The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1922-08-18
CONTINUED From Our Last Issue)
By A.AMILNE

CONTINUED From Our Last Issuel
From the beginning Antony had
seen this answer coming and had
drawn back from 1t. For, If Mark
had been killed. it seemed such a
cold-blooded killing. Was Cayley
equal to it7
Bill would have said NO" because
Bill wouldn't have killed anybody
In cold blood himself. and because he
took it for granted that other people
behaved pretty much as he did. But
Antony had no such illusions. Muir
ders were done; murder had actual
ly been done here. for there was
Roberts dead body. Why not an
other murder2
Had Mark been in the Office at all
that afternoon? The only evidence
(other than Cayley's. which obvious
ly did not COUNT was Elsie's. Elsie
was quite certain that she had heard
his voice. But then Bill had said
that k was a very characteristic
voice-an easy voice, therefore, to
initiate. If Bill could initiate 1t SO
successfully. why not Cayley?
But perhaps 1t had not been such
a coId-blooded killing. after all. Sup
pose Cayley had had a quarrel with
his cousin that afternoon over the
girl whom they were both wooing.
Suppose Cayley had killed Mark.
either purposely. in sudden passion,
or accidentally. meaning only to
knock him down. Suppose that this
had happened in the passage. say
about two o'clock. Suppose Cayley
there, with the body at his feet. feel
ing already the rope round his neck;
his mind darting this way and that
In frantic search for a way OF es-
cape; and suppose that suddenly and
irrelevantly he remembers that
Robert is coming to the house at
three o'clock that afternoon-auto-
matically he looks at his watch-in
half an hours time. /.
Antony pictured to himself Cayley
In the passage. standing over the
dead body of his cousin, and work.
ing 1t out. How could Robert be
made to seem the murderer, If
Robert were alive to deny it? But
suppose Robert were dead, too?
He looks at his watch again. only
twenty-five minutes now.l Suppose
Robert were dead, too? Robert dead
in the office. and Mark dead in the
passa ge-how does that help? Mad
nessi But IL the bodies were brought
together somehow And Roberts
death looked like suicide7 : !. Was
it possible2
Madness again. Too difficult. tOnly
twenty minutes now,D Too difficult
to arrange in twenty minutes. Can't
arrange suicide. Too difficult :. !.
Only nineteen minutes.
And then the sudden Inspiration
Robert dead In the office. Mark s
body hidden in the passag e-impos-
sible to make Robert seem the MUIR
derer. but how easy to make Mark
Robert dead and Mark missing; why.
it jumped to the eye at once. Mark
had killed Robert accidentally; yes.
had run away. Sudden panic. I.
Gle looks at his watch again. Fiji
teen minutes, but plenty OF time
now. The thing erranges itselt)
Was that the solution. Antony
wondered. 1t seemed to ut in with
the facts as they knew them: but
then. so did that other theory which
he had suggested to Fill in the morn
ing.
Which one7" said Bill.
They were sitting in the copse
above the pond, from which the In
spector and his fishermen had now
withdrawn. Bill had listened with
open mouth to Antony's theory, and
save for an occasional by Jove!'
had listened In silence. Smart man.