The Washington times., 1911-03-14

u IKE u see CledTeu up. The mar
was lying"
Il know that"
However, that's not so very signif
icant. The dagger itself might have
been on the table and might have beer
in the girls possession. believe thai
her absence shows her to have beer
mixed up in the affair somehow. A
Forbes during some kind of struggle
or whether one or another of then
snatched it from the table, before the
murder itself, 1t had come into Wilkes
Deston's possession.
At guess, the actual murder took
place out-of-doors. A scuffle as vio'
lent as this must have been would have
reused everybody in the house. Forbes
with the dagger, tried to defend him
self, l think. Possibly Wilkes was pur-
struggle took place outdoors; Wilkes
| choked his cousin and stabbed him-he
was the only man on the place strong
enough to do 1t. He picked up the
body and carried it to the lake-he was
the only man on the place strong
enough to make that trip. He returned
TO the house and went in with Nor
man, who saw it all. They locked the
door, and very likely, Wilkes Deston
scurried for his room. Norman, over
come with the realization that his
brother was murderer killed himself
There are many little things" Bur-
ton objected smilingly. which ="
Yes. There are many little things
that will have to clear themselves up
or be cleared up = Gray said very so
berry. And we will clear them up, too!
Wen have to get the definite truth
about that dagger out of Barker. Wen
have to get track of this confounded
father and daughter, or whoever they
arc. Both of them may have been eye
witnesses. Wen have to ascertain posi-
lively that DestoE would come into the
money and -"
H" stopped suddenly as some one
raped. He. stepped to the door and
opened II littIe-and then he threw II
wide and Mr.. Barker walked in.
There was no one in sight below. |
took the liberty of walking up he
stated, as he glanced about. Where's s
the third member"
out for a walk" Gray smiled.
The lawyer sat down with a sigh.
We'll, | ran down to ease my con-
science and put your highly investiga-
tive minds at rest on one point, at
least"
''Ah?'
THAT dagger of Nina's. IL imagined
that l was lying when l told you that
the thing had been on the table after
Miss Amatos departure" -
We know that"
DO YOU" said the lawyer, with A
trace of smile. well, ] wasn't lying
as 1t appears. l asked poor old Pell
about 1t a minute or two after you left.
1t has been on that table for the last
month or SO. and it was there after the
girl left that night. He remembered
seeing it when he and Willis were In
the ROOM
Does Willis remember the same
Yes, I asked Willis, too. It was
there, Mr.. Gray"
The detective shrugged his shoulders.
That's one small point cleared up.
H. H. Il
you for letting US know
And now, gentlemen" Barker began
earnestly, 81 want to know in detail
just what you think -"
Gray laughed suddenly.
Not about the mysteries, Mr.. Bar
kerr" he protested. We've knocked off
work for this day.
Put"
"AbsoluteIy"' Gray grinned. The
union forbids any overtime on Wednes-
day evenings" He reached for his gold
case. Cigar, Barker-Iood one?"
NO, thank you
The detective slapped him lightly on
the shoulder.
See here! You neeG a little vacation
yourself Stay down here with US for
dinner, and afterward you can help me
demonstrate to Burton the real game of
billiards. as played by experts. Eh?'
I'D like to-" Barker confessed dubi-
ously.
Gray permitted a faraway smile OF an
ucipated enjoyment to appear.
BEST relaxation in the worId-bil-
liards." he commented open to the
poor and the rich alike" And then. as
II struck suddenly by the thought: by
George, Barker. money doesn't count
for much in the way Of happiness, does
Very little, indeed" the lawyer
agreed. rather Gloomily.
Of IopIr
then look at Deston tonight" Gray
went on, permitting his glance to rest
upon his associate for a moment "I
suppose that he is pretty near the first
rank now. in the way OF milIionaires?"
Pretty near it,
Everything goes to him?" Gray
hinted.
"Absolutelyr'
well, well. WELL" The detective
shook his head. NO other relatives at
aIl?"
The tired, racked lawyer seemed hap
pily unconscious of the fact that he was
being subjected to new quiz.
Relatives wouldn't make any differ
eHce in this case" he yawned. Both
boys felt that Wilkes had been dis
criminated against. whether he desired
that condition or not. Both made
wills"
You don't say sol" Gray was only
mildly interested.
"Of course, there was no getting
around Deston's provision that, should
either Norman or Gerald die. the wealth
of the one would go to the other. But
they made Wills to the effect that
should both die unmarried all they had
went tn Wilkes. I executed them not
a month back,''
Gray nodded.
Wilkes know about it?''
"Eh?' Barker was yawning again
Tim not sure that Wilkes didn't sug.
gest It." 4