The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-01-24
Confined From Our Last Issue.)


The girls slender figure did not
resemble the splendid, sensuously
full lines of the body of Mrs. Vane
save in its height, and the face was
an indistnguishable blur, but on a
sudden inspiration Barry rose, still
carrying the picture, and going into
the studio he turned on the brilliant
light within the reflector. Then he
drew from his pocket a small but
powerful microscope. 1t proved of
little aid beyond showing that the
blurred object by the girls side
was indeed a large dog, for the
photograph was too worn and fad
ed, but on the reverse side the dis
tinction between the pencil marks
and pen scratches was plainly Wis
ible, and. three words written in a
round, giriishly uniformed hand
were unm;staksbly revealed:
"Mopus would move"
Then, standing almost on the
same spot which the body of Mir
! lam Vane had occupied in front of
the easel, Barry used his micro
scope to scan every inch of the
! portrait with meticulous care.
| Strengthening at length with a
very grave expression upon his
boyish countenance, he switched of
the glazing light IN the reflector,
leaving only the side brackets in
the wall glowing softly, and cross
ing behind the portrait he passed
: the. model throne and went to the
row Of windows.
When he raised the shade of one
OF them the empty house beyond
: the narrow strip of garden stood
out more distinctly than before and
a grayish effulgence was spreading
over the cloudy sky The sultry
! summer dawn was at hand.
I Dropping the shade once more,
Barry turned and retiectively re
garded the back of the portrait
+ upon the easel. The huge square
' OF canvas was blank except for
some numbers scrawled in char
coal on the upper left hand corner
and a small cross in red paint 4
little below the center. For some
minutes these enigmatic characters
occupied the close attention of the
sergeant, then he turned off the last
! OF the lights and left the studio,
going directly to the outer hall
without second glance toward the
boudoir and bedroom
Big Doane, seated upon the low
est step of the staircase, rose hast
/ lily and saluted.
''One of the boys came up, sir,
TO find out about the light in that
studio, but fixed it win him. he
remarked Did you find the an
swer to what was puZZling you,
sergeant"
If I've found the answer to what
was puZZling me, Doane,' he re-
piled, I've stumbled on a bigger
mystery yet, and blacker one"
He found at headquarters that
Craig had already turned in his re-
port, and the chief was awaiting
his own appearance with ill-con-
ceaied impotence
What do you think?' the chief
asked.
las to the identity of the muir
derer, sir?" Barry asked, cautious
| ly. I'm quite certain that several
people who might conceivably have
killed Mrs. Vane did not do it, and
that lets me out. for the moment
However, 1 took it upon myself to
do little unofficial investigat-
ing"
"Of course. That's what I ex-
pected you to dol" the chief inter
rupted eagerly. The medical ex-
aminer hasn't performed the au-
topsy yet, naturally, but from his
account of the affair as well as the
reports of the boys from the local
precinct, and Boyle and Craig, it
appears that the Vane woman was
shot by some visitor. someone she
knew well, and that she had no
premonition of the attack. There's
one queer point about the murder
that the press is bound to pounce
on and play up big, and yet l can't
see any explanation; l thought per-
haps you might have some idea ;"
What is that, sirT' Barry's tone
was guileless.
There were no powder marks on
the womanss smock, and the medi-
cal examiner says that the shot