Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-02-04
TIE NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
A Detective Story by J. S. Fletcher

tributed. as it were. chapter to the
story. The story itself ran quite easily,
naturally, consecutively--you could
make it in sections. And Spargo, sitting
merely to listen, made them.
First. The temple porter and Con-
stable Driscoll proved the finding Of the
body.
Second. The police surgeon testified
as to the cause Of death--the man had
blow, terrible blow--from some
heavy instrument, and had died i'm
! mediately.
| Third. The police and the mortuary
'ffcials proved that when the body was
examined nothing was found in the
clothing but the now famous scrap oil
gray paper.
Fourth. Rathbury proved that by
means of the dead mans new fashion
able cloth cap, bought at Fiskie's we'll
known shop in the West End he traced
Marbury to the Anglo Orient Hotel in
the Waterloo district.
Fifth. Mr.. and Mrs. Walters gave
evidence Of the arrival of Marbury at
the Anglo Orient Hotel, and Of his do
ings while he was in and about there.
| Sixth. The purser of the s. s. Wam-
barino proved that Marbury sailed
| from Melbourne to Southampton on
that ship, excited no remark, behaved
himself like any other we'll regulated
passenger. and left the Wambarino at
southampton early in the morning of
what was to be the last day Of his
life in just the ordinary manner.
Seventh. Mr.. Criedir gave evidence
of his rencontre with Marbury in the
matter of the stamps.
Eighth. Mr.. Myerst told of Mar
| bury's visit to the safe deposit. and
further proved that the box which he
placed there proved, on official exami-
nation. to pc empty.
Ninth. William Webster retold the
story of his encounter with Marbury
in one of the vestibules of tho House
of Commons. aud of his witnessing the
meeting between him and the gentle
man whom he (Webster) now knew to
be Mr.. Aylmore, member of Parlia
| ment.
All this led up to the appearance Of
Mr.. Aylmore, NJ. P, in the witness
box. And Spargo knew and felt that
| it was that appearance for which the
crowded court was waiting. Thanks
to his own vivid and realistic specials
in the Watchman, everybody there
had already become we'll and thor
oughly acquainted with the mass of
evidence represented by the nine wit
nesses who had been in the box be-
| fore Mr.. Aylmore entered it. They
were familiar, too, with the.facts which
Mr.. Anymore had permitted Spargo to
print after the interview at the club,
which Ronald Breton arranged. Why,
then, the extraordinary interest which
| the member of Parliament's appear
ance aroused? For everybody was ex
traordinarily interested; from the cor
oner downward to the last man who
had managed to squeeze himself into
the last available inch of the public
gallery, all who were there wanted to
hear and see the man who met Marbury
under such dramatic circumstances,
and who went to his hotel with him,
hobnobbed with him. gave him ad-
vice. walked out of the hotel with him
for u stroll from which Marbury never
returned. Spargo knew we'll why the
interest was so keen-everybody knew
that Aylmore was the only man who
could tell the court anything really
pertinent about Marbury who he was.
what he was after; what his life had
been
He looked, around the court as the
member of Parliament entered the
witness box-a tall, handsome, per
fectly groomed man, whose beard was
only slightly tinged with gray. whose
figure was as erect as a well drilled
soldiers, who carried about him an
mir of conscious power.
Aylmore's two daughters sat at G
little distance away, opposite Spargo
with Ronald Breton in attendance upor
them; Spargo had encountered theii
glance as they entered the court. ant
they had given him a friendly nod ant
smile. He had watched them from timt
to time; it was plan to him that they
regarded the whole affair as a novel sor
of entertainment they might have beer
idlers in some eastern bazaar, listen
, ing to the unfolding of many tales from
the professional tale tellers. Now, q!
their father entered the box, SpargC
looked at them again he saw nothing
more than little heightening of color
in their cheeks, little Frightening o.
their eyes.
"All that they feel" he thought, 81;
a bit of extra excitement at the idea
that thier father is mixed up in this
delightful mystery. Um Well-now
how much is he mixed up?"
And he turned to the witness box
and from that moment never took his
eyes off the man who now stood in it
For Spargo had ideas about the witness
which he was anxious to develop.
! CONTINUED TOMORROW