The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-08-25

R: AUGUST 25, 1909
 the investigation of crime, were ell in | utter ignorance. I alone held the clue | to this secret-or, rather, would have held it had the dead woman been the ! fair Roumanian
 l What Granny had told me regarding
 the desire of the minister in Bucharest
 to get rid of her from Roumanian soil | recurred to me. Had there been some
 his excellency the Minister Soutzo had been the instigator? had met the Roumanian statesman in question on
 two or three occasions in Bucharest
 him and his gambling operations at | the jockey club, which were not alto | gether creditable to a minister Of l state.
 sponsible for the recent agrarfan rfs- | ing in the north, in which so many
 of the unfortunate peasantry were shot
 down. It was said in Bucharest that he spent every afternoon in the club from to ', and openly challenged | everybody to play games of chance l He was a sportsman, 1t was true, but
 some of his actions as minister had been severely criticised by honest folk He had risen quickly from the position l of a third-rate advocate in Ploesti, provincial town, to become in few
 brief years the owner of a fine estate
 at Hirsova and a member of the Rou- | manian cabinet. How? Mainly by
 receiving bqibes from foreign appli-
 cants for concessions. | A man bearing such character It
 was but natural to suspect of cunning | and double-dealing. Cough had de- | clared that the presence Of Lydia
 Popescu, the handsome woman I had
 seen in the cab, had become distaste-
 full to his excellency. She knew too
 much in all probability. In every | country, save perhaps England and the United States, woman has more or leSs | a finger in the direction of the flow of underground politics. In almost | every move of the game, if you probe | deep enough. you will find the wo- man.
 l The world Is startled now and then by come strange and-anexpected an nouncement-a sudden hostility. an extraordinary understanding or strain
 ed relations between two nations. It
 is accepted as a natural outcome of l diplomacy. Yet how often it is that a clever woman has been the means of ! disturbing the worlds peace. Was
 not, indeed, the Franco-German con-
 flict due to a woman's ambition? | I watched the detectives making their search, prying, as they did, into everything, but discovering practically
 eral men in tweed suits-reporters eager for every scrap of information | that might be forthcoming, but for
 bidden entry / to the house. They |
 gether now and then to chat. smoke cigarettes, and excite their own imag- | nations concerning the mysterious ar | fair. They were awaiting the exit Of an interview" for that evenings pa pers.
 Cunllffe, the chosen one, looked forth
 upon his confreres and smiled.
 having been thoroughly investigated | Morton led the way upstairs to the | front bedroom, a large, pleasant apart
 ment, well furnished. The bed was | undisturbed and had not been slept in; neither, indeed, had any of the beds in | the whole house.
 The wardrobe in the front bedroom
 which wes evidently that occupied by
 the woman now lying lifelessVstood open, revealing several gowns hanging | in it, while in the center of the room was lady's dress trunk, quite new, open, but empty.
 The detectives. at Morton's sugges-
 ton, took down dress after dress. ex-
 amining them to see if there was any
 makers name in the bands of the bo-
 dices. They were, without exception, well made garments, rich and of the
 latest model, but. not one of them bore | anything to give a clue as to it's ma
 l1er. There were three hats, but all | the Things were plain. In one. how | ever, was sewed a large trefoil of leaf green nBen, a fancy displayed by some | French and Italian nilliEers to please
 the more superstitious of their custom
 CTS, who believe that such designs in
 their hats bring them good fortune. | Upon the dressing table were several articles of 5ewebry. They included
 about half a dozen rings, little gold
 watch with long gold chain, a small | diamond brooch shaped as a countess | coroEet, and a hatpin the head of | which was formed of big silver | sign. Unfortunately, they were not | in jewellers eases, but heaped in the silver tray upon the table. Most of
 the drawers in the chest were empty;
 but in one was a quantity of other dead woman. all Of which we carefully | investigated | A laundry mark was at last found.
 and Morton duly noted it in his pocket book. It was the first suggestion of
 a clue, but only a shadowy one withal. for the woman was a foreigner, and
 at present 1t was impossible to decide
 in which city of Europe to make in
 qufry. | '"The main question, as far as I see" remarked one of the officers, a shrewd- | faced man with hair just silvered, "is
 whether the lady did not die a natural | death.''
 sHow?" asked Cunliffe. There are several theories, of | course" M orton interposed. "She | might have been frightened by the
 sudden appearance of an enemy while
 alone here. The fright might have | caused heart failure" M
 It was a new theory and struck me as an uncommonly good one. Was it possible that Granny Cough had come | there unexpectedly with my knife in his hand, and she had expired at sight of him? Had she actually been the
 woman whom he had cause to hate
 could have accepted the theory at once. Il But as she was certainly not the fair | Lydia hesitated.
 | We spent a weird and exciting hour in that house. The work of prying into every hole and corner was fascin- ating. This methodical investigation of a mystery was something new to me I had read many works of fic- ton dealing with it, and showing the
 methods of the criminal investigation department. But here was the real work being carried out before my eyes.
 Cunliffe was quick and observant. | IIo Sau in if all a. good "Story''-aS a