Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1924-07-16
THE SHADOW ON THE GLASS
By CHARLES J. DUT7ON
THE STORY THUS Fan

John BARLEY, crime detector and
Rice's best friend, sis called in. He
is missing box containing $1,000 in
gold pieces. Through Rice's secretary.
Miss Long. he finds that a valuable
book. worth $4,000. has disappeared
James Kent. rival of Rice's. had I'M
successfully tried to purchase. Bart
ley establishes the fact that the cane
with which Rice was murdered be-
mystery of the locked door by showing
that the lock on the library door was a
spring lock, and would therefore au-
toma tically lock when closed from the
outside.
Pelt. Bartley's friend is the narrator
Of the story.
Conflicting Theories
This surprised both the chief and
Dunn, for they gave each other an
inquiring glance and then looked
back at BARLEY. Evidently they had
both overlooked this fact. Amused
at their expressions, he continued:
That. of course, disposes Of the
necessity of getting out by the win
| dow. All the murderer had to do
was to close the door. But it
brings up another thing. Both the
young man and Kent were in the
room and were the last two that
| must have seen him. Maxson went
up just after the men left. he
came down in about twenty minutes
Kent says he was not in the room
| five minutes and that he did not see
Rice at all.
Now where was Rice? Was he
dead at the time Kent went in?
Was he dead when the young man
went in? We don't know. and the
young man, they say, is drowned,
That's the big mystery. If Kent
told the truth, where was Rice?"
Gould he have not gone down to
! his rooms on the third fioor:" !
| asked.
BARLEY nodded, saying that was
| the only solution if he was alive al
| that time. So the talk went back
| and forth for while with little re-
| suits. If BARLEY had any clues, he
was keeping them to himself. The
| chief was hesitating between a be-
lief that the young man might KIN Nv
| about the crime and the other
theory, that Kent might have Killed
| him. But both We're theories and
| that was about all.
1t was just as he rose to go that
| the chief, with one hand on the
| door, asked:
MIR. BARLEY, do YOU think
! ought TO get q warrant out for this
| fellow Kent?"
BARLEY thought it over for a mo-
ment, then shook his head. Il don't
! think l would now chief. The in
| quest comes tomorrow and you can
I wait till then. Kent is a man of
| position and YOU want to be pretty
| sure what you are doing before YOU
| lock him up. OF course. YOU want
| to keep YOUR eyes on him and make
/ sure that he does not leave the
! State. But l would wait"
And agreeing to do this. the two
! men left.
For a while after the men went out
BARLEY busted himself with his
DOCKS. There was number of
! questions that I wished to ask him.
! put he did not care to talk, so,
lighting cigar and leaning back in
my chair. l ran through in my mind
/, the evidence. The more / thought
about 1t the more puzzled | became.
1t did look as if either Kent or the
, Young man could have killed Rice.
Both had the opportunity. but both
could not have done it. Which one
did | could not tell. Kent. of course,
would have been glad to have
secured the book. But still / agreed
with BARLEY that the money would
rot have interested him. and that
was missing also, At length I gave
1t up as bad job. When l glanced
up L saw that BARLEY was looking
az me with quizzical expression.
HIS book was on a stand near by as
If he no longer cared to read. His
eyes meeting mine, he said:
80 YOU cannot solve tho p,yc
tery?"
shook my head. saying nothing.
For while he was silent, but
speaking at last:
Il am not surprised. Pelt. am
not satisfied that any of us have
gone very far toward solving it yet"
Then you do not agree with the
chief and DUMB" 1 asked.
There was doubling tone in his
voice, as he replied. Il am not sure.
Their solution seems almost too
the evidence that is piling I'D
against Kent may be hard, for him
TO disprovc. But l don't know"
A little surprised. | ventured. do
you think Kent would have killed a
! man for a book?"
He haif smiled. "You know. Pelt
l am book lover myself. If a man
must kill that's as good a thing to
XIII for as anything else. The his
tory of book collecting has n few
cases where men have done that
very thing-killed another to get
possession of rare book. Then
again we must remember that Kent
has bad reputation regarding his
temper. Years ago he almost killed
man in quarrel. His money got
him out of that affair, But in this
case the evidence seems to connect
him with the crime"
he paused q moment then added.
Let's look at 1t. Let us start with
the buying of the Aretino. Though
the engravings are very rare. vet
it's not book l would care to have,
For years bookmen have won
dered IT, after all. there might not
be copy of the original edition in
EUROPE, hidden away In some old
castle or library. All modern
copies sold under cover. of course,
are simply reprints-modern engrav-
lngs MADE to conform with the SON
nets. kent's agent finds one. but
foolishly is not sure if It's the
original or not. Instead of gettin,.
an option on it as he should have
done, he goes out to ask the book
men about it. While doing that
RICE knew nothing about the book
only that If it happened to be the
original copy, it was the only one in
me world. His securing it. of
course, made Kent angry and he
| wrote several letters about it. Then
comes the dinner last evening.
Ihough not one of the party, he
, comes over to say that the copy
Rice had was not the first edition
Rice then invites them all to the
! house 10 see 1t. Kent included. They
stay a while, then go, Kent walks a