The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1930-01-17


the remaining powders In it. has new
err been found.
II was afraid of that" Miss Mac
Donald said. when ! returned with my
information. and nothing else, 10 the
dining room. "Now then: Would II
be possible for you to remember who
last took one of these powders, and
when, with no III effects?"
DANNY and Mary each took one
the night OF the fourth, when Martina
did" Sam answered. "i've asked
them about it, and beth of them say
that they did DOT feel quee, at all,
afterwards. They were both wide
awake in the morning"
my wordl" said Miss Macdonald.
III think" | offered, that sone-
thing was all wrong with Martha's
heart before she took the powder.
She acted sleepy, stupid, all after
noon.'
"Yes. Now then" She was off
again, leading us with her questions,
through Mrs. Ricker's confession and
hCI Vi Il.
"After Martha came into the house
with the bracelet" she asked, "was
she out of the room again within the
hour; or even within the second hour,
between five and six?"
'She was not out between four and
five," said. ave all stayed right in
the room. 1t was too hot to move
around. know that Martha did not
leave the room. She sat beside Chad
on the piano bench, for while. She
sat on the arm of Sans chair, watch
ing the chess game"
"Hold on" Sam interrupted. I've
got two things to tell you that you
are overlooking, and know that they
are both mighty important"
''What are they?"
'The first one is this. Gaby had
lived here close to two months. Mar
tina had never harmed her. Does it
stand to reason that, on the very day
Gaby was afraid she was going to be
killed, Martha would do it? There's
too much coincidence. in that, isn't
there?"
81 think so. Though we can not
ever discount coincidence. What ap-
pears to be coincidence usually proves
not to be coincidence at all, In the
end. But, Mr.. Stanley, unless the
other thing you have to tell me is
fact, and not an opinion. | am going
TO ask you not to tell il to me, at least
not until later"
at is straight facts
"very well. then?"
Martha was always trying expert
ments with feeding her rabbits.
guess she thought that they might
like grain. Maybe ttey do. | don't
know. Anyway. she, or someone, had
tugged half sack of grain up there.
A lot of ii had spilled out under the
berry bushes. II is all fresh sprOuted,
and growing fine. There wasn't a spot
out there, except under those bushes,
where Martha could have hidden the
body. A body, even as small as
Gaby's. would have smashed down and
broken those fresh sprouts of grain"
"But-the body was never there Is
it possible that you don't know that
Gabrielle Canneziano was murdered
right there on the stairs. where she
fell, and where she was found?"
SLOW in blazes could I know itY'
Sam said.
"My world Weren't you present
when the body was moved"
"No. well, didn't care about
being"
'The fingers of her right hand were
clutching the stair tread with the
grasp of death. Nothing can disprove
that. Dead fingers cannot be made
to clutch"
SLOW to you know that?" Sam de-
handed. "About her fingers, | mean"
"When saw the body in the crema-
tory in San Francisco"
"Whatp'
81 always do that, when I can. Be
fore sent you my telegram. had
gone to see the body"
"Did-does Danny know that?"
"No. 1t might be better not to tell
her. 1t is necessary part of my pro-
fession. The crematory people realize
that; but, since people are often very
sensitive about it, they prefer that the
relatives should not know that they
allow it. AS | was saying, | saw,
then, that the fingers on the right
hand had been broken. The under
taker had done that, you understand,
in order that they might look natural
to fold.
"When had received your tele-
gram engaging me to take the case,
| telephoned to the coroner and the
undertaken in Telko. They cOrrob-
Grated the opinion had formed, from
the fingers, about the death clutch,
among other things. Those proved
that she had been killed on the stairs,
by someone who had been coming
downstairs behind her. How did it
happen that you did not know this?"
"As soon as l realized what had
occurred" Sam explained, 81 cleared
everybody right out and locked the
door. knew that II was necessary
for the coroner to examine the body
before it had been disturbed"
"How very, very sensible" Miss
Macdonald said. But did not quite
like the way she said it.
looked at my watch and said that
it was time for me to be starting to
get dinner. She asked If she might
help me. | thought that she was try.
ing TO be polite, and | was making
my refusal just as polite, when she in
terrupted me.
"Please, Mrs. Magin," she urged
You mentioned at breakfast that You
had only one inefficient cir, to help