Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1913-05-03

side that night trying to trace the
wanderer."
"Yeh."
"And later when I showed you the
footprints at tho scene Of the struggle,
you saw that they were not Mr.. Sedg-
wicks?"
"Yeh."
"You examined tho cliff for foot
prints.Do you think any one pushed
or pursued the victim over the brink?
mo"
whose were the footprints. that You
found. Jim?" demanded Alexander
Blair.
The halfbreed pointed. in silence. to
Preston lax.
"Of course. His and--and the
Others. But there were the marks OF
third person, weren't there?"
NO"
There must have been" insisted
Mr.. Blair. "Are you positive!"
"Yeh."
''Then aid the other man, the man
whom Jax heard cry out, walk without
leaving any trace?"
There was no other man." said
Chester Kent. Don't you understand,
Mr.. Blair" he added with significant
emphasis, "the source of that cry in
the plight. heard BY jar and Simon
A nash Of enlightment swept Blair's
face. "Ah.h-h!" he said In long.
drawn breath. Then: II was wrong.
/ beg Mr.. sedgwick's, pardon"
Sedgwick bowed. Marjorie Blair's
hand went out, and her fingers closed
softly on the tense hand Of her father
in-law.
.No third person had any part what
soeyer In the drama which Jax has
recounted to u.s." pursued Kent. In
the morning the body was discovered.
Sheriff Schlager was sent for. He
found in the pocket something that
betrayed the connection Of the body
with Hedgerow House"
"A Sit Of writing-paper, with the
heading still legible." said the sherin.
with this he accosted Gansett Jim.
who after night-long search had
come out on the cliff. Jim, assuming
that the sherin knew all, told him
of the identity Of the body. The
sheriff saw chance for money In 1t
il do you an injustice. Schlager, you'll
correct me"
GO right ahead. Don't mind me
I'll take my medicine"
very we'll Schlager adopted the
ready-made theory which MIR. Jax had
prepared for him, 80 to speak, that the
body was washed ashore; and ar
ranged. with the connivance Of Doctor
3reed, the medical officer, to bury 1t
az an unknown. For this preversion
Of their duty, Mr.. Blair rewarded them
handsomely. As I understand 1t, he
dreaded any publicity attaching itself
to Hedgerow House and his family"
God knows I had suffered enough
of that" murmured Blair.
LET us. hope It is now ended. To
avoid this, Mr.. Blair was willing even
to let the supposed murderer, whom
be believed to be sedgwick, 90 un.
scathed Of Justice BY chance, how.
ever, saw the body on tho beach
The most important discovery Of all
I missed at that tins very stupidity
the more 30 In that had clue. ir
the character Of the assault upon Sedg
wick-but could not overlook the fact
that the corpse had not bssu washed
ashore. Moreover, the matter Of the
man9cles stimulated my interest. Not
until the inquest, however, did l real
|ize the really startling and unique
feature ct the case. There Is where
you and Doctor Breed made your fatal
error, Mr.. Sheriff"
That's right. You saw the face
when we lifted the lid, I s'pose."
mo. You were too quick in re-
placing It,"
"Then how did you get on to the
thing?'
From seeing the face after the body
was returned to the court ROOM"
HOLD on BIT" interrupted Lawyer
Balm. II remember there was fuss
about the corpse not being publicly
shown for identification. Some Of us
insisted. The sheriff gave In. The
CONN. lid wasn't quartered of when
Breed gave yell and clapped 1t on
again, and they took the body back to
his house and shut themselves In with
It for half an hour before they took II
to the hall again. Naturally being
suspicious. looked at 1t pretty close;
but didn't sec anything queer"
Possibly you didn't notice q cut
on the cheek" suggested Kent.
eyes, bennett spoke OF It and the
sheriff shut him up. But what Of 1t!
It might have been done in any one Of
a dozen ways"
But It wasn't there when the body
lay on the beach"
''1n the rolling and tossing Of the
Journey there might easily be minor
scarihcations," said Sedgwick.
"True. But, Frank, what did yor
suppose that sudden shift on the part
of the oficers OF the law meant?"
Perhaps that the body was not In
fit condition to be viewed.
"In. that case what could they have
done to make 1t more flt?"
Nothing, suppose. | didn't con
slider that"
Il rather opined,' said Lawyer Balm
that some one had changed bodies on
EN-
THAT'S what made you so cussed
curious, was it, ADAM" barked the
sheriff.
There was no exchange Of bodies,
said Kent. But there was change
in the body itself"
What kind OF changer? asked
SedRW1ck