Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1913-04-03
A NOVELTY IN MYSTERY STORIES
THF SFCRFTO OF 1
LONESOME COVE
By
SAMUEL HOPKINS ADAMS |
AUTHOR OF AVERAGE JONES ETC
- Coe,right l9l2, ne Bobbe Merrill Company.

was slightly open, showing a
CLINT Of gold amid very white and
regular teeth. An expression OF deadly
terror distorted the face. Professor
Kent bent closely over 1t.
That's strange: very strange" he
ut should be peaceful"
"But look at the hand!" cried Jarvis.
Here, indeed, was the astounding
feature OF the tragedy; the aspect
that brought Kent to his knees, the
more closely to observe. The body lay
twisted slightly to the right, with the
left arm extended. The left wrist was
enclosed in a light rusted handcuff to
which a chain was fastened At the
end OF the chain was the companion
cuff, shattered, evidently by power
full blow, and half buried in the sand.
AS Kent leaned over the corpse, fat.
powerful, grizzled man with metal
badge on his shirt-front pushed for
ward.
"Them's cast-iron cuffs" he an
nounced. "That kind amt been used
these forty years"
What kind of ship 'ud be carry
in 'em nowadays?' asked some one in
the crowd.
can what kind of seamand be
growled formidable voice, which
Kent, looking up, perceived to have
come from amid a growth of heavy
white whiskers. sprouting from a
weather-furrowed face.
"Seafaring man, aren't you?" in
quired Kent. /.
mo more. Fifty year Of it, man an
boy has put me in harbor."
That's Sailor Smith," exclaimed
Jarvis, who had assumed the duties of
a self-appointed cicerone. mot much
about the sea and its ways, good or
bad, that he don't know"
"True for you," confirmed several
voices.
"Then, Mr.. Smith, will you take a
look at those lashings and tell me
whether in your opinion they are the
work of sailor?" asked Kent.
The old hands fumbled expertly.
Tho old face puckered. Judgment
came forth presently.
"The knots Is well enough. The lash
ms passable job. What gifts me is
the rope"
well, what's wrong with the roper"
"Nothin' in pertic'ler. Only, dont
know what just that style of rope
would be doin' on shipboard, unless 1t
was to hang the old mans wash on"
Suppose we lift this grating" Kent
suggested.
At this the man with the badge In
terposed. Say, who's runnin' this
thing, anyhow? I'm sheriff here, an
this body amt to be moved till a
doctor has viewed It,"
"Of course" said Kent mildly: "but
I thought you might be interested to
see, Mr.. Sheriff, whether ships
name was stamped somewhere on this
grating"
well, don't want any amachure
learning me my business" declared
the official Importantly.
Nevertheless, he heaved the wood
work up on edge and held 1t So, while
eager eyes scanned the under part.
Murmurs of disappointment followed.
In these Kent did not Join. He had in
serted a finger in crevice Of the
spi.ntered wood and had extracted
some small object which he held in
tie palm of his hand, examining it
thoughtfully. ss&
"Wot ye got there?" demanded the
sheriff.
Professor Kent stretched out his
hand, disclosing small grayish OBJ
ject.
II should take it to be the cocoon of
Ephestia kuehniella," he announced.
can wot does he do for livin'?"
inquired the official, waxing humorous.
Destroys crops. It's a specials OF
grain-moth."
oh" grunted schlager. you're 4
bug collector, eh?'
Exactly answered the other,
transferring his trove to his pocket.
Thereafter he seemed to lose in
terest in the center of mystery. With
drawing to some distance. he paced
up and down the shore whistling live
" tunes, not always in perfect accord,
from which a deductive mind might
have inferred that his soul was not In
the music.
Nearer and nearer to high-water
mark his pacing took him. Presently,
though all the time continuing his
WQlSLllIlS, uc Was oCduullS LAC
tangled debris that the highest tide
of the year had heaped up. almost
against the cliffs foot. His whistling
became slow. lugubrious. minor. l.
sagged 1t died away. When 1t rose
again. 1t was. in march time. whereto
the yirtuoso stepped briskly toward
the crowd BY this time the group had
received several additions, but had
suffered the loss of one of its com.
ponent parts, the sheriff. Conjecture
was buzzing from mouth to mouth as
to the officials sudden detection.
whatever it was he got from the
pocket" Kent heard one of the men
say, lit started him quick"
Looked to me like an envelope
hazarded some one.
"No,' contradicted Sailor Smith;
paper would have been all pulped up
by the water"
Marked handkerchief. maybe sug
gested another.
Like as not" said Jarvis. you bet
that Len Schlager figured it out there
was somethin' in it for him. anyways
/ could see the money-gleam in his
eye"
That's right, too" confirmed the
old sailor "He looked just like that