Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1913-08-30
couvrisht. Che bubbs-NtersW Company.

into dlgr00S1On. You'll never know
the night / had with this grammar
thing after talkin' for forty years jest
like wanted to. Thank the lord,
that's over. Well, anyhow, amt
committin' myself. Looks like an
alibi for Mr.. North when the landlady
says he come up the stairs only min.
ute before he hollered. an the doctor
says that this Hanska had been dead
two or three hours. Appeared 10 me
like he was jest Jared out Of drunk,
too. How about this Lawrence Wade
or whatever his name was-the man
who called with the bag? Got him?"
'"He was arrested this morning in
Boston"
"Skippin'? Looks bad. Has 1t oc-
CURED to you to investigate that young
mans athletic record7"
Inspector MCGEE jumped and turned
on her. Rosalie was always letting
slip some of these extraordinary bits
OF knowledge.
How did you know" inquired In
spector MCGEE. that he was an
athlete?"
Resale looked very grave. But she
answered his question by another.
he WASH u IcuCcT!
For answer, MCGEE picked up a red
bound college annual from his desk
We've been following him up, you
see." And In the tabulated records he
pointed out one line. president fenc.
ing club. 1Se8-99."
Looks bad" commented Rosalie.
"Why?"
How would you stab man II you
were stabbing in a hurry asked
Rosalie. "Try. Here's q penholder.
The point of the pen is the point Of
the knife Now!"
Inspector MCGEE grasped the penhold-
er so that the point protruded from
under his little finger. So holding it,
lie made downward sweep through
the air.
"Of course, that's how I'd 60 at it,"
said MCGEE, "but regular knife man
Exactly" interrupted Rosalie. And
your knife would 30 in from above,
now. wouldn't It? The wound would
point down. Now try it this way
Resale arranged. the weapon which is
mightfer than the sword in such man
,ner that the point extended from un-
der her forefnger. "Or this''-now
she held the fencer's grip, the shaft,
lying ohiiquely along the palm, con-
trolled and guided by the sensitive I'm
ger-points. Now. He was stabbed in
the heart, but from beneath. The
wound pointed upward. With your
grip, you couldn't stab a standing man
upward, not II he let YOU With my
grip, couldn't stab downward to save
my life.'
Martin MCGEE went into heavy
thought while he struggled for objec-
lions.
Suppose he was lying down. he
asked, at last.
ION the floor? Begin to be stab
bed?' jabbed Rosalie.
Maybe he was stabbed in bed and
got out and died on the floor"
An never made any disturbance or
left any blood behind? Besides, the
bed wasn't mussed at all. 1t was just
thrown back as though he'd got up
quiet and natural
"You saw all that-in two minutes
exclaimed MCGEE. II never could I'M
derstand how you did It," u
IT you'd spent your whole life," re-
piled Rosalie, "sizin up sitters with
past, present an future in the two
minutes that you was fakin' trance,
you'd see things in a hurry, tool"
well, how on earth did you know
that about fencers?"
Easy as lynn an simple as wom-
en-" replied Rosalie. Il used to room
with little actress that fenced-the
one was havfn' supper with last
night. But now, inspector, just to close
things up, I'm out of this case. I've
given you all I know. Your police will
be botherin' my boarders a lot with
questions; an so will the reporters.
Just trust me to steer that. You keep
me out"
Martin MCGEE sighed.
"All right, Resale; but I'd like your
help. Still, I owe you lots Of good
turns, and the case don't look as mys-
FERROUS, after all. I guess it's that fell
low Wade"
Don't get too sudden with your
guesses," replied Rosalie. How does
your dope 90, anyway? Have you
looked up everybody that slept In the
house last night? I'd like to know
pretty we'll II I'm cherishin a murder
er In my midst"
They're being looked up" replied
MCGEE. i've taken personal charge
of this, but the captain commanding
the precinct detectives is helping with
the leg-work. The house wasn't en-
tered. Wade, or maybe North, did this
unless 1t was an inside job. There's
the landlady-well, 1t might have been
her as we'll as anybody, of course
except she's kind of an old fool. She
just don't look likely"
Rosalie nodded.
"You can count her out"
"That Professor Noll lis harmless
old crank. Still they're the people that
do such things sometimes. Now you've
brought up that point about fencers-
he was educated in German univers-
ity. Heid-well, whatever, you call it.
They practice some kind of Dutch
sword game over there, don't they?
There wasn't any servant in the house.
Mrs. Moore's maids and furnace man
were niggers, and niggers sometimes
use knives. The furnace man is nam
ed fremont Taylor. He CANDLES; and
when coon CANDLES he's likely to do
worse. That gets us down to the wom-
an Mas ERtri1la ia I'D here from