The Washington times., 1911-03-11

where much money is at stake was
-about his limit.
He reused suddenly. though. at the
sound of voices. Some one was COM
ing straight for the reception room
and Barker, Burton. Gray. and Fitch
entered together.
Three faces at least were snow
! white; the coroners displayed an an
CRY red. and DR.. Fitch spoke frank
| ly and warmly:
And YOU understand. Barker. that
there will be 10 ATTEMPT whatever
this time to gloss things over or
hurry them through
mo still about it. sir" DR.. Fitch
snapped. "In the case of young Des-
| ton, / suppose that | was perfectly
correct in thinking ii one of those
unhappy. ineXpliCablc affairs that oc-
cur once in while when a man has
too much money and too much hap
piness! And I'm bound to say tina,
YOU did everything in your power to
further that impression, Mr.. Barker!
Now 1t appears that. instead of being
an unfortunate accident in which SEN
satiOnaliSm and publicity could help
no one, there was wholesale crime
her Monday night of last week!
Yes, sir" the coroner went on saw
agely From the remark dropped I
suppose inadvertently by this Mr.
Gray, Deston killed himself with
Forbes pistol! Wilkes Deston perjured
himself at that fOIuest-and YOU never
even htrted that Forbes had disappeared
abouts. BY thunder, sir, money and
family can cover up a lot of things, but
when it comes to discrediting me before
the public ard laying me open to mighty
raSty criticism for the purpose of con-
cealtng a plain, old-fashioned -
Fitch. you don't think" Barker tried
to put in. ,.. ~
tie mans sharp eyes bored through the
lawyer. Il m pretty well used to mine
ing words for the sake of sparing veal
thy folks feelings, but 1 haven't forgot
ten how to talk English! Those two
young men had a plain fight about
something out there in the grounds, and
Norman killed his cousin and committed
suicide"
But -"
And if there's still more to it, well
act accordingly and find it OUT" said
that belongs nere?"
Il suppose So"
Then let this be understood: Whether
II happens to be the gardeners wife or
DeStOn himself, the first member of this
household that shows his or her face
outside the grounds will be arrested on
sight and locked up without bail! Moth
ing obscure about my meaning, is
there?"
No one will try to leavew Barker
said.
No one is going to leave. Mr.. Bar
ker.' the coroner $assured him. I'M
going to see that our local constabulary
surrounds this place, if we have to
as special deputy. Good-by..''
DR.. Fitch. Gray stepped forward.
''What?"
just one minute" the detective said
soothjngIy. That, of course. does not
Il suppose not"
We are even more interested in get
ting to the bottom of this whole bust
ness than you are, DR.. Fitch" Gray
went on quietly, You can do one
mensely. Postpone your inquest until
tomorrow night and let matters rest
as quietly as possible until them
"Why?"
III the murderer shouldn't be Nor
man Deston, II he or she should hap
pen to be near now
She" Fitch stared at him. Have
you any reason to suspect a woman?"
NO, no, no. Gray smiled patiently.
Il have no reason to suspect anyone,
save the unfortunate young man who
killed himself. But IL a quick investi-
gaion should by any chance show a
suspect on the place or in the neigh
borhoOd, you will give us until tomor-
row night to make the capture before
frightening them away?'
I'm" the coroner studied him very
scarchingly. Very well"' he snapped
at last, as he turned and walked out
OF the room.
They listened, until the door closed be-
hind him and his step sounded on the
great veranda; then Barrows voice
came:
Tell me about it,"
There's nothing to tell, except that
some one stabbed him straight to the
heart apd threw the body into the lake"
gle, evidently. There are marks OF
bruises still on the throat, where some
one choked the poor chap. That is alb
solutely all - except the dagger.
That"
Gray Barker said with some diff
"Eh?" The trio turned to him-and
they found that Barker's color, at least,
had not returned.
"Why did you say that?'
Say What?"
"'He or she?"
The three investigators stared hard.
"What?T Gray asked.
"'Oh-nothing!" the lawyer muttered.
''It-struck me as little odd"
Nothing odd about tit was slip
of the tongue. Why?" And receiving
no answer, he turned to the other two.
IT suppose the dagger is the clue, and
that will prove to be something they've
had about the house here for century.
I-where are you going, Barker|
ITO the library"
lust a moment. Do you happen to
know that wicked little knife, Barker?"
The lawyer walked on! For an instant,
Gray's eyes popped then he was after
the other with
See here, Barker! Who owned that
dagger"
The lawyer faced him for the fraction
of a second
I'm damned If I'll tell you" he said
as he passed through the door.
Continuation of This Story VIII BE
Found In TOmOrrOw's Issue
nf The TIn1NHl