Gunnison news-champion., 1920-03-05
Thr
Marn1uutra
Mystrry
Q. TTIElt
CHaPTER !.
BY
r. C. UODEHOUSR
4 Strange Death.

A'a.#.t u ...f D l.H' n ~ - ''''t+A
~ ilc typical better class boarding
hou-". furu she'd 500 far 90 i, was fur
uIah..I 20 aII a.rh q sever" simplicity.
II contained 'svD r.-ds. O pine ch.s, Of
drawer "a "trip ~ faded carpet. and
wash stand.
AT Tho, things u ~, have been
guo-,.d ai yrtm 'h- u'h"r sid" OF the
closed door But there Wa tha; on
thr nuur which ~ this room apart
from II thousand ruDus Of the same
Kind
Fiat On hs hurk. one leg twisted
oddly over the other. his hands
clrr.h uud his teeth cleaning
through hls black hrnrd IN n horrible
grin. Capt John Gunner stared al the
ceiling With eyes tha' sSw D"fhing.
UurI Il mrrn~n' h"'"r" b" had had
u. ut''- room 20 hH0s"ff But now
two people w"r" s'ant.ns Just inside
The door. louElrs down AZ him
one vas large policeman. who
twI.'od his Cap urrrng-ly In his hands.
The other vas tall. rnunt old wOTn-
m In q rusty hIH.k dress. who gazed
with pale eyes nj the dead man.
Her face was quiz" cIPrc-si"nleSs.
Tie woman ,.a- Mr.. Pickett. owner
Of the ErrDl-,"r boarding house. The
pollc"mun's mas" wns GrDEau. lie
was grnIaI E.al'. 90 terror 'n the riot
Gus element "f o." Lun. Island W a'er
front. but "hs."usly III ut cas-. Ia the
presence uf death.
H. dr,'ry Ia h.-'hrcoth with a curl.
ous'hf,,ing sound. W|p"d his forehead,
aud whispered: Would yon look at
his eyes. u.n'nmt"
Mr. II"E"if nd not answer. She
had not ~ruaru sturr she had brought
the policeman int" the room.
OG.cvr Gr"suu luukol NJ her quickly
from the corner of his eyes. He was
afraid oC Mother Pickett. as was every
body else along tn" water front.
ilnr silence. hor pale eyes. and the
quir, fortuidahlcn"ss OF her personal.
ity cowed even the tough old salts who
patr,nIzcd the Excelsior. She was n
queen in that little community OF
sailurmcn.
"Yon'ye phon"d for the doctor.
mn'nm1"
MIR. Pickett nodded.
The breeze. blowing in through the
open window. brought with 1t the
sound Of noisy laughter. A cheerful
voice beloved popular song.
"1hu''s just how found him" said
Mr. Pickett. She did not speak loud.
Iy. but her voice made the policeman
start.
He wiped his forehead again.
"I' might have been apnplcxy," he
hazurded.
Mrs. Pickett said nothing.
"Somc guys drop In their tracks on
account Of bum heart" he went on.
.'TLere's no marks on him"
The old woman did not answer.
There was a sound Of footsteps out
side. A young man entered, carrying
Q black bag.
"Good morning. Mrs. Pickett. What's
the Good IcuvensI'
He dropped to his knees beside the
body and raised one Of the arms. He
lowered il gently to the floor and
shook his head.
"Been dead for hours. When did
you find himY'
"Twenty minutes back" said the old
woman. 81 guess he died last night.
He never would be called in the morn.
Ing. Said he liked to sleep on. Well.
hes got his wish"
"What did he die OF. doc?" asked
the policeman.
Impossible to say without an e0-
animation. 1t looks like apoplexy. but
It isn't II might be heart disease. but
! happen to know the poor fellows
heart was as sound as bell. He
called in to see me only week ago.
and ! tested him thoroughly. Lord
knows what 1t is The coroner's in.
quest viii tell u.s.
He eyed the body almost resent
fully.
at beats me-" he said. "The man
had no right to drop dead like this. He
was tough old sailor. who ought to
have been good for another twenty
years. If you ask me. though ! can't
possibly be certain till after the in
quest, l should say he had been poi
soned."
''For the love OF Petel" exclaimed
Officer Grogan.
''Iow would he be poIsoned?" asked
Mrs. Pickett.
That's more than l can tell you.
There's no glass about that he could
have drunk II from. He might have
got 1t in capsule form. But why
should he have done It? He was al
ways pretty cheerful sort of old
man. wasn't he?"
"Surei" said officer Grogan. "He
had the name OF being a champion
3osher in these parts. I've had guys
come to me all raw from being mixed
up In arguments with him. He had
Q way with him. Kind of sarcastic.
though he never tried II on me-" 81
'sThis man must have died quite