Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1924-07-16


morning with some kind of a pack
age about the size of the missing box
under his arm. We know that he
said Wait till tomorrow. / will give
your old wedding a jolt The facts
against him are also enough to
cause the police to make an arrest.
The circumstantial evidence. though
different, is just as strong against
enc as the other"
But they can't both have done
it, l said.
NO" he answered slowly. "of
course not. To me the strange thing
is this. Kent might take the book,
that l can see easily enough. Yet
the money he would not touch. at
least, do not think he would. He
has money enough. The young man
might take the money, but he would
hardly have taken the book. It's
not a thing one can sell. for book
dealers will be looking for it. The
moment it is offered to them. the
person offering it will be arrested.
But both are gone. Did the same
person take them? If so. was it
some one besides these two named?
l can hardly believe that either one
of them would take both book and
money
only made the mystery darker.
There was no one else that could
have taken them, it seemed to me,
and then it flashed into my mind
that the girl had been alone all the
day in the room. / did not even
wish to think she might be connect
ed with the affair but honesty COM
PEELED me to mention this.
BARLEY, rather moodily, informed
me he had thought of that. He said
that of course she would have had
chance to hide the book and she
knew it's value. Also, she was the
last to see the boxes of gold pieces.
l waited for him to say that he was
sure she had nothing to do with the
money and book disappearing, but
to my surprise he did not. Instead
he lighted a fresh cigar and simply
said: You see, we don't know
when the book was taken. In fact.
there are good many things we
don't know"
l could see that he was in the
mood to talk. 1t was always his
rule to talk over the various aspects
of his cases, turn thdn inside out.
as it were. True, he seemed to
jump from one thing to another in
his conversation. but that was be-
his tongue. So | said nothing.
waiting for him to speak again,
which he did in little while.
"Pelt,' he said at last. we start
with the first point, the locked room
We know that they broke the door
down to enter. What does that
mean to YOU"
Remembering that in the Under
wood case, we had somewhat
similar setting, I mentioned it. He
half smiled and shook his head. NO.
this is different. Here we have an
open window. True, it's rather hard
to think one could walk on the edge
below the window and slide down a
copper pipe to the ground. 1t was
raining and dark, yet it could have
been done"
| said nothing. l was willing to
admit it might be possible to do. but
somehow j had the idea the storm
of the night before was enough in
Itself to prevent any one from try
, ing that foolish thing. / said as
much.
BARLEY listened to my objections
gravely enough, though l saw
twinkle in his eyes. When | was
through he continued as If | had not
broken in on him. That's all very
u uS' Solu II COulu DC uOne,
not that it was. You see it was
necessary. The door had spring
latch. All that was needed was to
close 1t. To set In, unless one had a
key. one would have to break in the
door, reach in and turn the knob.
That's what happened. Did Kent
close that door when he came out
the second time? No one knows"
He paused as if thinking. then
went on, Il looked the room over
where Rice was killed. There were
no clues, not Il thing except the
cane. Every appearance was that
of u terrific struggle. The curtains
at the window and even the drap-
cries over the door from the library
were pulled down in the struggle
that swept through the entire room.
l have an idea that Rice surprised
some one i'll the room, the struggle
started and ended in the murder
Not a premeditated murder, but one
committed in sudden rage, to hush
the lips of the man that was killed
That would make the motive seem
robbery. Then all the murderer had
to do, was to go out and close the
door. That was all"
But" | suggested, zone would
think he would have been seen"
Rather dryly he replied, We'll,
Dunn thinks he was. The detectives
saw Kent"
Another thought struck me. zone
might have thought the detectives
could have prevented the murder.
What were they there for but to pre-
vent trouble?''
He turned and looked at me with
interest, then drawled. But, Pelt,
those two detectives were not ex-
pecting 4 murder. They followed
out the instructions that Rice gave
them. He told them he would be in
the library till around twelve and to
start their work then. When they
went up around twelve, the library
door was locked. They went to the
third floor, naturally thinking Rice
was in bed, and spent the night
there. No one could get to the
library floor while the elevator door
was open. They simply opened II
and, as far as the floor above was
concerned, they were right in think
ing II was secure. The great ques-
ton to my mind is another one.
Did Rice go to his rooms on the
third floor, then return to the
library and on his return surprise
some one there, or was he in the
room when the murderer came in?
! don't known
But" | started again
He broke in on me, as IL he did
not hear. Theories they say count
little. yet / don't know. In this
case. it seems as IL we must take
every little fact, build up a theory,
see IL it fits anywhere and be
ready to discard it. There is evil
dence enough to convict two men
out both of them cannot be guilty"