The Washington times., 1911-03-09

chair was shaking under his touch!
II don't know, Pell. The truth. l
hope"
do you, slr?" the butler mumbled.
Deston stared anew, and slowly he
rose from his chair and laid hand on
the others shoulder.
What is it, Pell?' he asked. do
you know something that you haven't
told?"
He waited quietly, and under the
steady hand Pell stiffened and regained
his wavering self-control.
mo, sir he said, firmly again.
DestOn considered him for a full min
ute, and the hand took to patting, in
an absent, soothing fashion.
I'm going to send you away Pell!
he muttered.
What for, sir?' the butler asked
quickly.
yourself together" Deston smiled.
you've lost your grip,
Il have that, sir Pell's handker-
chief came out and dabbed at his eyes.
II lost 1t when your father died. MT.
Wilkes, and this last"
He choked. Deston nodded and sigh
ed heavily and his gloomy eyes wander
ed about the room.
"When-when things have quieted
down, when we know all there is to
myself for some years, l think-per-
haps forever l think that l shall take
you with me if you care to go?'
Soon, Mr.. Wilkes came eagerly
ward Deston the first look of hope the
surviving brother had seen in long
time.
''As soon as-hush!"
He stepped away, for Barker was re
entering. He glanced at the two and
observed to Wilkes:
THAT curious trio seem to have made
UP their minds, Wilkes
The curious trio, just then, were walk
ing rapidly through the grounds each
absorbed in thoughts of his own. Gray, to
be sure, dropped an occasional remark,
more for his own benefit than the ben
eft of the others. Barrows hurried on
with chin down and eyes on the ground,
plainly puzzled and apparently rather
exasperated BurtOn'S thick glasses
We're trained straight ahead; he smoked
hard at his cigar as he trudged along
and when he gave sign of hearing Gray,
1t was only by means Of a grunt.
1t was at the steps of the Stedmore
Inn that Gray announced:
wen go up to my room!
He p1oted them there and locked the
door very carefully. He closed the
transom and, having drawn a chair to
the side of the little table and settled
down with an elbow upon IL, he watched
We'll, gentlemen, we have evidently
learned all there is to learn Just now.
Let's see how our views match up. Re
signed to the suicide idea, BurtOn?"
I-nwisely, perhaps, he allowed a broad
smile to appear, for Burton bridled al
most angrily
Not in any sense" he said sharply.
''The fact that the man was found dead
with pistol in his hand and his finger
tight on the trigger proves nothing at
-, l., -
decided that he killed himself proves
nothing
And even the nature Of the wound.
the certainty that he must have pressed
the muzzle against his head?" Gray
asked ironically.
THAT proves nothing to me, Gray.
The man did not commit suicide be-
cause he couldn't commit suicide! II
was constitutional impossibiIityr'
But he seems to have accom-
Not at all" Burton leaned forward
earnestly. You know, in a way, how
/ work, Gray, and how you work You
take the surface facts, the main evil
dences. at their face value. 1 don't
unless that value seems TO be correct.
in this case, tell you that those sur
face indications are absolutely incOr-
rect Why? Because 1t was a psyche
logical impossibility for that young man
to shoot himself! Even If he wanted to
do II. he couldn't"
Burtons head wagged violently.
You know that there isn't one in
stance in a thousand where I would
take anyone else's estimate Of a third
This is the exception. Have you studied
Barker's forehead, from the root of the
nose up? No, l thought not. Well,
that mans observation Of character is
as accurate as my own. Barker's state
ments. young Deston's heredity and the
line Of every feature of his face and
head-and among those snapshot pic
lures there's a view Of that head at
every angle, too-why, they simply put
suicide out of the question. That's the
beginning and the end of it,"
And yet the man must have been
shot"
THE man was shot, fast enough"
Burton said, grimly.
And this psychology y-phrenology-in-
rtance-of-little-things business-does
II account for the triplicate disappear
ance?" Gray queried.
No, sir; it doesn't" the spectacIed
man said, frankly Not yet at any
rate. But I'll tell you one thing: they
didn't elOpe! 1t savOrs too much of
the underhand. Speaking from an ex-
animation of her pictures alone I say
that this young woman is a person of
high ideals and conscience very much
above anything of the sort!'
"And she is also a warm blooded,
extremely lively human girl-bare-
lN twenty, LdIlu utSCeUI, wealtlY,
nothing to worry about. fond Of
Forbes and romantic as the dickens!'
Gray cried impatiently. Here we
have her tied down to prearranged
marriage with a man who was evil
IDENTIFY slow and staid-and that pre-
arrangement alone is enough to make
her want to get out of it. Forbes is
handsome, congenial. romantic-in
fact, the very man she'd be likely to
marry If either of them had the sheer
spunk to come forth and shatter fam
lily plans and break NOrman's heart
and all that sort of thing. They take
the one obvious way out of it, thrill
themselves into space together with
q midnight elopement-and you sit
there and state that it is impossible"
(which 1 repeat" Burton said stub
"Well-by George Gray gasped.
"Its four or five years since We have
come into close contact, Burton, and
YOU were far enough removed from
the world then. but" He broke
off and turned to BaWows. What do
YOU think
household. Barker. Deston, servants.
and all the rest, and be able to give
them the most thorough going. hair !
raising old-fashioned third degree
that ever happened"
"Can't be done-and it's unneces-
sary," Gray said briefly.