Charlevoix county herald., 1920-05-14


the letter I told you l expected, con-
relate to this man Ned Beaton and the
woman he expects on this train"
"Your instructions" he echoed
doubtfully. "You mean you have been
sent after these people on some crimi-
nal matter? You are a detectiveT
There must have been a tone of
distrust in his voice, for she turned
and faced him defiantly.
NO; not that. Listen; l am
newspaper woman, special writer
on the New York Star" She paused,
her cheeks flushing with nervousness.
TIT was very strange that i met
you first of all--fOr il seems that the
case is of personal interest to YOU"
"To me! Why, that is hardly likely,
IL it originated in New York"
at did"-she drew in sharp
breath-"for it originated in the MUIR
der of Frederick Cavendish."
"The murder of Cavendishi He has
been killed."
"Yes; at least that is what every
one believes, except possibly one man
his former valet. His body was
found lying dead on the floor of his
private apartment, the door of his safe
open, the money and papers missing.
The coroner's jury brought in a YER
dict of murder on these facts"
"But when was this?"
She gave the date and he studied
over 1t.
1.-The same day he should have re-
ceived my telegram" he said gravely
That's why the poor fellow never an
swered." He turned to her suddenly.
But what became OF my Others" he
asked, "and of all the letters wroter
"That is exactly what want to
learn They must have been delivered
| to his cousin, John Cavendish. I'll tell
you all / know, and then perhaps, be-
| tween us, we may be able to figure Ii
| out"
Briefly and clearly she set before
| him the facts she and Willis had been
able to gather: the will, the connec-
| ton between Enright and John Cav
endish, the quarrel between John and
| Frederick, the visit of John to En-
rights office, the suspicion of ValOis
| that the murdered man was not Cav
endish, and, finally, the conversation
| overheard in Steinway's, the torn tel
| egram. and the meeting between &C.
leste La Rue and Enright.
When she had finished Westcott sat,
chin in hand, turning the evidence
over in his mind. "Do you believe
Frederick Cavendish is dead" he
asked suddenly.
Eyes"
| Westcott struck his hand down on
the rock, his eyes glowing dangerously.
"Well, DON'T" he exclaimed. II
believe he is alive! My theory is that
this was all carefully arranged, but
that circumstances compelled them to
act quickly and before they were
entirely ready. Two unexpected &C.
| currence hurried them into action"
She leaned forward, stirred by his
| earnestness.
| "WhatY
"The quarrel in the restaurant, lead
ing to the making of the WILL" he an
swered gravely, land my telegram.
The two things fit together exactly.
He must have received my first mes
sage that same night. In my judg-
ment, he was glad of some excuse to
leave New York and determined to
take the first train west. His quarrel
with John, coupled with his disgust
of the company he kept, caused him
! to draw up this will hurriedly. He
left the club intending to pack up and
take the first train"
"And was killed before he could do
| so?
| POSSIBLY; but If the dead man had
no scar on his chest he was not Fred
erick Cavendish; he was an impostor (;
some poor victim deliberately substi-
| tuted because of his facial resem-
| blance. My belief is that Fred re-
turned to his apartments, took what
money he required, packed his valise,
and departed without word to any
one. He often did things like that
hastily, on the spur of the moment"
But what happened afterward?"
1.-THE rest is all theory. l do not
know, but I'll make a guess. In some
way the conspirators learned what
had occurred, but not In time to in
tercept his departure; yet they had
everything ready for action, and real
ICED this was the opportunity. Fred
erick had disappeared leaving no trace
behind they could attend to him
later, intercept him, perhaps Wait !
Keep still. There comes the carriage
| from the train"