The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-10-29

same line of argument as that with which you have been frightening your self this thing might be brought home
 to any number of people,
 But" she answered. "the motive that any of these could have had would be trivial. most trivial beside
 the terrible wrongs that my father and brother had suffered at the hands of John Altenburg''
 The sioe of an injury or a motive, replied the other must have relation TO the size of the man. Besides. I'm Tar from certain that both your father and brother aren't injured. rather than helped, by your uncle's death. in which case the motive would be the other
 way. I'm convinced that your uncle would have been most important wit
 ness. under competent cross-exanaifa- tion. in establishing your fathers inno- eence had his old case finally been brought to trial. as you have said he
 wanted it. More than that. I'm sure your father. of all people, realized this That being the case. do you believe that any sense of injury suffered could be sufficient to induce him to kill his own witness, let alone the question of
  And that leads back a&ain to poor Horace. she said. with shudder Nothing of the kind!'' he excIainl- ed, himself convinced in his search for
 arguments to relieve her Apprehen-
 s1ons. While they always hunt for a motive to bolster I'D a suspicion of crime. it isn't sound to suspect crime from the mere existence of a possible
 motive Besides. as I said before. this quarrel you make so much of was of years standing. and nothing new had come up to add to it. can't see a
 thing Horace had to gain by your
 unele's death. and can see that it rniEht be distinct loss at this tine.''
 He was well aware he was putting to
 one side the matter of the money the
 family would secure as heirs to John
 Altenburg's estate; but this had clear iy never occurred to her, and he was not making suggestions however. palp-
 able they might be to him. and as he
 knew they would be to others He
 paused until he saw from her face that
 his words had served to a degree to Hghten her fears. and then he added
 what he had. in de1icacy. refrained from saying before but which he felt that he must now try for if he was to do his best to comfort.
 You know. I don't know vet just
 what you came here for that night or
 just what Horace did when you got- heres
 Judith looked at him in surprise. For the first time she seemed to realize that she had told him nothing that thus far it had been mere gropings in the dark thai had helped him to what he was able to offer her of aid and comfort.
 We came here to get father" she said, .who had been concealed in
 mothers room since he got to Lance-- boro. to take him to the camp at the lake. In addition to that. think Hor-l ace had determined to try and extort from John Altenburg some admission of fathers innocence of the defalcationS with which he is charged. His plan was to bring father into the room and confront John Altenburg with him. He
 half believed that. under the stress of surprise and. consternation. John Al tepburg would be thrown. off his guard and would betray himself. never be- lieved it possible
 | file thought Altenburgss testimony necessary to your fathers acauittaI2'' asked Grimbleshaw
 l Father has always declared that he must have the testimeny of John AL l tenburg or of another man. whose name is Clayton. I believe, who was employed by the syndicate He did not think this would be gained by
 direct testimony. but by what he call ed 'cross-examination.' think. The only other hope we had, and. of course. that came from father. too. was that among John Altenburgss papers we should find something that would fefp think father based this on a char acteristfc of MT. A1tenburg's. never to
 destroy any memorandum or paper. but to keep them all, as if they were
 money.'' e Horace did not depend much on this
 chanee?" asked Grfmbleshaw. Mo- said Judith. "but how did you know ?''
 He would argue as I would from general principles that any such paper or meraorandum if it could clear your ! fatheN could also convict Altenburg, and that. therefore. Altenburg's first  l that line. whatever might be his ordi-
 nary habit. Of course. we might all
 be wrong as far as the individual. John
 Alfenburg. is concerned. but we would
 be right with regard to ninety-nine
 men out of a hundred. and it isn't safe l to hang a critical matter on the one possible exception"
 l Well" said Judith. who had follow. ed him with intentness. that's about what Horace said. and while he wasn't going to throw away the chance that
 there might be papers. he put his chief dependence on John Altenburs or the
 man Clayton. and he had not the least | idea where Clayton was"
 Then exclaimed Grimb1eshaw tri- 1 umphantly. we're working on a theory that Horace. who was anxious before everything to clear his father. came here and murdered the man whom he regarded as the only possible witness to clear his father! What kind of a theory do you call that?'
 I1ldifh 1o0l<ad at him and Q 1uaoSf