Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1924-07-10
THE SHADOW ON THE GLASS
By CHARLES J. BUTTON
THE sxozx THUS FAR

THE STORY THUS FAR
Frank Rice, millionaire, is found
murdered in his library on the eve OF
his daughters wedding. The door
was locked on the inside and the key
was found in the lock.
John BARLEY, crime detector ana his
best friend, 10 called in on the case.
Upon questioning the butler he learns
that the crime had been committed
while two detectives. hired to- guard
the wedding gifts. were In the mouse.
dered man, discovers that one or the
presents is missing-a box containing
$4,000 in gold pieces.
Pet, Bartley's friend. Is the narra-
tor Of the story.
A Message From the Beach
For a second all we. could do was
to gaze rather foolishly at the
table. The heavy face of the chief
had a puzzled look on it as II he
did not quite understand. A slight
smile played around Bartley's lips
and he was the only one that was
not startled by what the girl had
said. To me it seemed as II a
motive for the crime had been
fcund-a simple motive-the ordin-
airy one of money.
The girl was unable to give us
any information except what she
had already told us. The gifts had
been placed on the table the day
before and the two little chests of
gold pieces had both been there
when she left the room at night to
go to the hotel. OF that she was
sure, saying that she had noticed
them as she passed the table on
her way to the door. But now one
was gone.
AT this moment, the butler came
to the door and informed BARLEY
that Mr.. Rices daughter could now
see him. The chief had already
sent for another man, and after
telling Dunn to stay in the room till
he was relieved, we went out to
the hall and entered the elevator.
The daughters rooms were at the
end of the hall on the second floor.
The butler knocked at the closed
door, and a mans voice told us to
enter.
The room was a large sitting
room, with many windows. the
room of a person that cared for
books and loved good pictures.
These we did not notice. for over in
great chair was huddled the
figure of a young woman, a figure
bowed in grief, whose hand was
clasped tightly by a young man be-
side her. He was clean-type
young fellow, whose eyes met us
honestly and eagerly, as we ap-
preached. l knew at once it must
be the young man she was to have
married at noon.
AS BARLEY approached the chair,
both the chief and / hanging back,
the girl raised her eyes from the
floor to his face. With little cry
she jumped up and ran to his side.
Tenderly his arm went around her
and he whispered something to her,
something that caused tears to come
to her eyes, tears which she bravely
brushed aside.
AS the chief and 1 were intro
duced, she gravely met our gaze.
Though she had been crying, yet
she was trying to bear up bravely
what had so suddenly come. A
beautiful girl, not because of her
features, but because of the keen
intellectual face she had and the
softness of the brown hair. A girl
of maybe twenty, trying to bear the
shock of her fathers sudden death.
Her fiance, whose name was Camp,
shook our hands, but said nothing.
The situation was hard for us
all, but for the young woman and
BARLEY it must have been hardest.
He had passed many days in the
house, the friend of her father, and
the sight of him must have brought
back many memories of those times.
SO for q moment nothing was said,
till suddenly the girl burst forth:
Mr.. BARLEY, how-how could any
one kill SO kind man as my
father? Oh, what shall l do, what
shall l do?" And her head went
down on the arm of her chair. The
young man dropped on his knees
Already l liked him.
saw his lips twitch. Faith" he
said softly, Il cannot answer that
question. But I promise you that it
will be answered"
She raised her head. her eyes
gravely meeting his. Silently for
several long seconds she looked at
him, as if asking a promise. See
ing what she wished, she suddenly
nodded.
1t was necessary to ask many
questions. but after it was all over,
the information seemed of little
value. She had spent the day be-
fore in the final arrangements for
the wedding. 1t was to have been a
quiet wedding, with only a very few
intimate friends present. The last
!, time she had seen her father had
been around five o'clock. He told
her then to go to bed early, and
said he would see her around eight
o'clock in the morning. When the
butler came to her and told her he
could not find her father in the
house and the bed in his room had
not been slept in, she had been
alarmed. At first she thought he
might be in the library, but the
butler told her the door was locked
and no one would answer. Then
she had called the detectives. whose
story we had heard, and with them
went up to the library. The door
was locked and though they pound
ed on it, no one answered. She be-
came alarmed then and suggested
that the door be broken through.
Some one said that it might be pos
sible to find a locksmith who could
open it. But the girl would not
wait. She sent the butler for an AK
and when he returned one of the
| detectives made a little hole in the
door. reached inside and unlocked it.
THE key was inside the door,"
J BARLEY asked at this point.
She nodded and continued, telling