Evening star., 1921-11-27


swayed many jury. and which now
was pointed with faint surprise and
hauteur.
Then. noticing hs visitors pallor
| and the effort II was costing him to
rise; what h tass' ,sE s'''haIy; asv. you had
| accident?"
Ramsey sank back in his chair, cas-
ing his knee. The twingle occasloned
| by his attempt to get up caused him
to scowi, and the scowl remained as
he ga.ed at Achison without endeav-
oring in any degree to veil his hostil-
lty. He was too young to have ac-
! quired the art Of which the lawyer
, was master. that Of concealing his
"Yes." he said shortly: "I,ye man
unimportant thing in itself, but It's
| had some pretty serious and wide-
spread consequences. You may not
have, have heard ,st. Of the murder which oc-
MURDER" repeated Achison in his
deep tones. who was murdered?''
ELLA Sands. She was stabbed In q
drug store over on the West Side, and
my man, coombs. has been arrested
stead. after had slipped on a bit Of
| banana peel" He made a Disguised
grimace at the thought Of his misad-
venture. Il WAS on my way to see
her" he said now with sharp en-
! phasis. "for reasons which you prob
ably know and under circumstances
! Of which you are doubtless aware"
There was a quick narrowing of
Achison's eyes. but his poise was un-
| shaken. He was invulnerable to sur
prise.
''Murdered" he said again. and the
astonishment in his tone was un-
feigned. or would have. seemed SO to
! any one less skeptical of him than
Ramsey. And by-what did you say
this mans name was? Ah' coombs."
$50" he added renectively. ELLA
| Sands is dead, killed by your valet"
The infection of the words, slight as
| it was. gave them the effect OF a SIM
, lister innuendo. How did this-er-
Tell me ali the umstances Of the
case. II you will be 30 good. And. by
the way. you are looking very badly.
Mr.. Ramsey. Let me order you some
Scotch. I still have a fair stock"
offer with . negative gesture: Then
| as succinctly as possible he told his
story.
Achison followed it with profound
attention: Very stranse;"zhe mut;
Vsss Tsa. ha%sss Wat h1s
your theory regarding it,"
Ramsey leaned forward in his
chair. Tho stronger light accentuated
tho lines OF pain and anxiety In his
face. His hair. damp. with perspira-
tion. streaked across his forehead.
"I'll give you my theory" he said
! in hard voice; but there's a preface
| to come first. You may remember that
in the fight to a finish that's on be-
tween you and me. I once had you
by holding over me the possession of
| those letters in the hands of Ella
| Sands. For the sake of the lady in
| volved. I was forced to refrain from
exposing you"
| A Gibson had lifted the cat to his
knee and was smoothing its fur
with even. gentle strokes. His head
was thrown back and he was looking
at Ramsey disdainfully through half.
closed eyes.
Are you still nursing that absurd
delusion that you once caught me in
q questionable Transaction" he asked
in bored scorn. Me" 1t was rather
superb. the Caesarlike way in which
head, Such obsessions are danger.
! Gus. They should be resolutely ex.
cluded from the mind"
II am we'll aware that my knowl.
| edge Is dangerous" Ramsey answered
significantly. His face was paler thar
| ever; his eyes were burning. II have
had satisfying proof of that on sew.
eral occasions. But 1t is not my peril
that is bothering me now; it Is that
! OF Coombs. To any one conversant
| with the facts, 1t is ridiculous to be-
lieve that he Is guilty Of this murder
| I know it, Mr.. Achison, and so do you.
Then who is guilty? Why. obviously
some one who knew beforehand that
Ella Sands was to deliver those letters