The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1909-09-14


intensely interested.
"will you give me the link" he said
when finished, 'or, at least, let me
see it? consider it a most impor.
tant clew."
Wont the description dor"
mot as well as the original"
swell, I'm very sorry" l said, as
calmly as l could, 1.-THE thing is
lost. lit must have fallen out OF
a box on my dressing table,"
Whatever he thought of my expla-
nation, and l knew he doubted it, he
made no sign. He asked me to de-
scribe the link accurately, and l did
so. while he glanced at a list he took
from his pocket
"One set monogram cuff-links," he
read, zone set plain pearl links, one
set cuff-links, woman's head set with
diamonds and emeralds. There is no
mention Of such link as you de-
scribe, and yet, If your theory is right,
Mr.. Armstrong must have taken back
in his cuffs one complete cuff-link, and
a half, perhaps, of the other"
The idea was new to me. II it had
not been the murdered man who had
entered the house that night, who
had 1t been?
There are a number of strange
things connected with this case" the
detective went on. Miss Gertrude
lnnes testified that she heard some
one fumbling with the lock, that the
door opened. and that almost immedi-
ately the shot was fired. Now, Miss
Times, here is the strange part of that.
Mr.. Armstrong had no key with him.
There was no key in the lock, or on
the floor. In other words, the evi-
dence points absolutely to this: Mr..
Armstrong was admitted to the house
from within"
1T is impossible" broke in. "Mr.
Jameson, do you know what your
words imply? Do you know that
you are practically accusing Gertrude
Innes of admitting that mann"
mot quite that" he said with his
friendly smile. "In fact, Miss Innes,
I am quite certain she did not. But
as long, as l learn only parts of the
truth, from both you and her, what
can do? know you picked up some
thing in the flower bed; you refuse
to tell me what it was. know Miss
Gertrude went back to the billiard
room to get something, she refuses to
say what. You suspect what happened
to the cuff-link, but you won't tell me.
So far, all l am sure of is this do
not believe Arnold Armstrong was the
midnight visitor who so alarmed you
by dropping-shall we say, golf
| stick? And l believe that when he
did come he was admitted by some
one in the house. Who knows-H may
have been-Liddyi"
l stirred my tea angrfty.
7 have always heard" I said dry
u, that unaertakers' assistants are
tovial young men. A mans sense of
humor seems to be n inverse proper
F., ton to the gravity Of his profession"
"A mans sense Of humor is a bar
barous and cruel thing, Miss lines"
he admitted, 1T Is to the feminine
as the hug Of bear Is to the scratch
Dwell, anything with claws. Is that
you, Thomas? Come In"
Thomas johnson stood n the door.
way. He looked alarmed and appre.
hensive, and suddenly remembered
the sealskia dressing bag In the
lodge. Thomas came tust inside the
door and stood with his head droop.
ing, his eyes, under their shaggy gray
brows, fixed on Mr.. Jameson.
Thomas" said the detective, not
unkindly, II sent for you to tell us
what you told Sam Bohannon at the
club, the day before Mr.. Arnold was
found here, dead. Let me see. You
came here Friday night to see Miss
Innes, didn't you? And came to work
here Saturday morning."
For some unexplained reason
Thomas looked relieved.
"Yas, sah," he said. you see II
were like this: When Mistah Arm
strong and the family went away, Mis-
Watson an me, we was lef' in charge
till the place was rented. Mis- Wat
son, she've bin here a good while, an
she warn skeery. So she slep' in the
house. I'd bin havin' tokens-I toll
Mis- lines some of 'em-an' slep
in the lodge. Then one day Mis- Wat
son, she came to me an she SEE, seq
she: Thomas, you'll hev to sleep W
in the big house. I'm too nervous
to do 1t any more But / jes' reckon
to myself that eff it's too skeery fel
her, it's too skeery fer me- We had
1t, then, sh0 huff, and it ended W
with Mis- Watson stayin' in the lodge
nights an me lookin' fer work at d.
club"
did Mrs. Watson say that any
thing had happened to alarm herr"
mo. sab. She was jes' natchall!
skeered. Well, that was all, fairs
know, until the night come over t,
see Mis- Innes. l come across tn,
valley, along the path from the clul
house, and l goes home that way
Down in the creek bottom almos
run into a man. He wuz standin' witt
his back to me, an he was workin
with one Of these yere electric ligh
things that fit in yer pocket. He wa
havin' trouble-one minute it'd fiasl