The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1914-03-28
Continued from Yesterday
"Or than stone wallis" | said.

VI StofiO walls, OAHU
He looked at me and smiled.
COR than stone walls" he repeat
ed, bowling, and went into his
room.
So | had him again, and II l
gave him only the dull knives, and
locked up the bread-knife the mo-
ment / had finished with it, who
can blame me? took all the pre-
caution | could think of: had
Terry put an extra bolt on every
door, and hid the rat poison and
the carbolic acid in the cellar.
Peter would not go near him.
He hobbled around on his three
legs, with the splint beating a sort
of tattoo on the floor, but he
stayed back in the kitchen with
me, or in the yard.
1t was Sunday night or early
Monday morning that Jennie
Brice disappeared. On Thursday
evening, her husband came back.
On Friday the body of a woman
was washed ashore at Beaver, but
turned out to be that of a stew
ardess who had fallen overheard
from one of the Cincinnati pack
cts. Mr.. Ladley himself showed
me the article in the morning pa
per, when | took in his breakfast.
public hysteria has killed a
man before this" he said, when l
had read it. Suppose that woman
had been mangled, or the screw of
the steamer had cut her head Off!
How many people do you suppose
would have been willing to swear
that it was my-was Mrs. Lad
ley?"
even without a head, l should
know Mrs. Ladley," l retorted.
He shrugged his shoulders.
Lets trust she's still alive, for
my sake" he said. but I'm glad,
anyhow, that this woman had a
head. You'll allow me to be glad,
won't your"
"You can be anything you want,
as far as I'm concerned" j
snapped, and went out.
Mr.. Holcombe still retained the
second-story front room. l think
although he said nothing more
about it, that he was still play
ing horse" He wrote good bit
at the washstand, and, from the
loose sheets of manuscript he
left, l believe actually tried to
begin a play. But mostly he
wapdered along the waterfront,
or stood on one or another of
the bridges, looking at the water
and thinking. 1t is certain that
he tried to keep up the part By
smoking cigarettes, but he hated
them, and usually ended by
throwing the cigarette away and
lighting an old pipe he carried.
On that Thursday evening he
came home and sat down to sup
per with Mr.. Reynolds. He ate
little and seemed much excited.
The talk ran on crime, as 1t al
ways did when he was around,
and Mr.. Holcombe quoted Spen-
Ger a great deal-Herbert Spen-
Ger. Mr.. Reynolds was impressed,
not knowing much beyond silks
and the National League.
Spencer" Mr.. Holcombe
would say--"Spencer shows that
every occurrence is the inevitable
result of what has gone before,
and carries in its train an equally
inevitable series of results. Try
to interrupt this chain in the
smallest degree, and what fol-
lows? Chaos, my dear sir,
chaos"
1--WE see that at the store"
Mr.. Reynolds would say. "Accus-
tom a lot of women to silk sale
on Fridays and then make it
tooth brushes. That's chaos, all
right"
Well, Mr.. Holcombe came in
that night about ten o'clock, and
l told him Ladley was back. He
was almost wild with excitement;
wanted to have the back parlor,
so he could watch him through
the keyhole, and was terribly up
set when l told him there was no
keyhole, that the door fastened
with a thumb bolt. On learning
that the room was to be papered
the next morning, he grew calmer,
however, and got the paperhang-
er's address from me. He went
out just after that.
Friday, as l say, was very
quiet. Mr.. Ladley moved to the
back parlor to let the paper
hanger in the front room, smok-
ed and fused with his papers all
day, and Mr.. Holcombe stayed in
his room, which was unusual. In
the afternoon Molly Mcguire put
on the striped fur coat and went
out, going slowly past the house