Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-11-18
THE MAN WITH STEEL FINGERS
Begin Here Today

$1,000
NJ. JONQUELBE, greatest of French
detectives, faced the man with
steel fingers
LORD VALLEYS, the powerful.
half-Slav, half-English. nobleman
whe performed so brilliantly on
the piano and who had recently
succeeded to the wealth and title
Of his murdered uncle,
LORD WINTON.
Three lives had stood between
Valleys and the title. But both of
Lord Winton's son were killed in
the war and his granddaughter, the
only heir, an American, was barred
from the position by English law.
Lord Valleys tells NJ. Jonquelle
that his uncle was stabbed to death
while Valleys was visiting him.. VAL
leys says he was down in the wine
cellar at the time of the Staying
but that circumstantial evidence
caused the English authorities to
charge him with murder.
Go on With the Story
CHAPTER III
Lord Valleys got up.
1T was to be expected, monsieur,
that the English court under these
circumstances would try me for the
murder of Lord Winton. L had
both the motive and the opportu-
nifty to accomplish it, and the cir
cumstanceS were, to say the least,
indicative.
ITO my surprise, this manservant,
Staley, came forward to establish
the fact that the wine-cellar was
little less than a straw-rick, and this
metropolitan police officer appeared
to say that he had seen the hanson
leaving Lord Winton's door shortly
before the fire was discovered.
These facts indicated the truth of
my statement.
"a further fact brought out by
my legal advisers established with
mathematical accuracy the fact
that I had not dealt Lord Winton
the blow that elected him out of
life. The wound which had caused
his death had been made with the
Email blade of a knife.
'"The police found in my pocket a
knife with a small blade, a blade of
about the width of the wound. No
evidence of blood was found on this
knife. but the police professed to
believe that it had been carefully
washed. They thought traces Of
moisture remained on it. The case
seemed convincing, 1 myself realized
Its gravity, and but for one fact a
conviction might have followed.
THE autopsy showed that the
wound which had caused the death
Of Lord Winton was seven inches
deep. The handle of the knife with
which it had been accomplished had
not entered the wound. The wound
was no longer than the width of the
small k~nife-blade at its exterior
point"
Lord Valleys suddenly extended
his hand, like one who puts down
something that is finished.
"And l was therefore acquitted
... You know, monsieur, what the
English law-courts say: "A man may I
lie, but circumstances cannot II
may have lied, and Lord Winton's
manseryant and the metropolitan
police who saw the hanson drive
away on that night; but the science
OF mathematics could not lie. A
wound seven inches deep could not
be made with a knife-blade four
inches long. And the case ended"
He went over to a table, got a
tortoise-shell box delicately inlaid
with silver. opened it and presented
st to Monsieur Jonque1le.
"You will have a cigaret, mon
sieur?" he said.
Monsieur Jonquelle took the Gig
aret, and Lord Valleys went back
to the chair.
Then suddenly. as out of some in
memory, the mans voice
changed.
"a moment ago, monsieur, when
I mentioned the arrival of the WISH
tor at Lord Winton's house. and the
doubt Of the English court of that
fact, you said it was true. How do
you know that it was true, if 1 may
be permitted to inquire? 2"
The Project of Police balanced
the cigaret a moment in his fingers
before he replied.
ST know your statement about the
hanson is true, monsieur. because
] know who it was hat came to
Lord Winton on that night. And,
monsieur, it is on behalf of this
person that 7 have come to you to-
day"
Lord Valleys was astonished, but
he did not move, and his expression
did not change.
'fYou amaze me-" he said. upon
what mission from this mysterious
person could you come to me?"
"Upon the same mission" replied