Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-19
By
Edgar
Wallace

| to see her pretty badly. so badly that
he wouldn't put off the engagement
Then longer came back.
There was no need for Marshall to
explain the disappearance of the wom-
an, as he knew nothing about her; she
| might have gone out herself. You
may be sure that she went out by the
back way-the way certain lady used
to come in when she paid her surrrepti-
tiouS visits to Lacy. 1t wasn't likely
that longer would learn that very eve-
ming that his daughter was dead, and
yet that is exactly what did happen!
longer made his discovery at the very
moment Marshall was waiting in NAL
pas room for the arrival Of Audrey
Bedford.
What Marshall intended don't
know. guess he would have produced
the letter making an appointment in
that apartment, but that is mere specu-
lation-we shall never know. At any
rate he did not meet Miss Torrington.
Maddened by his discovery, longer,
who knew the secret of the mantel-
piece and had fashioned key to it,
opened it, passed into MalpaS' room and
confronted his treacherous employer.
He was, think, armed with an old
fashioned pistol and Marshall spoke the
truth there. He fired twice and Lacy
went down. The bullet-proof shirt he
wore-not because he had been in the
Balkans but because he was scared to
death that some day Torrington would
come on the scene-Saved his life. While
longer, half -demented, was searching
the desk, Marshall recovered, staggered
back to his own room and shot longer
in his tracks.
1.-THE controls in Malpas' house are
fixed in many places. There is switch
on the stairs, there is set of switches
below, one on the desk and another in
Lacy'S study.
What happened Immediately after
ward is also a matter of speculation,
unless Marshall spills it. He was going
to make his escape when he heard the
servant scream and probably saw Capt.
Shannon run down the area steps. That
was his opportunity; he slipped out. If
you remember, the door was OPEN"
Dick nodded.
Nov Marshall had already prepared
a hiding place for himself. In the
character of a lawyer or something OF
the sort he had gorgeous fiat in Gre
vile Mansions, where he was called Mr.
Crewe' happen to know, because I
have occupied an adjoining suite to
some purpose. He got there that night.
nursed his brlise-he had a slight
wound, too-and then came back to
get the diamonds know, because I've
seen him.
Who was the man whose face I
saw through the skylight on the night
of the murder?" asked Shannon.
Mine" said Slick Stormer, calmly.
But your men on duty on the roof
said-u
Slick laughed.
WHY do you think they were on
the roof? They were my alibis and
protectors! The last time you were
questioning one of them I was crouch
ing behind a chimney pot not yard
away from you. OF course, they hadn't
seen me! They'd have lost good jobs If
they had! I was always around the
roof. Climbing is my speciality, though
I'm not such good climber as Martin
Elton, who didn't have rope lowered
to him as did.
"Marshalt's job was to scare every
body out of the house. He hated like
poison that police guard, because he
wanted to get at the diamonds that
were in the idols tummy, and naturally
he could only do that by getting rid of
the police. Wearing his evening dress
and made-up face, he appeared-as
himself. The poet says that we can
rise on stepping stones of our dead
selves to higher things. TennySon, was
it, maybe Browning? It's good enough
for Longfellow. That is how Marshall
figured it out-that he could rise on
that stepping stone to handle all those
good and sparkling gems. He got despe-
rate after the hiding place was dis
covered. and with the help of STAN
ford, who had to be taken into the
eyes. But Stanford was a bungler,
and unused to the mechanism, and after
the diamonds had been put in the bag
he started monkeying with the mechan-
ism to see how it worked, switched out
all the lights and incidently brought
the statue round into the room. He
must have had the bag in his hand at
the time and put it down in fright on
the pedestal, and naturally, when the
statue turned again it took it back"
What was it burned my hand?"
asked Steel.
THE fireplace. When you reached
out the thing had revolved and you'd
put your hands on the hot bars of the
CRATE from which the coal had only
recently been removed. You recall,
Capt. Shannon, that there was generally
a smell of hot iron in the room when
these demonstrations occurred.
after you'd got away with that he
followed you. Stanford went down to
the haymarket and did his little bur-
glary- saw him come out, as mat
ter of fact, but I thought it was I'M
necessary to tell you- while Marshall