Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-02-11

Il stood there blazing with arrogan
beauty, a thing apart.
Who had helped vantine place &
| there? / wondered. Neither Rogers
nor Parks had mentioned doing so.
/ turned back to the outer room.
could feel Rogers jerk with nervous
ness as 1 touched him On the shoulder
81 just wanted to ask you-did you
help move any of the furniture in the
room yonder?' I said.
mo. sir; haven't touched any OF it,
| sir"
That's all right, then" I said, and
| turned back into the inner room.
Vantine had said that he intended
examining the cabinet in detail at the
first opportunity. He and the woman
had entered the anteroom together.
he had closed the door. and then
Like lightning fash, a thought leap
ed into my brain-a reason-an ex.
planation-wild, improbable. absurd
but still an explanation. Fascinated
as by deadly serpent, I stood staring
at the cabinet There, / felt certain,
lay the clew to the mystery.
Grady, Simmonds and Goldberger ex-
amined the room infinitely. 1 heard
Grady comment upon the fact that
there was no door except the one open
ing into the anteroom, and saw them
examine the window catches.
<'Nobody could raise these windows
without alarming the house." Grady
said. and pointed to a tiny wire run
ming along the woodwork. There's
burglar alarm"
Simmonds assented, and finally the
trio returned to the anteroom.
WED like to look over the rest of
the house." Grady said to Rogers, whs
was sitting erect again, looking more
like himself, and the four men went
out into the hall together. I remain
ed behind with Hughes and Freyling-
huisen. They had lifted the body to
the couch and were making a careful
examination of it. Heavy at heart, !
sat down near by and watched them.
That Philip Vantine should have
been killed by enthusiasm for the hob
by which had given him so much
pleasure seemed the very irony of fate,
yet such 1 believe to be the case. Frey
linghuisen's voice brought me out OF
my reverie.
.'The two cases are precisely alike"
he was saying. 1.-THE symptoms are
Identical And I'm certain we shall
find paralysis of the heart and spinal
cord in this case. just as 1 did in the
other Both men were killed by the
same poison-some variant of hydro
cyanic acid, 1 fancy. The odor indf-
Gates that, but it must be about fifty
times as deadly as hydrocyanic acid is
They wandered away into discus
sion of possible variants so technical
and besprinkled with abstruse words
and formulas that 1 could not follow
them. The two detectives and the
coroner came back while the discus
sion was still in progress and listened
in silence to Freylinghuisens state
ment of the case. Grady's mahogany
face told absolutely nothing of what
was passing in his brain, but Sim
monds was plainly bewildered. So,
suspected, was Grady, but he was too
self composed to betray it.
The coroner drew the two physicians
aside and talked to them for few
moments in a low tone. Then he turn
ed TO Grady.
"Freylinghuisen thinks there is no
necessity for a postmortem, he said.
1.-The symptoms are in every way iden-
teal with those of the other man who
was killed here this afternoon. There
can be no question that both of them
died from the same cause. He is
ready to make his return to that eff
feet"
Every WELL" assented Grady. "The
body can be turned over to the rela-
tives, then"
There aren't any relatives" / said;
"at least, no near ones. Nantine was
the last of this branch of the family.
L happen TO know that our firm has
been named as his executors in his
will, so. If there is no objection. I'll
take charge of things"
VERY well, Mr.. Lester" said Grady
a gain, and then he looked at me. DO
you know the provisions of the willE'
he asked
81 do"
"In the light of those provisions. do
you know of any one who would have
an interest in Vantines death"
II think | may tell you the provi-
sions." 1 said after u moment With
the exception of n few legacies to his
servants, his whole fortune Is left to
the Metropolitan Museum of Art"
Have you ever learned that he had
an enemy?"
mo" answered instantly.
HE was never married. believer"
mo"
"Was he ever. to your knowledge. in
voIvad with n lvomauS'
No" l said again. Il was astound-
ed when heard Rogers story"
Thank you. Mr.. Lester" and Grady
turned TO Simmonds- II don't see that
there is anything more we can do
here" he added. There's one thing |
.hough. Mr.. Lester. 1 will have TO ask