Evening star., 1921-11-27
AOOlNOEL rON LII LET IlNOE Thrilling st

- ANOA
, Coombs did not turn or even lift his
head as she approached behind him,
but ne was watching her every move
| ment In mirror on one OF the show
cases, with which he had carefully
| placed himself in line.
a minute or two. later there YVES the
/ thud Of . body falling to the floor. A
clerk and two customefs ran forward.
They thought the woman had tainted.
But ~ they bent over her they saw
the handle Of q long. thin knife pro-
| trudtng from her chest and the blood
| making q widening circle on the
floor. As they lifted her. 1t was plain
been stabbed to the heart.
the sound Of an automobile moving
| away from the side door thFobbed
across tho stiffness; then. a. by
magic. the store hllsd with an excited
"Hold that man" tho cigar clark
shouted ~ Coombs pushed toward an
exit. "He was talking to her"
In an instant Coombs was seized,
and although he made no effort to re-
| hands.
He looked dassd: his breath was
.,~y What ,a. h.ppsnedr, '.,,, he e., sasped'
%sa: aae:s sss You "t,sss tnsw %ea ea.sw dozen
But it can't be-" ne stammered.
Il There was no one near US
just her and me. She started to go.
The policeman on the beat came
shouldering through the press, and
with curt authority relieved the vol
unteer posse Of their captive. He ran
his hands over Coombs' person in a
precautionary search for weapons,
the excited babble of the clerks and
spectators while he waited for the
wagon. On its arrival with a squad
of police and two plain-clothes men,
mediate superior in a single terse
comment.
"Open-and-shut case. Sarge" he ad-
vised out of the corner Of his mouth
''This 10 the guy. all right:
At the station house the letters he
had been commissioned TO secure
were found on him, and with the ex-
PLANTATION he gave for his possession
Of them. Ramsey was naturally sent
for.
Mystified at the summons. for he had
as yet heard nothing of the tragedy.
and had been impatiently awaiting
the return Of Coombs. Ramsey was
still more taken aback when he came
hobbling into the station on his
crutches, to be conducted into the
captains ONCE and there subjected to
a grilling.
FORTUNATELY, the story he told
coincided in every essential detail
with that previously related by
coombs. Fortunately. too, the repre-
sentative Of the district attorneys Of
nee who was questioning him hap
pened to be a social acquaintance OF
his.
The latter, when he had taken
Ramsey backward and forward over
times without shaking in any degree
the straightforward nature Of his an
swers. finally acquainted him with
the true facts Of the case and unbent
from his role Of inquisitor.
Il hope ! don't need to tell you
how delighted I am" he said. that
you have come through so clean. l
was afraid when I hrst tackled this
thing that you were pretty seriously
| involved and that we were in for a
nasty scandal: but your story tallies
perfectly with that Of your valet.
and is further confirmed by the fact
that the dead woman had the exact
l
| lars. in her bag. I must hold these
letters, but I shall put them under
seal, and unless the court insists
upon 1t or unless the case shows some
| new angle. I see no reason why either
the nature of them or the name OF
dressed need ever be divulged."
Ramsey thanked him. and then
asked eagerly II he might be allowed
| to see Coombs, and, consent being
granted, the prisoner was brought In.
! coombs still seemed rather stunned
; him, but insisted vehemently that his
arrest was a terrible mistake.
why, what reason would I have.
Mr.. Ramsey? Tn not crazy. Why
| should go and kill . woman that !
never saw before i, and never expected
"of course you didn't do It," said
Ramsey. but" with frowninE re-
nection, "who did? Think hard.
coombs: was there no one lurking
coombs shook his head: mo one
might be that some one slipped up
very quickly and quietly; my atten-
| ton was diverted for a moment. 1ou
see, she had just put the money IN
her bag and was snapping the catch
and I was slipping the letters into my
inside coat pocket; ,o.pn one uoin. OF them IN
bent over. looked down as straight
ened it out. In that instant the thing
"As I say" he repeated. IT saw no
one either before or after. But that
| is how it must have happened"
Ramsay caught up his theory esSerE'
yes" he agreed. that is undoubt-
edly the explanation. And Wen prove
| it, too, before we are through. Don't
| let yourself get down hearted for a
minute, Coombs got you into this
| scrape and I'm going to get you out.
| You shall have the best counsel that
! ! can secure, and not q stone Will be
left unturned to establish your COM
II, He turned to his friend from the
district attorneys office. WHO Is the
| best criminal lawyer to be had? he
| asked.
of course, II you can get him. He
stands head and shoulders above any
other man I could mention.
"No! Ramsey's brow darkened as
he demurred to the suggestion.
+ - X
nUT later in the cab as he mem
- tally canvassed the five or six
other names given him by the lawyer.
struggling meanwhile against grow
ing despondency over the outlook. he
, caught himself dwelling on the brflli-
ant capabilities Of the advocate first
proposed And finally he tapped on
the pane in front Of him and gave
his driver q new address.
The man turned about, swung over
to the Grand Central viaduct. and