The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1929-03-08

|smiling broadly. Pretty thin, sweet
heart"
wen, what If it is" Ruth cried.
ANY theory that could fit all the
facts would sound almost rs absurd.
I'm just cropping in the dark, Jack.
Someone did it. But who, how and
why? It's like an awful puzzle Of
which you have all the pieces but to
which you can't find the key"
Il know, DEAR" Jack assured her
contritely. ~It's beastly Of me to
joke about it. Suppose we try, just
you and / didn t intend to make .
rhyme. sweet, so don't frown at me
to fit the pieces Of the puzzle to-
gether. l know you've been trying
all day, but McMann sort of cramped
your style. You were trying so des-
,perately to convince him that ! did
int kill your unpleasant boss, that
you had little time to wonder who
did. Now-I didn't do it. That's
agreed, isn't it," he added, with
sudden gravity, his eyes very steady,
but so wistful that her heart con-
tracted sharply with pity.
'Of course. darling!" Ruth pro-
tested, smiling at him through a
mist of tears.
Cali right. But let's consider the
case against me, as McMann sees
it." Jack began briskly. 'Three peo-
pie have testified that I threatened
Borden's life, if he laid a hand on
you again. Motive. As to opportun-
ity-I was in my office for eight or
nine minutes of two and two or three
minutes after two, and that office is
directly opposite Borden's private
office, with two open windows be-
tween US across an eight-foot air
shaft.
"A bullet fired from Borden's Of
flee toward mine scars q brick be-
side my window and is found on the
cement floor of the court below. My
automatic, which my secretary, Miss
Barnes, saw in my desk Saturday
morning, is discovered to be missing
on Monday morning. Accessibility to
| weapon-thc same make and caliber
of weapon which killed Harry Bor-
den.
"At 10 minutes after two, accord
ing to Bill Cowan's story, Harry
Borden was in telephone conversa-
ton with someone in my office. Ma
turally the police don't say some
| one'-they say Jack Hayward. But
you and / know that at 10 minutes
after two, according to your watch
and the clock in the lobby Of the
Chester Hotel, I was rejoining you to
finish our interrupted lunch. Now
look at that section of the puzzle,
little Miss Sherlock: Which piece
doesn't fit?"
Ruth smiled bravely, trying to
meet his mood. 1.-THE telephone call,
Of course, and the shot fired toward
your office. OF course Cowan may
have called Borden's number, instead
Of yours, due to the similarity of
numbers, or the operator may have
made mistake"
Lets not try to explain away the
pieces that. don't fit" Jack urged.
"For the sake Of argument, and
probably for the sake Of truth, let's
admit these two fatal pieces into our
puzzle, and shift them about until
thy fit. Let's say that Borden was
t. liking with someone in my office at
10 minutes after two"
'tAnd for several minutes before
II minutes after two" Ruth inter-
rupted. Rita says she called Mr..
Borden from the station at five min
utes past two and his line was busy;
that she called again at 10 minutes
after two and it was still busy, and
that at IL or IL minutes after two
she talked with him.
IF, as McMann thinks, Borden
was already dead when Rita arrived
about five minutes later, he was
killed immediately after she talked
with him, by someone in your office,
undoubtedly the person with whom
he had been quarreling over your
telephone. But here is another piece
that won't fit into the puzzle: Why
should Rita, even If she robbed the
body, take the gun with which Bor-
den had fired at his murderer"
"No earthly reason that I can see"
Jack agreed. Equally, there seems
to be no reason why Rita should do
the real murderer across the air
shaft good turn by closing the
window, and since that real murderer
was not i, he would have had no
reason himself to close Borden's win
dow by. using the window-pole in
my office. He'd not have cared q
whoop about diverting suspicion from
me, the lawful tenant Of the office
"Wait!" Ruth cried. "What if the
real murderer-supposing that he
was in your office, was friend Of
yours, and did want to protect you
from the consequences Of his deed :"
That's q thought" Jack agreed
soberly. "But-that brings us to-
Cowan, doesn't it? Cowan is the only
friend l have, so far as / know, who
also knew Harry Borden"
And he admits that he had left .
blueprint in. your office, which was
his. reason for telephoning you'll"
Ruth clapped her hands softly to-
gether. .sWho can corroborate his
story that he called you from the
station at 10 minutes after two?
Suppose st was Oowan! Suppose he
himself talked with Borden over
your telephone, quarreled with him
over some woman, then"
| = = =
"Hold .up!" Jack laughed. "Be-
fore. you slip the moose about Cow
ans neck, tell me first how he got
into my office, how he knew / had
q gun"
sWait!" Ruth interrupted, her
brow wrinkled in thought. "I'm about
to get something. Let nae think!
H.. Oh, yes! It was Z fleeting
thought that occurred to me this att