Evening star., 1922-09-16

ner at the hecherre apartmentS-and there he
FOUND gambling place which she and Schluss
freque ented.
HAT night was sitting. brood
ing over the case, while Craig
was studying photograph
which he made of the Smudge
on the glass door down at Schloss'. He
paused in his scrutiny of the print to
answer the telephone.
Something has happened to Schloss."
he exclaimed. seizing his ha; and coat.
Winters has been watching him. He
didn't go to the Recherche. Winters
wants me to meet him at a place sew
eral blocks below il. Come on. He
wouldn't say over the wire what ii was.
Hurry"
WeN met Winters in less than ten
minuteS at the address he had given.
a bachelor apartmen. IN the neighbor
hood OF the Recherche
"SchloSS kept rooms here" explained
Winters, hurrying us quickly upstairs.
II wanted you to see before any one
else
AS we entered the large and luxu-
riously furnished living room of the
jewelers. suite gruesome sight greet
ed US.
There lay Schloss on the floor, face
down, in horribly contorted posi-
ton. In one hand, clenched under
him party, the torn sleeve of a wom
ans dress was srasped convulsively.
The room bore unmistakable traces
Of violent struggle. but except for
the hideoTs object on the floor was
vacant.
Kennedy bent down over him.
Schloss was dead.
In a corner. by the door. stood
pile of grips. stacked up, packed and
undisturbed.
the room while we got our bearings.
picked up a queer looking revolver
from the floor. As he held il up |
could see that along the top of the
barrel was long cylinder with
ratchet or catch at the butt end. He
turned it over and over carefully.
by George" he muttered. 1t has
been fired off"
Kennedy glanced more minutely at
the body There was not a mark
on it. l stared about vacantly at
the place where Winters had picked
the thing up.
Look" l cried my eye catching
little hole in the Dashboard of the
woodwork near it.
TT must have fallen and exploded
on the floor" remarked Kennedy.
Let me see it, Winters"
Craig held it at arms length and
pulled the catch. Instead of an eN-
plosion there came a cone of light
from the top of the gun. AS Ken
nedy moved it over the wall ] saw
in the center of the circle Of light
a dark spot.
"A new invention, Craig ex-
planned. "All you need to do is to
move it so that little dark spot falls
directly on an object. Pull the trig-
ger-the bullet strikes the dark spot
Even a nervous and unskilled marks
man becomes good shot IN the
dark. He can even shoot from be-
hind the protection of something
and hit accurately"
1t was too much for me. l could
only stand and watch Kennedy as he
deftly bent over Schloss again and
placed a piece of chemically pre-.
pared paper fat on the forehead of
the dead man.
When he withdrew it I could see
that it bore marks of the lines on
his head. Without word Kennedy
drew from his pocket a print of the
photograph of the smudge on Schloss
door.
TT is possible he said. half to
himself, ito identify a person by
means Of the arrangement of the
DR. Edmond Locard. director of the
police laboratory at Lyons. calls IT.
The shape. arrangement. number per
square centimeter. all vary IN dlner-
ent individuals. Besides. here we
have added the lines of the forehead
He was studying the two impress
sions intensely. When he looked up
from his examination his face wore
a peculiar expression.
This is not the head which was
placed so close to the glass OF the
door in schloss' office. Peering
through. on the night of the robbery
in order to see before picking the
lock whether the Office was empty
e., %11 Io tts
and everything ready Tor the nasty
attack on the safe.
THAT disposes of my theory. that
Schloss robbed himself" remarked
Winters reluctantly. "But the strug-
gle here, the sleeve of the dress: the
pistol-could he have been shot"
NO, I think not" considered Ken
nedy. at looks to me more like
case of apoplexy."
what shall we do?" asked Win
ters Far n,,on, from clearing |. anything
where's Muller" asked Kennedy;
Does he know? Perhaps he can shed
some light on it."
The ciang of an ambulance bell out
side told that the aid summoned by
Winters had arrived.
We left the body in charge OF the
surgeon and of the policeman. who
arrived about the same time, and fol-
lowed Winters.
Muller lived in a cheap boarding
house in a shabbily respectable street
downtown, and without announcing
ourselves we climbed the stairs to his
room He looked up surprised. but
not Disconnected. as we entered.
whats the natter" he asked.
Muller" shot out Winters. I'VE have
Just found Mr.. Schloss dead.'
"D-dead" he stammered.
The man seemed speechless with
horror.
"Yes, and with his grips packed as
IL to run away"
Muller looked dazedly from one of
US to the other. but shut up like
clam.
with US as a material witness" burst
out Winters roughly.
Kennedy said nothing, leaving that
sort of third-degree work to the de-
'tective. But he was not idle, as VIM
monosyllables, Il don't know" in
answer to every inquiry of Muller
about his employers life and busi-
ness.
A low exclamation from Craig at
tracted my attention from Winters:
In q corner he had discovered a small
box and had opened it. Inside was a
dry battery and most peculiar In
strument. something like little fiat
telephone transmitter. yet attached
the head after the manner Of those of
a wireless detector.
whats this?" asked Kennedy.
dangling 1t before Muller.
He looked at it phlegmatically; "A
on" replied the jeweler. MY hearing
10 getting poor"
Kennedy looked hastily from the in
strument to the man.
II think TIL take 1t along with u.s."
he said quietly.
Winters, true to his instincts. had
bean aearching Muller in the mean