The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-01-08
UNSEEN HANDS
4 BeWigde'jng Defectire Story By Rcb24t Orr Cl1ipp 2rfle.d
XIX. SYNOPSIS

son, Julian Chalmers. the lives of
 Eugene, another son. and Horne
 himself are threatened by 3E'Es-
 terious accidents. I,orne is thrown down flight stairs when the , steps give way beneath him and
 Barry Odell, a sergeant og de
 tectivcs, on the case, disc0yc='sf
 the stairs have been sawed 's,-tf
 neither he nor one of the lraen
 working with him can find any
 traces Of dust
 Fannie had turned his head away and ;Iosed his eyes, as if to indicate that as far as he was concerned the interview was. over. and odeIl rose.
 Well, I won't bother you a " more understands that one of them blun- dered in while ago."
 NO. Old Socks here-sho ort for So- crates. you know-invited him in. Didn't you,| old boy"
 He nodded toward the par ots cage. and the bird. still hanging ups+d C down, ruff1ed the feathers and re- marked dolorousIy:
 'It ourns.''
 What is he talking about?" ooan walkedsFover to the cage and poked a tentative finger between the bars Look out! He'll give you a nasty nip? Rannie warned. He doesn' t like strangers, Well, what do yoh
 The parrot mad hooded lis eyes in speculative fz hion, shifted his feet and finally sidied over and presente ed his head to be scratched. For full rnipute Odell stood there with his back to the couch his eyes travelling swiftly over the cage and it's inmate. Then he turned and nndding casually to Rannie started for the door.
 ~wfse old bird.'' he commented
 "You'll drop in and let me know how you get on?" the boy asked al most eagerly.
 Odell promised, and closing the door softly behind hir,1 he went down stairs. The last two minutes in the invalid's room. had served to dash to chaos all his previous calculations, vague though they had been; and the tog of mystery which encompassed him seemed to have 'eepened to a solid, iRpenetrable wall.
 It was the parrot which had fur nished him with the last and most conflicting clue. Neither the bird S whimpering plaint nor it's suspend ed position in the cage was without req son. On the detec"ive's first ap- proach to the bird he had observed that it's upturned feet were both bad 1y b1istered. The rods upon which it habitually stood had not been re- placed in their supports. but lay on a table close by; and the Sliding tray which formed the bottom of the cage was charred black.
 His first thought was that the boy in sheer love of cruelty might have been torturing his pet, but closer inspection had revealed amidst the gravel with which the tray had been lightly sprinkled g few blackened 6livers of wood.
 Gene Chalmers had told the truth. THe sawdust had not beeL burned in hls grate but in the tray from the parrots cage, and the ashes later placed where they were found.
 Captain Lewis looked up with a grin as Odell entered the bureau at 1af sank into a chair beside the big desk.
 1T thought there must be some thing doing nS tSh %hen o you 2honed a down coT, mented. Whats going on at the Meade house?"
 "Murder," responded ouen suc- cinctly. systematic murder on a bigger scale than this city has known for years and an inside job, Some one is trying to wipe out the whole family, captain; and I have struck a million clues and no motive. In all the five years I have been on your staff I've never seen anything to equal this case."
 The captain gave low whistle. Murder. eh? Sure oft, Odei12''
 "Does a man cut his own throat by accident. severing the jugular vein: drop his razor grope around with bloody hands to save himself. and then before he dies hunt for that
 
 1t in his hand 2'' demanded the detec- tive. "You know how young Julian Chalmers was supposed to have died last week. I have proof that some one took his razor from him, cut his throat with 1t and then slipped il back into his hand as he lay dead Sut they didn't take into consfd era. lion the fact that the marks of both his hands t, blood were upon the side of the bathtub.'
 that
 TWO reliable witnesses. More over. I'm convinced that his mother Mrs. Richard Lorne, was also rnur' dered not a month before."
 Mrs Lorne died of blood poison
 "Yes. By poison with which sht was deliberately if indirectly infect cd."
 odeiI gave his chief a detailed de eertf,tfen of the case as he had learn ed 1t from the physicians, and demon strnted once more his discovery of th' substitution of the needle; and th' eaptain's skeptieai aianner changed
 "dood work, Ode1t!" he exclaimed svYour proof Is more conclusive in th' Instance of young Chalmers deatf than in his mothers; but 1t is cireum stantiaI enough in that siene to war rant a thorough investigation TT gee the ehier medical examiner tontgh < and arrange for an autopsy at once We'll have to keep a soft pedal or VI -ff,is Inside ieb' stuff until we hay, the dope. The eMades are ah irfu sntiai old family and Lorna has bt' money interests back Of him, Dt' you get an interview with each 0 khsm7'
 ~"Aii except the yeun gest dauehte and Lorne himself: but l saw then both for a moment. Any news 0 ! that butler, Peters7" 'r ssNet yet, izut 1Ta ieevins his sis tef's house watefaed. What wss ths Ueu handed me over the pfeeHe thi yse,.,,ins about two attempts havin been made upon the !ivea ef tw meynbsrs of the family ~ithir the las i've .y--t0fr nehFs
 The detective told hi storr ire the ineiiries whi0s, 1a a'd rithe redge had made St the carpeater' si1op eonee#nins tie 'nTGfeaiai7s -eie pfaohe Bacssase to tia &aHe'i1si97 ( his ints=vsew wit'i f>=r7ai' f'i79''>s sr sna tI, ediseeverv in he oarrot' cage, and after he had Fn:shsd IT captain sat for 3 wiliia ir silence ieWeIi let's say that you rase es tabiished proof of the murder of Tl