The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1910-12-29

/ the nature OF the clues he had left IN
OLD Forget's room He was not at all
certain that his manufactured evidence
Es-o leo 20 his arrest be had not been
formally charged with the commission
OF any crime as yet Suppose
that he would be brought 10 trial for
boulevard LANES n1urder2 Stories OF
innocent men wrongly accused and con-
oemned TO long imprisonment crowded
gus anxious mind he was prepared 70
C-fend himself against an accusation
-1r which he had himself established a
oasis Against other charges. that BY
change might be brought against him.
he was helpless.
Moreover, how did the police succeed
N a2prehending him so QuicSly2 Had
be been reckless In any way What
evidence had been found 10 prove his
Eu1ltE be had left behinu him only q
paper To track him on the strength
OF these and 70 capture him so quickly
was q staggering performance. How
did the police ferret him Out7
he wondered whether he had not been
Swallowed from the very first hour after
he had left the house at No. . Boule-
ward LanEes- He tried TO recall the
faces he had seen IN TIE street, tn the
restaurants where he had eaten. in the
hotel he could not remember a single
person who fulfilled all the requirements
four days some one had haunted him
Incredible as Il seemed, the idea DTeyed
upon him, until finally Il resolved itself
into q certainty For four days he had
lived unwittingiy IN the company OF a
man who had never left him, whose
eyes had followed him constantly, who,
perhaps, had rnysteriously directed his
Perhaps the man had Swallowed him
even before he he'd entered Forget's
house Perhaps. Barton madIy rea-
soned. he had inspired in some occult
fashion the idea Of thfs journalistic
comedy II so. Barton was in his
power. The man was to him what a
magnet IS to a needle He controlled
his actions and dictated his words
His viii penetrated prison walls and
imposed itself upon BartOn's-
IT am but q rag doll In human form"
Barton thought. Il am only appar-
emily alive. I have only en- apparent
viii Of ny own II he so pleaSes I
may be accused of q totally different
crime. He may wipe from my mind
all memory Of what have actually
done And II can only obey"
He was in an ecstasy of apprehen-
sion he reviewed his entire life in
all its details to assure himself that
he still had memory He checked
of event after event and searched for
flaws in the chain that bound the
chronicle together.
Alleged miracles he had always re-
garded with doubtful eve With
out actually believing IN spirits he
never dared 70 deny their fmmateriaI
existence in this world Of the living
or their Intervention in the affairs of
mankind Although he was not a
spfrf Sualist he never had the courage
to ridicu1e the performances Of medi-
ums or to discTedit the testimony of
moving tables and raps-
His refusal TO believe entirely in the
supernatural and his unwillingness TO
accept psychical manifestations at their
face value placed him in a peculiar no.
sitton. He was reduced TO remarkable
menta, docility- Often he had said to
himself IF I alone am responsible for
ny acts. # ought to be possible for me
to undo what 1 have done, to unravel
the skein that my fingers have Enotted:
but II 2 superior force has directed nv
acts, II I am only a tool in the hands
Of another. my win is an empty mock
cry. because my thoughts are dictated to
me-"
He 1apsed into q kind OF waking
dream. insensitive to everything about
him-eUcepting the unexpected Thus hs
vas lulIed IN a vague sense Of contented
Indifference Accordingly, when he drove
away from police headquarters in a
pa troll wagon, his attitude was such
that his captoTs firmly believed IN his
ultimate confession after a gruelling ex-
aminatiCn
Continuation of This Story VIII Be