Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1919-03-13
CHAPTERS Aml-,continued)

! Bates hcaved a deep sigh, as of
A 1Han cased OF u great burden.
His whole story bore the stamp OF
truth, and his manner OF telling
was straightforwar and earnest.
NOR was there rcason for doubt.
Though q startling tale, it entirely
explained many OF the strange
conditions that had seemed so be-
wildering. 1T would never have
occurred 10 Bates nor to any one
to make up such Il yarn, and what
else could have deferred him from
the contemplated robbery but the
superstition that makes ever the
most hardened criminals refuse to
steal from a dead person? There
fore, the narrative was accepted
az probably true, and Bates was
taken to the Tombs to await fur
thcr proceedings against him.
"You're a w%onder!" said Gray
Hayiland, as, that same after
noon, he discussed the matter with
Fleming Stone. "Would you mind
telling ne how you went straight
to the criminal and walked him
off to jail?"
"That was practically q bit of
luck" and Stone smiled. "It was
the blackjack that gave me the
clue. Ii the fellow hadn't dropped
that in his fright, we might never
have traced him. Though we
would perhaps have found him
eventually, through the maid, Els
tclle. She is not good at keeping
things secret. However, he did
drop the weapon, and it led
straight to him."
"I3ut howl"
"Well, the thing smelled strong
~ Of creosotc. Now, it was made
from q bit of old cloth that looked
like a piece of some discarded gar
ment-a mans coat, say. If the
odor had been camphor or moth
balls, l should have assumed a
garment laid away in storage, but
creosote is not used for that pur-
pose. So / deduced a house re-
Gently remodeled by use of a GER
tain kind Of shingles. / know that
tho odor Of those shingles clings
to everything in the house for
months. 1t is almost ineradicable.
SO l looked about for a house
lately reshingled."
"Nhy not a new housed" asked.
Hardy, who was present.
"A point we'll taken" said
Stone, nodding approval, "but in
. new house the odor often is dis
pclicd before the people move in.
In a remodeled house the furnish
ings xtay there during the work
and 30 are deeply impregnated
with that unmistakable smell Of
croosote. At any rate, ! worked
on that, and, when | found that
9 ncwly shingled old house was "a
boarding house of the type Bates
would be likely TO live in, / went
.there to see, and found him."
Ycs, but how did you know
there. was such a person as Bates
Where did you get his namei"
From your cook" returned
Stone, simply. II concluded there
was no doubt that Estelle had let
the man IN and relocked the win.
dow afterward. So 4 deduced a
friend Of the girls SO dear to her,
that Pie would do this for him.
asked the cook, Mrs. Haakins. ~.
to Estelle's admirers and learned
that there were two-Bates and
Higgins. Mrs. Haskins couldn't
say which one Estelle more "a
vOred, so / decided to try both.
Bates, the cook told me, lived in q
boarding house near here, and
Higgins over IN New York. So
when asked Estelle q few lead
ing questions I pretended 70
greater knowledge than | really
had. / spoke Of : name heginning
With either B, 81, or s. She Tell
siatoSksirap and raid quickly that
- RneW - one initiated s. Then
but baginpi4g witt
e1f3sd Sho aid no name,
ENTHUSIASTICALLY her lips formed
II = and knew ahe hid