Evening star., 1918-07-28
THE" MYSTERY Of THE HA


pedestal or even from behind Il
through tho loophole made by the
curving in of the vase toward Its base
San be made to reach It's marx ,hnx IN ,n,1s .hs
feel some Justification in doubttug h:s
statement that the arrow. whatever tio
appearances. was not shot from this
gallery. If 1t could not. BELIEF IN his
their minds be cleared Of a doubt
which must hamper all their future
The second director. whose name
was Clayton. stood at the left OF the
try. To him that official now turned
with this explanation:
1.-THE bow you see in Mr.. La Fleohe's
hand Is similar In length and weight
to the one found lying strung for use
now standing. The arrow Is from tho
same CULVER as the one which entere1
Miss Willetts' BREAST Did you
No. Mr.. Clayton had not spoken; yet
through the small group surrounding
him, which had heightened the
consciousness Of them all. Eyes and
ears became alert; only the Indian
'""M "Mr. La Fieche, you will first stand
here" continued the inspector, point.
ing to the spot which Mr. Travis had
finally settled upon as the one Whcce
he had been standing at the moment he
saw Miss Willetts fall.
the figure diagonally opposite and lald
his finger on the string.
IAN Inch to the left of the bunch o9
flowers pinned on the dumniy's breast,
murmured Mr.. Gryce almost lii h.s
It was a breathless moment; even
the two detectives showed excitement.
But the Indian failed to shoot. In
stead, he looked around Gt the 'nspe".
tor and quietly remarked!
II will shoot standing, since you 80
request, but I think you will find that
the arrow which caused death was de-
Mvered by man kneeling."
A flash Of the eye between the two
All the others were watching the light
ming flight Of the arrow. 1t struck
the dummy full and square. Every.
one shuddered, even the inspector: Vt
brought the real tragedy 50 wildly to
mind.
Meanwhile a movement had taken
place In the small group of men watch
Ing from the other side. One of them
stepped fully into view and approach
ing the figure thus attacked, drew out
the arrow and made close examination
of the hole 1t had made ard shook his
head. 1t was Coroner Price.
Try again, and from bshiaa the
pedestal this time" he called out
stepped back into his former place 0f
The inspector motioncd his wishes
to the Indian. who With subtle
twist of his body slipped behlad the
"That's better" was the inspectors
quick comment. "Can you handle the
bow easily from where You now
stand?"
"There is plenty Of ,oom''
Very we'll. But wait! Before we
proceed further, there Is matter to
which I wish to call the attention of
these gentlemen. 1t must have been
apparent to you air that a person
moment ago would be easily visible
to any one looking up from the court or
across from the opposite gallery, or
even from the broad corridors at eith-
er end Of the building: But would the
same hold true IL instead of being in
front he had been behind the pedestal,
as Mr.. La Fleche is now? Run below,
Barney; and, gentlemen. disperse your
selves in different directions and give
me your opinion. Now" he demanded
which there had been q scattering 10
right and left along the galleries.
what do you say?"
''If any one CHANGED to be looking di-
rectly. there. .yes." was shouted up
from below.
what do you say Coroner Price?'
ASK the man to kneel"
The inspector gave the word.
"Ah, that's different! The bulge of
the vase hides the upper part of his
head, and the pedestal itself the
. lower. He might shoot from his pres
ent position with impuMty."
DO you. all agree?" .
Yes. yes!" came from different
:. '@rhen, Mr.. La Fleche, here's an
other arrow from the same CULVER.
Take fresh aim and shoot" 49,
" Another breathless moment-more
breathiess than the other; then a sec
ond arrow flew across the court and
hung quivering in the breast of the
dummy
From both ends Of the gallery men
came running. and leaning eagerly
over the gallery rail they watched
the coroner as he stepped again into
view to make a second examination.
This time he kept them several
minutes lin suspense, and when he
had drawn out the arrow, he looked
long at the hole 1t had made. Then,
Instead OF shouting his decision across
the court, he could be seen leaving
the gallery and coming around their
What had ,d'' he s, to say9 AS they
ne!ghbortHg steeple-three sonorous
peals! The two directors glanced at
each other. Doubtless. they felt the
Wefrdneas of the hoir aa wall ao of