Evening star., 1921-05-08
Another solitary diner" suggested

Yes. he Is alone all the evening
waiting for a friend who does not
come
| All" unused Harley-"alone all the
Ievenine. was he? And his friend dis
!appointed him. May ] suggest that
he was a dark man? Gray at the
temples. having dark beard and
mustache. and a very tanned face:
Yes; yes" cried Meyer, and his
astonishment was patiently unfeigned
1T is 4 friend OF yours
! "A friend OF mine. yes" said Har-
ley absently. but his expression was
very grim. What time did he
finally leave"
The dinner is spoiled He pays. but
does not complain"
! No" said Harley musinGly. he
had nothing to complain about. one
more question. my friend. When the
! lady escaped hurriedly on Wednes-
day night. what was it that she left
behind and what price are you try
ing to extort from her for returning
| lit?"
/ At that the man collapsed entire
| "Ach. Gott." he cried. and raised his
hand TO his clammy forehead. You
will ruin me. am a ruined man. l
don't try to ex,ort anything. l run
an honest buSiness-
! And a profitable one added Har
ley. Even at Bond Street rentals
assume that this house is a golden
enterprise"
! An groaned Meyer. Il am
ruined, so what does il matter. tell
! you everything. know Mr.. De Lana
who engages my room regularly, but
I don't know who the lady is who
meets him here. No: swear it
But alvavs it is the same lady. When
he falls I am downstairs in my Office
| and I hear him cry out. The lady
comes running from the room and begs
; Of me to get her away without being
seen and to keep all mention of her
out Of the matter"
what did she pay YOU" ask ed
Harley.
Pay me?" muttered Meyer. pulling
up shortly in the midst of his state.
! nent.
PAY you. Exactly. Don't argue;
answer"
"She promised me one hundred
pounds" he confessed hoarsely.
But you surely did not accept a
mere promise: Out with it. What did
she give you?"
a ring" came the confession at
last
"A ring. see. | will take it with
me if you don't mind. And now finally
what was it that she left behind?"
"Ach. Gott" moaned the man, drop
ping into a chair and resting his
arms upon the table. 1T is ALI a grea.
panic. you see. | hurry her out by the
back stair from the landing and she
forgets her bag
Her bag? Good"
Then I clear away the remains OF
dinner so l can say Mr.. De Lana is
dining alone. 1t is as much my inter.
est as the lady's."
of course! quite understand.
will trouble you no more, Mr.. Meyer
go -
relieve you OF that discriminating ev;.
denee, the ladys bag and her ring"
DO you understand. Knox" said
Harley as the cab bore US toward
Hamilton place. DO you grasp Tho
details Of this scheme"
''On the contrary" l replied. Il an
absolutely at sea"
Nevertheless ] had forgotten that
was hungry. in the excitement which
now claimed me. For. although the
thread upon which these seeminsl,
disconnected things hung was invisi'
the city clerk. the bearded stranger
who had made so singular 4 PROPOSE
Iaion to him. the white-hatted major
the dead stockbroker. and the nys
tereus woman whose presence in thu
case the clear sight OF Harley ha'
together by some subtle chain. l ~a
convinced, too, that my friend hell
at least one end OF that chain in hi
grasp.
"In order to prepare your mind 70
the interview which ! hope TO Obtain
this evening" continued Harley. "le
me clear up one or two points whicl
may seem obscure. In the first place
. you recognize that any one leaninl
out OF that window on the secon'
floor would almost automatically res
his weight upon the iron bar whicl
uac nlanAd fhApA fnr that very Dur
pose. since the ledge is unusuall!
, low"
quite" I replied. and it also fol
lows that. IL the bar gave way an.
one thus leaning on it would b
pitched into the street"
but. my dear fellow" said "ho,
could such An accident have bee
foreseen?"
you speak Of an accident. Thi
was no accident! One end OF the ba
had been filed completely through. al
though the file marks had been care
! fully concealed with rust and dirt
and the other end had been wrench
ed out from its socket and then re
placed IN such wa" that any on
: leaning upon the bar could not IA!
: to be precip;tated into the street.
Good heavens. Then you mean
, II mean Knox. that the man VIII
|, occupied the supper room on the nigh
before the tragedy-the dark mar
tanned and beared-spent his time il
filing through that bar--in short. il
preparing a death trap"
was almost dumfounded. Blu
Harley" l said. assuming that n
knew his victim would be the mex
. occupant of the room. how conid h
know
r STOPPED. Suddenly, as il cur
tain had been raised. the details o
what now perceived to be a fend
ishly cunning murder were reveale
to me.
According to his own account
Knox" said Harley. Maj Ragstai
regularly passed along that stree
with military punctuaiity at the sam
: hour every night. You may take /
for granted that the murderer va
we'll aware OF this. AS matter o
fact. 1 happen to know that he was
; We must also take it for granite,
that the murderer knew Of these lit
tie dinners for two which took plac
| in the private room above the CAT
Dame every Wednesday--and some
times on Friday. Around the figur
of the methodical major-with hi
conspicuous white hat as sort o
focus--.was built up one of the mos
ingenious schemes of murder will
which I nave ever come in contact
The victim literally killed himself