The Washington times., 1920-05-09

they had been Impressed by q per
son, or rather by two persons. both
pushing their way into the bushes
which came mp almost 10 the Sum-
mer-house wall, and with q slight
lean over OF their bodies TO the
right getting into such q position
as would enable them 10 look In at
the window OF the Summer-house
and see what was inside.
What was VI that those persons
had seenf
Sergeant Crisp, as l say. could
reconstruct the scene In outline. SO
far as to visualize those two per
sons, first one and then the other,
peering over. looking In, but he
could not MI up those outlines sat
isfactorily; he could not oil In the
figures so as to be sure whose they
were, nor could he form a clear
idea OF the view within the Sum,
mer-house which their eyes had
seen.
And then II was almost certain
that the French maid, Celeste,
knew more than she had told. She
had even avowed as much. And
Sergeant Crisp did not by any
means dismiss as impossible the
idea that the actual murder might
have been the work OF q woman's
hand. Celeste was slight. but the
sergeant judged her to be strong
and sinewy. The wound was not
one which II was at all inconceiv-
able that the hand of q woman
might have given, and he had
formed, as II seemed, the very
worst opinion OF Celeste. He be-
lieved her capable OF anything.
OF me, too, as l know now. the
sergeant had his suspicion. not. in
deed, that he thought I could pos
sibly have had hand In my poor
aunt's death, but that he believed
me to be keeping back from him
something that might have an I'M
portant bearing on the case. And
this, of course. was absolutely cor
rect. / was keeping back fact Of
importance-the fact of which ]
was nearly as certain as the evil
dence of ones eyes can make one,
that had seen Uncle Ralph go out
under the moonlight and enter The
shrubbery path at an hour when he
himself denied having left the
house at all.
It is curious, but l began to Ls
rather less absolutely certain that
It was he than 1 was at first. !
think 1t does happen thus-that we
begin by being very sure OF some
thing which we believe that we
have seen, and then, by degrees. IL
people tell us or facts conspire to
prove to us that we must have
been mistaken, we begin to be
shaken in our convictions, we be-
gin to doubt what we had at first
supposed to be the clear evidence
of our senses. imagine that 1t is
a kind of suggestion working upon
us.
So in this way began by de-
grees to have less certainty that it
was my Uncle Ralph that l had
seen. l began to entertain the pos
sibility that it might have been
someone else, like him in figure
and dress, that had mistaken for
him. My thoughts fell upon Grain
ger, who was Of much the same
height. l really began hardly to
know what to think.
But, of course, on the detec-.
tive's list of suspects it was impos-
sible but that Uncle Ralph's name
should figure. 1t even figured the
most largely Of all. 1t could not
well be otherwise. To me, who
knew Uncle Ralph's nature. h
gentle character and his devotion
to my aunt. 1t scarcely seemed Pc
sible really to suspect him for a
moment of such an act as the sus
picion implied, and yet, behind al!
that, and even while l told myself
that l could not possibly suspect,
/ was conscious the while that
there was hint, a sort Of whisper
of a dreadful doubt going through
my mind all the time. For | really
hardly could doubt the evidence of
my eyes, though It was by noon
light, that It was Uncle Ralph
whom | had seen crossing the
gravel and going toward the Sum
mer-house; and ! could in no wayIl
reconcile that with his denial that
ho had Cnpo ont of oil until St,yp-