The Mena weekly star., 1909-06-10

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 yen and souhs Tracy got heee and yoa foane Mf, Kealchnmf How did yoa get in1 Did Mir. Mercer lcl you lh7 How dId it happen he didn't dls. cover Mir. keatcham instead of you, or did you come in on the slde?"
 Mrs. Winter, who was in the room, had diversion ready. but 1t was not needed; the colonel answered unhesi- tatingly with frank smile: No. we came In ourselves; young Tracy had key"
 "Oh. he had, had he?" returned Warnebold, with shrug of the shoul- ders.
 He Is great friend of young Arnold's; they were at Harvard to- gether, belonged to the same soci- eties."
 Yes, understand; we'll"
 The rest of the interview was clear sailing Mrs Winters presence was explained in her very own words. "Of course l was put out good deal at first" added the colonel, "by the wom. nn getting mixed up fin 1t: but Mss smith undoubtedly saved MT. Keatch. am's life. never saw any one who seemed to think of so many things to do. Half a dozen times, that first night he seemed 10 be fading away: but every time she brought him back. I was anxious to have a doctor called in but Mercer seemed opposed to making a stir"
 He knew his business thoroughly" interjected Keatchams confidant "he undoubtedly had his instructions to keep Keatcham's presence here secret"
 He had" said Mrs. Winter; be sides, Miss Smith is his sister-in-law and he knew that she could be trusted to do everything possible. And. really, it didn't look as if anything could help him. 1 hardly believed that he could live an hour when I saw him"
 Nor |. the colonel corroborated.
 Warnebold, plainly impressed by Mrs. Winters grand air, assured them both that he felt that everything that could be done had been done; Miss Smith was quite wonderful; and he would admit (of course confidential ly) that MT. Keatcham did have a heart trouble; Mir Mercer had recalled one or two fainting fits; there was some congestion and the doctor found a sad absence of reaction; he believed that there had been a-er-syncope of some sort before the stabbing; Mir. Keatcham himself, although he was still too weak to talk much, had no recollection of anything except a very ! great faintness. Mir. Mercers theory seemed to cover the ground.
 Except as to who did the stabbing, said the colonel.
 Has Mir. Keatcham any bitter enc mies?" asked Aunt Rebecca, thought. | fully.
 What man who has made great | fortune hasn't?" demanded Warnebold with saturnine wrinkle of the lips But our enemies don't stab or shoot | us, nowadays"
 "They do out west" said the colonel l genially; "we're crude"
 Are you in earnest2"
 Entirely. 1 know a man, mine 1 superintendent, who got into TOW with his miners because he discharged a foreman, one of the union lights, foi stealing ore. In consequence he got | big strike on his hands, found dyna l mite bomb under his front piazza, and 1 was shot at twice. The second time he was too quick for them; he shot | back and killed one of them. He l thought 1t was time to put stop tc l so much excitement, so be sent for the second assassin"
 And had him arrested?' "Oh, dear, no; he wasn't in Massa chusetts; told you he wanted the 1 thing stopped. No, he sent for him | and told him that he had no special i'll feeling toward him, but that the next time anything of the kind hap l pened he had made arrangements tc | have not him, or any other thug who was doing the work, but the two mau 1 who were at the bottom of the whole business, killed within 24 hours. They l took the hint and kind feeling now | prevails" Warnebold grunted; he declared it to be a beastly creepy situation; he said he never wanted to sit down with. | out wall against his back; and he Intimated that the president of the 1 United States was to blame for more | than he realized T hope you have some one watching the house." he f,imed, and that newell. he doesn't | belong to the police force" "No. he's an honest mercenary, said the colonel; '1ll introduce him to you"
 And you haven't found any method of entering the housef fumed the financier.
 No" said Aunt Rebecca.
 Yes said the colonel. | He laughed as they both whirled 1 round on him. You speak first, my dear aunt" he proposed, politely; 'Tll explain later"
 Mrs. Winter said that a most care full examination had heen made not l only by Mercer and the colonel to- gether. but also by young Arnold. They found everything absolutely se- cure; all the windows were bolted and all the cellar gratings firm and impos- | sible to open.
 Now youe" said Warnebold.
 q only found out today apologized the colonel "or should have spoken of 1t. got to thinking; and 1t oc- cured to me that in house built. as I understood from Arnold, by a very