Evening star., 1924-01-11
CONTINUED from Yesterdays Starr

"But how did he do 1.-THE murder,
You know there weren't any foot
prints on the sanded floor near where
Bernhard had been sitting" The doc
tor halted beside the fountain.
Il don't know how Dunn got down
here, but figure he came by the late
train and kinder hung round till the
rest O. the folks went to bed. He
must have been tolerable familiar
with Benkard's habits and took a
chance on his sittin' up, alone. He
asked me last week how / thought
the murder was committed. same s
your dom now, and when l told him,
] saw I'd called the turn from the
way he acted. Bernhard must have
fell asleep after all. DO you remem-
ber when you examined the body you
got me TO lay boards from my pile on
the terrace all round the bench, SOS
You could walk on 'em and not leave
no tracks,"
His companion nodded.
Didn't sit any notion that the
murd'rer might a-done the same
thing. did you? If he was hangin'
round the terrace he prob'bly seen
Rupert Ashe and hid till he'd went
off again in his motor boat, because
the boy said Bernhard was smokin',
the last sight he got o him from the
steps. The murder must a-been all
tail way ahead, and l reckon Dunn
brought some sort o. weapon with
him; he could a-hid a heavy hammer
or a wrench under his coat as easy as
not, and we can be certain he had
some excuse bout important business
ready for Bernhard SOS he wouldn't
suspect nothin'." Geoff went on:
When he asked me told him I had
1t figured out that Bernhard fell
asleep and the murdrer laid down
"A
noticed then they didn't make no
sound on the soft sand, and he must
a-been particular. O. course. to go
mighty easy and quiet. ] told Dunn
the murd'rer must a-laid them boards
one after the other. crep' up behind
Bernhard and hit him just one blow
then when he was sure he'd finished
him he took EN- up agin as he went
and put emf back on my pile. There
wasn't no blood on 'em though /
looked careful. SO 1 reckon he made
kinder a wide circle to git round
the bench He didn't have the nerve
to slam him right in the face. and
then Benkard's head must have fell
forward on his chest. / figure Dunn
hustled straight back to the city
he could agot the early milk train
il he'd walked to the county seat
and waited for the news. He told
us, if you recollect, that he couldn't
sleep that night and went out and
Walked the streets till most mornin',
so he had his alibt. sech at it was,
all fixed-But come on, Doc. Mis-
Cayley an that lawyer look as
though they was waitin' for us to
fnish our confab and GO"
Mrs. Cayley halted them with one
final appeal.
Nov that Dunn is dead and there
will be no trial. surely-surely 1t
will be unnecessary and cruel to me
and my daughter to expose the story
about Mr. Shirley's death, There is
poor old Henry, too. His loyalty to
my brother made him voluntarily an
accessory after the fact. and l can
not bear to think that he may have
TO spend his few remaining days in
prisoni"
Well" Geoff glanced at the doc
tor. there's somebody got to be told
end guess mebbe the doc will leave
II to her to decide
"A woman"
"A LADY," Geoff corrected with en-
phasis. rShe was waitin' to marry
young Shirley after lovin' him al
ways. Her hair turned gray with
sorrow though she amt much older'n
Miss Sherwood pears to be, and she's
gentle and sweet-natured. 1 reckon