New Britain herald., 1922-01-26

the opportunity to rehabtlitate herself by marriage with another infatuated fool was denied her.
 'Ho and she were in some out Of. the-way hole in the south, leading cnt-and dogs life, when somehow he learned of his wifc's madness and death, and In remorse he blew his brains out!"
 empty cartridge shell treasured all these years like the symbol Of a ghost that could not be laid! Barry whistled softly and then sudden question came to his mind.
 "Mr. Grswold, you told me while ago that Mrs.-Vane was too clever to give you an opportunity to free yourself legally without notoriety which you could not afford. Surely her .elopement with young Venner provided you with evidence enough" Griswold rose and commenced to pace the floor. When Venner slipped through her fingers she remembered that she still had legal hold on me and all her calculating shrewdness came to her aid. When she found mel was lying ill with typhoid in a Chicago hotel. Men do strange things in delirium, and I must have babbled her name.
 Some fool specialist thought her presence would pull me through the crisis.
 When l awoke to consciousness she was in full command and l was lf l. to of the law I had condoned her of- fense.
 The sergeant nodded and Griswod resumed.
 Tt was sheer blackmai l met her terms; quarterly allowance on con- dition that she change her name and leave the country.
 He halted in his restless pacing and when he spoke again it was with his face averted from the detective.
 Last October the janitor brought note up to me, and I found that she had had the impotence not only to break our agreement by returning to America but had actually domiciIed herself beneath the same roof and in- sisted that it was I who had first broken our agreement by stopping her allowance, and I must come down to her at once for a personal interview.
 T went and then began a series of prosecutions which she did not cease until last night She not only demand ed an outrageous income but forced me to call upon her at regular inter vals, on pain of announcing herself as my wife and raking up that whole wretched scandal 1 had so carefully lived down.
 'I thought when that young fool Gordon Ladd appeared on the scene it might make difference but she was internally clever. Yesterday she de- manded a further increase in her al owance and it was the last straw.
 Early in the evening I went down to tell her that l had reached the end and would do no more but she defied me laughingly I left her in a rage and as I ascended the stair to my own apartments here l distinctly saw young Ladd mounting from his Tn derstand, Sergeant, l am not trying to cast suspicion on him, I am merely giving you facts and if she has played fast and loose with him, many other and more reckless men than he ap pears to be have lost their heads over her in Europe, as my foreign agents have kept me informed, since that old Venner affair in Cleveland"
 "Hm." Barry exclaimed thought fully Speaking Of that case, Mir. Griswold, did that misguided young man have any relatives except his father?'
 No. When old Venner died about five years ago he left all his money to his law partner, Scully.'
 "And young Mrs. Venner, the one who died insane; who were her people? What was her maiden name?"
 T don't know. She had met young Venner while visiting some school friend, but on that point my memory is vague. None of her own people came forward at the time of the elopement and when her mind gave way it was old Venner who had her placed in the sanitarium.
 "Mr. Griswold" Barry leaned for ward impressively toward the man who stood before him. You realize, of course, that any help you may De able to give us will be helping your self as well.
 You had the strongest motive Tor killing her and the testimony Of oth- ars shows that you had plenty of tlme after leaving her in a rage to return here for pistol, climb down the nre escape, rush to that vacant house next 1oor of which you possess the keys md from one of its windows fire the deadly shot through one of her ilght- ,d windows"
 Great heavens' gasped Grlswold You know I'm innocent, sergeant or if I'd meant to put her out or the way I could have done so long ago md saved the thousands upon thou- ;ands that she has wrung from me.