The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1921-04-07
THE. MARK OF CAIN
Copyright. 1917. by J. 3. Llpplncott Co.


ing to church once, and at
prayer time he shook out a clean,
folded handkerchief from his
pocket and it was one OF
Avicc IS! | drew her attention to
1t, and we both snickered right
out in meeting. No, Mr.. Stone,
that handkerchief is Stryker S,
of course, but it S no clue.
Il didn't know of this care
lessness Of Mr.. Trowbridge; it
does put a different light on the
matter. Well, then. there's the
pencil picked up at the scene OF
the crime. The police have paid
little, if any, attention 10 that,
and it seems to me important.
You don't know, l suppose. as
to the pencils your uncle used? 2"
No: but they ali said-the
office people and the home peo-
pie both-that Uncle Rowland
used that make and letter al
ways. SO it was doubtless his. F"
4 only saw it for q moment.
| shall examine it more closely.
But | observed it was sharpened
with an automatic sharpener.
Did you notice one on your un-
Gle S desk p
''No, and I don't believe he
would have one. He was too old
fogy to use modern contraptions
much. Maybe the murderer
dropped it,
Maybe he did. 1t is often on
such SMALL things that great con
clpsicns hinge. What do You
think Of that office boy?"
Fibsy? He's a case. a little
fresh, perhaps, but a bright chap,
and devoted to my uncle S mem
Dry
Il don / think he's fresh, ex-
actly. But | do think he's
bright-exceptionally SO, and 1
have asked him to help me-
Fibsy To help Fleming
Stone! Excuse me if l seem
amused. "
"Oh, ! don't mind your
amusement. Now, here s the
case as it stands, Mr.. Landon.
You didn' i telephone to Mr..
Trowbridgc that afternoon at 2,
calling him Uncle, did you?'
i did not
And there are no other
nephews?"
None, that I know off,
Then, somebody did it to
throw suspicion on you. There
seems to be no getting away
from that. y
Quite right
Again, if | am right about
the handkerchief being a plant
ed clue, some one tried to throw
suspicion on stryker. .
"Yes.''
Again, if the pencil was pur-
poseiiy eft there there, and and it may
have been, that S another effort
to mislead.'
"Well?'
"Wen, if these clues were
arranged with such meticulous
care and precision, it surely ar
CUES a clear, cAver brain that
planned them, and diverts our
search from such criminals as
thugs or highway robbers.
That's all true, Mr.. Stone,
and | wonder our police didn t
see that point at once.
Police are a capable lot, but
rarely subtle in their deductions.
The obvious appeals to them,
rather than the obscures But that
boy, Fibsy, has the brain Of a
thinking detective. With train.
ing and experience he ought to
develop into something remark.
able. Now, J. must be going.
fancy my time is up, and | have
an appointment with young Nc
5 CURE this afternoon.
Fleming Stone went away bet
ter pleased witt, Kane Lando.
than he had expected to be. Sew
eral people had told him Of Ian
don's perverseness and flippan
cy, and after seeing him Stone
had concluded that while Ian
don IS nature was irritable ant
his temper quick he could easil.
be managed by any one who
cared for him and understood
him.
Meantime Judge Hoyt wa
calling on Avice, and was tellinl
her, exultantly, that he had plan