The Little River news., 1920-03-31
CHAPTER TX

l-s as I was of my nfter innocence and confident of my speedy release, never theless I had to adult that the de. tectives from their point of view were perfectly justified in placing me un- der arrest
 for burglar to have gained access to tue apartments without the connv- ance of the employees seemed almost aa impossibility. For him to have escaped from the building after hay ing murdered Miss Lutan without be- ing detected Seeined also highly inn probable. Then. too. there WAS the damniug e.idenee of the blood on my coat and the fact that l had been found at the door of the apartment had not observed the stain on my ciothing until the detectives diScov- cred it. My explanation of how it had gotte a taa"e was the true one. yet could readily realize that it might sound tishy to others
 On the face of it the tragedy in the Granddeck looked like an iuside
 
 missing, was the strongest sort of evi- dence that I was the murderer. Yet S4neyer had seen the weapon before and ce.'ld not imagine who could have piaced 1t there. There was only one explanation possible. It had been pur- poseiy planted there with the definite object of throwing suspicion on me
 The 0ne person-the only person. NhoM 1 knew to have been in my rooms alter the murder was committed was Claire Bradford. Could she have done it? I remembered that Barbara had showed me revolver in her pos session. I wondered if this could be the same weapon l did nor think it possible that Claire herself could have nSe0 H. could imagine nn motive why Claire Bradford would want fo kiu Miss Liitan. yet it must have been she who had hidden the revolver in my deeSser. What had i,enn her motiver How had she got possession of the re- vsiver after the murder?
 Come what may. I had no intention sf telling any one--not even German -ef 0aire's second visit to my apart my mind I would keep my lips closed about that incident. even if had 10 stay in prison Indefinitely. At the pO- lice station when the detectives had brought me tn. had quietly but firmly refuSed te answer any questions, al. though they had badgered me for near ly tive hours before they let me alODe.
 "Where did you live before you came to the Granadeck:'
 "Whefe dtd you wors?"
 "Whefe is Rufus GaSton?"
 "Wher., ao your people ,iye?"
 "Why did you Xiii Daisy Luian?"
 "Where did you get the mooey you hayey'
 "We've got the goods on ymn. Why don't yOu confess?"
 These were the sort of 0ueSians that wer.. flung at me. first by one and then the other. Evidently at first they had had hopes of breaking me dowa.
 ''I have nothing to say" had been nay unvarying answer to all their ques- ti0nS.
 Finally they gave if up and locked me in cell for the night. leaving me tl,ankfu, that the honor of being a sus- pected murderer relieved me from sharing a cell with somo of the frowsy prisoners saw brought past my barred dcnr.
 "Haven't you any friends you would like ts have n0tihed?" was the last question t,ey asked as they Jeff me.
 "1 have nothing to say" repeated once more.
 Mar WAS this answer this time mere stvhb.aeness. Who was there that r~uid notify of my plight? Rrge and Roller, my two intimates, were sonie- where OD the high seas. The men whom I had known in the office where l had worked, for obvious reasons, were not to be called on. l had no idea of the whereabouts of my aged relatives beyond the fact that they were somewhere in Maine.
 had no intention whatever of com munfcatiug the fact of my arrest to my mother. Indeed, I was hoping that she would not hear of it until after my innocence was established.
 thought of German. I would have been glad of his counsel. but l remem- bered that I did not know where he lived. He had told me he was giving up his position at the hotel. It would he useless to try to find him until mOrning.
 Yet in spite of my apparent friend Iessness. although to all appearances there was no one in New York to whom could turn in this time of trouble it was wonderful comfort to feel that I was sure of one stanch friend--Barbara Bradford.
 Although We had been acquainted but few days, and although hardly word of love had passed between us, knew that her feeling for me already was something greater than friendship. I knew that she trusted me and that she would remain faithful in her af- f~ F<.,. yl.nt an