Evening star., 1922-08-27

Staley. came forward to establish the
fact that the wine cellar was little less
than a straw rick, and this metropoli-
tan 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 mathe-
matical accuracy the fact that 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 small blade of a knife.
The police found in my pocket 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. I
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.
had been accomplished had not en-
tered the wound. The wound was no
larger than the width of the small
knife blade at its exterior point.
Lord Valleys suddenly extended his
hand, like one who puts down some-
thing that is finished.
"It therefore followed. monsieur,
with mathematical accuracy that no
verbal conjecture could ever obscure
that the knife blade with which this
wound had been accomplished was at
least seven inches in length. The
knife blade found on my person by
the metropolitan police was only four
inches in length. 1t was. therefore,
certain. as certain as only mathe-
matical calculation can be certain. that
Lord Winton was not killed with the
knife which I carried.
And 1 was therefore acquitted.
You know, monsieur. what the
English law courts say: A man may
lie. but circumstances cannot. / may
have lied, ; nd Lord Winton's nanserv-
ant 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 knife
blade four inches long. And the case
ended"
TIE went over to table, got tor
IL e-shell box delicately inlaid
with silver, opened it and presented it
to Monsieur Jonquelle.
You will have cigarette, mon
sieur?" he said.
1t is also possible that he wished to
see what it was that Monsieur JON
ouelle observed on the opposite side of
the street. For some time he had oc-
casionally looked that way. Nothing
was to be observed there-women,
children passed. Two young men. ele-
gahtly dressed, coming up on either
side, had stopped and were engaged in
some animated discourse. hs
:. Monsieur Jonquelle took the ciga~
rette, and Lord Valleys went back to
the chair.
monsieur" said the prefect of
police, do you have any idea who this
mysterious assassin Of Lord Winton
was"
Il do not" replied Lord Valleys.
There was much conjecture at the
trial, but it was all wholly conjecture.
1t must, however, have been some
powerful person, because the ASSASSIN
must have held Lord Winton with one
hand and driven in, the knife with the
other. The experts pretended to md
evidence Of bruised places, as from q
powerful hand."E -
Then suddenly. as out Of some irs-
citing memory. the mans voice