Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1913-07-24

That chain we must throw away"
And forge another?"
Sweetwater approached and sat
down
Yes; I believe we can do It.: yet
! have only one indisputable fact for
a starter. Mr.. Gryce. I don't trust
BrDtherson Though he should tell
story ten times more plausible than
the one with which he has satisfied
the coroner's jury. i would still listen
to him with more misgiving than con-
fidence. Perhaps 1t is simply a deeply
rooted antipathy on my part, or the
rage one feels at finding he has placed
his finger on the wrong man Again
1t may be-
What, Sweetwater2"
"A weil-founded distrust Mr. Gryce.
I'm going to ask you question"
Ask away. Ask fifty II you want
| to-"
did you ever hear OF case before,
that In some of its details was similar
to this?"
mo. it stands alone. That's why it
is so puzzling."
You forget. The wealth. beauty
and social consequence OF the present
victim has blinded you to the strong
resemblance which her case bears to
one you know, in which the sufferer
had none of the worldly advantages of
Miss ChaIoncr | allude to-"
Watt The washerwoman in Hicks
street,"
The same Mr.. Gryce, there's a
startling similarity in the two cases
II you study the essential features
only Startling, assure you
H yes. you are right there. But what
i If there is? We we're no more sue
cessful in solving that case than we
have been in solving this. Yet you
look and act like hound which has
struck a hot scent"
The young man smoothed his fea-
lures with an embarrassed laugh
1 Il shall never learn" said he, mot
to give tongue till the hunt is fairly
started. If you will excuse me, We'll
first make sure of the similarity !
have mentioned. Then I'll explain my
self ! have some notes here, made at
the time it was decided to drop the
Hicks street case as wholly inexplic-
able one Shall | read them?"
Fire away. my boy though hardly
! see your purpose or what real bearing
the affair in Hicks street has upon
the Clermont one A poor washer
woman and the wealthy Miss Challon-
| err! True. they were not unlike in
their end"
The connection will come later"
smiled the young detective, with that
strange softening Of his features
which made one at times forget his
extreme plainness
And he read;
ION the afternoon Of December 4,
1910, the strong and persistent scream
! ing of a young child in one of the
rooms Of a rear tenement in Hicks
street. Brooklyn, drew the attention
of some of the inmates and led them,
after several Intellectual efforts to.
! gain an entrance to the breaking in
of a door which had been fastened on
the inside by an old-fashioned door
button.
The tenant, whom all knew for an
| honest, Woodworking woman, had not
4 infrequentIy fastened her door in this
manner. in order to safeguard her
4 child who was abnormally active and
had a way of rafting the door open
when 1t was not thus secured But
! she had never refused to open before,
and the child's cries we're pitifui.
This was no longer q matter Of
wonder, when, the door having been
wrenched from it's hinges, they all
rushed in. Across a tub of steaming
clothes lifted upon bench in the
open window, they saw the body OF
| this good woman. lying inert and
| seemingly dead; the frightened child
/ Juggling at her skirts. She was OF
robust make, fleshy and fair, and had
always been considered model of
| health and energy, but at the sight
of her helpless figure, thus stricken
| while at work. the one cry was "A
! stroke' till she had been lifted off
and laid upon the floor. Then some
| discoloration In the water at the bot
tom of the tub led to a closer examin-
alton of her body, and the discovery
of bullet-hole in her breast directly
over the heart
AS she had been standing with
face towards the window, all crowded
that way to see where the shot had
come from. AS they were on the
fourth story it could not have come
from the court upon which the room
looked. 1t could only have come from
the front tenement. towering up be-
fore them some twenty feet away. A
single window of the innumerabIe ones
confronting them stood open, and this
was the one directly opposite.
Nobody was to be seen there or
in the room beyond, but during the ex-
element, one man ran off to call the
police and another to hunt VI the JAM
| tor and ask who occupied this room.
His reply threw item ali into con-
fusion. The tenant of that room was
the best. the quietest and most re-