Evening star., 1925-08-30

there was suspicion In their bearing.
But he lifted his head with confidence
that even though they might suspect
ridiculous enough-they could never
prove The pistol was safely gone
he himself had, as it were, an alibi,
since he could prove he had not left
the house. They could suspect on his
part no slightest motive. His conf
dence returned
1t was at about this time that he
first saw the finger print on the edge
Of the desk.
Dr. Hounder had always known that
criminals were sometimes detected by
their finger prints Considering this
danger in advance, he had weighed
means to avoid 1t. Gloves? Awkward;
and in themselves calculated to be-
tray. The simple thing was to avoid
leaving any prints. A relatively easv
matter. If any were left, 1t would.
after all. be possible to point out that
he had been in the room the night be-
fore.
DIR. Spargent had asked him idly
Ibid you touch the body after you
discovered it?'
DR.. Hounder had replied: mo, I
only came to the end Of the desk. No
need Of touching IT."
Il Il x *
DR. SPARGENT wished TO make
photograph of the desk from the
door and asked him to step back out
of range of the camera. DIR. Hounder
leaned against the bookshelves. The
desk was between him and the light,
and he saw, on It's edge, the print of
finger tip. Even on the red ma
hogany this print seemed TO him glow
ing and red. He remembered his own
fingers had been red when he finished
handling the letter His thoughts
suddenly leaped into gear. began to
race. The pistol had been lying there
on the table; the handkerchief beside
it. When he picked up the handker-
chief to wipe his hands, one finger
mus have touched the polished sur
face He had left his mark there.
In blood, Fit to hang him,
In the silence the shutter of the
camera clicked, and DR.. Hounder
started at the sound Nervous. |
guess" he said apologetically. His
thoughts were racing. What to do?
What to do?
His whole body cried aloud the i'm
pulse TO rush forward and with one
sweep of his hand obliterate that
mark, but caution held him back.
Folly TO betray his apprehensions.
They might not remark the print at
all: IL might be blurred. indecipher
in check. fought for a moments clear
and accurate reasoning.
II came to him, his confidence re-
turning with it. Some way there
must be, If he could find it. He had
great contempt for these muddlers
here: DR.. Spargent and his inane
photographs, grisly relics of the trag-
edy: the plain-clothes man silent by the
doorway: the fiat-footed patrolman
with his back repelling the crowd out
side. They were beaten; he was safe
but for that faint smear Of blood
upon the desk top.
The print was almost invisible from
where he stood: but for a slant of light
which made ii seem conspicuous, he
would never have discovered it. 1t
was at the very edge of the desk,
and as he stared at it the thing as
sumed monstrous proportions, like
scar. A scar upon the wood there.
A scar .,
lie perceived. considering this WOOD,
the At solution of his problem, and he
laughed TO himself at the perfect sim
plicity of it. DIR. Spargent was pre-
pairing to set up his camera at the
nearer edge of the desk now; he
muddled and puttered to and fro DIR.
Hounder lighted another cigarette and
puffed the smoke with delight. He
watched DR.. Spargent thoughtfully; at
length moved forward. Let me help
you? Hold something" he suggested.
DR.. Spargent handed him a plate
/ holder; muttered thanks. DR.. Houn-
der took the thing in his left hand.
After a moment he sneezed loudly
Casually enough, he took the cigarette
from his lips and laid 1t on the edge
of the desk. thus freeing his right
hand to reach for a handkerchief.
He had laid the cigarette with some
/ oor TINT
Standing thus directly above the spot
he could not see the print at all; but
he had marked its location well. and
was sure the cigarette was properly
placed. His impulse, even then, was
to smudge the thing: but he noticed
that the dull eyes of the patrolman
were upon him, and feared to arouse
suspicion.
nR. SPARGENT still puttered. Dr.
~ Hounder stood patiently by. the
plate holder in his hand. 1t was ap-
parent that he had forgotten his
cigarette entirely. 1t burned, a little
wisp of smoke twisting upward from
its end. BY and by IL would reach
the wood still burning. and obliterate
that damning mark. Covertiy he
watched it, measuring it's progress.
The shutter clicked; another picture
done.
DR.. Spargent put up his camera. dis
| jointed the tripod and put it away. He
| withdrew to the further end of the
room and sat down at a table there,
collating his notes and measurements.
The plain-clothes man joined him, and
DR.. Hounder approached them conf
IDENTIFY The cigarette had almost
reached the desks edge. Three
minutes more and its heat would
begin to cause the finish of the ma
| hogany to buffle and scorch. Safety
three minutes away. Anything |
! can do?" he asked. II ought to move
| along"
| DIR. Spargent said courteously: "You
might tell Riley here what you told
me. How you found the body there"
! DR.. Hounder repeated his story with
| just enough variation to lend an air
! of truth to it. The plain-clothes man
! listened with downcast eyes, asking
question or two. DIR. Hounder was
snughing to himself. ridiculous
thing, this: setting such men as these
/ to catch clever criminals. So easily
| befooled. He talked mechanically on.
/ Across the room a little thread of
smoke lifted upward from the cigar
ette. While he talked to Riley, the
! plain-clothes man, he watched this
| smoke with secure and dreamy salts
| faction. So soon as the cigarette
should have burned but. a little
| further, he would be safe, all his
, tracks covered, nothing more to fear
i He turned his back on the thing at
last with fine Indifference, gave his
attention more fully to Riley's slow
| questions.
While they still talked together,
while DR.. Spargent scratched at his
| notes, the policeman in the doorway
/ ~ 10 he 70 "a