The Daily Alaska empire., 1933-05-31
Chapter 15
MIR. LoRN's THEORY

fh'' "uELL. two people can be in the W same country without harm, can't they?" <
 ''Why, don't you see, my friend, That there's an obvious connection A connection. at least. in the eye of the police. And you can't blame them much; they've had some trouble with Communistic feuds lately"
 "Oh, good God! It's" I was flu. tile and raging at my futility. "Of all the damned. dumb, asinine-why. it's preposterous! It's stark raving crazy! It's"
 "No doubt" he said, watching me. "But that's what they think"
 "You say you think there is some, thing you can do? What is it?"
 T don't know how it's going to come out. Don't expect too much. But I suggested that they hold a post-mortem."
 "What do you mean?"
 "Im not sure I mean anything; I'm pinning my faith to the sixth bullet. Why wasn't 1t fired at you? Had 1t already been fired?"
 You mean-you think the fellow was not killed by stabbing? That he was shot?"
 "Perhaps."
 ''But that's-why, that's out of the question. Lorn! The doctor and the police would see that at once There'd be no possible way of hid. ing it."
 "Only one. I've looked at the dag ger: it's barely possible that it made a jagged wound. One that might conceal" .et
 "A bullet hole?" My private opin. ion was that the man was mad. His intentions might be good. but he was undoubtedly poor-witted. Do you mean to say that 1t is possible that the murderer first shot the man through the heart and then-that's preposterous!" sG
 And then inserted the dagger exactly through the bullet hole. You look incredulous, MT. Sundean. But we may be dealing with an excep. tional criminal. One never knows. The murderer may be one who cal. culates every chance; one of his ad. vantages would be the fact that he is not in city Also all papers of Identification were removed from the dead man. Thus, naturally. the pressure of effort to discover the murderer is not as great as 1t would be if the murdered man were known to be, for instance, person of i'm portance."
 ''It's great enough" l said bitterly. Do you mean that the removal of his passport and papers and all would indicate that he was an i'm portant persona"
 "That would be impossible to say."
 Are you a lawyer?"
 'No." he said fiatly. and then con. tinued briefly: T arrived this after noon, early. Miss Tally told me of the murder and of the attempt to abduct her last night. She urged me to come to see you and insisted that put forth every energy to assist you. Otherwise, I should not have thrust myself upon you in this man. ner."
 "It's very good of you,' I mur- mured. rather taken abacF by his stateliness. Very good. indeed"
 He looked at his watch and picked up his hat and rose.
 "The doctor should have arrived by this time. and I think can man age to see something of the post mortem. shall return as soon as l discover the result"
 said some kind of thanks; the man in the corridor outside let Lorn out and locked the door again but left the light on.
 MY hopes were very faint. But AvA he'd given me something to think of: and felt rather better to think that someone-anyone-was working on my side of the affair. And Sue Tally had sent him. got out her note and read it again.
 Lorn had said merely that he had just arrived and that she had told him of the murder and of the at. tempt to abduct her. This presup- posed an acquaintance between them. We'll, from my point of view, his arrival had been most opportune. But wondered what his relation was with Sue Tally, and 1t increased the mystery that surrounded her.
 got up and walked back and forth from one wall to another until was warmer. After all, told my self. it was too crazy and nightmar-