The Washington times., 1910-12-18
CHAPTER H.
Twenty-Five Boulevard Lannes.

TICTOR BARTON gazed slowly
around him. saw that the
" curtains OF the windows were
tightly Drawn, listened in
tently for any possible intruder who
might disturb him at his work, and
Their, treasured, took of his overcOat
and placed It on a chair with his cane
and his hat
Confronted with the problem OF ere
Rting every detail for the stage set
ting OF the Crime OF Victor Barton
his first task was 10 remove every
trace which would point 10 guilt OF
Inc real murdereFs-
As soon as the murder was d1ScOF-
cred the first thing which would at
tract attention would be the forgot
ten glasses on the table BY failing
10 remove them the murderers com
United q serious error. Ihelr neE4l-
Eence furnished invaluable evidence
10 the police a single man might
well escape undetected where three
fncn would surely be suspected AC-
CordfnEIy. he washed the glasses
UaTefuIIy, dried them and placed them
IN an open cupboard among DINER
glasses OF the same kind There stu
remained hait-empty bottle from
which the men mad drunk he turned
Ehe switch and cut on. the electric
light 50 that no one from without
could see his movements, lie TOOK
1he bottle threw back the curtains
opened the window and the shutters,
and fiung il. with all his might out
into The street he saw IL tyFtri IN the
air. II fell with crash on the oppo-
site Sidewalk He teaDeu back from
The window and bit his lips
Il hope no one heard that he said
10 himself suppose some one should
COME Suppose / am found mere IN
Inc III that he had previously felt.
WA Ing compared with thar which
he TCir NV de was riyetec 10 the
Ep5t He hardly dared 20 breathe Hot
and cold waves ran up and down ms
spine His eyes literally pierced the
night. as il were; his ears fathomed
the silence Not sign OF any Jh1nS5
rot a sound Then. closing the shut
tiers and the window and drawing the
curtains, he tiptoed his way 10 the
switch and turned on the light
a curious change came over him. HIS
fears vanished completely It was only
the darkness that had frightened him
The light IISpelled all his panic de
knew that he was not q real criminal,
because the sight Of the murdered man,
so FAR from increasing his fright, aEtu-
ally. soOthcd him In the gloom he al
TDUSt felt himself guilty IN thS light,
despite the heTrors. Of the place, he was
not in the least terrified. He could not
help sdmirinE the man who, despite his
lear. despite the fa1Igs OF -rsInOrses could
pluck up enough courage 10 face the
world without exhibiting a sign Of his
inward emotions
II must PIT no "a fight and give in
only after a scrong resistance in order
not 10 reveal my innocence, Just as a
guilty man would do was his next
though.
After having cleared The table. he
turned his attention TO the Mashstand
Here everything was in such Wild dis
order that obviously more than one per
sen had been in The room Every article
On the washstand bore p finser-msrk of
spI1le kind .Ihe very way in which the
towels had beer thrown about showed
that they had been used By different
n "A EnH ~.-r- Il
over, would never have used so many
Of them
The condition Of the washstand com
pieJely proved his innocence The muir
deTers had been too careless. Fv f}bf+
and training he was the direct opposite
o. what they evidently were A fastid-
i0uS man would never have thrown
loWelS about IN that manner The hab-
Il OF nestness once bred in a human
being IS hard to be eradiCated The
crime OF gentleman viii bear DIFF
1erent eaTmarlzs from that Of a Ioafer
"A gentleman proclaims his rank in lit
tie things
lie recalled the adventure OF an aristo-
craft during the Reign Of TerrOr-hOE
the man. seated At table In a taven
among thieves and TufffanS, betrayed
himself despite his cunning disguise BY
the way in which he used his fork
4 criminal Is apt 10 think of every
1hing-eXCept the-Httle Indispensable
things which brand him for what he is.
fIhe- IOrEer DISCUSSES his handwriting
but the practiCed eye finds among his
twisted letters slight deviatiOns TO the
normal, the type letter which some
how he cannot help employing, the
haDitual way Of inserting q comma.
and. the characteristic cross of It -
IN q word the forEer unmasks himself
Dy his own involuntary acts
MethOdically, Barton brought order
out OF all this disorder, wiped away the
bloody hand on the wall, polished of
the mark Of an iTOn-ShOd boot on a
chest of drawers but carefully refrain
ed from removing the SDlasheS of blood
which could not be identified as the
traces left by any person 81 particular.
The more he studied the situation. the
longer the struggle must have lasted.
Il seemed to- him.
soon not single discriminating sign
was left that PORTED to his predeces-
soEs- In its present setting the crime
was anonymous Not q single clue could
be found which would enable the police
10 follow UP the two men and the
woman
Now came the task Of fastening the