The Coolidge examiner., 1934-10-05
True Detective
Sf0U by Vance Wynn
e Public Ledger
The Sapphire in the
Moonlight


celles, o. Middlesex. England. aud
proposed marriage to her.
She was an orphan aud lived with
her brother. Edmund, but for some
uuaccouutable reason be opposed
the match.
The girl. who was one % the beau
ties os the nclEhborhood. was very
fond of her brother. aud IN defer
euce 20 his wishes she consented to
postpone the wedding for an lndcG
mite period
Love deferred is very likely to be
love enkiudIed. and George Man
uers was more than ever desirous of
making the girl his wife.
They corresponded frequently and
one night Manners called unexpect.
edly 10 renew his suit
The brother was not az home az
the time and Manners consented 10
walt and see him
The interview between the two
men vas not a pleasant one
They retired 20 an adjoining room.
and when they emerged twenty min.
ntes later. Manners had a very
flushed face and Edmund I.ascelles
wore a look OF dogged determine.
ton.
On leaving. the suitor offered to
shake hands with Lascelles. but was
repulsed
As be left the house be freed bis
mind
i've asked you for the hand Of
Jour sister for the last time
have tried to be nice. but my pa
uence is az an end. The next time
we meet the results may be a little
different"
The girl was naturally distracted
al this quarrel between the two men
she loved most.
t.ascelles was morose and silent
for a long time and then he took
bis hat and left the house.
Shortly after ten o'clock that
night two men came 10 the door %
the cottage. carrying between them
The dead body % Edmund Lascelles.
Il was a terrible shock aud Mary
almost tainted. Bul before she had
time 10 recover. George Manners
came 10 the house with his face and
hands marked with blood
ie said that he bad found the
body ln a ditch aud had sent the
men home with Il while he remained
20 try to nnd some clue 20 the
tragedy,
The circumstances were all
against George Manners.
Nearly everybody was positive
that he bad murdered Lascelles. and
II must be admitted that the eyl-
dence Was against him
But there was one who accepted
mis- proteSsnfIons OF innocence. and
that was Mary Lascelles. the sister
of the victim.
She did everything 10 her power
for him at the trial. but 10 spite
of that he was convicted and con
demued 20 death.
Even then the devoted girl did not
despair. She worked until she had
secured a reprieve FOR the man she
loved.
After that she enlisted the serv.
ices OF "A detective and SET about
the seemingly hopeless task OF Sc
curing evidence that would exon.
crate Manners.
Now one OF the curious and
shocking features OF the crime was
the fact that the right hand had
been cut from the body Of Edmund
l.ascelles.
II contained a costly sapphire
ring that he had been 10 the habit
of wearing.
No trace OF the missing hand had
been obtained before the trial OF
Manners. and when the detective
James ShropshIre-began his be
lated task he kept this fact stead
ily In mind
What had become Of the hand con.
tanning the sapphire ring?
That was the question he asked
himself. not once but a hundred
times
The first clue that he obtained
was In the nature of footprints
around the Lascelles home.
Although many weeks had passed.
Shropshire found footprints In the
grass.
These prints were carefully meas
ured, as they did not correspond
with the size OF Manners shoes.
The detective sought the village
shoemaker and learned hat they
were about the size of the shoes
worn by a farmer named James
Parker.
More than this. the footprints
when followed led to the house OF
this man.
An examination OF his barn dis
closed knife that had been hid
den In one OF the stalls.
There was a loose board In the
floor OF the barn. and when this
was removed the detective found