Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1924-07-28
THE SHADOW ON THE GLASS
Bv CHARLES j. DUTTON
It by Dodd Mead Co. Seriazed by Ledger Syndicate

to pat NV shoulder be1Ore ne drop
| ped down on the edge of the bed.
Then looking at me he suddenly
| laughed.
well. Pelt," he said. you should
1 have been along with me this morn
| ing"
What happened?" I asked. at
once interested.
| well" he drawled out, smiling,
"the first thing which happened was
that Dunn picked up the chap who
wrote the letters to the chief
He did" came my reply, that
was quick work"
He nodded. Yes it was. They
! had men watching the letter boxes
| and every letter that was dropped
in was taken and examined at once.
They found this man without any
trouble. Got him. in fact. three
minutes after he had dropped an
other letter in the mail box"
| He paused. while 1 waited for him
to continue. Before he did. he rose
from the bed and. going to a cigar
l box. took cigar and lighted it.
7 Dropping into a chair. he suddenly
! laughed again.
| Yes. they got him and took him
to the station. Before the chief and
myself he not only admitted he
wrote the letters, but. what is more,
said very calmly that he had killed
Rice"
| In establishment I gave a gasp. 1t
seemed tLv case was over. Barley
&hucEsed at nay iiAnk CTyrtE4 ,,>st
! but Nens Oh: Yes, ne evan set angry
when l doubted his whole story
And there was one queer thing in
! it."
; What was that?' came my ques-
tion
well. it seems that this man,
! whose name is Johns, is a carpenter.
| He worked at Rice's house this
! spring building bookcases into the
| library So you see he knew the
! house. knew how the elevator works
| and about the library on the top
| floor. We tried to trip him. but he
stuck to his story. 1t was a simple
enough yarn at the best"
He paused to take a fresh cigar,
the other having gone out, then
continued: He claims that he
came in lust after the men went out
of the house. and went to the top
! floor. He said he saw no one on his
| way In or cut. There he killed
Rice. He killed him because God
had told him to do it."
God told him to do it?" asked
! in amazement.
BARLEY half smiled. "That is what
he said. There is no doubt that the
! man is not right. He is weak
| minded person OF the religiously
| fanatical type. The chief says that
| he is well known in town. His
story has big flaws in it. If he went
up right after the men left, then he
would have run into Kent. Then
again. there was some one in the
hall at the time the men went out
and for some time after. The two
detectives saw Kent go up. they did
| not see anv one else. His story
seemed logical at first, but there are
holes In 1t and the man is not
| mentally right"
Then You don't think he killed
Rice?" / asked.
He shook his head. mo, don't.
He is pretty meager regarding
details and how the tables with the
gifts were placed. He denied taking
anything. and the murderer must
have taken either the book or the
money. maybe both. All he knew
he could have gotten very easily
from the papers and his previous
working in the house. In fact the
man is not right. and I don't believe
he had any more to do with the
death of Rice than / had"
At that moment the telephone
| rang and going over to the desk,
BARLEY picked up the receiver. /
heard his Hello, chief" then came
a silence which was broken by his
laughing and saying, It's what l
expected" They talked a few mo-
ments longer, then he placed the re-
ceiver back on the hook and turned
toward me.
We'll. Pelt." he grinned, 1.-THE
chief saws that Johns wife and sis
ter insist that he did not leave the
house on the night of the murder.
intact. they went to bed at just IL.
Inat finishes his story Of committing
the crime
But. why under heaven, 1 asked.
should any one confess to a crime
he did not commit?
"Oh. that happens often. Seeking
notoriety, perhaps. Often tits that
inferiority complex / spoke of. The
desire to be in the limelight. This
man also Is a religious fanatic. He
spoke Of how the newspapers passed
by those who served the Lord. Then
agan he Is not right mentally. there
Is no doubt of that.
L had an idea. when the chief
showed US the letter that IT came
from TIVE of that sort. There Is
no doubt he did not commit the
murder. though they will have TO
hold him while. I think, anyway
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