Evening star., 1918-07-14
MYSTERY OF THE HASTY
1T''1E}||1E
Of which he hoped to reach the heart

Of which he hoped to reach the heart
pf this mystery
Taking the. slip OF paper handed
him by sWsstwater he sos crossed sts,tdrs .ne
detained, some against their will and
some quite in accordance with It.
stood about in groups or sat side by
side on the long benches placed along
the front for their comfort. As he
confronted nos them his face, ACE. besmeS whieS
had done SO much for him In days
gone by. Raising his hand. he called
attention to himself: then. when ne
was quite sure Of being heard by
them all. he addressed them with q
quiet emphasis which could not iail
II am Detective Gryce. sent here
from police headquarters to look into
this very serious matter. TIL tne
coroner arrives I am IN authority
here, and, being SO. will have to ASK
you may experience in helping me
with my investigation. A. young girl,
full Of life an hour ago, lies dead In
the gallery above. We do not know
her name; we do not know who killed
her. But there is some one here VINO
does. The man or woman who, wit.
tingly or unwittingly. launched that
fatal shaft. is present with us in this
building. This person has not spoken.
II he will do SO now. he will save us
and himself, too. NO end Of trouble.
five minutes in which to make this
Acknowledgment. Five minutes! II
that man is wise tor can 1t be q wom-
an?-he will not keep us waiting"
Silence. Heads moving. eyes peer
ing. excitement visible IN every race ace
Gryce turned and pointed up at the
clock. All ldoked-7Aut still no word
from man or woman.
One minute gone!
, Two minutes!
Three! s...
The silence had become portentous.
The movement. involuntary and
simultaneous, which had run through
the crowd at 6rst. had stopped. They
were waiting-each and all-waiting
ing forward over the dial toward
which the detectives glance was still
The fourth minute passed-then the
nfth-and no one had spoken.
With sigh Mr. Gryce wheeled
himself back and faced the crowd
"You see." he quietly announced:
"the case Is serious. Twenty-Five OF
you. and not one to speak the half
dozen words which would release the
rest from their present embarrassing
under circumstances like these? My
experience suggests but one course:
to narrow down this inquiry to those
you will not hnd them many-who
from their nearness to the place of
equally y pertinent @ @ may % be looked upon
as possible witnesses for the cor
oner's jury. That this may be done
speedily and surely, am going to ask
you, every one of you. to retake the
exact place in the building which you
were occupying when you heard the
first alarm. will begin with the
curator himself. Mr.. Jewett, win you
be so good as to return to the room.
and II possible to the precise spot.
you were occupying when you first
The curator. who stood at his elbow.
made quick bow and turned in the
direction OF the marble steps. which
he hastily remounted. A murmur
from the crowd followed this action
and continued till he disappeared into
Then, at a gesture from Mr.. Gryce. 1t
suddenly ceased. and with a breathless
interest easy to comprehend they
one and all waited for his next word.
1t was a simple one.
I'VE are all obliged to Mr.: Jewett
usual request. He has made task
q comparatively easy one"
Then. glancing at the list Of names
and addresses which had been COM
piled for him by Sweetwater. he
added:
IT will read off your names as re-
corded here. II each person. on hear
ing his own, will move quickly to his
place and remain there till my young
man can make note Of the same, we
shall get through this matter in short
order. And let me add"-as he per-
ceived here and there a shoulder
shrugged. or an eye turned askance-
cuse of non-recollection will be ac-
cepted. You must know. every one
Of you, just where you were standing
when the cry of death rang out, and
any attempt to mislead me or others
in this matter will only subject the
must wish to avoid. Remember that
there are enough persons here for no
one to be sure that his whereabouts
at SO exciting a moment escaped no.
tice. Listen, then, and when your
own name is spoken, step quickly into
place, whether that place be on this
floor or in the rooms or galleries
You can imagine the furry. the ex.
citement and the blank looks of the
average men and women he ad-
dressed. But not one hesitated to
obey. Mrs. Lee was on the farther
side Of one of the statues before her
name had more than left his lips.
who followed. Like soldiers at roll
call. each one responded to the sum-
mons. going now in one direction and
now in another until on reaching the
proper spot he or she stopped.