Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-08-18
THE PARADISE MYSTERY
THIS STARTS THE STORY
BY J. S. Fletcher
Copyright 1850. oy Alfred A. Knop,, Inc.

rh, Iittlc English cathedral fot1n OF
prvchester pith its peaceful close Is
ns srs sossv Rsoe,y. ~ nineteen years old. and
S.r brother Dick, seventeen, are yards
~ Doctor Ransford A strange man
asks Tor Doctor Rdnsford aud a feto
minutes later e lo"aSd, S, deod az gt the 700.
~ that the man slipped and fell. Thts
objeoted to, as Warner. a stone
mason, insisted that ne had seen O
p,dn's hand. Rdnsford has Mory pur-
Ss"aSpni A banker. IN Barthorpe offers
= rs,gord for Information. Bryce finds
nm entry In parish register tohere
Mark Ronsford had acted as best man
the ar,a0'e eSs,,o o. gons !, ,ts Ssoss sn eos sma
section i Nth Ranstord and the dead
,nan A idborer declares the verdict
of the jury toas all torong--that he
could throto light on the situation,
om ooumssttriors%."Sauared; tr Is the impres-
sion Of Bryce and the detective.
"Braden rent out Of the Mitre Just be-
fore . O'Clock and ne didn't return IN
III a fey minutes after H. No"' then
"" II suppose you're trying to find tha,
OUT" asked Bryce.
"oJ course p' replied Mitohington,
,rith a confident laugh. "And-I shall!
Keep II to yourself. doctor"
AND HERE 1T CONTINUES
WHEN Bryce had let the inspector ou
w and returned to his sitting room
Ransford and Mary had come from
behind the curtains. He looked at them
and shook his head.
You heard--a good deal. you see,
he observed.
Look here" said Ransford peremp.
torily. you put that man off about the
call at my surgery. You didn't tell him
the truth"
quite right" assented Bryce, 81
didn't. why should I?''
What did Braden ask your" de.
manded Ransford. Come. now?"
Merely II Doctor Ransford was in, -
answered Bryce. ''remarking that ne had
once known a Doctor Ransford That
was--literally-all. ] replied that you
were not in"
Ransford stood silently thinking for
q moment or two. Then he moved
toward the door.
II don't see that any good will come
Of more talk about this" he said. I'VE
three, at any rate, know this--T never
saw Braden when he came to my house u
Then he motioDed Mary to follow him.
and they went away, and Bryce. having
watched them out of sight smiled at
himself in his mirror-with full salts
faction.
It was toward noon of the very next
day that Bryce made a forward step
IN the matter of solving the problem OF
Richard jenkins and his tomb in Para
disc Ever since his return from
Barthorpe he had been making attempts
mystery. He had paid so many viists TO
the Cathedral Library that Ambrose
Company had asked him jestingly II he
was going in for archaeology Bryce had
replied that having nothing to do just
improve his knowledge Of the antiqul-
ties Of WINCHESTER. But he was
scrupulously careful not to let the
librarian know the real object of his
prying and peeping into the old books
and and documents GsmpSny as Bryce WAS
encyclopedia of information abou,
Wrychester Cathedral: he was, IN ract
at that time, engaged in completing a
history of 1t. And 1t was through that
history that Bryce accidentally got his
following the interview with Mary
Bewery and Ransford, Bryce being in
the library was treated by Company to
an inspection Of certain drawings which
the librarian had made for illustrating
his work-drawihgs, most of them. OF
And at the foot Of one Of these. q
drawing of a shield on which was
sculptured three crows. Bryce saw the
name Richard Jenkins. armiger. 1t was
all he could do tc repress start and
to check his tongue. But Canpany
knowing nothing. quickly gave him the
information he wanted.
All these drawings" he said. ARE
OF old things in and about the Cathe'
dral Some of them, like that, for in.
stnnpn TINT Tankina Qhipll nf a
mentatlons on tombs which are SO old
that the inscriptions have completely
disappeared-tombs In the Cloisters
and in Paradise. Some Of those tombs
can only be identified by these sculptures
and Ornamental
How do you know, for instance. that
any particular tomb or monument Is
we'll say. Jenkins's?" asked Bryce, feel.
Ing that he was on safe ground. Must
be matter OF doubt II there's no in
scription left. isn't it?"
NO !" replied Campany. No doubt al
all. In that particular case, there's nc
doubt that certain tomp out there IN
the corner of Paradise, near the east
Richard Jenkins, because 1t bears his
coat-of arms. which. as you see. bore
these birds-intended either as crows CT
ravens The inscriptions clean gone
from that tomb-which is why It isn't
particularized In that chart Of burials
IN Paradise-the man who prepared that
chart didn't know how to trace things
as We do nowadays. Richard Jenkins
was as you may guess, Welshman
VINO settled here in WINCHESTER In the
to st. Hedwiges Church, outside the
walls, but he was buried here. There
are more instances-lock at this. now
THIS coat-of- of-arms-that's the only means
Paradise--that Of Gervase Tyrrwhit
5tou see his armorial bearings in this
drawing? Now those"
Bryce let the librarian go on talking
and explaining. and heard all he had &c
say as a man hears things In a dream
Mnat was really active in his own MIND
was JOY at this unexpected stroke ol
luck he himself might have searched
i"r many year and never found the
aSI resting-place OF Richard Jenkins
look at Richard Jenkins's tomb that day
nor me next. nor for many days-deatt
met MN in another form before he had
aken many steps in the quiet enclosure
mere SO much Of WINCHESTER mortality
lay sleeping
from over the topmost branches Of the
od yew trees great shaft OF noontidt
ahnght fell full on a parcn of the gray
trails or the high-roofed nave. At this
soot or IT. his back comfortably planted
,ist ,n.st the angle of a projecting but,
IN i%ess sat a man. evidently fast asleer
W ~ he warmth OF those powerful rays
bins MS mead leaned down and forward over
his his cnest his hands were folded across
MS waist his whole attitude was thaI
% ., man who, having eaten ana drunk
n, ~ me open air, has dropped off to sleep
mat ne had so dropped OFF while in the
,pery act of smoking was evident from
clay pipe which had fallen from his llps
thu trnu iay In the grass beside him. Near
cheo he pipe, spread on a colored handker.
a,el, were the remains of his dinner
hrsss quick eye noticed fragments ol
s,oa' cheese, onions. And close by
ipou iepu one OF those tin bottles in which