The Daily Alaska empire., 1934-06-04

A dozen watchers beyond the gar-, den wall wouldn't alter that, if they| didn't enter the house."
 Harper broke of short as the door opened and Andrews entered.
 Andrews. can you tell us the name of MT. Dufresne's tailors?"
 The butler showed no sign of sur. prise at the seemingly irrelevant question. "Barr. Tompkins & Barr."
 Harper picked up the coat. trous- CTS. and waistcoat. "l want you to examine these carefully. Andrews. and tell us if these are part of MT. Dufresne's wardrobe"
 Andrews looked closely at the various articles, lingering the seams, examining the Things. turning out the inner pocket for the label. "Yes, sir. am quite sure this is one of MT. Dufresne's suits."
 Harper handed over the nose glasses. with their black silk cord. ."How about these?"
 "I think they are his. MT. Du. fresne has all his glasses made up in duplicate pairs."
 "Can you identify any others of these clothes?"
 Andrews obediently picked over the shoes. socks. underwear. shirt. collar and tie. He put the last three articles aside. "I believe these came from upstairs. sir. am sure the others did not"
 Has MT. Dufresne awakened yet, Andrews?"
 "Oh, yes. sir. He is having break fast now"
 Have you been in MT. Dufresne's rooms since you came up from the Austerlitz last night?" . Naturally. sir. several times. Both last night and this morning." "Did you notice any sign of dis. turbance. anything to indicate that this man had been in those roomsi Or did MT. Dufresne mention any thing of that nature?"
 No. sir. So far as I could see nothing had been disturbed. can not answer for MT. Dufresne, but doubtlessly he would have men, tioned it to me-"
 Harper put the clothing back on chair. If this man changed into some of MT. Dufresne's clothes he'd do 1t right there in the room. An drews. take Lafferty here up to the dressing-room and help him look through the closets" IT AFFERTY went out in the wake i, A- of the butler. and Harper. left alone. began to walk up and down the room. his eyes turning again and again to that armchair in which the baffling intruder had met his death.
 He came to stop before the wainscoting at the vertical panel that bore the bullet mark. The bull. let had not wedged itself into the wood. but had been found on the floor. whence 1t had dropped after the impact. The detective used his magnifying lens on the scared place.
 Carlin's puzzled suggestion that the bullet wound bore all the mark. ings of heavy caliber steel.jacket had stuck in his mind. The lens af- forded much clearer view of the jagged dent in the wood. from which tiny particles had fallen to the floor.
 This enlarged scope of the eye gave the detective a sudden and startling insight into the matter. He fitted the bullet into the rough-edged cavity. It matched very badly. He tried the bullet from various angles but with no better success.
 Harper squatted back on his heels. the Eight of discovery dawning on him. The center depth of the bull let mark in ths wainscoting was un. doubtedly deeper than Officer Ham. ill's bullet could account for. Fur thermore. the Eafk in the wood ran to distinct conical pit. while the nose of the policeman's bullet was distinctly blu1t! Here was the first tangible bit of evidence to give col. or to his suspicious.
 It looked as If the sharp-eyed Car. lin's hesitancy over acceptance of the caliber of the fatal bullet as .3S was going to be justified. If this unidentified masquerader had not died by this particular .3S bullet then Officer Hamill had not killed him. The attendant corollaries of this thought leaped into Harper's grasp. full-armed and clamoring for attention.
 It meant that the bullet which had really killed the man in the chair was definitely missingi It had been carried away. Some phantom third presence had dislodged 1t from the wall and substituted . bullet fired from the policeman's gun.
 Officer Hamill had not killed the unknown man. Then the dead man in the armchair could not have killed Hamill! fCopyrtoht. lssI. oy walter c. Brownj