New Britain herald., 1922-03-07

used to sleep, and where all his be- longings which you so kindly brought home to us have been placed? I saw his helmet and a hand grenade and even his gas mask, but there were stains upon it. It all seemed to bring him back so closely that l had an uncanny feeling that he must be here in the flesh, somewhere near!"
 Before the captain could reply Barry strode boldly around the cor ner, pausing in a confusion that would have done credit to an actor.
 Captain. this is the young police officer from town, of whom I spoke Sergeant Barry, Captain Warren"
 The captain bowed stiffly.
 Captain Warren, 1 suppose you are familiar with the details of the crime?"
 Miss Tudor has told me all she knows the captain responded thoughtfully.
 Have you any possible theory to advance? l confess I should be grateful. for this seems the most in applicable case have ever encoun- tered"
 How about that chap who has been wandering about, stealing clothes and food and entering houses at will. without leaving any trace? should think he was the most likely suspect if he were mentally deranged for this murder appears to have been such purposeless one" Cap tain Warren pondered for moment ITO me the most puzzling part of the whole affair is how it was possible for one girl to be gassed and the other escape"
 Perhaps that is the most easily explainable of all," he observed, and with a few perfunctory remarks he left them, his brain on fire with a fresh inspiration born of the chance use of a single word Gassed! One girl had been killed by the inhalation of noxious gas, and unscathed--and there had been gas mask in the house!
 Barry entered the house by the back way and stole upstairs.
 The dimness of the room at first made everything indistinguishab to his eyes, but gradually he saw the mantel with the gas mask upon it. | Approaching, he picked up the case containing the mask, carefully to pre- serve any possible finger prints, and as he opened 1t faint but unmis- takable odor assaled his nostrils, the odor of carbon monoxide gas!
 .- ... CHAPTER TX.
 Sergeant Barry turned the gas mask case over and over> in his hands. His intuition had been right after all! Fay Tudor was innocent beyond any doubt, for had she as- phyxiated her cousin she need not have gone to the trouble of donning the gas mask; she could simply have closed the windows and doors, all lowed the carbon monoxide to es- cape, and left the room until it had done its work.
 As he took the mask from it's case he noted that it had not been replaced in the proper manner, but had been thrust in with every evidence Of haste. A careful examination re- vealed no finger marks upon the mask itself, but upon the case sev- eral were visible.
 He crossed the hall to the room in which the tragedy had occurred. There he commenced an elaborate search.
 His efforts seemed to meet with no success, for, shaking his head doubt fully, he entered the bathroom, where he scrutinized the shelves and medi- cine chests.
 At last he seized upon small pasteboard box and opened 1t, dis closing half dozen white powders wrapped separately in a filmy sub stance resembling oiled paper.
 With little exclamation of satis- faction, his hand fell upon a tiny porcelain jar with a foreign label, and as he gingerly unscrewed the top a faint odor of fresh rose leaves floated out upon the air.
 Continued in Our Next Issue.
 Copyright 1922, NEA Service).