The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1912-08-01
CHAPTER VI.
The Third Suicide,


| awoke the next morning with q
start and sat up in bed listening to
the strange confusion in the hotel. In
stinctively recognized that the Sensa-
ton of the unusual that so affected me
was something more than the feeling
every one experiences on suddenly
awaking for the first time in a strange
place.
sprang from the bed and, opening
my door, looked out into the hall. l
could see nothing, for a turn of the
corridor shut me off from the main
hall. From the floor below came the
confused murmur Of many voices and
the sound Of men moving about-many
men. My first thought was of fire, but
there were no cries and there was no
smell of smoke. The memory Of nv
experience in the post-office required
to me. vaguely wondered if / had
been tracked and discovered.
fastened to dress. If they suspect
ed me of robbing the post-office, the
sooner l found out the sooner | could
plan some method of action. AS | put
on my collar I heard footsteps in the
corridor, and, coatless as | was, flung
open my door. A chambermaid was
passing.
What's the matter?" | asked.
Haven't you heard about it?" she
asked in wonder.
Heard about WHAT"
The suicide in the hotel-in the
room right under yours. They discov-
cred it hours ago. The coroner's Just
come and is getting ready to hold the
inquest"
Who was he?" | asked. was
thinking it might be Hugh Crandall,
dead in some suicide pact with Katha-
rlne. A sense of disappointment be-
gan to take hold of me. l felt that if
it We're Crandall my efforts TO clear
the mystery would be still more fu-
tile, but the woman's answer quickly
dispelled the thought.
1t wasn't a he It's a woman"
She hurried on down the corridor
and | fastened to finish my dressing,
recalling as | did so Davis belief that
there would be other suicides. It
seemed absurd that there could be any
connection between the suicide of a
woman in a country hotel in an OBJ
scure New Jersey village and the two
suicides the day before in New York,
and yet there was at least one link
between them. 1t was Crandall who
had telephoned Katharine Some one
had telephoned Elser, too 1t was in
Crandalls rooms that we had found
the address of this place where the
third suicide in the series had taken
place.
With the triumphant feeling that my
friend the inspector finally would
have to accept my theory of Crandall's
guilt, hurried downstairs and forced
my way into the room where the coro-
ner had already begun his inquest.
On the bed, covered with a sheet,
except for the face, lay the lifeless
body of a woman perhaps fifty, the
face still distorted from the death
agony. A bit of rope attached to a
rod among the rafters of the room
showed that she had hung herself. The
woman's outer clothing lay neatly
piled on chair near the bed. This
much ] had time to notice before the
coroner finished selecting his jury.
Near the coroner, too, | observed the
man whom the clerk had called Cook.
| thought he gave a quick glance in
my direction, but could not be sure.
The first witness was called, Mahlon
Williams, the proprietor of the hotel
Mr.. Williams" said the coroner
do you know this woman"
Il can't say as l do"
What was her name?"
She was registered here in the no
tel. The names on the book. You
can see for yourself ! don't know If
il twas her real name or not"
Mary Jane Teller, Bridgeport
Conn.," was the entry in the hotsl
register which was produced and sub
mitted for the jurors inspection.
Tell us, Mr.. Williams, what you
know about the deceased"
Mighty little; nothing at all, in
fact. She come here night before last
Got In on the seven-two train from