Evening star., 1921-07-03

stooped swiftly. The hand. ne saw
secreted a rough sheet of paper. he
drew il free. smoothed the crumbied
surface. and with vast lncreoullty
read the line Scrawled across IL IN
pencil:
Don't think it's suicide. I've been
killed.
There was no more. Until that mo-
ment Garth had conceived no doubt OF
the mans self-destruction The Dull
Net had entered the left side OF the
breast. The revolver lay on the coun-
terpane within an inch of the right
hand. whose fingers remained crooked
The position of the body did not sus-
of an attack. In the room no souHe-
mir of struggle survived.
Here was this amazing message
from the dead man. Its wording. in
deed, offered the irrational impress
sion of having been written after
death.
GARTH thought rapidly. Granted it's
~ accusation, the note must have
been scrawled between the firing OF
the shot and the moment of Taylor S
death. But a murderer. arranging this
appearance of suicide. would have
given Taylor no opportunity. On the
other hand. the theory that Taylor
had written the note before killing
himself, perhaps to direct suspicion
. to some innocent person, broke down
: before the brief wording, its patent
incompleteneSS. One possibility re-
manned. Garth could imagine no mo-
tive, but another person might have
prepared the strange message.
A number of books Uttered the
reading table at the side Of the bed.
y Garth examined them eagerly. He
found a blank page torn from one
the sheet which Taylor had clenched
in his fingers. In another was Tay-
lor's signature. When Garth had COM
pared it with the message on the
crumbled paper no doubt remained.
Taylor himself had written those OBJ
scure and provocative words.
Garth found the pencil on the floor
beneath the bed. as if it had rolled
there when Taylor had dropped it.
The place at the moment had nothing
else to offer him beyond an abnor-
mally large array in the bathroom
of bottles containing for the most
part stimulantS and sedatives. They
merely strengthened by snsge sting
that Taylor was an tnyatfu, ms ap-
pearance of Suicidela-t.afs ~
The coroner and Tayior's doctor.
who came together. only added to the
puzzle. The coroner declared unre-
servedly for suicide. and, in reply to
Garth's anxious question. swore that
ed between the firing Of the shot
which had pierced the heart. and Tay-
lors death. The physician was satis-
fed even after Garth confidentially
had shown him the note.
Mr. Taylor" he said then, under
stood he had an incurable trouble.
Every one knows that his wife. whom
he worshiped, had practically left
him by going to California for so long.
1t may have appealed to a grim sense
Of humor, not unusual with &C CHROME h
surdly worded note. might tell you.
too, that Mr.. Taylor. for some time.
had had a fear that he might go out
of his head. Perpetually he question
ed me about insanity, and wanted TO
know what treatment l would give
him if his mind went"
Garth, however, when they had left,
went to the library on the lower floor
and telephoned headquarters. The m
spector agreed that the case held
mystery which must be solved.
a high colonial window. The early
winter night was already thick above
the world. The huge room was too
dark The Taylor home was a large.
colonial frame farmhouse which had
eventually been crowded by the mod
ern and extravagant dwellings OF a
fashionable uptown district. In spite
of it's geneeous furnishings it pro-
iected even to this successful and ma
terialistic detective heavy air OF the
past, melancholy and disturbing.
Garth sighed. He had made up his
mind. The best way to get at the
truth was to accept for the present
the dead mans message at it's face
value. He turned on the single light
above the desk in the center OF the
room. He arranged a chair so that
the glare would search it's occupant
n shadow
pressed button. Almost at once he
heard dragging footsteps in the hall
then timid rapping at the door. The
door opened slowly. A bent old man
in livery shuff1ed across the thrshold
1t was the servant who had admitted
Garth on his arrival a few minutes
earlier The detective indicated the
chair on which the light fell.
"Sit down there, please"
As the old man obeyed his limbs
~ shook with a sort Of palsy. From
his sallow and sunken face restless
bloodshot eyes CLEANED.
81 understand from the doctor.
Garth began. that you are Mcdonald,
Mr.. Taylor's trusted servant. the cor
early this morning. Tell me why you
didn't find the body until nearly
o'clock this afternoon
The old servant bent forward. plac-
ing the palm of his hand against his
"Eh? Eh."
ON a higher key Garth repeated his
question. Mcdonald answered in
fremulous tones, clearing his throat
from time to time as he explained that
because Of his masters bad heaitn
his orders had been never to disturb
him except in cases of emergency. He
drew a telegram from his pocket,
passing it across to Garth.
Mrs Taylor is on her way home
from California. 1 don't think Mr..
Taylor knew just what connection
she would make at Chicago, but ne
expected her tomorrow. That tele'
gram, sent from the trxfn at Albany.
says she will be in this afternoon on
the Western express I thought 1t my
duty to disturb him and get him up to
welcome her. for he was very fond Of
her al. ]. will be cruel hard for her
70 NnS .ucs a welcome as this
"Ther," Garth said, you heard no
shot?''
Mcdonald indicated his ears. Garth
tugged at his watch chain.
II must know" he said. more about
the conditions in this house last night"
He had spoken softly. musingly, yet
the man. who had displayed the symp-
toms Of radical deafness. glanced up,
asking without hesitation:
you don't suspect anything out Of
the way, sir?''
Garth studied him narrowly.
II want to know why the shot wasn't
beard. You were here and Mr~ Taylor