Evening star., 1928-06-06
tcons,nued from Yesterdays starr

"It was not a particularly serious
w,nund. them" Markham asked.
mo, not serious" the doctor assured
him. "thouSh it barely missed being
fatal, Had the shot gone an inch
deeper It would have tern across the
hung. 1t was a very narrow escape.
"As / understand It." tnterposed
Vance. ''the bullet travelled transversely
over the left scapular region"
Won Blon inclined his head in agree
n1ent
The shot was obviously aimed at
the heart from the rear" he explained
in his soft. modulated voice. But
A6a must have turned slightly TO the
riSht Just as the revolver exploded
and the bullet, instead of going directly
into her body, plougheo along the
shoulder-blade at the leveJ of the third
6orSal vertebra. tore the capsular liga-
nfent and lodged in the 6eltoid" He
indicated the location of the deltoi6
on his own left arm.
She had" suggested Vance, "ap-
parently turned her back on her asSail-
ant and attempted TO run away; and he
had followed her and placed the revol-
yer almost against her hack.--1S that
your Interpretation of it. doctor?"
Yes, that would seem TO be the situ-
alton. And, as l said, at the crucial
moment she veered a little, and thus
saved her life"
Would she have fallen Immediately
to the floor. despite the actual super
I1ciality Of the wound?"
ITS not unlikely. Not only would
the pain have been considerable, but
the shock must be taken into account.
Ada--or. for that matter, any woman
might have tainted at once.
And it's a reasonable presumption.
pursued Vance, that her aSSailant
would have taken it for granted that
the shot had been fatal"
we may readily assume that to be
the case"
Vance smoked a moment his eyes
everted
Yes" he agreed. i think we may
assume that-And another point sug-
gests itself. Since Miss Ada was in
front OF the dressing table. a consider
able distance from the bed, and since
th- weapon was held practically against
he the encounter would seem TO take
Oh. the nature of a deliberate attack.
rather than a haphazaro shot fired by
some one In panic"
Won Blon looked shrewdly at Vance,
and then turned a questioning gaze
upon Heath. For a moment he was
silent as If weighing his reply, and
when he spoke it was with guarded
reserve.
~Of course, on. might interpret the
situation that way Indeed. the facts
would seem to indicate such a con-
ciusion. But, on the other hand. the
intruder might have been very close
20 Ada: and the fact that the bullet
entered her left shoulder at parti-
cularly vital point may have been the
purest accident"
quite true conceded Vance. How
ever, il the idea of generalization Is
TO be abrogateG. we must account for
the fact that the lights we're on in the
room when the butler entered immedi-
ately after the shooting"
Won Blon showed the keeneSt aston
tshment at this statement.
sThe lights we're on? That's most
remarkable His brow erinkled into
q perplexed frown. and he appeared
Co be asSimilating Vance's information.
"StiIl.'' he argued that very fact may
account for the shooting II the in
truder had entered lighted room he
may have fired at the occupant lest
his description be given TO the police
later
~Oh, ouife!'' murmureo Vance. Any
way. let Us hope wen learn the ezplan-
alton when we've seen and spoken to
Aflss Ada
wei. why don't W. get to IT."
grumbied Heath. whose ordinarily In
exhaustible store of patience had be-
gun 70 run sow.
you're 50 hasty. Sergeant" Vance
claided him. DR. Won Blon has just told
Us that Miss Ada Is very weak; and
anything we can learn beforehand VIII
spare her Just so many questions"
~Au I want TO find out" expostu-
lated Heath. sis If she got look al
the bird that shot her and can give
me a description of him"
THAT being the case, Sergeant, fear
you are doomed TO have your ardent
hopes dashed to the ground"
Heath chewed viciously on his cigar:
and Vance turned again to Won Blon.
There's one other question I'd like
70 ask, doctor How long was II after
Miss Ada had been wounded before
you examined her?"
THE buffers already told us. Mr..
Vance" interposed Heath impatiently.
"The doctor got here In half an hour"
"Yes. that's about right" Won Blon's
tone was smooth and natter-of-fact.
81 was unfortunately out on call when
Eproot pfaOneo, but ] returned sbou.
is minutes later. and hurried right
over. Luckily live near herein East
FoTty-eiFhth street"
And was Miss Ada still unconscious
when you arrived"
yves. She had lost considerable
blood. The cook. however. had put a
tcveI-compress On the wound. which of
course helped"
Vance thanked him and rose.
"And now. If you'n be good enough
anssunsamMnzHaMAzasH