The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1930-07-11

tie NOOuCOCh, TtpllcQ the oiu Wouidh.
But it's little used. sir-its little
better than a sheep track"
'And we didn't see nobody along II
that night, neither one way nor
t'other," growled the old man. Don't
know nothing-aint got nothing to
tell-nothing
We backed out, closed the door,
and went away. Maythorne smiled
inscrutably.
"All the same, Mazaroff followed
this PATH" he said. "Why? Did he
want TO go TO High Cap lodge?-Mr.
Courthope's place? Or-had he been
there and was coming away from It?
Who knows? However, l want to go
up to the top of those rocks"
He turned off the path, and began to
make his way TO the head of the
ravine through the scrub and under
growth. Crole and / followed. We
came out on a sort Of plateau, over
looking the black depths in which
Mazaroff's body had been found. And
there, solitary figure, stood another
old man, older, it seemed, than the
crusty and ancient fellow we had just
left; grayer, more gnarled and wrin-
killed., but erect and alert, and evil
IDENTIFY quick of hearing as boy, for
at the first sound of our approach he
turned sharply upon us.
1.-The place already attracts the curl
ous," he observed, half-ironically.
"We have something more than idle
curiosity to bring us here, sir" re-
torted Crole, almost sharply. 1--WE are
the dead gentleman's friends! May
| in my turn ask-as you seem inter-
ested in the matter-if you can tell
us anything to help u.s.?
The old man smiled, and looked
from one TO the other.
well, could tell you of something,
but whether it will help you or not |
don't know. Yeti might. / heard
gun ged-hereabouts-on the
night this man was missed"
"And about what time would that
be-" inquired Crole.
About what is usually my bedtime"
replied the old fellow. Ten o'clock"
Crole looked at Maythorne. THAT
musingy.
Just then the policeman at the foot
of the rocks, who had been pottering
about the bushes, looked up, and
waved his hand excitedly.
"Come down herev he shouted.
'Pve found something. A gun!"
We began TO descend the rocks to
the dense underground amidst which
the policeman stood. He was gingerly
handling sporting gun, and as we
drew up to him, he nodded toward
clump Of overgrown gorse.
Showed in beneath that" he ex-
claimed. That's where it was"
Maythorne opened tie breech-there
were two cartridges in the barrels;
one, in the choke-bore barrel, had been
discharged He glanced at Crole.
"Oddw he said. why didn't he
use the right-hand barrel?"
The old gentleman, who seemed to
be fascinated by the sight Of a weapon
that had doubtless been used by a
murderer, laughed a little
IF that's the gun that was used to
shoot this young genrleman's elderly
companion" he remarked, las |, per-
sonally, have no doubt ii was, there's
a good reason why the murderer used
the Ieft-hand barrel. Perhaps you're
not a shooting man, sir?-if not, l
may tell you that the left-hand barrel
of a fowling piece is always mar
rowed in the bore as it approaches the
muZZle: the notion, Of course, is that
the shot, or discharge, is concentrated
rather than diffused. If man wanted
to shoot another man dead, at close
quarters, as in this case, he'd nat
uraIly use the choke-bore barrel in
preference to the other"
Then, with a polite nod, he turned
and went off. Maythorne watched him
the policeman.
"Who is that old gentleman" he
asked.
That's Mr.. Hassendeane, OF Birn-
side house, SIR" replied the police
man.
Maythorne drew Croles' attention
and mine to a name and address en-
graved on plate let into the stock
]. Musgrave, WOOdcoCk inn, MarraS-
dale. "This is the landlords missing
property, sure enough" he remarked.
We left Reiver's den, and went back
across the moor. Maythorne, as soon
as we reached the WOodcock, sought
out Musgrave and told him of the dis
covery of his missing gun. He hurried
over his lunch, and as soon as / had
finished mine, addressed me.
1.-The police are sure to come along
here after the finding of that gun" he
remarked. "And | want to be before
hand with them. want to examine
Mazaroff's belongings"
"Just SOL" murmured Crole. "That,
Of course, must be done"
We went up TO the dead mans
room. Maythorne did the searching
while Crole and | looked on. In the
waistcoat pockets of wel-worn
tweed suit Maythorne found a num-
Der of loose diamonds, large and
small.
what did / tell you?" exclaimed
Crole as the diamonds came to light.
HE did carry diamonds, loose, on
him? Look at those, now-must be a
dozen or so stones there, loose in his
pocket! Do you suppose those are
worth lot Maythorne2-You know
more about it than | do"
Cant say" replied Maythorne, in
differently. He was more deeply inter-
ested in a crumpled scrap of thin
paper which he found in. an inner
pocket and smOothed out before use.