South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1922-03-11
Continued From Our Last Issue.
CHAPTER XII.

ing sandy Cove smiled peacefully in
the golden sunshine
Within the decorously shade
drawn library OF the Tudor house six
PERSONS were gathered: Mrs. Tudor
herself. her niece Fay. Captain War
rem. Kenneth Clayton. Sheriff Hulse
and Sergeant John Barry. The lat
ter was seated ar the long magazine
table in the center OF the room with
q sheaf OF notes spread out before
him. and 81 was toward him that AL
eyes were directed. None appeared
notice the psstea I'd boxes Of
arious sizes which hauked the notes
upon the table. and certain il was
that mont save the sheriff and Barry
himself knew that outside the door
two husky cOnstables waited with a
big-framed BEETLE browed woman for
the signal 20 add themselves 20 the
gathering
The sheriff and ! have asked you
20 meet us all together" began Bar
ry. pleasantly enough, "in order that
we may tell you the result Of our in
vestigations of yesterday into the
death of Miss Laurel Tudor. II was
murder. Of course. but her death was
never intended. You all know the
method by which the crime was
committed. but what I think that
none Of YOU know is that the ar
bon mOnOxide was me ant not FIR her
but for her cousin. and the fact that
the two young ladies changed beds
during the night was all that saved
Miss Fay Tudor from the fate meted
out 20 her, although IL rebounded
I upon an innocent victim-innocent
i'm that she had aroused no enmity
in the breast Of the murd erer. When
+ + said that none Of you knew this.
] meant none except one. for the
guilty person is in this room at the
f present moment"
Fax sat clutching the arms of her
chair tightly. but she made no out
ward move and her eyes never left
the face Of the detective Clayton
growled a sudden exclamation. but
+ Captain Warren sat immovable, al
though a slight flush crept upon his
+ cheek Mrs. Tudor started to her
+ feet with a swift cry.
Please sit down. Mrs. Tudor
Barrys tones were sympathetic but
\ firm. CT know how YOU must be
feeling at this moment. but I shall
not keep you long in sUsr ense.
Some time between three and
/ four o'clock i'm the morning he muir
/ derer started to enter the room
where the two young ladies were
asleep. carrying in one hand the re-
ceptacle containing the carbon mon
oxide, and in the other an electric
torch This person dared not turn
on the lights i'm the room for fear
. of waking one or the other of its
occupants. i'm spite OF the fact that
they had both been heavily drugged.
ON the threshold. by miracle OF
fate perhaps, the electric torch went
QUIT
THE low light at the farther end
OF the hall did not penetrate the
room. but the murderer had gone too
far TO retreat now. for already the
fumes of the poison gas were escap-
ing from the faulty. hastily con-
structed cOntainer. Putting il down
upon the floor just outside the door
the container had once held oil. and
the mark Of il is still visible on the
rug upstairs-the murderer sped to
+ the room formerly occupied by the
young man whom all then believed
70 be dead, and, obtaining his gas
mask. returned 70 the room.
There this person went straight
F TO the bed ordinarily occurred by
Miss Laurel. touched the hair
which in the dark could not have
detected from that of Miss Fay, for
both are of the same texture-and
fitted the mask carefully over the
/ face.
you can figure the rest out for
/ yourselves-the murderer's advance
90 the other bed. the insertion Of
the tube between the lips of the
unconscious girl; the application Of
bandage over her nostrils so that.
perforce she must breath IN tno
deadly gas; the departure from the
room for a certain. well-caI cUlated
period; the return: removal Of the
mask from one face and bandage
from the other: and hurried exit
with the container.
Put the murderer had made the
fatal mistake of trusting TO the
sense Of touch alone. It was upon
the wrong face that the mask was
adjusted upon the wrong face that
the bandage was placed. and into
the wrong lips that the tubing was
inserted"
stop I can bear no moTe!" The
ringing cry came from Mrs. Tudor's
white lips and she started again
from her chair
Why not2" Barry asked Coolly
Does the recital OF your own crime
bring it back too wildly before your
mind Woman. YOU are the murder
ess of your own daughter"
A swift change had come over the
COuntenanCe Of Mrs Tudor a hide
GUS. malevolent change which wiped
from 70 the last sem bIance Of youth
and prettineSs. She sat rigid, her
blue ewes fixed with a sort OF mock
I .ns mirth upon those OF Barry.
There was no thought OF murder
IN YOUR mind when your niece re-
turned from Europe" Barry con-
tiuued- You felt secure i'm Your
coming happiness. but the mind Of
woman I'm love IS more keenly in
tuitive than az normal times. and
within q few DAYS YOU realized
something which your niece did not
dream of-that the man YOU loved
and hoped 90 marry had turned
from YOU. II was not Fav Tudor
alone whom YOU hated then 90 the
point ~ murder. II was the COM
mon enemy ~ an women Of middle
fe youth youth,
You planned 10 Kill her on the
I night Of the dance. planned TO stab
+ her 7 think. with the dagger from
. the han arrangement OF weapons
! H.rlrL Z f.rr-I r-n.rnI.H L. --.,-,r