, 1914-08-20
The Mystery
of the
BOuIe Cabinet
BY BURTON E. STEVENSON
BY BURTON E. STEVENSON
Copyright. 1913. by Burton E
Stevenson


the back of the house. An instant
later a chorus of frenzied women's
shrieks made my hair stand on end.
How | got down the stairs | do not
know. But /, too. turned back along
the lower hall. expecting any instant
to come upon ! knew not what horror,
i reached an open door. passed through
II and found myself in the laundry In
the midst of a group Of excited and in
dignant women, who greeted my ap-
pearance with a fresh series of screams.
Unable to go farther. | sat Imply
down Upon n box and looked mt them.
/ was still sitting there when Godfrey
came back. breathing heavily. chagrin
and anger in his eyes.
ga crime has been committed up
stairs" he said to the manager. This
gentleman with me is Mr.. Simmonds
of the detective bureau" and at the
words Simmonds showed his shield.
1--WE shall have to notify h%eadquar-
ters," Godfrey went on. land | would
advise that you keep your girls at their
work. I don't suppose Won want to be
mixed up in it"
Sure not" agreed the manager
promptly. and while Simmonds went
to the phone and called up police head
quarters the manager had the girls
back at their work in hort order.
Godfrey came over to me and laid
his hand on my shoulder.
why. Lester he said, you look as
though you were at your last gasp"
81 am" | said. I'm going to have
nervous prostration II this thing keeps
up. You're not looking particularly
happy Yourself"
I'm not happy. I've let that fellow
kill a man right under my nose-liter,
ally under my nose-and hen get
away
xiii a manr' I repeated. do you
mean
go upstairs and look at the right
hand of the man lying there" said
Godfrey CURLY. "and you'll see what |
mean"
Simmonds Joined us with a twisted
smile on his lips. and ! saw that even
he was considerably shaken.
al got Grady" he said. and told
him What had happened. He says
he's too busy to come up and that I'm
to take charge Of things. The ambu-
lance will be around at once. We'd
better get our shoes on and go back
upstairs and see If anything can he
done for that fellow"
Simmonds knelt beside the body and
held up the limp right hand for us
to see.
Just above the knuckles were two
tiny missions. with a drop or two of
blood oozing away from them. and
the flesh about them swollen and dis
colored.
81 Knew what it was the instant he
yelled Death" said Godfrey quietly.
And he new what II was the in
slant he felt the stroke. Ii is evident
enough that he had seen 1t used he
fore or heard of it and knew thai Ii
meant instant death"
l sat down. staring ut the dead rnmn.
and tried to collect my senses. saw
u man roughly dressed. with bushy
black hair and tangled beard: a very
giant of a man.
A sudden thought brought me bolt
upright.
But Armand!" l cried. Where is
Armand?"
Godfrey looked at me with a half
plying smile.
What. Lesterr' he said, don't you
understand even yet? 1t was your
fascinating NJ. Armand who did that"
and he pointed to the dead man,
felt as though | had beer struck
a heavy blow upon the head: black
circles whirled before my eyes.
was 1t Armand l asked. who lay
there In the corner?"
Certainly 1t was" Godfrey answer
ed. "Who else could It be?"
Godfrey" / cried. remembering
suddenly. did you see his eyes as
he lay there watching the man at the
cabinetf"
yes; l saw them"
'They We're the same eyes?"
"The anne eyes"
laugh?"
Certainly / heard it."
81 heard 1t nee before | said. 'and
you thought 1t was n case of nerves!"
l fell silent a moment, shiverlng a
little at the remembrance.
But why did Armand lie there so
quietlyf" l asked at last. WAS he in
Juredf"
Godfrey made a little gesture to-
ward the corner.
G see for yourself" he said.
Something lay along the wall. on the
spot where | had seen that figure, and
az bent over 1t l saw that 1t was a
large net, finely meshed. but very