The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1929-02-28
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way, and turned his head to address
Jack Hayward:
that's all for the present, Hay
ward. Thanks for the fingerprints,
and he grinned crookedly. "Gues
you knew they wouldn't help u
much, since you'd been here thi
morning after Miss Lester discover
ed the body. BY the way, while 70,
were out to lunch, l performed al
interesting experiment" He reache,
out for the door and closed it il
the man-servant's face.
Jack Hayward's steady bronze
brown eyes did not flicker, nor die
his color change. "Yes?"
"Yes! When ! was in your
office this morning, looking for the
gun you seemed to be so sure IL
find in the bottom drawer of your
desk, and which wasn't therc-oddly
enough!-I found something else. A
missing link, you might say"
That's interesting" Jack said
evenly, despite the frantic warning
Iof Ruth's frightened fingers upon
his arm. MAY / ask what it was %
"Oh-nothing much," the detec.
tive grinned. Just a nice long To-
foot pole with a hook on the end of
1.-THE kind Of pole that's ordinarily
used to pull windows down from the
top, but which-as / took pains to
prove-can be used very nicely for
closing windows across an eight
foot airshaft, if a chap gets just the
right leverage. A nice useful sort of
pole, if fellow very badly wants a
window closed and doesn't want to
be seen walking along hall and un.
locking another fellows door in or
der to close it. You found it very
handy, didn't you, Hayward?"
Jacks handsome face darkened
with anger, but his voice was steady
as he answered.: II did not close Bor-
denis window with a pole or in any
other manner, McMann. There was
no reason why I should. But it must
have been a very interesting expert
ment. Did you also demonstrate to
your own satisfaction how robbed
the body and secured Miss Testers
automatic, all with this very useful
window pole?"
McMann's grin widened. II admit
that at noon was a little bit wor-
ried about those details, but a
charming visitor has pretty we'll
cleared them up for me-"
Ruth could remain silent no long,
er. Her voice quivcred with anger as
she dashed out at the self-satisfied
detective: "That's not fair, Mr.. Nc
Mann! Rita Dubois has cleared Jack
by insisting that Mr.. Borden was
alive when she came here Saturday
afternoon at II minutes after two,
at which time Jack was with me in
the Chester Hotel dining ROOM"
The grin left McMann's broad,
thin mouth. He looked at the angry.
trembling girl gravely, almost COM
passionately. "I'm sorry. Miss Les
ter, but what Rita Dubois saws does
mt mean that to mel" and the detec-
tive snapped his fingers.
You saw me catch her in lie aft
er lie. The facts are all I'm inter-
ested IN. Rita had a key to this Of
flee. She could have entered, wheth-
er Borden was alive or dead. She
got from him-alive or dead-half
Of $500 bill and 500 more in SMALL
err bills. At. least we know she Got
the torn half of the $500 banknote,
and we can take the other money
for granted, / think.
Alive, Borden wouldn't have CIV
en- her a cent until she'd come across
kept her part of the barpsirf.
which was to go away with him and
become his mistress. You heard him
say SO yourself. Therefore, she rot
the money from Borden, dead, not
Borden alive"
But Ruth was not defeated by the
detectives logic. "Then you think
she was so greedy that she stole INV
gun, too-walked out of here with
the very weapon which she must
have believed had killed Mr.. Bor-
den? And which did kill him! / know
it did"
McMann shrugged. "And Hay
wards gun? What about that?"
Ruth tried to control her anger,
70 speak reasonably, convincinely:
Mr.. McMann, ! don't believe the
disappearance Of Mr.. Hayward's gun
has any connection at all with this
case: He himself told you he owned
it, where to look for it. Was that the
action Of guilty man? Won't you
work-just for the sake of fairness
ON. the theory that Mr.. Hayward's
pun was sSfn1en hv- q matte, %h;nf