Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-04-08

would be little object, wouldn't there,
sir, IN locking an empty desk? OF course
we could force the drawers, but I'm
thinking it's small help you'd get from
WHAT'S in here in solving the mystery
DOWNSTAIRS. The locks are rusty, too,
Us Us. yon,il at, notice. Did you try the dress
Yes. The drawers are unlocked and
empty; There's nothing more here,
Mac let us go down now and see what
tne rest have discovered"
But It was evident that no discovery
Oh any significance had been made.
sam and Pete, the two detectives from
tne borough headquarters, together with
.ne Policeman, Clancy, were standing
IN q little group near the body of the
ueau man in the study, and the faces
pefactiQn.
Anything new turned up?" asked
inspector Druet crisply.
NO, sir. The Kitchens are all in
oroer, though it's evident that they
nave been used lately. but not for the
supper that we found spread ont In the
next room?' Pete, the elder of the
Two detectives, replied: ''That came
from Mazzarini's, the caterer; his boxes
are down in the pantry now."
There's food and ice left In the re-
trigerators," the other detective. Sam.
volunteered. 'But it's not the kind of
SUM the likes of him would cat"
:, lie pointed with griny thumb at
the dead man ard was evidently about
to continue his remarks when the in
spector demanded:
Have any Of you boys been upstairs
since we left you on the second fioor?"
NO, SIR 1t was Clancy who an
swered. There was nothing TO take
us up there, and plenty to look over
down here, though it is little enough
that we found out -
"You see, Mac?' The inspector
turned with grin to McCarty. "I
told you that you were hearing things
when YOU thought there was sound
from below while we were on the serv-
ants floor! Look here, Clancy, you've
been on this beat nearly six months ;
YOU ought to know about how many
there were in the household
Il think ] do, sir, and ] can't get
it through my head where they've all
gone to-" responded the officer. ITO
my knowledge there were ten of them,
not counting the housekeepcr; the cook
was the buffers wife, and besides there
was footman, valet and houscman,
then the kitchenmaid, housemaid, par
lormaid and laundress, and the lady's
maid, of course. The valet i almost
never saw, but it comes to me now that
the cook and the butler are the only
ones I've noticed around for some
time"
"What do you mean by some time ?"
barked the inspector.
nIyd esn rkA n
month";" Clancy shifted uneasily from
one foot to the other. mot since n
few days after the last big entertain
ment the Crevelings gave"
when was that? What sort OF an
entertainments
'How should I know, sir?" the off,
Ger replied to the last question.
"Twas dinner or dance or some
thing; awnings and red carpet spread
out to the curb and an orchestra play
ing till all hours, and string of motor
cars reaching around into both side
streets. Except when they give some
big society shindy like that the house Is
the quietest on the block, as ! was re-
marking to McCarty only tonight-but
where is he?"
Clancy had turned for superHuous
confederation to the spot where the ex-
roundsman had stood behind his chief,
to find that he had vanished.
II thought that I heard the front
door close just now, SIR" Pete observed.
you're getting jumpy, like Mac"
the inspector laughed. "You couldn't
drive him out of the house now that
he's on the old trail again wait till you
boys retire and then open the papers
some fine morning and find n fresh MUIR
der mystery staring you in the face and
the force being raked over the Goals for
not pnching the man who did it before
the first edition reached the press
There isn't one of the three of you who
wouldn't want to be back in harness
with a chance to clap his hand on the
shoulder of the murderer Macs only
poking around on his own account, but
Clancy, this looks bad for you; q prom
inent citizen shot to death in his own
house on your beat with an army "A
that could be heard a mile off, and 1t
took a cheap crook to discover the
crime !"
Clancy turned a rich crimson.
Everything was quiet and the house
dark when I went my rounds up to
near midnight, SIR" he said with dig
nifty. "We'd received no notification OF
the family being away or any special
watch being necessary. Besides, there's
n private watchman employed on this
block, the same as on the others up and
down the avenue. 1t did come to me as
strange that didn't run into him, But
I thought no more about it. There's
many a night don't see him.
"You say that the house was dark up
to nearly twelve O'clock, repeated
Inspector Druet' Wneh ,;nsaods1, d!d you no
tice first that it was lighted!
"At about a quarter before; ] rang
in at the box on the next corner ten
minutes afterward, moro Or less
Clancy's tone was cautious. The faint
little stream of light coming from the
nothing To me, for I'd often seen it till
near dawn. and lots of the ground floor
windows are left open the night long in
ali the residences on my beat this mild
snrinp- weather. / passed regular, and
not once did hear the sound of shot
or ANYTHING else, for that matter, but
the motor cars going up and down the
avenue
"what was the first you knew of this
affair. then?'
"When heard n pounding on the
sidewalk. as though some one was rap
ming for help. That must have been
l,ttte @ after two o'clock, and I was
connle of blocks away. ] saw two fig
nres standing under the lamp post out
tbero and / came on the run. 1t was
NcCarty and the young second story
crook that he'd nabbed crawling out of
rho window here half a minute after
he'd got in" =,
Clancy continued his narrative with
;mnartial Justice to the eX-member OF
The force and much dramatic detail as
to his own finding of the body, and at
its M conclusion McCarty reappeared. He
nntnred silently and took up q respect