Western Kansas world., 1909-01-09


QEB to the j. b. Towne
mansion. At the
door they were met by Mr.. Towne
himself and ushered into a room at
the rear on the ground floor.
BE pleased to sit down, gentle
men," he said, "and in few words 1
will lay the case before you" He was
a large, stoop-shoufdered man of so,
clean-shaven, with grim, light eyes, a
fabby, nervous upper lip, a voice rich
with good living, and a peremptory
manner which, however, he could
change at will into an appearance as
winning he pleased. He was very
anIiable and courteous now, and the
officers, on this their first personal
meeting with the city magnate, were
ready to. declare that his reputation
belied him, and that, instead of being
the harsh, cold-blooded, and grasping
monster general opinion represented
him to be, he was mild-mannered.
Il do not wish to confide what has
occurred to a telephone" he contin-
ned, and so asked you to call upon
an unknown errand. The fact is"
He hesitated, coughed, and then went
on But let me begin at the right end
of the story, at the beginning. You
noticed, of course, as you came along
that there is high wall around my
premises. IT is of stone up to a height
OF seven feet, and above that and over
topping it is an impenetrabIe English
thorn hedge, which is four feet higher
making a practically impregnable pro-
lection for these grounds of eleven
feet in height. The gates, which are
loftier even than that, are always
locked at night, and the porter's lodge
is right beside them. lSobody could
enter that way unseen by him. The
house itself is wired throughout with
a burglar alarm, which rings in the
dining room with a din that can be
heard even to the limits of the park,
and to raise window OF open door,
at least any of those which are locked,
after we are secured for the night
would be to set this gong changing.
The door to this room is always
locked. 1t is, as you can see, the
curio room, full of valuable articles,
and is thrown open but rarely
carry the key to it on my person con-
stantly- The three windows are
wired with the alarm and all are
double locked. Yet last night some
body got in here and took away five
.
Mind You, this was no small parcel, to
be tucked under the arm or into the
pocket, but five good-sized chairs.
which would furnish load for a
wagon. And this he stepped for
ward and with a dramatic gesture
drew the screen aside, this is all we
have to indicate how the thing was
accomplished.
For days the local police worked
upon the mystery, using every art
known to detective annals Eventual
ly, however, they called in Dr. Furni-
vail
Come in, said Mr. Towne, who
was rubbing his eyes and looking con-
fnsedly around, as if he were just
awaAing from sound sleep. A maid
entered and, with great agitation in
her manner, spoke few words to her
master in a low-toned voice. Mr..
Towne turned to DR.. Furnivan
Doctor, he said, my sister, who is
bed-ridden, heard your ring and
thought it was her own doctor. For
some reason she has taken a great
dislike to him, it seems, from what
the maid says, and fell into Mysteries
as soon as she heard the bell, crying
out that she wouldn't see him. She is
n -he fit now, and / wish you would
see what you can do for her"
Willingly DR. Furnivan answered
tavting at once to follow the maid.
who led the way rapidly to an upper
chamber Ten minutes afterwards. as
the detectives We're questioning one
Of The servants, the maid reappeared
with request from Dr. Furnivall
hat they could come with Mr.. Towne
the sick-room, and upon hastily
complying they found the doctor with
his spectacles in his hand confronting
he invalid. who, sitting erect in bed.
vas staring into his eyes, yet with a
iook of deep abstraction en- her face.
As II her vision were turned inward
rather than outward, and busy with
the images of her own mind alone.
Why, that's the first time she has
sat up for began Mr. Towne in as
constituent, but the doctor raised his
hand for silence, cutting him on
win you please repeat. Miss
fowne. DR.. Furnivall said to the pa-
ient, what you have just told me.
the reason why you dislike your doc
tor7"
She was a very slight woman, of 40,
with weak eyes and paIlid skin,
which, however, flushed family as she
commenced in a meche nical voice:
I became acquainted with DR.. Faw-
fett through an advertisement in the