Evening star., 1926-06-13

flexible. the eyes had hardly begun to
glaze, and blood was oozing steadily
from a peculiarly ghastly wound in
the throat-a jagged. horrid sort OF
wound, neither cut nor stab, but look
ing as though some maniac or preda-
tory beast had torn violently at the
windpipe and jugular vein. And yet,
though the poor stricken flesh might
almost culver to the touch, the turbu-
lent soul had already leaped the tre-
mendous gulf between time and eter-
nifty.
A match does not last long. so John
had to let go the listless head until
he struck another. He, had seen al
ready that there was no. much blood
on the planks of the landing stage, for
the quite obvious reason that each
was separated from the other by
space of at least quarter of an inch.
20 the greater flow had poured into
the lake. What John wanted to ascer-
tain now was whether any weapon or
other trace of the murderer could be
discovered before he moved. The
wound could never have been Self-1n-
fiicted; there was a thousand to one
chance that it might have been the
result of an accident. At any rate,
it was we'll to make some sort of hasty
examination without rising, so he held
the second match well above his head,
and peered around within it's small
and feebly lighted periphery.
Then Spot groWled again. quite VI
cious this time, every hair in his ruff
stiffening into a bristle. John sprang
upright, and faced an oncoming figure,
only to be dazzled by the gleam of a
torch, while a gruff voice demanded:
"NOn what's pae'in on her6!'
John shaded his. eyes as best he
could
There has been murder done, I'm
afraid he replied. But be careful
how you advance, whoever you are.
My dog will certainly pull you down if
you come too near. And take that
light off my face, cOnfound you, or I'll
throw both you and it into the loch!
'Ye'd better be tellt I'm the police
man frae the village. Mr.. Panton,"
said the voice.
''.All the more reason you shouldn't
behave like fool. Search the landing
stage. Look inside the boathouse!
Mr.. Alistair Panton has been killed,
murdered, + believe. He must have
been attacked unexpectedly by some
scoundrel, because i stood within a
hundred yards during the last few
minutes, and I never heard a sound.
My dog did, though. He dragged me
here. Haven't you a whistle? Well,
blow it, you ass! We want lights, and
help, and they'll hear you at the house.
There may be some one on the
loch!-"
He broke off suddenly. A thought,
suggested by the words on his lips,
famed into conviction.
Bring that torch here where it is
needed" he ordered. not unaware that
Spot was tugging him in the direction
of the boathouse.. DO you know how
many craft should be under cover
there for the night"
Campbell, fumbling for his whistle,
and more than little annoyed by the
tone adopted by one whom he was
still inclined to regard with suspicion,
could not choose but obey. He knew
his master when he met him, and,
even though he might have to arrest
John later. he accepted his leadership
now For all that, Aberdeen neither
encourages nerves nor yields to panic.
He had the whistle in his hand, but
forbore from using it for a second.
His keen eyes had detected something
on the tarred planks between Alistairs
body and the front of the boathouse,
where a small veranda, facing the
lake, gave some degree of shelter from
rain.
Here's drops o blud," he said.
"Mebbe yer dog found they, an that
is why he's pullin' sac hard on the
strap"
John looked, too. The policeman's s
timely discovery went to prove that
his first idea was correct-the mur-
derer had escaped in boat.
These drops are off the weapon,
not from my cousins wound" he said.
THE jugular vein is torn-the blood
must have gushed out like water from
a tap. -. Here are launch, a
dinghy, and fishing punt. Anything
missing, do you think?"
Not thing. An, by that token, !
hae a sort o. suspeecion that a bit
boat is ga'en frae the moorings ahent
the brig"
Very well. Stand fast and blow
that whistle for all you're worth. Spot