The Washington herald., 1912-03-24

Of this girls hands was closed, as il,
even in death, she was irving to con-
ceal something.
Stopping over, gently pressed back
the stffening fingers.
An exclamation of horror came TO
my lips as l saw what had been COIL
ceaied there.
II was little scrap Of yellow paper.
l could hardly believe my eyes. 1t
must be that this poor girl here was
another of the victims in the battling
chain of crime | was seeking to un-
ravel. held the water-soaked frag-
ment up to the light, but there was
nothing on it--not a word. Yet there
was no installing the color and tex
ture of the paper. 1t was undoubtedly
the same that Louise and | had found
in katharine's room after she had tried
to kill herself. 1t was the same that
the police had discovered in old An
drew Elser's room. There was no
question in my mind but that it was
the same that the woman in Ardway
had torn up before she hanged her
self in the little hotel. But what was
the tie between them? What could be
the mysterious import of this yellow
letter that drove its recipients to
death?
Here was one fragment. Perhaps
could find other scraps-perhaps the
whole letter. ran down to the bank
OF the lake and began a systematic
search OF the water along shore. Foot
by foot | studied it carefully. For ten
minutes | searched unayailingly and
then | caught glimpse of something
yellow half hidden by an overhanging
tree. Carefully | parted the branches.
Sure enough, submerged in six inches
OF water were more OF the yellow
scraps. | waded in and, seooping them
up carefully in my hands, laid them
on the grass to dry, for they were all
but falling apart and hardly dared
handle them. Meanwhile | continued
my search for other yellow scraps
this time without avail. II she had
carried torn-up letter with her as she
sprang to death, the other pieces had
hoated away.
AT last, convinced that there was no
possibility of recovering more of them,
gave up my search and returned to
where l had spread the recovered
scraps on the grass. One by one |
studied them. They were evidently
part of typewriter letter. but the ink
had run so that it was impossible to
read single word on them. From
their shape, too, it appeared that they
were not consecutive, so there was
little hope of learning anything from
them.
Just two of the inIy smears seemed
to have a possible meaning.
On one of them | was almost posi-
tive that could trace the word
youth" On another scrap was a word
that a little stretch of the imagination
might decipher as her"
youth" and Her"
They might mean much or nothing.
They might have some bearing on the
great mystery | was trying to solve.
They might have none. Perhaps they
were, after all, merely phrases from a
letter that had brought disappointment
to loving woman. In all likelihood
this suicide had no connection with the
others. But why, then, the yellow
paper?
So intent was on my thoughts that
did not observe the return of the
policeman until | heard his voice.
What have you got there?
There was suspicion in his tone-the
natural suspicion of the representative
of the law. 1t was on the tip of my
tongue to say: Another yellow let
ter"
For once prudence restrained me- I
recalled how my too hasty speech at the
coroner's inquest had led me into
trouble. ! could hardly expect a ST.
2oo-policeman to assist in solving the
mystery that was still perplexing
Davis.
Gust some scraps of paper" said
carelessly. AFTER you had gone no.
ticed that she was clutching bit OF
paper in one hand. | searched around
the lake to see Il could find more. I
found these. Ii is evidently part of a
letter, but the ink has run so you can
make nothing out of them"
LETS see them"
handed him all of them.
This, explained, 81 found in her
hand, and the others were over there
under those bushes"
One by one the policeman examined
them, turning them carefully over and
over.
There's nothing to them" he finally