Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1924-07-29

, expression. Then he Strengthened
| and tried the knob. turning to me.
This 10 queer" he said. THAT
spring latch seems to be broken"
| I gave a start, wondering how
long 1t had been in that condition.
| I myself had pointed out the morn
| ing Of the crime that 1t had not
| been necessary to lock the door.
All the murderer needed to have
| done was to shut the door and the
| spring latch would lock. That had
explained how the person commit
ting the crime had been able to
| leave the key inside the room.
| But I started when I remembered
that, so tar as knew. none Of us
had tried the spring at all. Seeing
It., I had simply taken for granted
that 1t would lock the door.
| l said as much to BARLEY, who
listened with a rather glum look on
his face. When. 1 finished he re-
: piled: THAT Is true, Pelt. We quilt
! up our theories around the fact that
the murderer simply closed the
/ door and the spring lock locked It..
That explained the key being inside.
; 1t gave the only logical escape from
the room, for do not think the
murderer got out by the window and
|
sonable. But the spring is broken.
II it was that way the morning Of
| the murder, then we are up against
It. 1t will mean coming back to the
| theory that the murderer got out
/ some other way than through the
door. He could not have shut the
door. locked it and left the key in
side"
At this point the elevator opened
and the butler came toward us. lie
said the young people would be up
In moment. BARLEY paid no at
tentton to this, asking at once:--
Williams, the spring latch in this
door is broken. Do you know any
theing about IT."
The old man gave a look at the
door. as IL thinking the question was
Of little Importance. But his an
swer startled us both. for he said:-
why yes. Mr.. BARLEY. Mr.. Rice
told me two weeks ago the spring
was broken and we had man who
was to fix it only he never came. !
! will have to attend to IT,
Bartley's eyes had grown large
while the butler was speaking. His
crisp voice snapped out:-"You
mean to tell me that lock has been
out of order for two weeks"
AS II astonished that he could be
interested in so slight a matter, the
butler replied:
Yes. sir. II has been out OF order
the key to lock the door"
The buffers reply had been so
startling that neither of us said a
word. Instead there came a silence
in which I stared at the lock as IL
l expected II might suddenly speak.
The whole case seemed to have come
up against a stone wall. IL the
spring latch had been out OF order
for two weeks before the murder,
then the door had been locked with
the key. That being so. the MUIR
derer could not have come out by
the door. The key had been inside
and the room must have been left in
come other way. The windows
seemed the only solution. Suddenly
It dawned upon me that the buffers
remark about the latch seemed to
clear both Kent and Maxson. They
both had left the room and come
down to the main floor by the ele-
vator. They could not have done
that IL the door had been locked
with the key inside. And the key
had been inside, there was no doubt
OF that.
Suddenly BARLEY gave a long low
whistle. looked at him in time to
zee q sudden expression OF wonder
pass over his face. He glanced at
the door-and smiled. l would have
given q good deal TO know what
caused the whistle and the smile.
But whatever 1t was, I did not know
nor did I find cut then, for the
| young woman and her husband were
coming from the elevator.
| As che came to the open door
saw her give q shudder as there
erept over hec the recollection Of the
| morning when her father was found
dead. She was not in mourning.
though her dress was a sober color.
Both she and her husband greeted
US warmly. notwithstanding there
was little doubt they wondered why
BARLEY had insisted on seeing them
| in the library.
He led US all into the little room
| where the body had been found. At
his request the butler brought some
| chairs and we seated ourselves.
| BARLEY went over and stood beside
| the desk while we all glanced eager
ly at him. His look rather puzzled
me. could see that something had
caused q little trace OF excitement
| to appear In his eyes. That in itself
was enough to make me wonder. for