The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-09-08

district prosecuting attorney, stood in the Waring study.
 The body of the master had been removed, and, to Cray's regret, he had not seen 1t before the embalm CTS work had removed the red ring on the forehead.
 Ut was sign" he said to Nor ton, who was moodily listening. "A sign like that left by the murderer, always means revenge
 You agree 10 murder, then?" Nor ton spoke eagerly. glad to have his theory corrooorated
 What else? Look here, Morton, it's got to be either murder or sui eide, hasn't it? Yes? We'll, then, to which Of the two do the greater number of clues point? Sum up. For suicide we have only the locked room argument. l admit don't know how any one could gG In or ont of this study, but. as I say, that's the only sign of suicide. Now. for murder we have the absence of tho weapon, the robbery of the money and the ruby, and sign of a circle on the dead mans forehead. Wish I'd seen that. It wasn't burnt on, for It took care of it.
 "Oh, no, it wasn't as deep as a burn. More like an impression left by ring of cold metal CT the edge or glass tumbler.
 Very strange. and decidedly an important clue. For here's the queer part. The doctors declare tie mark must have been made while the man was alive-now, how can that be eX- plained?"
 Give 1t up. It's too much for me. But 1t was too small circle to have been made by the tumbler on the water tray. l measured it."
 ''T know. tnnt'S why I fhintS if wa ( 2 sign of revenge. Suppose the mo- tive was revenge and the reason for revenge had something to do with a quarrel in waich a small glass or cup figured. That's the idea. though, of course,~ it needn't have been a glass or cup at all, but something with 2 ring-like edge. Thus. there was a reason for the sign on the dead man s face"
 T sec though I never could have doped it out like that"
 "Oh. I don't say it's exactly what something of the sort, for what other hypothesis fits the case at all? We can't imagine Dr. Waring branding his own forehead. and then killing himself, can we?"
 No. and if I had. wehre's the branding iron--to call it that-and where's the dagger?"
 
 treat the matter as murder case, and look for the criminal first. and then find out how he entered the locked room afterwardj
 Pooh! Those locked rooms"
 You're way off, Morton, when you sheer at locked room,
 Tt was locked-I mean impenetr- aDly locked. There Is no secret pass age-of that I'm sure. Your ingeni- ous idea of removing and replacing whole pane of glass was clever, grant but we've seen that not a pane has been lately reputtied. They're all. framed in old, dried and even painted putty"
 T know it. But some other such way might have been devised"
 Cant we think of any. Wee examined all the window shashes and door frame-oh. well. as far as I can see the room was absolutely unen- terable. But, notwithstanding, I'm going to work on murder basis. there are even more insurmountable difficulties in the way of the suicide theory. Now I suppose you've had the finger print expert in?"
 "No-I haven't-not yet"
 Good Lord! What kind of a de- tective arc you? We'll. get him, and put him to work. What about foot prints?"
 Inside the room?"
 "Or- outside. either. But inside, suppose has been trampled by score of peoplen
 You can't get footprints on thick rug" the dscomfited Morton grumbled.
 Sometimes you can. And polished floor will often show marks. What have you done, anyway"
 There was enough to do, Mir Cray" Morton flared back at him. T have been busy every minute since I began, except for a few hours sleep"
 'Over twenty-four hours since thu alarm was given. You've put in at least twelve, then. What have you done?"
 "A lot. I found out. to my own satisfaction, that-if it is a murder