Evening star., 1922-08-25
The Truth Protector
By Arthur B. Reeve
The Stars Week End Fiction
Second of Three Instal1ments.
Second of Three Instal1ments.


feeling between the two men. though
what it was about l could not say:
As Miss Grey introduced US l glanced
hastily out of The corner of my eye
at Kennedy Involuntarily his band
which held the tell-tale sequin had
though to hide it, Then l saw linn
cneck the action. and deliberately ex-
amined the piece of tinsel between his
thumb and forefinger.
DR.. Murray saw it. too. and his
eyes We're riveted on it. IS though he
saw its significance.
What do you think-Jack as SICK
as dog. and robbed, too. and yet
Murray says I oughtn't to see him.
complained Lewis, for the moment
oblirious to the fact that all our eyes
were riveted on the spangle between
kennedy's fingers. And then, slowly
it seemed to dawn on him what IT
was. 'Madeline's!" he exclaimed.
quickly. so Nina did tear it. after
all. when she stepped on the train
Kennedy watched the faces before
us keenly. No one said ANYTHING.
1t was evident that some such Incl
dent had happened. But had Lewis.
to cover up something, protect some
body?
Miss Grey was evidently anxious
to transfer the scene at least to the
living room. away from the sick room.
and Kennedy. seeing it, fell in with
the idea.
Looks to me as though this rob-
berry We're an inside affair."" remarked
Lewis. as we all stood for moment
in the living room. do you sup
pose one of the servants could have
been planted for the purpose of pull
ing it OFF,"
The idea was plausible enough.
rln hi ha aSfi n
might seem. it took no account of the
other circumstances of the case.
could not believe that the illness of
Mansfield was merely an unfortunate
coincidence.
Fleming Lewis unguarded and
ever seemed uppermost in his mind
soon became study to me as We
talked together in the living room
| could not quite make out Whethe!
it was studied or astute or whether
it was merely the natural exui,er-
ance of youth. There was certainly
some sort of enmity between him and
the doctor. which the remark about
the spangle seemed to fan into d
flame
Miss Grey maneuvered tactfullN.
however, to prevent scene. And.
threw more heat than light on the
matter, Kennedy and | followed
Lewis out to the elevator. with a
parting promise to keep in touch with
Miss Grey.
What do you think of the
bade us hasty goodby and climbed
into his car at the street entrance.
rs it clue or a stall?'
THAT remains to be seen" he re-
piled, noncommittally. Just now the
thing that interests me most is what
l can accomplish at the laboratory in
the way of finding out what is the
matter with Mansfield"
While Kennedy was busy with the
various solutions which he made OF
the contents of the ramekins that had
held the mushrooms l wandered over
to the university library and waded
through several volumes on fungi
without learning anything of value.
Finally, knowing that Kennedy would
probably be busy for some time, and
that all I should get for my pains by
questioning him would be monoSylla-
bic grunts until he was quite con-
WINGED that ne was on the trail of
the office of the Star and talk over
the affair as we'll as / could without
what l felt had been given
us in confidence.
could not. it turned out. have
done anything better. for it seemed
to be the gossip of the broadway
cafes and cabarets that Mansfield
had been plunging rather deeply
lately and had talked many of his
acquaintance into joining him in a
pool either outright or on margins
1t seemed to be safe bet that not
only Lewis and DR.. Murray had
Joined him, but that Madeline Har-
grave and Nina Leitch, who had a
season and some spare
to invest, might have gone
in. too. So far the fortunes of the
stock market had not smiled on
it was not impossible that what
might be merely an incident to
man like Mansfield could be very
serious to the rest of them.
1t was the middle of the afternoon
when I returned to the laboratory
with my slender budget of news.
Craig was quite interested in what
had to say, even pausing for a few
in his work to listen.
In several cages l saw that he had
a number of little guinea pigs. One
of them was plainly in distress. and
Kennedy had been watching him in
tently.
ITS strange" he remarked. Il
had samples of materials from six
ramekins Five of them seem to have
no effect whatever. But if the bit
that l gave this fellow causes such
distress. what would larger guam
"Then one of the ramekins was
I questioned.
Il have discovered in 1t. as we'll as
in the blood smear, the tox albumin
that Dr. Murray mentioned" he
said. simply. pulling out his watch.
TT isn't late. 1 think I shall have
to take trip out to Miss Har-
graves We ought to do it in an
hour and half in a car"
Kennedy said very little as we
sped out over the Long Island roads
that led to the little colony of actors
and actresses at Cedar Grove. He
seemed rather to be enjoying the
chance to get away from the city
and turn over in his mind the vari-
Gus problems which the case pre-
sented.
AS for myself. I had by this time
convinced myself that somehow the
mushrooms were involved. What
Kennedy expected to find I could not
guess. But from what I had read I
surmised that it must be that one
of the poisonous varieties had some
how got mixed with the others. one
Of the Amanitas. just as deadly as
the venom of the rattler or the cop
perhead. I knew that, in some cases.
Amanitas had been used to commit
crimes Was this such a case?
Copyright. 1929