Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-08-07
THE PARADISE MYSTERY
r,,,s STARTS THE STORY
By J. S. Fletcher
So,,,rioht, 1920, by Alfred A. Knop|, Inc.

pVn piun n Mouth of seVehseeWt,. Rr,,ca ts
Of 0'oD, Doctor Ranstord; BpauU, ppyce Is IL love
Ranstord's ds'iStatrn strance man inquiries
Nth ,,nS,nr Mgry: BanSjord. Bruce directs rsts,
fer bOtSe 70 the close te0 i@Soper ,sorses Sead, DEAD
~ a,n' man M IS found og og,a,,tbS,s % stair and
ot az the foot Of sa'm -, Tny Brycc ledviro the
Parstord Is Seer SSp,.yce ne alone 10Th the
Cdthedras ,,onfed to kttop angsm,miy; .gni;on
deda. mso ina that toould g,pe ,ey mu secret
ony"ulgf lef him into WmotIIig tIis unluoky
dha ',nioht be betneeW ""''
stranoer u"p wIRE IT CONTINUES
AND ,roost pocket was empty
B,sors was no pocketbook .tneae saeo there there
there napers there. Nor were ..e.s o.sa.
were no elsewhere in the o'"e.
any papS l'.,,cb he hastily searched there
pockets W.. a card with name on IL
was not s,nd a purse, full OF money.
honxnotes, gold, silVer-a q, n,nsr folded
va u.' .omnartments a scrap o, pap' -, the
ns s.,orsiv. HU after the fashioh W %
,',a'hst cur,oS missives of another ase ~
cVoN '". envelopes had not peeh msen -
n wn'Cn smrr,edly unfolded this, ana ai'er 81
Bryce n a. It's contents made haste 10
one e' Z, IN his own pocket he hao
secre'e do,e this and put back the
OILY omy when he heard Warmers voice a' anu
aocond later the voice OF inspeU.V'
s,ton,rrton. a well-lnown police o''ie'al'
tbat Bryce sprang to his tee''
anu .',,or the mason and his COM
U,,ns '''U emerged from the bushes was
"nI,no p' looking thoughtfully at the
sood man. He turned to Mitchife'oi'
,rltb a shake Of the head.
"nead" !" he said in hushed VOICE
.n,.d os we got to him. Broken-all TO
,,ooos should say--neck and spine
certainly, I suppose Warmers told you
what he saw" ..,
comnexioned man, quick of movement,
nodded and after one glance at tne
body, looked up at lhe oPe" "'o' ""'
high above them. ~
i'sT STbat the door," he asked, turning TO
Warner. "And--t was open?
"Its always open" answered Warner.
"Leastways, it's been open, ike that'
ali this spring, to my, knoWledge.
what is there behind it?' inquired
II Mitchington. =,
Z sort Of gallery, that runs all round
the nave" replied Warner. "Clerestory
gallery-thats what 1t is, People can
70 up there and walk aromd-lots uot
'em do-tourlsts, you know There's
two or three ways up to it-staircases
In the turrets"
Mtchlngton turned to one of the two
constables who had followed him
LET Warner show you the way up
there" he said. GO quietly--don't
make any fuss-the morning service is
Just beginning. Say nothing to any
body-just take a quiet look around,
along that gallery, especially near the
door there-and come back here" He
looked down at the dead man again as
the mason and the constable went away.
"A stranger, I should think, Doctor
tourist, most likely. But-thrown down q!
That man Warner is positive. That looks
like foul play
"oh, there's no doubt of that !" as
serted Bryce. You'll have to go into
that pretty, deeply, But--the inside of
the cathedrals like rabbit-warren,
and whoever threw the man through
that doorway no doubt knew how to slip
away unobserved. Now, you'll have to
remove the body to the mortuary, of
course-but just let me fetch Doctor
VI medical man than myself to see him
before he's moved-Ill have him here
In five minutes"
He turned away through the bushes
and emerging upon the close ran across
the lawns in the direction Of the house
before He had but one idea as he ran
he wanted to see Ransford face to
race with the dead man-wanted to
watch him, to observe him. to see how
ne ne looked how he behaved. Then he,
Bryce, would know--some thing.
But he was to know something be-
lore that He opened the door Of the
surgery suddenly, but with his usual
Quietness of touch. And on the thresh-
Ola e he paused. Ransford, the very pic
te sule OF Despair stood just within, his
the other
In the few seconds which lapsed be-
iole Kansford recognized Bryce's pres
snce soS, Bryce took a careful, If swift, OBJ
pan fpervaHon or his late employer. That
.nlhg was plain enough to see; his face
was was sun pale, he was muttering to
inlnself' one clenched fist was pounding
sne open palm of the other hand-alto-
setner, he looked like a man who Is sud
utnly confronted with some fearful diff
Guilty And when Bryce having looked
@ long enough to satisfy his wishes
ssoGghed gently he started In such a
hasnno hssn.oh as TO suggest that his nerves had
'nnEere?' mere? he demanded almost fiercely
that" ''' oS cunning III Hhe
isryce affected to have seen nothing.
.~rL came to fetch YOU" he answered
-roan -meIe 5, ,neen an accident in Paradise
a, s,tn st rn faIlen from that door at the head
bnt TEytha's stair. I wish you'd come
paSt Stt J. i may as we'll tell you that he's
past help--dead!" |"
Pead A MANI" exclaimed Rams
''iS. what man? A workman? ?"
ahnnrryce had already made UP his mind
cal Hu' tel!ing Ransford of the strangers
notb,SaI az me surgery. He would say
was ipSrlrt mat time. at any rate It
sejS tnP tnnProoable that any one but him
10 tba M'ew n,, OF the call; the side entrance
oIosa surgery was screened from the
IEoT ItoET,. Dy a shrubbery; 1t was very un-
ma Inat any passerby had seen the
keen Sa!l or go away. No-he would
be'p be p,ads ms knowledge secret until it could
WWaue better use Of
Not Workman-not a tovnsnnan
mon msoTnahger'" he answered. Looks like
e,dmJym-to-do tourist A slightly built,
''GPepy Pay man gray-haired."
To -;M%1stord' who had turned to his desk
a suddeN 81 himself, looked round with
had hvTt Bryce was taken aback. For he
glsncHoo Ho'uemned mned Ransford-and vet that
surnrso" was one of apparently genuine
yincpeGdS e., glance which almost con-
too eridan, iHd'lm, against his will against only
hearing os ,idcIs, that Ransford was
nrst time '"u'se aHair Tor the
slIghti,, elderly man - gray-haired -
clotReISy1so'Hiji,! clotRRIy oHi!tS" said Ransford. Dark
now w[yGISeiiy," CNnsi5y, replied Bryce, who was
know w'TIHiSSIddterably IiSI dtra astonlsRed. do YOU
catbeGSr@aww S@w such a man entering the
ford stnd while ago" answered Rams
along tho, stranger, certainly. Come
-lon bw' bm'G ly tully recovered his self-posses-
from tbo mat att time, and he led the way
as II bo hue surgery and across the close
fussorn99, ma were yise, going on an ordinary pro-
walked ranI5,,. r,H5Ir lie kept silence as they
BrvcO rapidly toward Paradise nn1