Gunnison news-champion., 1920-03-12
CIR
Iidrt,tuntrd
Ayatrry
BY
2. c. WyDEHOuSR
CHAPTER ~.
Ba".lrg Clues.

tn. -., ...h rlr -sIf-~nHt'
dnr.r ......,-. ...ra Characterized uIl
HI a... 80. .-H..rr Ia h.a-n.r
IT,. ..- ,H.' 40. ..-a aaI the ar-
I,,e- .. .. r..r. Unusual diff
cult Er a..I h.u i.r
vs.. .r. ... ..I e.. ar.e>'.-
n' . b.. ..-. .l.rri
r r.a.. r..-
ih.
au
vi ...I .s..s TO- La.u U4H,s'|
uu... fa.. rt De- had nerves.
IT, SO, s... .,as surely 'r0u-
bic. b.. ill.,. o .r. ...ru OF Arg. Pick
ct $50.
H. r-an To rhlnk that perhaps he
had E,.-. d, -huIr too rn.f-confd,ui ana
bru-a Ir r.. .lpri interview which he
had had with her on his urrIyui
She had "rlr.. him as thoroughly
stupid nr! r.u, 4n. aud his muuner had
shown a.
IIy bad been Errn and abrupt during
TINT lr..-g a. .ir bad rut in on her
rcutnr n. 'ea "ynuunI her with
REGARD ro 90. mrrs which hr needed
to sui .cment those which h 4EG had
from Sir Suydrr with a curt supercIl.
Iousursas which now he was beginning
TO rc-rct.
SErh an attitude rs he had assumed
could only be- justified by results. and
the fear was creeping over him that
he could not produce those results,
Failure was staring him In the face.
Sine" his arrival he had not ceased
TO brood over This problem. but he
could see no light.
Mrs. rlckctrs pale eyes somehow
made him feel very young.
elliott Oakcs' first act after his brief
interview with the proprietress had
been - examine the room where the
Tragedy had taken place. The body
had cone. but, with that exception,
nothing had been moved.
Oakcs belonged TO the magulfying
glass school OF detection. The first
thing he did on entering the room was
to make careful examination OF the
floor, the walls. the furniture, and the
window-Sill.
He would have hotly denied the as
sertiOn that he did this because II
looked well, but he would have been
hard put to II to advance any other
reason.
He discovered what probably. in his
heart. he had expected to discover
nothing There were particles Of dust
on the floor, but they conveyed moth
ing TO him. There were marks on the
window sill. but what they signlfied he
had no notion.
However. he went through his per.
fornance conSclentiously. 1t was his
way of taking formal possession of the
case.
He rose, n little flushed. and. ahcn-
doning the magnifyinc.g,ass. made
comprehensive survey of the room
from a position near the door. II he
discovered anything, his discoveries
were entirely negative, and served
only to deepen the mystery of the case.
As Mr. Snyder had said. there was
no ch!mpey. and nobody could have
entered through the locked door.
There remained the window. II was
small. and app.ehensiveness possibly
on the score of burglars had caused
the proprietress to make II doubly se-
cure with an iron bar. No human be-
ing could have squeezed his way
through it.
After quarter OF an hour ne ieIt
the room, locking the door behind him.
No more unsatisfactory preliminary
investigation could ever have been
made.
1t was late that night that he wrote
and dispatched to headquarters the re-
port which had amused Mr.. Snyder.
The interval he filled up By making
guarded Inquiries among his fellow
bonrders.
/! BE had no difficulty In making them
talk. Nothing like the death Of Cap
tain Gunner had ever happened among
them. and the difficulty would have
been to start successfully any other
topic OF conversation.
Captain Muller. the big German,
Hho by virtue Of having been the dead