The Caldwell watchman. (Columbia, La.) 1885-1946, 1915-09-03
CHAPTER VI.-Continued.

49, -SSiitihuSUs
at once gladly accepted her invi-
1atlon to investigate the curious dis.
appearance of the body Of poor DIN
tos feliow-victim, determined to OBJ,
TAIN the secret knowledge possessed
10y that smart, handsome girl before
me. That her suspicious were in the
right direction I felt confident, vet if
the dead woman had been removed
and hidden by the assassin it must have
|Deen after the discovery made by me.
Inc fellow must have actually dared
TO return to the spot and carry off the
victim. Yet If he had done that, why
dld he allow the corpse of the Italian
to remain and await discovery? He
might perhaps have been disturbed
and compelled to make good his
escape.
You tell me, Miss Muriel, that you
suspect the truth, and yet you deny
all knowledge of the murdered mani"
i exclaimed In tone of slight re-
proach.
Until we have cleared up the mys.
terry OF the woman can say nothing"
was her answer. II can only tell you,
Mr.. Gregg, that If what l suspect is
true, then the affair will be found to
be one OF the strangest, most startling
and most ingenious plots ever devised
by one man against the life of an
other"
Then a man Is the assassin, you
Think" exclaimed quickly.
i believe SO. But even of that
am not at all sure. We must first find
the woman"
Rannoch wood was already in it's
gold-brown glory of autumn, and as
stood with Muriel Leithcourt on the
edge Of it, near the spot where Olinto
Santini had fallen, the morning sun
was shining In cloudless sky.
asked her opinion which was the most
likely corner, but she replied:
Il know so little Of this place, Mr..
Gregg. You have known it for years,
while this is only my first season
here"
Very WELL" answered. LET us
start here, and first take small circle,
examining every bush carefully. The
body may have easily been pushed in
beneath thicket and we'll escape OBJ.
servation."
And SO together, after taking our
bearings, we started off, working our
way into the thick underground, beat.
ing with our sticks, and making mi.
mute examination Of every bush OF
heap of dead leaves All through the
morning we walked on, our hands
badly torn by brambles My own coat
was badly torn, and more than once
was compelled to scramble through
almost impossible thickets; yet we
found no trace of any previous in
truder, and having completed our
circle were compelled to admit that
the gruesome evidence of the second
crime did not exist at that spot.
Muriel was untiring in her activity
Hitler and thither she went, beating
down the high bracken and tangles OF
weeds, poking with her stick into ev
cry hole and corner, and going far
Their and farther into the wood in the
certainty that the body was therein
concealed.
Soon we came to deep wooded ra
vine of the existence of which l was
in ignorance. 1t was kind of small
glen through which rivulet flowed
but the banks were covered with a
thick, impenetrable underground.
This is most likely place" de-
.clared my dainty little companion as
we approached it. Anything could
easily be concealed in that high
bracken down there. Let US search
the whole glen from end to end" she
cried with enthusiasm.
Acting upon her suggestion and
,withcut thought of luncheon, we made
a descent of the steep bank until
we reached the rocky bed of the
stream Undaunted, she went on
springisg from stone to stone and
steadying herself with her stick. II
we could 7nly discover the body OF the
dead woman. then the rest would be
lie
clear, she declared. She would openly
.denounce the assassin.
The sun had set, and the sky above
showed the crimson of the distant
.afterglow, warning us that it was time
we began to think of how to make oul
exit We we're passing around sharp
bend in the glen where the powders
.Were SO thickly moss grown that our