Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-08-01

| Not Tar from the bank. he couidnt
swim. they say"
| ''I dare say he didn't feel much like
swimming"
What. sir. was he dead before he
was in the water?"
mo, no. He went In alive. But
he'd been badly hammered"
my oath, he had" Inspector Nor
dan grinned. I've found that out,
Mr.. Fortune. This way, sir" He led
on down the path. See, there's blood.
! And big footprints there in the damp
stuff That's him, or somebody his
size. Now. look here, SIR" BY
spinney 200 or 800 yards farther on
the inspector stopped. The turf was
! torn and broken by deep footmarks
and there were scattered stains of
blood. What do you make of that,
| Mr.. Fortune?" The inspector was
triumphant. That's a fight. all
| right
In the long grass at the edge Of the
spinney were the prints of large feet.
There was only one manAin 1t, Mr..
Fortune. He stood there and smoked
a cigarette" Inspector Mordan held
out the stump of ii. He could see
| Sir Rodney coming long way off.
and when the old man came he went
| for him."
| And he was a big fellow and he
| smokes Aristides cigarettes" Reggie
| murmured. Yes. You have 1t all,
| Mordan. Except one thing. How did
Sir Rodney get drowned
The fellow may have knocked him
out and thrown him in the lake"
Reggie measured the distance with
| his eye. It was some quarter of a
mile. "Hefty throw" he murmured.
"Of course. he'd have to carry the
| body to the bank" the inspector ex-
planned angrily.
D EGGIE wandered hither and
Az thither in the park and out of it.
He found nothing, but in the lane.
| where a small car had stopped, an
other Aristides cigarette.
When he came back to the house
Sir Rodney's trainer. Capt Ferne.
was reporting himself to Tomas and
the chief constable.
Capt. Ferne, who possessed the
physique and face of a jockey, had
| nothing to say and kept saying so.
He had hidden good night to Sir
Rodney on his doorstep at half-past
| 10 on Friday night and had never
seen him again. Sir Rodney was
quite sober. There was no one about.
Did he know of any one who had
grudge against Sir Rodney? sue.
cessful owner of racehorses always
had enemies, and Sir Rodney had
been very successful.
so ! have heard said Tomas
dryly.
But the trainer knew of nobody
in the district, no one who was likely
to be violent, could not suggest any
one.
Then Douglas CharIbury strobe in,
brusque and imperious Mr.. Tomas?
Which is MFR. Tomas? I'm told you
want to see me. sir
II hoped to have seen you before.
Mr.. Charlbury."
"I am playing for SandshIre. sir
We have been in the field all day"
Really" Tomas put up his eye
glass. your uncle was found dead
this morning"
so 1 have heard but don't. under
stand why you want me-"
There Is evidence that he was
murdered. Mr.. Charlbury."
What evidence"
HE was assaulted before he was
drowned
Where"
Here. in the park, on his way
home from Capt. Ferne's house.
Douglas Charlbury exchanged
not affectionate. who did It? Any
evidence about that?'
Can you help us, Mr.. Charlbury?"
II haven't been living here for
over year. l was on tour with
the Sandshire eleven"
''You have no suspicion of any
one?"
Douglas Charlbury gave an angry
laugh.
My uncle wasn't altogether popu-
lar Ferne knows that"
IT don't know what you mean"
cried Capt. Ferne.
Again Douglas Charlbury laughed
IF Ferne can't tell you no one can"
Really" said Tomas. II must
own you disappoint me, Mr.. Charl-
bury"
Il don't know what you expected
said Douglas Charlbury. Anything
more, sir? / want to see my people.
Tomas shook his head, and Charl-
bury strobe out.
"I'm afraid they were on bad terms,
sir" Capt. Ferne shook his head.
VERY sad. Sir Rodney felt it."
Really" said Tomas, and got rid
of Capt. Ferne too.
Hes rather like a weasel. you
know" Reggie murmured. WHATS
young god? An angry young god it
is
Quite" said Tomas briskly. wei,
Fortune, you went around with Nor
dan. didn't YOU? Do you agree?
"Mordan touches the spot, as ever.
A large fellow lurked by the spinney
smoking an Aristides and set about
Sir Rodney. Yes, we have no obJec'
TONS"
Anything to add?"
well, there was another Aristides
smoked in the lane where small car
stopped. That might have bearing.
Also there was this by the lake"--he
displayed his fragment Of ivory-"and
that by the garden hedge" he pro-
duced the quartz face.
"Asiatic,, eh?" said Tomas. Chi
nese, is it?''
"Lomas, dear, you shouldn't say
| things like that. 1t exposes the de-
| partment. Not Asiatic. The other
side of the world-Amerioan. say
| Honduras or Yucatan. A work or the
| Maya culture"
! Tomas said he had never heard OF
the Mayas. What's the other trim
| ket? A Babylonian toothpick? Or q
| bit of Cleopatra's paperknife?
/ II don't know But I'm not proud
Of it, Tomas"
whatever the things are. they may
have been in the park for weeks. me
! bit of glass"--here Reggie groaned-
| wasn't near the crime. And Ii you
know why anybody uses a scrap OF
| bone TO punch a mans head and
drown him, don't"
There's such lot of things don't
| know That's why I'm humble, said
| Reggie sadly. lis there anything
you do know, Tomas? What was In
| those papers you were browsing on!'
Douglas Charlbury had a violent
quarrel with Sir Rodney. It began
with a racing dispute-that fishy al
| fair in the RutlandShire"