Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-01-20
TIL AI o. One Of the BeSr DetecffUe
TIC EAISylC NdSC Stories E5W Written


ever since Mary was taken into the
| famlly-but it never win be again. /
mean to say | never could feel at home
/ in a house where there'd been a murder
] suppose I'm peculiar, but | never-hut
/ it doesn't make any difference whether
the room is opened or locked up, ] can't
20 by without feeling IT: DO you under
stand what ! mean? ! suppose" another
sigh ~ suppose Mary'n sell the place.
Have You heard anything about it,"
"Oh no. exclaimed the girl hastily.
"Well"' Mrs Wyatt pursed her lips
and breathed even more rapidly. What
do you think Of the will?"
Miss Thompson looked uncomfortable,
"a think rs very unjust. Of course" she |
replied. reluctantly. Mrs Wyatt shook
her head darllly
Mr.. Argyle was a very strange man.
I don't want to say anything disagree
able about the dead, but it's certainly
hard to understand how a man could cut
his own son off without a cent and leave
fortune to a girl who is in no way re-
lated to him"
Il don't believe Mary will let the will
stand interposed Miss Thompson, with
the manner Of one anxious to turn a dis
agreeable conversation. But Mrs Wyatt
| looked even more portentous.
Miss Thompson, ia say that too. but
money changes so. I mean to say-take
| perfectly fair-minded person like Mary,
generous TO a fault. and you never can
tell what money win bring out in them
do you know what / mean"
| Miss Thompson was spared the pain OF
a further discussion of the subject by the
| temperance of Finley with the an
| nouncement that the detectives had come
| Mrs. Wyatt looked about helplessly, but
the girl made no suggestion and she final
| ly told Finley that she supposed they
might as well come right in.
Hadn't we better go?" suggested Miss
! Thompson after Finley had departed with
! the instructions.
| Yes yes agreed Mrs Wyatt. has
tening toward the door. 81 don't want to
see him | mean to say-Tve seen enough
detectives during the past week to last
me the rest Of my life"
| They scurried into the morning room
and closed the door behind them Just as
| kayton and one OF his men entered from
the hall
Finley followed the two detectives into
the somber room and eyed them sus-
| piclously as their glances travelled slowly
about taking in every detail of arrange
ment and furnishings. The general
scheme OF the room was dark and polish
ed oak and since It was lighted from only
one Of the four sides as is common in
the homes of even the wealthiest in
New York, there was always half gloom
that would be restfuI under ordinary cir
cumstances, but now uncanny. In the
decorations and other fittings the plan
seemed to have been rather to deepen
than tighten this effect Tables. chairs,
desks-all were dark and massive. The
upholstery a Al
the appearance of great age And-iro
and other hrasses We're dulled and heavy
ana the few pictures-two or three Bar
bizon landscapes true to the tenor
OF the great room in their dun gold
frames. There was one note of rich
color where the reflected light of the day
outside shone through the stained glass
armorial bearings in the windows and
this only accentuated the depressing eff
feet
i The Detectives at Work
Kayton and his ASSISTANT hoyish
young fellow OF about twenty five-took
in all Of this in a brief but trained scru-
tiny. Kayton walked to one of the win
dows, opened it and leaned out far enough
to see that the other commanded only the
same view. Young Manning continued
to gaze about Finley remained aloof and
/, suspicious in the back ground. He was
waiting for the detectives to go to work
He did not understand that they were
already hard at ii. He grew more and
! more suspicious and contemptuous as the
( morning went on, for he could not see
that the so-called great detective did
{ anything more or even as much as the
regular force that had already been over
5 the ground.
And in a way he was correct. 1t is
l1af, Flpf hol 10. l,,,, A..
5 Of what he learns that distinguishes the
great artist in detection from the com
: mon bungler, BY reasoning clearly and
{ unswervingly from the same premises he
{ reaches conclusions that shock the pub-
5 lie, and the tyro that has preceded him
on the work. simply because the latter
{ has not had the common sense to drift
5 with the never misleading current OF
{ logic, BY this unprecedented application
; OF common sense, this faith in the cor
: rectness of simple reasoning, successful
defenders of society have been given
5 credit for much spurious profundity
8 which they are the first to discaim.
: When they deny that there is ANYTHING
wonderful about il we murmur that mod
( esty and greatness ever walk hand in
s hand 1t is not modesty 1t is the truth
Before Kayton had organized his own
( agency he had been assigned as a gov
5 eminent operative to run down an issue
: of counterfeit hilis OF large denominations
: He made no brilliant strokes-no spec
{ tacular Coups of reasoning He worked
: hard, He stuck 10 the TRAN and week by
5 week and month by month he followed II
s until II led into the offices Of the Fed
Z eral district attorney OF one of the larg-
s est cities in the United States Here a
{ weak man would have hesitated and
{ said that while two and two make four
5 ! ordinarily, I'm this case two and two must
3 make four and half But Kaytou didn't
5 lie knew that he had followed the onr
{ trail and , continued to follow until
{ when they were arrested, the two officials
s confessed lie had only adhered TO the
Z axiom that nothing which is logical Is
5 ! impossible II the evidence pointed that
s way he would investigate an Archbishop
: with a little hesitation as he would an
5 arch-forger
81 This was the man that old Finley re-
Z garded so sourly ms he gazed out into the
5 garden off the library windows and sur
: veyed the rear elevations OF the neigh.
g..