Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-01-20
IT, A .u,rIo Cooo one Of The Ben Detecti1e
lIC |AISylC (ooC Stories EU1 Written


You know Miss Thompson" she said
this has been my home for twenty years
ever since Mary was taken into the
| family-but il never viii be again. I
mean 20 say | never could feel at home
in a house where thered been a murder
] suppose I'm peculiar but ! never-but
! il doesn't make any difference whether
the room is opened or locked up, ] can't
go by without feeling it. DO you under
stand what | mean? / suppose" another
sigh, II suppose Maryn sell the place.
Have you heard anything about it,
"Oh, mo-" exclaimed the girl hastily
"Well!' Mrs. Wyatt pursed her lips
and breathed even more rapidly. What
do you think OF the VIM"
Miss Thompson looked uncomfortable
Il think it's very unjust, Of course she
replied, reluctantly Mrs Wyatt shook
her head darkly.
Mr.. Argyle was a very strange man.
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
agreeable conversation. But Mrs Wyatt
looked even more portentous.
Miss Thompson. I'd say that too, but
money changes so | mean to say-take n
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
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
~ 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. Il don't want to
see him. | mean to say--Ive seen enough
detectives during the past week to last
me the rest Of my life"
They scurrled 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-
piciously 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 II was lighted from only
one Of the four sides, as Is common in
the homes of even the wealthest in
New York. there was always a half gloom
that would be restful under ordinary cir
cumstances, but now uncanny. In the
6Hppru nth
seemed to have been rather to deepen
than Tighten this effect. Tables chairs
desks all were dark and massive. The
upholstery was a tawny yellow that aided
the appearance Of great age And irons
and other brasses were dulled and heavy
and the few pictures-two or three Bar
bizon landscapes-rang 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 accumulated the depressing eff
feet
The Detectives at Work.
Kayton and his assistant-a boyish
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 II 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 90 to work
He did not understand that they were
already hard at IT, He grew more and
more suspicious and contemptuous as the
morning went on. for he could not see
that the so-called great detective die
anything more or even as much as the
regular force that had already been over
the ground
And in a way he was correct 1t is
not what he learns, but the use he makes
of what he learns that distinguishes the
great artist in detection from the com.
mon bungler. BY reasoning clearly anC
unswervingly from the same premises hi
reaches conclusions that shock the pub.
lie, and the tyro that has preceded hin
| on the work, simply because the latter
| has not had the common sense to drift
with the never misleading current O.
! logic. BY this unprecedented application
| of common sense, this faith in the cor,
| reCtness of simple reasoning, successful
| defenders of society have been giver
! credit for much spurious profundity
which they are the first to disclaim
! When they deny that there is anythinf
wonderful about II we murmur that mod.
esty and greatness ever walk hand il
! hand II is not modosty II is the truth
Before Kayton had organized his owl
agency he had been assigned as a gov
eminent operative to run down an issu,
Of counterfeit bills of large denominations
He made no brilliant strokes-no snec
| tacular coups Of reasoning. He worke,
hard, He stuck to the trail and week b,
week and month by month he followed i
until 1t led into the offices OF the Fed
eral district attorney OF one of the larg
est cities in the United States Here ;
weak man would have hesitated ant
| said that while two and two make four
| ordinarily, in this case two and two mus
make four and a half But Kayton didn't
He knew that he had followed the on
trail and j continued to follow until
when they were arrested. the two Official
confessed He had only adhered to tn
axiom that nothing which is logical i
impossible. II the evidence pointed tina
way, he would investigate an archbisho,
with a little hesitation as he would al
arch -forger.
This was the man that old Finley re
garded so sourly as he gazed out into tn
,r4v al N. y,s{v