Henderson daily dispatch., 1938-02-28

the car from the station.
HE had already let Mrs.
Thurston know that he would
need money, and she, as we know
had drawn f2OQ ready fe him.
But here was another difficulty
The man Stall had intercepted,
some three weeks ago, letter
from Mrs. Thurston to Fellowes.
It was a silly indiscreet letter.
the sort of thing that someone as
foolish and thoughtless as this
lady might well have written. But
he had found it sufficient as a
means to terrify her into parting
with quite large sums of money.
The truth is that Mrs. Thurston
was genuinely fond of her hus-
band, and bein' essentially an in
nocent soul she had imagined this
silly little weakness Of hers for
a young chauffeur to be far more
terrible thing than it would have
seemed to anyone else. At all
events, when Strickland got her
alone for a minute after lunch
and asked her if she had the
money ready for him, she had to
tell him she had not. Perhaps
she had not the time, or perhaps
she did not wish, to tell him why
she had not. I imagine that the
whole thing passed between them
in this very room, and in the
presence of some Of you. A bur-
ried exchange of whispers.
What had happened, probably,
is that Stall had been listening at
the telephone extension, when
Strickland rang her up on Thurs
day morning to say he would
need the money. And Stall had
heard her promise to have it
ready for him. Or else Stall had
seen the counterfeit in her check
book, and knew from it that she
had just drawn the f2OO. Or he
had chosen by chance this time
for a last determined blackmail
campaign, knowing that he was
under notice to quit. At all
events he had got wind of the
money, and made it clear that he
was to have it.
Finding that he was not to re-
ceive this sum, which he had in
tended to get doubled, Strickland
went straight to the chauffeur, and
told him his plan. At this point
he showed a most horrifyin' sort
of determination. He did not
hesitate. He had his notions cut
and dried and he was going to
put them straight into action"
Here Lord Simon hesitated.
Full of admiration I watched him
light another cigar, before reveal
ing to us what we were now burn
ing to know. He had told us who
was the murderer, but his identity
was not, I thought, as mysterious
as his method, and I wanted to
say go on! Go on" while the
young man nonchalantly applied
a match to his cigar. But he took
his time, and when he began to
talk again it was from new
angle.
when you were thinking about
the escape from that room, and
you had an inklin' that there was
rope in it somewhere, did you
wonder how that rope had been
used ?" He asked the question
directly of me.
Wonder? I've done nothing
but wonder" I replied irritably.
Even supposing that the rope
was let down from the floor above
by an accomplice, I don't see how
it could have been of much use.
I've told you again and again
that no one would have had time
to climb out onto it, close the
window after him, climb up it, and
haul it up, before Williams opened
the window again. And even if
he had, he couldn't have reached
us at the door as quickly as
Strickland, Fellowes and Norris
did"
What about droppin' down it ?"
asked Lord Simon.
1.-THE same thing applies. Sup
pose that there was someone up
stairs to haul it in. the murderer
would have had to climb out onto
it. close the window, drop to the
ground, and get away before Will
lfams looked out, and the rope
would have had to be hauled I'D