Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1919-07-23
CHAPTER viii.
"A Note, Some Faneies and ans Expsdl-
tion In Quest OF Facts.

tion In Quest Of Facts.
He started upstairs, his mind full o.
the events and conjectures Of the day
AS he entered the room his eyes fel
upon white envelope at his feet. /
had been slipped under the door since
he left the room an hour before.
sTerse reminder from the prudent Mr.
Jones! His bill for the day! He picked
1t up, glanced at the inscription, ant
at once altered his opinion. His full
name was there In the handwriting
OF woman. For a moment he wal
puzzled; then he thought Of Miss
Thackeray. A note Of thanks, no doubt
unpleasantly fulsome! Vaguely an
noyed. he ripped open the envelope and
q read:
an caseiI do not have the oppor
tnnity to speak with you tonight. THU
II to let you know that the little mar
who says he Is q book agent was In
your room for three quarters Of ar
hour while you were away this after
noon. You'd better see Il anything L
missing. N. T."
He made hasty but careful exami.
nation Of his effects. There swas moi
she slightest evidence that his PACK
had been opened or even disturbed. Il
the little book agent spent three-quar-
tiers Of an hour in the room he man
Aged most effectually to cover up all
traces Of his visit.
Barnes did not 60 to sleep until long
after midnight. He now regarded him.
self % definitely committed TO Z com
bination Of sinister and piquant enter
pEises, not the least Of which was to
know about the mysterious young
woman at Green Fancy.
The next day he, with other dodgers
IN the Tavern, was put through an ex-
animation by the police and county
officials from st. Elisabeth, and noti-
ned that, while he was not under sus-
picion or surveillance, II would be nee.
essary for him to remain in the 'baili-
wick" until detectives, already on the
way, were satisfied that he possessed
no knowledge that would be useful to
them in clearing up what had now AZ.
sumed the dignity 81 national prob
lem"
ODowd rode down from Green
Ancy and created quite sensation
among the officials by announcing that
they had a perfect right to extend
their search for clues to all parts Of
his estate. and that he was deeply In
terested In the outcome Of their In
vsstigations.
The sheriff said he would like to
run over the ground bit" that very
afternoon II It was agreeable to Mr..
O,Dowd.
O'Dowd stayed to dinner. DINNER
was served in the middle OF the day
at Hart's Tavern.) He made q great
impression upon Lyndon Rushcroft,
who, with his daughter, Joined the two
men. Indeed, the palavering Irishman
extended himself In the effort to make
himself agreeable. he was vastly In
terested In the stage, he declared. As
q matter Of fact he had been told
thousand times that he ought to 60
on the stage. @
The little book agent came In while
they were at table. He sat down In
a corner bf the dining room and busted
himself with his subscription lists
while waiting for the meal to be
served. He was still porting over them.
frowning intently, when Barnes and
the others left the roor
Barnes walked out b Miss
Thackeray.
1.-THE tailor-made. gown Is an Inn
pr0vement," he said to her. He was
thinking that she was very pretty
girl. after all.
'1The frock usually makes the wom-
an she said slowly, ''but not always
the lady"
He thought Of that remark more
than once during the course Of an aft
.ernoon spent In the woods about
Green Fancy.
ODowd virtually commanded the
expedition. It was ne who thought Of
everything. First Of all, he led the
party to the corner of the estate near
est the point where Paul was shot
from his horse. Sitting In his saddle
he called the attention OF the other
riders to what appeared to be most
significant fact in connection with the
killing Of this man.
"Trom what I hear the man Paul
was shot through the lungs, directly
from In front. The bullet went
straight through his body. he was
riding very rapidly down the road.
When he came to a point not far
above the crossroads he was fired
upon. It is safe to assume that he
was loolAlg intently ahead, trying to
make out the crossing. He was not
shot from the side Of the road. gen.
<lemen, but from the e af It. The
bullet came from point almost Gi-
rectly in front Of him, and not from
Mr.. Curtis property here to the left
or Mr.. Conley's on the right. The
chances are that Paul did not accom-
.pany Room to the meeting place up
the road. He remained near the horses.
That's how he managed to get away so
quickly. It remained for the mar at
the crossroads to settle with him. But
we're wasting time with all this
twaddle of mine. Let us be moving.
There is one point on which we must
:nll agree. The deadliest marksman In
the world fred those shots. No bum