The Washington times., 1912-10-18
CHAPTER III (Continuetd).

-EN minutes later. the messenger
whom he had sent to DIR. Borden
returned with an answer to his
letter. pening the envelope which
the messenger put In his hand, the de-
tective drew out a note and read
DIR. Borden presents his compliments
to Mr.. Joseph Kirkwood, whom he will
be pleased to see at his office at
o'clock this afternoon"
Kirkwood drew out his watch and saw
that II was $3.50 o'clock. He dismissed
the messenger, and lying down on the
couch. spent the next hour In reading
the morning newspapers and studying
the names and locations Of the streets
which he had marked on the map.
Shortly before o'clock he left the
house. and started to walk to the offioe
OF DIR. Borden, about a mile and half
distant. He stopped for a few minutes
at restaurant, In which he had a cup
Of coffee; then continued his walk so
liesurely that, by the time he arrived at
the physicians door, the hour named
for his visit was at hand.
He rang the bell, and was conducted
to the doctors office,
DIR. Borden. a well-preserved man OF
sixty-ive years Of age. received him
cordially.
so, Ross has found It necessary to
appeal to Scotland Yard, eh?" said the
physician with a smile. We'll. scarce
~
binary case. To be perfectly frank
with you. however. 1 am just a little
tired Of describing to so many persons
this part / have had to do with the
affair: and / earnestly hope that this
Is the last time l may be required tc
do So
Il shall not trouble you long" re-
piled Kirkwood. The superintendent
of police has given me the substance Of
most of the story you told to him, so
.l. a.t. en- ant ..f
that. I have been given to understand
that. when you first saw the body OF
Mr.. Isbister, he was seated In swivel
chair, with his back to his desk"
THAT Is true"
His position was such then. that no
one could have approached him from
behind"
NO: That would have been impos-
sible."
THE right temple, through which the
ball had entered, was blackened and
burned by powder?'
"VerS much so. There was every in
dication of the fact that the muzzlc
of the weapon was pressed against his
fired"
Have the observations which, as d
medical man, you have made IN tho
case. afforded any grounds for the be-
lief that Mr.. Isbister took his own
life?"
The physician hesitated. then looked
at the detective sharply.
ITO be perfectly frank with you,
am rather more inclined TO believe that
John Isbister died by his own hand than
TO believe that he came to his death
by the hand Of this stranger who Is
under suspicion. Despite his avarice,
lsbister was an inordinately proud man:
and there Is little doubt in my mind
that he would have preferred to die
rather than to survive the loss Of his
fortune and his position IN the financial
world. In six cases out OF ten a man
who commits suicide by means OF z
revolver shoots himself through on" OF
his temples. A right-handed man will
choose the right temple: a left-handed
man will choose the left. Mr.. lsbister
was a right-handed man. and the wound
was in the RICH. temple. The position
In which I found the body was precisely
that in which 1t would have been had
he received self-inficted wound In
such place. 1t Is most unfortunate
that old Bigdale. the cashier. IL un-
able to describe what he saw.
There was a pause, during which both
men looked thoughtfully at the floor.
DIR. Borden was the first to speak.
II am glad to see that you appear
to be giving some weight to the suicide
the face Of the stranger at the time he
told me that Mr.. Isbister had been shot,
was not the sort Of an expression one
would look for on the face OF muir
derer"
Kirkwood darted keen look at the
speaker. ne,
What sort OF an expression was it?"
he asked quietly.
The physician laughed uneasiiy.
well, 1 am speaking only Of the
effect il made on me-" he said. "Ex-
,,ressions are sometimes difficult to
anaiyze, and are often deceptive. OF
course. Still. as I recall the look when
saw on the face OF the stranger. l
feel that 1t was not that of man who
had committed so desperate deed.
Naturally. he was greatly agitated; but.
as he besought me to hurry to Mr..
Isbister he looked me squarely In the
face; the honesty and earnestness OF
his appeal were unmstakable. He did
not have the dazed look of man who.
having lost his head. has done some
terrible deed. His eyes and features
were expressive OF neither grimness
nor fear, but rather. of surprise and
sorrow. I saw him for only few mo-
ments; but. having seen him, l cannot
believe that John Isbister fell by his
hand. I'll admit, however. that appear
ances are against him; yet"
why do you admit this?" inter-
rupted Kirkwood.
The physic shrugged his shoulders.
well, why did he retain possession
Of the weapon with which the act was
committed?" he said.
at Is possible that at some time in
his life he had been accustomed to
carrying a revolver" replied Kirkwood.
'In that case. II would be most nat
ural that, having taken the weapon
from Isbister's hand. or having picked
1t up from the floor, he should thrust
IT into his pocket. A man who has
been in the habit OF handling revolvers
doesn't leave them lying around. More
over, the fact that he went In search
OF physician indicates that he was
not assured OF Isbister's death. Had
Isbister attempted to take his own life
is II likely that this stronger would
have left the revolver in the room while
he went out to summon your"
True" assented Dr. Borden thought
fully. But how do you account for his
failure to return-for his reluctance to
go to the police with his account of
what occurred at the time OF the trag-
edy?"
81 don't account for It," replied Kirk
wood gloomily.
III we admit that the man was not
guilty, we must almost admit that he
Is a coward" the physician went on.
Kirkwood's brow darkened; rising he
began to pace the Moor
There liz no reason to believe that
Isbister would have been able to avert
the financial ruin which threatened his
firm?' he asked.
None" answered Dr. Borden prompt
ly. "Isbister had invested too heavily
in the stock OF the Sobas- Modena Min
ing Company Of Mexico. This stock has
so deprecated in value that II Is now a
drug on the market. Not only was
lsbister unable to sell 1t, but he was