New Britain herald., 1929-09-28
' Nd DUCT T : SUDDEN DEATH

MT. fOthcrDurE was GCGQ. NOne of Dr. Eastley's injections or mini strations was to any avail. He gave it up at last.
 Laxton, who had stood beside him said:
 We must get him out of this E,astley, you and I will see 10 it. The others stay here"
 He summoned the sentry at the door,
 Go and tell the servants that Mir. Fothcrbury has had a stroke and is unconscous. Bring back one. Send another to tell young Mir. Fotherbury. We're going to take him to his room."
 The man returned with the frightened Ferris. Laxton, Eastloy and the footman carried Mir. Foth- er5ury away. The door closed be- hind them.
 Redslade, Somcrtield and I were left in the library. somerfeld and I sat quietly down. Neither of IS spoke. Minutes dragged by till Laxton came in, now alone.
 He took his former place and regarded us for a few moments with a wrinkled face.
 "A damnable ever! O, said he. The words broke me spell which had paralyzed our speech. 'l could kick myself! He was too quick for us all "A short way out of the maze for Fothcrbury! Perhaps the best way for all of us?'
 He looked the question at Red sladc.
 "Certainly it was" said Red slade, harshly. Tt settles every thing"
 Whatever Redslade thought. for nc and Somorfeld it had settled nothing. In the scene just passed Laxton had deliberately accused Fotherbury of murdcring Pell, and Fothcrbury had pleaded guilty in the most convincing way open to him.
 This business had me guessing bcforc," Somerheld said breaking a silence of several moments, "What's happened now gets ma guessing harder than ever, profess sor"
 That SOP" I.axton asked, T thought that, when I asked Mir. Grenofen to send that message to M Redslade, you saw through it. said there was somebody in thG background behind Marling - no question of that. I'll tell you how l got at him"
 And Laxton told us-in a series Of jumps;
 From the first hint of a connec- ton between Pell and the escaped prisoner, to his glimpse of rough looking customer with black bag in the Woodcot lane...
 From the puzzle of that midnight digging to Fothcrbury's anxiety about the missing ,oll,..
 From the m" ,hfest absurdity of the theory e Roman remains to the conv' Jon that Fothcrbury knew it was absurd and that It cloaked some other design...
 From his own adventure in the corridor at NcWplace to the cer- tainty that his assailant knew the house like a book, and therefore to hi3 first suspicion about the iden- tity of the escaped prisoner,
 Then" ] interrupted, almost as soon as Pcll was killed, you had Fotherbury and Redslade and some link between them in your mind?"
 "Only as shadows" LaXton said, "tll the Seabroke- -Grcnofcn- Rel- slade combination put me on the firm trail l knew that pel WAS not shot by his ghost because the ghost vas working hand in glove with Pcll. l knew Marling for a fraud So l had the Dover affair looked into. It had taken place i'm mcdiately after the sale Of New place by Smthins to Fotherbury, z"
 We couldn't quite see, when We got that letter from you, what had put you on to Ostcnd," l inter jccted.
 Just cirCumstantial things. Id had report on the suicide of Red sl&de."
 In the end, what we uneartheG at Ostend settled LaXton's last doubt about the personality of the fugitive.
 Towering between two theories of the murder of Pell--a Marling theory and Fotherbury theory he resolved to take the short cut ard call in the only man in Il position to settle the question, Red slGde
 Rcdslade was able to fill the blanks by telling the story of Pell's life after his release from prison.
 Was pell duping Fotherbury all the time he was hcre?"
 Somerfield put in the question.
 "PCll couldn't possibly dupe that suave old scoundrcl." said LaXton. "Fotherbury knew Pell. Even m the Casino at Ostrnd with Marling! A week before, ~ss gambler, ruined at the tables, had jumped into the ha;in off the Quai des Pecheurs Tothcrbury knew that man-but you tell them, Mr. Redsladc,"
 "I didn't know him as l'otherbury but I knew him as a baCCarat play CT, and he was playing baccarat at my table that night" said ReI- slade
 Gosh" Somcrfield exclaimed
 50, as I say" Laxton continued you can see the whole thing shap-