New Britain herald., 1925-07-22
1o REID GRMDGE] M1WgU[5 U[5GgW% usE HEADON HILL IEzI e

@NN~+fN 'e+-N"NN N+'N N- t4FsS' ~ quite suited his theory that this un- fortunate gentleman vas victim Of the wicked Margaret Lathrop.
 T did not expect that you could throw any light on the affair sir, but it you will state your view Of it may be able to relieve you by sug- gesting a solution" he said,
 My view is that one Of my neigh bors Is playing the fool with me" reloined MT. Stampase, Here, don't stand there on one leg. Sit down and hay. a glass of wine. That's better, Yes, some silly ass has been pulling my leg. Though why he should take the trouble 10 do it twice is a puzzle which I do not pretend to fathom.'
 Roake nodded. You have got half Of it right, sir" he said. "But can 80 you one better on the other half IL is no neighbor of yours who has been filling your gauge with blood. Would you mind telling me if anyone can gain access to the gauge from the road without being seen from the house."
 Certainly, IL is hidden by a screen of shrubs"
 Again the Inspector nodded. Things were coming his way. Those Lathrops and their fraudulent crime expert have been monkeying on your premises he said, The daughter and nephew ot the mur- dered baronet. Tn love with each other"
 The demeanor of the once emi- nent surgeon was growing more friendly. That bears out what hap pened here a few nights ago." he replied. Two mysterious callers turned up at brief intervals male and a female. was dining out and saw neither ot them"
 Roake purred like a well-fed cat. They will have been Margaret Lathrop and either Sir Guy or the impostor, Adrian Klyne." he af- hrmed. What was the purport of their business with you, sir? :"
 They declined to state it to my man servant replied Mir. Stam- page They refused their names and would not say if they were staying in the neighborhood or would call again"
 T see" the Inspector swallowed it all at 2 gulp. Just an excuse to cover their entrance into the grounds. Probably they had ascer- tained that you were not at home and tempered with your rain gauge on their way in or out"
 T am very greatly obliged to you, Inspector Roake,' Mir. Stampage delivered himself pompously. It is not nice to dwell among eyil-dis- posed people and you have com pletely exonerated my neighbors from playing me scurvy trick - two scuryy tricks, in fact. l hope that In doing me this good turn you have freed your mind from all sus- picion Of me as an accessory 10 the Lathrop murder"
 "I never entertained any such suspicion, sir" came the swift as surance. AS I said when I com menced this tresspass on your time, my object was to clear the ground Thanks to your revelations about the anonymous callers l have suc- ceeded beyond all expectations.
 What are your next plans?"
 Y shall hunt for Sir Guy Lathrop in London"
 You are not returning to Chever- el?"
 No, sir; I have left a very good watchdog there no less than a peer Of the realm who, besides be- ing a bit of a sportsman, is a friend of one Of our assistant commis- sioners. Name of Bulpeter, Niscount Bulpeter. You have probably heard of him"
 Lord Bulpeter, eh?" murmured Mir. stampago reminiscently. Yes, l can place the chap. Years ago, when I was in practice in Harley street I chopped of his appendix. '
 In awe-struck veneration for a mere commoner who could so vio- late the august body of a nobleman, Mir. Roake stared at his host
 T must be going, sir" he stam- mered. T have 10 catch the south bound train. Thank you for your tolerance for an intruder who must have been most unwelcome"
 "On the contrary replied Mir. Stampage politely.
 The Reverend Mir. Larkin was roofing plantains out of his lawn with a spud, tool beloved of coun- try clergymen, when the postman came into the garden with the mid day delivery. The mail consisted mostly of circulars, hut there was one letter which the Rector, after q glance at the postmark, tore open eagerly, This is what he read:
 Dear Septimus - Last night l had a call from Inspector Roake of the Criminal lnV estigation depart ment. A more futile idiot I never encountered. I simply tied him in knots and played with him as if he were a bit Of string.
 All the same, the famous Roaks coughed up one item which has filled me with a good deal of ap- prehension. He bragged of having secured the cooperation, as a sort of non official assistant, of one Lord Bulpeter, taken on under the aus pices of one of the Scotland Yard mandarins. Now some years ago operated on the one and only Lord Bulpeter for appendicitis, and he did not strike me as at all the kinc of man 10 banker after detective kudos. 1T a personal description vii aid you my Lord Bulpeter was ( fat, lethargic little creature - on of those frequent freaks of the peer age, a peer without a presence. And, on top of this discrepancy,