The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1923-02-23
CHAPTER llI-continued.

SAID, y eS, SlyKe was muruefeu mere.
Though l had been sure he would
say that, it did not seem reasonable
that any person should select the bal
cony of tower, fifty or more feet
in the air, as place in which to
commit murder. 1t became still
more puzzling when remembered
that Slyke had been carried down
two flights Of stairs, undressed,
in his hand. Roche, his fat face puz-
zled, gave me bewildered glance.
could sympathize with his astonish-
ment as / felt much the same way
myself.
l expressed my surprise to BARLEY
and he responded, Il know, Pelt, all
that you have said and all that you
are thinking. 1t does seem out of all
reason that anyone should pick the
top of this tower for a murder. Yet
here are the spots of blood, and there
are none anywhere else. l am sure
he was not killed downstairs; it must
have been here, and"
He paused and, bending over, picked
something up. At first I could not
make out what it was; then l saw that
it was gold-plated collar-button such
as man wears in the front of his
shirt. Roche needed only one look
to identify it, "Slyke's!"
BARLEY did not speak until he had
walked entirely around the tower and
was again beside us.
"Chief," he said, 1--WE may say there
is no doubt that Slyke was killed
up here. do not know why such a
strange place was chosen, but 1 do
know that he was dragged down these
stairs after his death and placed in
his bed to make his death appear to
be suicide. The odds were very much
in favor of the criminals being able
to succeed in his design, too. But he
slipped up-slipped up in the manner
in which he put the gun in the hand
and in the way in which he closed
the eyes. But why he should have
killed Slyke up here cannot under
stand"
He paused for a moment, as if
thinking, then continued, "Slyke gave
party last evening. The crime must
have been committed after the party
broke up. That was probably be-
tween one and two o'clock in the
morning. One man, perhaps two,
stayed behind to talk with Slyke We
can't say positively that they did, but
they may have. Roche thinks that
this man, or men, committed the MUIR
der. One man may have stayed and
then gone away before the murder, or
someone else may have come later.
They may have come up here to see
the view, and one of them shot him.
After the crime the body, at any rate,
was taken downstairs again and I'M
dressed, the nightshirt placed on it,
and it laid in bed. AS he wanted it
to appear like suicide. the murderer
placed the gun in the dead mans fin
| gers. but he either did not remember,
or perhaps did not know, how the eyes
| should look after sudden death. The
very things done to make us think it
was suicide prove that it could not
have possibly been one"
AS BARLEY was now ready to 90
downstairs again, we all returned to
| the room below. The first thing we
saw when we entered, was a brown
stocking, the mate to the one in the
room below. We had not noticed 1t
on our way to the balcony as it lay
half under the rug. and the opened
door hid it. BARLEY picked it up,
| glanced at it, smiled, and was going
to say something when a voice called
to us from below.
| In second we were down the
stairs and in Sykes bedroom. The
door to the stairway was closed just
as we had left it; BARLEY opened il
to find young man with a big cam.
era under his arm on the landing. He
gave us an inquiring glance; then
seeing Roche. whom he seemed to
know, he announced, Doctor King
said you wanted me up here to take
some pictures. What shall take
firstT
BARLEY glanced at the bed and ]
thought gave slight start. The bed
clothes that had been drawn down
around Sykes waist when we were
examining the revolver in his hand
had heen replaced by BARLEY. before
We Went TO the floor above, i'm the
POSITION in which fhey were Zen we