The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-07-28

] Known anu IoNeO. II was the face OF
a beast, with the leonine expression
/ associated with the largest carnivora.
But the dreadful part of it was that
there was resemblance, and that the
voice in which she addressed me was
/ her voice.
Angus she pleaded, I am so sorry
| for 1t all, Angus. But you must go
away and never come near me again.
1 shall kill myself if you do. Go now,
at once.
What could I do, Bruce. all I'M
/ strung as | was by the shock, but let
/ her go? l turned away, and heaven
only knows how 1 got back to the no.
/ tel L shudder now when 1 think of
what that veil covered"
! Sir Angus Petrie dropped his head
/ into his hands again, and so remained
| till tap at the door and the entrance
/ of a detective sergeant with report
reminded him that my time belonged
TO the public
When the officer had retired he re-
sumed his narrative in calmer mood,
and related his subsequent proceed
/ ings. After a sleeDless night at the
! hotel, racked with doubt as to whether
/ the woman had really been Lettuce
Nuneham or some one who had taken
| her place, the doubt had prevailed ::
| and, having heard of Radford Shone's
| success in solving social mysteries, he
/ had called a cab and driven to the
rooms of the eminent expert
"A marvellous man, Bruce" he said,
/ his eye Hndling at the "Reminiscences.
| Il was no sooner shown in than he
| told me that | had recently returned
| from Africa-knew il by the exact
/ shade of the tan on my face and by
/ the crick i'm my fingers from using the
barbed wire smokers. He explained it
/ all for my benefit and for that of d
wOolly Drained admirer of his who
| lives with him. But that is neither
/ here nor there l stated the case TO
him. just as have to you, and today
l l have his report
/ ''Well?" ] demanded somewhat i'm
patiently for the story had enlisted
all my professional interest I did not
suggest that Shone might have seen
4 his return in the newspapers.
1T is murder. Bruce!" Sir Angus
| groaned in reply. "Shone's inquiries
/ leave TO doubt that the woman in the
! Cromwell road, living in Lettice's
house and using her name. is an i'm
/ poster. Shone proved it conclusively
/ by very cleverly obtaining a scrap of
her handwriting, which he compared
/ with letters written to me by Lettuce
/ in happier days. There was only a
/ faint resemblance between the two"
My practical mind prompted the
question, How about her bankers -
| understand that Miss Nuneham was
a rich woman. anaging her own af-
/ fairs? The difference should have been
noted in her signatures on checks, if
not on other business documents"
That is where Radford Shone has
/ scored replied Petrie decisively. He
asCertained that a year ago Lettice's
! bankers and solicitors were suddenly
changed for TO apparent reason. In
fact, they were highly indignant at
losing a wealthy client, though as the
/ transfer was quite in order, and con-
/ firH.ed by Lettuce in person, they could
do nothing but protest. But Shone's
evidence of the murder, on which you
will have 10 act is a masterpiece.
will leave his report for you to read
at leisure, but here is the gist of IL:
Lett!ce Nuneham was driven in her
own carriage to a lonely farmhouse in
HertfOrdshire about the time of the
change IN the bankers and solicitors.
/ She is supposed to have remained there
six months. and then to have returned
! to Cromwell road, again using her own
carriage for the Journey 3ut-and
you will grasp the point at once
Shone mas discovered, buried in the
garden Of the farmhouse, the body of
a woman"
He paused to mark the effect of his
communication, as though expecting
] that I should at once indorse Shone's
! view that the woman now residing in
the Cromwell road was personating
! Miss Nuneham. as a sequel 70 having
made away with her All that 1 could
/ do, however, was to admit that there
was a strong prima facie case of sus-
/ picion.
But tell me- I said. how you get
over the fact that this person ad-
| dressed you by name directly she set
/ eyes on yOu?"
There are plenty Of my photographs
/ in the house, and no one would have
gone into a deep laid plot of this kind
without being thoroughly posted on the
victims circumstances" was Petrie's
reply.
Il presume that while abroad you
correspondent with Miss Nuneham
When did you last hear from herr"
4 Eighteen months ago. / have been
/ quite out of touch with mails and
postoffices-in the wild country round
| the head waters Of the Zambesi."
/ That was a pity, for it ran us against
a dead wall in the matter of the hand
writing. At least, it increased the diff
/ ficulty of proving whether the change
was sudden or gradual; also of fixing
/ the exact date of its commencement.
/ At that moment Il whistle at my speak
/ ing tube summoned me imperatively
to the presence of the chief commits
sioner, and 1 rose and held out my
hand.
! You have certainly set us a nut to
crack" ] said. Il will work it myself
/ in conjunction with one of our best
men as soon as / have read Shone' S
report. OF course, as he is unofficial,
we shall have to verify his conten-
TONS"
THAT is just what he said" returned
Petrie. THAT instead of arresting the
woman forthwith you would dawdle
about till she got wind of it and had
made her escape; while if by chance
| you pulled it off, Scotland Yard would
! get all the kudos."
/ Making allowances for his depres-
sion, l babe him Good day." and went
TO transact the business of the moment.
which kept me for some time. 1t was
not till an hour later that 1 found
myself in my own room again. and sat
down TO master Shone's report, the
caligraphy of which was atrocious
enough to bespeak it's authors genius.
The matter. however. was lucidly put,
and when laid the sheets aside I
could understand Petrie's impatience
| for an arrest.