Evening star., 1924-07-18
CHAPTER xix.
The Fourth Murder.

Ii needed no more than one glance
at the letter press which followed
after these glaring headlines to show
me what had happened. L knew. be-
fore [ read one word more, that l
should see d name there and
that the name was
Pennithwa ate,
don't mind confesSins that this
knocked me over ir far worse fashion
than anything that had tranSpired UP
TO that moment. 1t was the SuggeS-
tion of secrecy that did it-murder,
secret and intangible, stalking like an
impalpabie thing rather than in a ma
terlal form. Before I read a line fur
ther | had a vision of that big SOL
emn room in the old house in Lin
coins Inn Fields-the prim. elderly
man of law, the whole atmosphere
OF papers and parchments; the order
fIneSS of the place. as if some fusSy
precise old maid tidied it every day:
the quiet, regular beating Of the clock
on the 1nantelpiece, with a picture OF
some lord chief justice over it in his
full robes and wig. And-and it
faded into another-of the same prim
elderly man, SO meticulousIy fastidi-
Gus in his personal appearance, so
evidently strict about the arrange
mentS around him, lying across his
N~S'N
knitted.
Pennithwaite, The fourth murder
the fourth victimi And-the next
For. although three of his undoubted
associates or instruments were safely
locked and bolted in at Portsmouth
saol, the Chinaman was still at large.
Before l read anything l knew that
this was his work While the other
three had tried bullying and coercion
on me TO get at the secret of my mis-
Ynn a<Ir i
Pennithwaite, he, left in London, had
ferreted Pennithwaite out for him
self-and here was more copy for the
newspapers,
1t was only by a big effort that 1
could control my nerves sufficiently
to hold the newspaper steadily before
me. And l had to give that up. 1t
shook and ratified so much in my
handS that the lines of type ran to-
gether. l had to lay it down on the
table close by and bend over it.
There was not Il great deal to read
and 1T seemed to me that not one
word came which l could not have
anticipated. Just this:
Another mysterious and terrible
murder apparently the fourth of a
series, planned and executed with al
most oIabolical cunning. was discov-
cred yesterday morning. when Mr.
Pennithwaite, Il well known solicitor,
having an extensive connection
among landed families, was found
stabbed TO death in his private room
al ms office in Lincoln's Inn Fields.
ne factS OF the case. as SO far given
by the police authorities, are, on the
surface. very simple. 1t appears that
Mr. PennithWaite, an elderly man and
bachelor. whose private residence is
at Seven Oaks had a bedroom at his
office which he used when occasion
ally staying the night in town On
tuesday evening he told the care
taker of the offices that he should
stay IN town that night, and ordered
ms bedroom to be made ready. He
was seen by his head clerk at six
o'clock, and then gave some instruc-
tons about leaving out certain papers
on his desk for his consideration later
IN the evening. According to the
caretaker, Mr.. Pennithwaite, after his
clerks mad left. went out to dine at
his club. 1t had been aScertained bv
the police that he did dine there, and
remained there until ten o'clock
Some of his fellow members who have
been seen on the subject say that he
was in his usual good health and
spirits. The caretaker at Lincoln
Inn Fields saw him come in at about
half-past ten. He bade the caretaker
goodnight and went into his private
office. The caretaker heard him lock
the door. The bedroom used by Mr..
PennithWaite on these occasions opens
out of the private office. There is mo
other way into it. Yesterday morn
ing, when the clerks assembled at the
usual time, from nine to ten o'clock
MT Pennithwaitc had not come out
or his private rooms nor unlocked
tho door admitting to them. At half
past ten the head clerk. having heard
from the caretaker that Mr.. Pennith.
waite was certainly on the premises.
and having failed to get any response
to repeated knockings, went round
to the rear of the building, and OBJ
served that the window of the bed
room was slightly open. He obtain ed
short ladder, and, getting into the
room, went forward to the private