The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1913-03-21


locked, and there came no answer TO
my continued tapping.
Terry" l called through the Key
hole. "It is 1. Phillips; won't you let
me in?"
81 have a key that will it, If you
will kindly stand aside." suggested a
modest voice.
/ rose from my knees to find the
inspector at my elbow.
"Tt would be a gross intrusion"
told him. "If he wishes to be alone
with his sorrow, we have no right 70
disturb him." q
He is seriously Ill"
"How did you discover that?'
"By borrowing a gardeners ladder
and looking through his window. he
Is unconscious, or was ten minutes
ago."
A skillful twist or two with bit
of wire and the key was pushed from
the lock. The duplicate opened the
door. Peace walked into the room,
and I followed at his heels.
On his bed, fully dressed. lay poor
Terry, with face paler than his pill
lows. His breath came and went IN
short, painful gasps. One hand stray
ed continuously about his throat,
cropping and plucking at his collar
with feverish unrest. 1t was a very
painful spectacle.
81 will send for a doctor at once" l
whispered, stepping to the bell. But
Peace held up warning hand.
Come here" he said. Il have some
thing to show you"
With. movements as tender as
woman's he unfastened the mans col
lar and slipped out the stud. Then
he paused. The eyes that watched
me had turned cold and hard.
eff it is as l suspect, you may be
called as a witness. Do you object?"
Yes; but l shall not leave you on
that account"
Very WELL" he said, as he opened
the shirt and the vest beneath it.
Smeared and patched in dark etch-
ing upon the white skin was broad
stain of blood, of dried and clotted
blood, the life's blood of man.
He is wounded, Peace" I cried.
Poor fellow, he must have nearly
bled to death"
do not alarm yourself" said the
inspector, dryly. ut is the blood OF
Baron Steen."
A week had gone by, and was sit
ting alone in my Keble Street rooms,
when Peace walked in, with heavy
travelling coat over his arm.
Thank Heaven, you have come at
last" l cried. How is Maurice Ter
ry?"
"Dead-poor fellow" he said, with
an honest sorrow in his voice. "Yet,
after all, Mr. Phillips, it was the best
that could have happened to him."
And his story-the cause.-the
method?" I demanded
1T has taken some hard work, but
the bits of the puzzle are fitted to-
gether at last You wish to hear it, l
suppose?"
According to your promise" re-
minded him.
TT is case of unusual interest"
he said. Though it bears a certain
similarity to the Gottstein trial at
Kiel in 49,"
He paused to light his big pipe,
and then sat back in his chair, with
hic IN oh
ton.
Il was convinced that the murderer
was in the house; and that he had
entered by the side door, towards
which you had seen him pass. When
studying the spot 1 made a discovery
of some Importance. Steen had left
by the same exit. Also he had reason
to fear some person in that wing, for
he had turned from the path and made
a circuit over the grass. I had al
ready noted his broad-toed boots when
examining his body-and the foot
prints in the snow were unmistak-
able. Who was his enemy In that
wing? 1t was problem to be solved.
Il discovered no stained clothing,
and no signs of its cleansing or de-
struction. From what information I
could gather, all the house party had
been in the roulette-room save you
yourself; and all the servants had
been at the dance save Henderson
and man waiting on the guests. But
In the course of my search the foot
man who accompanied me discovered
that a quantity of gold plate was miss
Ing. 1t was reasonable to imagine
that Henderson was the thief. Prob
ably the confidential valet had learnt
OF the Baron's projected flight and
OF the warrant for his arrest. It was
a moment for judicious robbery, the
traces of which would be covered by
the confusion of the news. But was
Henderson also a murderer? l did
not think so. The death of his mas.
ter was the one thing which would
wreck his scheme. In the early morn.
Ing 1, interviewed the farmer on
whose car he had driven into Nor
bridge. He told me that, acting on
orders he had received from Hender.
son, he met that person at the cor.
ner of the stables at eleven o'clock
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