The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-02-25
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rHE STORY THUS FAR

THE STORY THUS FAR
 Gordon Bristow, lawyer, goes to call on pr. Drake Selden, a scientist, who lives in comparative seclusion in Crestmere, to ask for the hand of the doctors daughter Nerissa. As he approaches the shrub-in- closed house he sees a suspicious figure turk ing in the shadows and finds pinned to the door paper with red circle transfixed by purple dagger crudely drawn thereon. He is met by the housekeeper, Miss Wright son, who seems nervous; and presently she discovers the dead body of her employer in his desk chair. Summoning the authorities these two also find that Nerissa Selden has disappeared. A diamond brooch, identified as hers, is found on her fathers body. Bris- tow discovers another suspicious character lurking near the house who is caught by the police marshal, but after paper with the peculiar circle-dagger design on it is taken from him, he escapes. The autopsy reveals Dr. Selden murdered, fine dagger point having been thrust into the base of the brain. At the coroner's inquest Miss Wrightson declares her own belief that Dr. Selden's daughter is responsible for her fathers death.
 "She was not She usually rose early and went for walk"
 Had you thought of calling her this
 
 you do so?"
 "No. presumed that she had gone out .'' sWhat prevented you from calling Dr. Selden?"
 "He gave orders that we should not sum- mon him to breakfast, as he expected to work late into the night on book he was writing"
 At this point in the examination the cor oner produced the bit of steel taken from the brain of the murdered physician.
 Miss Wrightson," he said, "can you re- call any weapon, owned by member of Dr. Selden's household, from which this point might have been broken?"
 ''There was but one weapon with a sim liar point and of that peculiar color about the place."
 "And that?"
 Belonged to Dr. Selden I often no- tced it because of its unusual coloring and it's beautifully carved ivory handle"
 Where did Dr. Selden keep it?"
 Miss Nerissa had it."
 For what purpose?"
 ''She used it in lieu of paper-knife."
 Where is it now?"
 q do not know After learning that Dr. Selden had been stabbed, I made search for the dagger. It was not on Miss Selden's desk, where she usually kept it, and I was unable to find it elsewhere about the house" 1" "That will be all"
 Miss Wrightson, manifeesty relieved, re- sumed her seat in the line of witnesses and Dr. Craig was recalled to the stand.
 "Was there any member of Dr. Selden's household sufficiently versed in human anat- omy to have struck the blow that killed Dr. Selden?"
 The old doctor hesitated It was evident that the question was more than distasteful to him.
 "There was," he finally admitted in tones so low as to be almost inaudble.
 "Who was that person?,
 Miss Selden" replied the physician re- luctantly but positively. Almost from childhood she had pronounced penchant for such things, inherited, undoubtedly, from her father. She could give many doctors points on surgery"
 'That will be all"
 At the conclusion of Dr. Craig's testimony the case went to the jury That body, after extremely brief deliberation, returned r.. crushing verdict that Dr. Drake Selden had come to his death by a dagger-thrust de- lIvered, the evidence indicated, by the hand of his only child!
 For an instant Bristow's tortured mind vibrated with the mad impulse to denounce coroner and jury as senseless dupes of a guilty, designing woman. Then calm reason reasserted itself and, with an inward groan,