Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-04-25
By Mary Roberts ;nehart

and I am in the room, and have his
revolver in my pocket"
"You give me your word you have
no conscious recollection of hearing
shot fred
envy word before heaven" he said
fervently. "But tell you, Knox, ne had
no weapon. No one came out Oh ina.
room as went in and yet he was only
swaying forward, as II / had shot MN
one moment, and caught him as he fell,
the next. was dazed; don't remem-
Der vet what I told the police.
The expression Of fear in his eyes
was terrible to see. A gust OF wind
shook the shutters, and he jumped al
most out of his chair.
"You will have to be careful, l SAID.
"There have been cases Where men
confessed murders they never commit
ted. driven by heaven knows what.
method Of undermining their mental
resistance. You expose your magma
ton to third degree torture OF your
own invention, and in two days more
yon will be able to add full details Oh
the crime" :.
II knew you would think me crazy,
he nut in, a little less somberly, "but
lust try it once; sit ina room by your
self all day and all night, with detec-
tives watching you; sit there and puz'
zle over the murder of a man you are
suspected of killing; you know you felt
like killing him, and you nave re-
volver and he is shot. Wouldn't you
begin to think as l do?'
"Wardrop,'' I asked, trying to fix his
wavering eyes with mine, ''do you own
a thirty-two caliber revOlver?"
Eyes"
was startled beyond any necessity,
under the circumstances. Many people
have thirty-twos.
"That u.s. L had" he corrected. III
was in the leather bag that was stolen
at Bellwood.
81 can relieve your mind of one
thing said. IF your revolver was
stolen with the leather bag, you had
nothing to do with the murder. Flem-
ing was shot with thirty-tWo. He
looked first incredulous, then relieved.
"Now, them" pursued. suppose
Mr.. Fleming had an enemy, relent-
less one who would stoop to anything
to compass his ruin. In his position he
would be likely to have enemies. Thls
person, let us say, knows what you
carry in your grip, and steals 1T, taking
away the funds that would have helped
to keep the lid on Flemings misman-
agement for time. In the grip is your
revolver; would you know it again
He nodded affirmatively.
"This persOn-this enemy finds the
revolver. pockets it and at the first Op-
portunity, having ruined Fleming, pro-
ceeds humanely to put him out OF his
suffering. Is it far-fetched?"
"There were a dozen-a hundred ~
people who would have been glad to
ruin him." His gaze wavered again
suddenly. It was evident that had re-
newed an old train of thought.
"For instance?" suggested, but he
was on guard again.
"You forgot one thing, Knox" he
said, after moment. There was no
body else who could have shot him;
the room was empty"
Nonsense" | replied. Don't forget
the warehouse"
"The warehouses"
"There is no doubt in my mind ne
was shot from there. He was facing
the open window, sitting directly under
the light, writing. A shot fred through
broken pane of one of the warehouse
windows would meet every requirement
of the case: the empty room, the abb
sence Of powder marks-even the fact
that no shot was heard. There was
report, of course but the noise in the
clubhouse and the thunderstorm out
side covered it,"
"By George!'' he exclaimed. "The
warehouse, of course. ] never thought
of it," He was relieved for some reason.
cts a question now Of how many
people knew he was at the club. and
which of them hated him enough to
kill him.
''Clarkson knew it," Wardrop said.
"but he didn't do it."
"Why?"
Because it was he who came to the
door of the room while the detective
and you and were inside and called
Fleming"
! pulled out my pocket-book and took
out the scrap of paper which Margery
had found pinned to the pillow in her
fathers bedroom. "Do you know what
that means?" / asked, watching War
drop S lace. mat was lOullQ III WI /.
Fleming's room two days after he left
home. A similar scrap was found in
Miss Jane Maitland's room when she
disappeared When Fleming was muir
dered. he was writing letter; he said:
The figures have followed me here.
When we know what those figures
mean. Wardrop, we know why he was
killed and who did It,
He shook his head hopelessly.
81 do not know" he said, and be-
lieved him. He had got up and taken
his hat. but stopped him inside the
door.
"You can help this thing in two
ways told him. II am going to give
you something to do; you win have
less time to be morbid. Find out, If you
can, all about Flemings private life in
the last dozen years, especially the last
three See If there are any women
mixed up in it, and try to find out some
thing about this eleven twenty-five"
eleven twenty-five" he repeated,
but had not missed his change of ex-
preston when said women.
aA1so y went on 81 want Won To tell