The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1919-03-13
CHAPTER xIII--(Continued)

truth. and his manner of telling
was straightforward and earnest
Nor a there reason for doubt
Though a startling tale, it entirely
explained many Of the strange
conditions that had seemed so be.
w%ildering. 1t would never have
occurred to Bates nor to any one
to make up such a yarn, and what
else could have deferred him from
the contemplated robbery but the
superstition that makes even the
most hardened criminals refuse to
steal from a dead person9 There
fore, the narrative was accepted
as probably true, and Bates was
taken to the Tombs to await fur
Their proceedings against him.
"You're a wonder." said Gray
Haviland, as, that same after
noon, he discussed the matter with
Fleming Stone. "Would you mind
telling me how you went straight
to the criminal and walked him
off to jail?"
"That was practically a 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
telle. She is not good at keeping
things secret. However, he did
drop the weapon, and it led
straight to him"
"But how?"
"Well, the thing smelled strong
ly of creosote. Now, it was made
from a 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, [ 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. l know that
the odor of those shingles clings
to everything in the house for
months. 1t is almost ineradicable.
So | looked about for a house
reshingled."
"Why not a new house9 2" asked
Hardy, who was present.
"a point well TAKEN" said
nodding approval, "but in
a new house the odor often is dis
before the people move in.
a remodeled house the furnish
stay there during the work
and so are deeply impregnated
with that unmistakable smell Of
c~reosote. AT any rate, / worked
on that, and, when | found that
newly shingled old house was a
house of the type Bates
be likely to live in, | went
there to see, and found him."
eyes, but how did you know
there was such a person as Bates7
Where did you get his namef'
"From your cook" returned
Stone, simply. II concluded there
was no doubt that Estelle had let
the man in and relocked the win
afterward. So I deduced a
Of the girls so dear to her
that she would do this for him.
| asked the cook, Mrs. Haskins, as
to Estelle s admirers and learned
that there were two-Bates and
Mrs. Haskins couldn't
say which one Estelle more IA
SO | decided to try both.
the cook told me, lived in a
house near here, and
Higgins over in New York. So
when / asked Estelle a few lead
ing questions l pretended to
greater knowledge than / really
had. ! spoke Of d name beginning
with either B, II, or s. She fell
into the trap and said quickly that
she knew no one initiated S. Then
/ said but beginning With
and waited. She aaid no name,
but involuntarily hH lips formed
g silent B. and I knew she had
ii mind. The rest was easy.
the boarding house and the
formed q combination too
indicative TO bes merely coinci-
dence. And so we found him. And
|, for one, believe his story. I know
the strong superstition that i'm
bues those people conserving a
corpse, and the unexpected dis
covery that he had attacked one
was enough to make that man be-
side himself. Indeed, it's q won.
der that he didn,t make an outcry
%Hy ~ lE&EMrHM1F 5sINtA = - -. =.