- |
ton.
Come. sir! Be so good as to step |
outside" I said peremptorily. Il can /
not have the general public in here at
present"
The spare man surveyed me with an |
insolent stare. 80 you class me with |
the general public on an occasion of /
this sort, do you, Mr.. Inspector" he /
said in a high pitched, squeaky voice /
that reminded me of a bagpipe.
1T is Mr.. Sadford Shone, the cele- /
brated private detective" Mrs. Loriner
whispered to me hurriedly. He is |
boarding here with his friend while his |
in