Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1915-07-07


What was he doing in here?"
81 couldn't be sure. sir. but | sup
pose he was looking at the furniture
he brought over from Europe. He
was a collector. yon know. sir. There
are five or six pieces in the next
room"
Without word Grady arose and
passed into the room adjoining. We
after him. only Rogers remained seat
ed where he was. | remember glanc
ing back over my shoulder and noting
how he huddled forward IN his chair.
as though crushed by a great weight.
the instant our backs were turned
The inner room was ablaZe with
light. and the furniture stood haphaZ-
ard about it. just as had seen il ear
ier i'm the day. Only one thing had
been moved That was the ROuIe cab
met 1t had been carried t0 the center
of the room and placed i'm the fun
glare of the light from the chandelier
1t stood there blazing with arrogant
beauty. thing apart
Who had helped Vantine place it
there? ! wondered. Neither Rogers
nor Parks had mentioned doing so. |
turned back To the outer room
could feel Rogers jerk with nervous
ness as | touched him IN the shoulder
II Just wanted TO ask yon did you
help move any of the furniture in the
room yonder?" | said.
"NO. 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 i'm detail al the
first opportunity. He and the woman
had entered the anteroOm together.
He had closed the door. and then
Like lightning flash, a thought leap.
ed into my brain-a reasOn-an ex-
planation-wild. improbable. absurd.
but still an explanation. Fascinated
as by a deadly serpent, stood staring
at the cabinet. There. | felt certain.
lay the clew TO the mystery!
Grady. SimmOndS and GOldberger ex-
amined the room infinitely. | 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 tiny wire run
ming along the woodwork. There's a
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. wbe
was sitting erect again. looking more
like himself. and the four men went
out into the hall together. | 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 | believe to be the case. Frey
linghuiSen's tvoice brought me out Of
my reverie.
1.-The two cases are precisely alike.
he was saying. The symptoms are
identical. And I'm certain we shall
find paralysis of the heart and spinal
cord in this case. just as | did in the
other. Both men were killed by the
same pOiSOn-some variant of hydro
cyanic acid. / fancy. The Odor indi-
Gates that. but it must be about fifty
times as deadly as hydrOcyanic acid is.
They wandered away into n discus
sion of possible variants so technical
and beSprinkled with abstruse words
and formulas that / 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 Freylinghuisen's 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.
Inc cOTOueT uFeW Tue TWO ItuySlCldHS
aside and talked to them for a few
moments in low tone. Then he turn
ed to Grady.
"Freylinghuisen thinks there is no
necessity for a postmortem." he said
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
Very 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. Vantine 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