Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1920-10-07
CHAPTER Xu-Con,inncd

II was not searching began Mrs.
Carstairs, and then. as she saw me
looking intently at her, she stopped
speaking.
You were" declared the detective;
there's no use your denying it! And
later on, your son was seen searching
in the SAME place. What clue was
he looking for?"
Mrs. C%arstairs could not speak. Her
lips moved inaudibly, but she was
striving to pull herself together and
would doubtless have succeeded,
when, breaking the silence, the voice
Of Beth Fordyce was heard.
1t sounded weird. and the audience
listened breathlessly as Beth said, in
dreamy, far-away tones, wheel
tracks! He was looking for wheel
tracks! He was the man who came
in the motor car. l recognize him
noW-it was Carstairs. Mr.. Van
Wyck's valet who came into the
grounds, at midnight. in a motor ear.
Who stopped-and hesitated-and
proceeded at intervals-who left the
car. n walked stealthily around the
house in the shadow of the caves
evading the notwithstanding the
sbiadoW-the shadow"
Miss Fordyce's voice trailed away
in a. whisper, and / knew hat she was
in one of the semi-trances. or what
ever word might express the strange
condition that sometimes e%nveloped
her. She was. perfectly conscious, but
her mentality seemed dual. She en-
visioned after scene than those she
might be among, and while she say
them clearly she spoke as if through
a mist.
The audience sat e%nthralled. Here
at last was a hint of something real
and tangible! Wheel tracks were
legitimate clues! If Miss E'ordyce's
way to look for light on the mystery!
/ glanced at Mrs. Carstairs, expect
ing to find her almost collapsed; but
instead, she had again risen to the
and resumed her grasp Of
the situation. / saw, too, that it was
the alarm of her mother instinct, that
had nerved her to Il renewed effort at
composure, and she said quietly,
There is no meaning to the babble
of a mind given to frequent hallu-
cinations!"
But apparently tho coroner thought
there was, or he abruptly dismissed
Mrs. Carstairs as u witness, and re-
called her son.
IIc 'FdleC lOOhcu "TelCneO, DuL
ccmed ready to answ questions.
Did you come into this place in a
last night at midnight?" the
shot at him.
mo. sir" and the answer was firm,
though in a low tone.
You have testified that you were
at a ball in the village"
Yes, sir, but l walked home. 1t
it isn't far, sir"
Can you prove that you were at
village ball? Did any of the
servants Of this house see you there? 2"
Mono, SIR
How does that happen?" snapped
the coroner; were none Of them
present at the ball?" :
II don't know, sir"
what do you mean? Look here,
Carstairs. you weren't at that ball at
in n motor?"
mo. sir: oh, no, sir" The mans
denial was so emphatic and his man
ner go aEitatcd, that it was palpably
falsehood IN the face of it.
II think you were" the coroner
went on, "and as I doubt your word,
/ will ask some one else"
Then the called for Ran
the garage mechanician.
This witness doggedly persisted
that he knew nothing of Carstairs'
whereabouts the night before. But
nagging by the coroner
finally drew out the fact that the
touring car had been taken out.
How do you know it had?" asked
the coroner, and .Ranney seemed sud-
denly to decide that he would make a
breast of the matter.
II seen the wheel tracks, sir" ne
said.
How did you know them from any
other tracks?"
Its a new car, sir, and it has Pc
culiar tires. You can't mistake the
sir"
I saw it all in a flash. Carstairs
had taken the car out for a Joy ride
and in order to escape discovery, he
had endeavored to o%bliterate these
peculiar tire marks fron1 the dust Of
the road. And without a doubt, his
mother had been engaged in the same
work Of precaution.
The detective also jumped to these
and after a few of his
questions, in conjunction with the
c%oroner's inquiries, they forced a con-
from the valet. t
Carstairs' name became sullen az