The Washington times., 1913-11-15

CHAPTER XXI.-(Continued.)

hampshire, lOuHu tlt PidSc
from which the baby had
been taken. 1t was IA poor
farm. Mr.. Van Rensselaer-and OBJ
| tained a record Of its adoption, and al
SO: that of the brother and sister.
THE sister died years ago, the broth
| er had been taken by a couple living In
Newark. Yesterday l succeeded in To-
| eating an old friend of his foster-moth-
| er, and she gave me the Information
needed. The man has changed his
| name from that of his adoption. and
| is not unknown to me-
To-day l located him, had him kept
| from his rooms by pretext and
searched his effects. 1 found papers, in
! cludins letters of DR.. Bigelow's, which
| have told you."
Again there was silence, and this time
\ 1t was broken by Dysart, who suddenly
dropped his head in his hands.
God! Victoriav'
"one significant fact 1 noticed when
examined the body Of Mrs. Van
Rensselaer, was that in her death strug-
gle the victim had clenched her hands
with the thumb curled in under the
| fingers next the palm"
Dysart raised his head suddenly and
looked at Yorke.
lack of strength Of character. As a
habitual gesture 1t denotes a tendency
| to dependency and melancholia, and
In some extreme cases, a leaning to
hereditary degeneration. even to weak
ness of mind.
THE only significant clues I dis
covered were three-aA bit of broken
amber from the mouthpiece of a cigar
| ette-holder, the imprint of the palm of
! right hand in blood upon the sole of
nyn nf thn aff ,Is
the fact that the throat was cut from
| left to right with a slightly downward
stroke-the murderer had clearly been
| left-handed.
1.-The imprint of the right hand had
shown a deep V-shaped mark pointing
downward from the forefinger. which 1
took at first for scar, but which was
later found to be an improvised glove
finger protection for wound. In this
mans room today I found the shat
into which the piece in my possession
| fitted-the murderer is left-handed. and
| has the scar of a newly-healed cut on
| his right forefinger.
THE next real clue I obtained was
, when l overheard the coroner mention
| to Mr.. Robin Van Rensselaer, the next
morning that the dog Velsk had been
| injured about the head the previous
day. AS soon as I could, without at
| tracing attention, 1 strolled' out to the
'
one knew how he had been injured, but
he had come home the previous after
noon in q checking condition and ex-
hausted. as If he had srun some dis
| tance.
Il remembered this devotion to his
, mistress. and l thought there was Just
a chance that he had been Injured In
attacking the stranger who had tried to
escape from the grounds before the
dawn. The coachman said that such
hot n
I sees the man who SO mistreated him.
1 he will know him. 1t was on the chance
of that that ! asked you to bring hin
here tonight"
"Then-you mean that he is coming
! here?" cried Robin, starting UP. "He
| has not yet been arrested?"
| He will be. within the hour. re-
turned Yorke. 'I-really have no con-
elusive proof yet that he actually per
petrated the murder Of his sister, be.
/ holder-I have had no opportunity ye,
to thoroughly examine all his effects. II
! was for that that l wanted the DOG
brought here tonight: to see IL he woulo
recognize him, and IL the man, sudden,
! ly confronted by you ALL in the midst o.
| his fancied security, would betray him
self.
I'VE have proof that he was indeed
| Mrs. Van RensselaerS brother; that ne
used that knowledge to blackmail Dr
! o.
year some one has blackmailed Mrs
| Van Rensselaer,. l know also that ht
| was In immediate, dire need or largs
| sum OF money at once, ana tnat ne wa
absent from the city on Monday an6
| Tuesday Of last week. This mucn
| have ascertained today.
! Dysart sat in stupor of misery. Ht
| had not been completely crushed by Tho
revelations Of the evening. Nothlns
could quite overcome the strength borr
| ,,ptn until IL Qd q
complished But he was still benumDed
by the shock Of what he had learned:
| Yorke, who had yet to deal him the
hardest blow of all. pitied him as n
sat there, his bright, tearles eyes gaz
| ing into an irfinity of grief and desc
| lation.
| AS if conscious OF Yorke's intent gaze
he stirred and groaned.
| But why? Why did my poor Victorif
not come to me as soon as she Learned
the secret of her birth, ana zen me me,
| Why did she sell her jewels and pay
this vile wretch for his silence, wheT
| che had only to confide in me? She knew
| that the mere fact that she was no
the daughter of the BiSelows wouit
not have made an lota or dllerehce u u
| me She was always SO Just, SO 1alr
| minded, cannot believe that sht
knew. and would have kept PauIs JUS
! inheritance from him. She did not nee'
| a nennv OF old Cornelius liildreth
! money and, If she hau. IL was not hh'
nv wife to keep anything that was no
| hers Victoria was the soul of honor.
| ..Jr the life of any good woman, my
6ear Mr.. Van Rensselaer,, there may
| cnme q crisis in which the thing meI
| coiI honor womaa viii term integrity
wben they will rank love higher thar
all" ,,.,
| Dysart spoke coldly, but his voice
| rembled. -
..Such a crisis came to your wife. Sht
,oved YOU. and rather than lose you sh'
| escorted to deceit. She bought OH TN
| nan her own brother. who would hav,
gone to you with the truth. w
"Rut Why" reiterated Dysart wildly
..,ybv did she not tell me herself tina
she was not the daughter of the Bige
lows? .. :. o. oil che u,o,,,i
,,,ia IN disclose. She would have beer
n"rneIled to tell you OF her true parcn
.?Rut I would not have cared whose
o,,;Id she was Dysart exclaimed. "Sh'
| mI.st have known that. She was Vic
t,.ria my wife: that is enough for me-.
"She knew your strong conviction!
c,rCerning heredity. Mr.. Van Rensse
iaer She knew that however much yol
| ioved her. the mother OF your children
Gould not carry in her blood the staiI
of-crime"
..C,rimer' he whispered. "Crime"'
.yvho was she, il Gods Nance criet
Robin.
said slowly: -,