Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-07-30
Copyright. ISlg, by
CHAPTER XXXVI.-Continued.

81 suppose it was only few sec
onds that l sat helplessly staring a
the body. Then | rose and moved tc
it with dragging feet; for now the
truth had come to me at last, and
realized the fullness of my appalling
danger. 1t was not only my liberty
or my honor that the maniac had
undermined. 1t was death that he
had planned for me; death with the
degradation of the scafold. To
strike me down with certainty he
had not hesitatcd to end his life
life which was, no doubt, already
threatened by melancholic impulse
to self-destruction; and the last
agony of the suicide had been turn
ed, perhaps, to a devilish joy by the
thought that he dragged down my
life with his. For, so far as | could
see at the moment. my situation was
utterly hopeless. If it had been des-
perate on the assumption that Man
derson meant to denounce me as a
thief, what was it now that his corpse
renowned me as a murderer?
II picked up the revolver and saw,
almost without emotion, that it was
my own-Manderson had taken it
from my room, | suppose, while |
was getting out the car At the same
moment | remembered that it was
by Manderson's suggestion that |
had had it engraved with my initials,
to distinguish it from a precisely
similar weapon which he had of his
own.
Il bent over the body and satisfied
myself that there was no life left in
it. I must tell you here that | did
not notice, then or afterwards, the
scratches and marks on the wrists
which were taken as evidence Of a
struggle with an assailant. But |
have no doubt that Henderson de-
liberatcly injured himself in this way
before firing the shot; it was part
of his plan.
Though I never. perceived that
detail however it was evident
enough as | looked at the body that
Henderson had not forgotten. in his
last act on earth, to tie me tighter
by putting out of court the question
of suicide. He had clearly been at
pains to hold the pistol at arms
length, and there was not trace of
smoke or of burning on the face.
The wound was absolutely clean, and
already ceasing to bleed outwardly.
] rose and paced the green, reckon
ing up the points in the crushing
case against me.
81 was the last to be seen with
Henderson. | had persuaded him
so he had lied to his wife and, as |
afterward knew, to the butler-to go
with me for the drive from which he
never returned. My pistol had killed
him. 1t was true that by discover
ing his plot l had saved myself from
heaping up further discriminating
facts-fight, concealment, the pos
session of the treasure. But what
need of them, after all? As | stood,
what hope was there? What could
| do?"
Marlowe came to the table and
leaned forward with his hands upon
it. Il want" he said very earnest
ly. ito try to make you understand
what was in my mind when | de-
cided to do what ! did. | hope you
won't be bored, because | must do
it. You may both have thought |
acted like fool But after all the
police never suspected me. | walked
that green for quarter of an hour,
| suppose. thinking the thing out
like a game of chess. | had to think
ahead and think coolly; for my
safety depended on upsetting the
plans of one of the longest -headed
men who ever lived. And remember
that, for all I knew, there were de-
tails of the scheme still hidden from
me. waiting to crush me.
1.-TWO plain courses presented
at once. Either of them,
l thought, would certainly prove
fatal. | could, in the first place, do
the completely straightforward
thing: take back the dead man, tell
my story, hand over the notes and
diamonds, and trust to the saving
power of truth and innocence.
could have laughed as l thought of
it. | saw myself bringing home the