The Kennewick courier. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1905-1914, 1912-09-20
CHAPTER XVII,
In the Room Over the WAY.

DROPPED below the window, and
above the rain I could bear the
squash of the wa :ct:Han'. boots
in the mud He flashed a night
lamp in at the window next to ours.
but he was not very near. and the
open window escaped his notice.
felt all the nervous dread of a real
malefactor. and when heard the gate
close behind him and saw Burton put
a leg over the sill was almost as re-
lieved as would have been had some
body's family plate. tied up in a table
cloth. been reposing at my feet.
Unlike the first floor. the second was
subdivided into rooms. It took a
dozen precious matches to find our
way to the side of the building over
looking the club and another dozen to
find the window we wanted. When
we were there at last Burton leaned
his elbows on the sill and looked
down and across.
could anything be better?' he said.
'"There's our theater. and we've got a
proscenium box. That room over there
stands out like spot light"
He was right. Not more than fif-
teen feet away and perhaps a foot
lower than our window was the win
dow of the room where Fleming had
been killed. It was empty as far as
we could see. The table. neat enough
now. was where it had been before.
directly under the light. Any one
who sat there would be an illuminat-
ed target from our window. Not only
that. but an arm could be steadied on
the sill. allowing for an almost per-
feet aim.
"Now where's your staircase?" Bur
ton jeered.
Above the rattle Of the rain came
the thump. thump. Of the piano and a
half dozen male voices. The shutters
below were closed. We could see
nothing.
I think it was then that Burton had
his inspiration.
It'll bet you q FIVE dollar BILL he
said. "that If I fire Off my revolver
here now not one of those fellows
down there would pay the slightest
attention"
It'll take that bet,'' returned. "I'll
wager that every time anybody drops
a poker since Fleming was shot the
entire club turns out to Investigate"
"I'll tell you what I'll do" said Bur-
ton. Everybody down there knows
me. I'll drop in for bottle of beer.
and you fire shot into the floor here
or into somebody across. if you happen
to see any one you don't care for.
suggest that you stay and fire the shot.
because If you went. my friend. and
nobody heard 1t you would accuse me
of shooting from the back Of the build
ing somewhere"
He gave me the revolver and left me
with a final Injunction.
"Wait for ten minutes" he said ut
will take five for me to get out of here.
and five more to get into the clubhouse.
Perhaps you'd better make it fifteen"
He went away into the darkness. and
I sat down on an empty box by the
window and waited. Had any one ask
ed me at that minute how near we
were to the solution of our double mys-
terry I would have said we had made
no progress. save by eliminating War
drop. Not for one instant did dream
that / was within less than half an
hour of a revelation that changed my
whole conception Of the crime. had
an idea that it would be hard to ex.
plain my position. alone in the ware.
house. firing revolver into the floor.
If my own argument was right, and
the club should rouse to q search.
looked again at my watch.
Every one who has counted the pass
ing Of seconds knows how they drag.
With my eyes on the room across. and
my finger on the trigger. waited as
best l could. At ten minutes / was
conscious there was some one in the
room over the way. And then he came
into view from the side somewhere,
and went to the table. He had his
back to me. and I could only see that
he was q large man. with massive