Evening star., 1942-02-17

NOhN@
confuse some of them pretty badly"
the sheriff said. But still haven't
discovered anything conclusive" He
knew Mr.. Wetherfether too well
to Judge his mentality by his unpre-
possessing exterior. On more than
one occasion the little deputy had
demonstrated a shreWd and active
mind. so that it was a relief to be
able to talk things over with him.
"The trouble is" the sheriff con-
tinued, almost as if he were thinking
aloud. "that almost everyone here
had a motive for killing JARVIS
Thorpe. And as for opportunlty-
any one could have slipped into his
room in the course of the morning.
The door wasn't locked, so gaming
access to the victim was simple,
But what about the method OF
the crime?" Wetherfether asked.
1--WE both knew that DR.. Sherwood
must have been mistaken when he
said Thorpe was bitten by snake.
Torrington doesn't have any SNAKES
and besides they don't usually lurk
in the bedrooms of millionaires'
mansions
Nevertheless. DR.. Morley corrobo-
rated Sherwood's statement that
Jarvis Thorpe had died of snake
venom, We don't know how 1t was
administered until we hear the re-
suits of the autopsy. We might pro-
ceed, of course, on the assumption
that it was placed in something that
Thorpe ate or drank. Yet Gavin,
the houseman. who seems to know
more about Thorpes habits than
any one else. assured me that he
made it an infexible rule never to
eat between meals. And there
were no wine glasses or anything
like that in his room. Both the
cook and Gavin swear that there
weren't any taken from the cup
boards downstairs, and they were In
q position to know"
"Of course. there's always the
possibility that whoever did 1T
used a hypodermic syringe" said
Mr.. Wetherfether tentatively.
Only Two Small Scratches.
"I've thought of that dozens OF
times" Hazard said shortly. And
each time I've been faced with the
obvious fact that if syringe had
been used to administer the poison
simultaneously the marks of the
hypodermic needle would have re-
mained. But with the exception OF
two small scratches on the right leg
about, 4 inches above the ankle,
there we're no marks or abraslons
of any kind on the body"
1.-TWO small scratches?" said Mr..
Wetherfether. But couldn't
they"
Sheriff Hazard laughed shortly.
Don't let your imagination run
away with you, Wetherfether. 1
suppose you have a mental picture
OF, the murderer coming IN on his
hands and knees and seizing the
rnsuspecting Jarvis Thorpe by the
ankle. But how would you proceed
from there?"
Mr.. Wetherfether looked hurt.
"Of course he wouldn't have come
in on his hands and knees" he said.
He'd have walked in the door,
Thorpe had Just taken his riding
boots off. Whoever it was could
have pretended to drop something
near Thorpe's feet. Then while the
the murderer was stopping over
to pick it up. he could have leaped
across and injected the poison IN
Mr.. Thorpe's leg"
And how was he carrying the
poison?" Sheriff Hazards voice was
frankly skeptical. mo doubt ne
had it secreted under his fingernalls.
so that until the very last moment
Jarvis Thorpe suspected nothlng'
The irony in the sheriff's voice
deepened as he spoke.
well. it was only suggestion.
Mr.. Wetherfether looked abashed.
.Besides," he said triumphantly as
a thought occurred to him, you
did find Noel Mofat's pencil under
the chair"
"I haven't forgotten that" said
the sheriff, nor the still more I'M
nortant fact that whoever used the
poison must have carried it in vial
of some kind. Our next move Is 10
search the house"
Leans to Serpent Jewelry.
The fact that it had been rain
ing steadily ever since JARVIS
Thorpe's guests had raced the storm
back to Thorpe Lodge made 1t I'M,
probable that any one had ventured
outdoors to hide the instrument OF
murder. The fury of the wind ana
the rain would have drenched any
one to the skin, so that his return
could hardly have remained un-
noticed. 1t was much more prop
able. thought Sheriff Hazard, that
whatever instrument the murderer
had used was hidden somewhere
within the four walls OF Thorpe
I Iodge. And if a systematic searcn
could bring it to light, he was de-
termined to locate it.
Leaving Mr.. Wetherfether on duty
downstairs. Sheriff Hazard began
his investigation OF the upstairs
rooms. Jarvis Thorpe's he passed
bv for he had already gone over
Il with a most careful scrutiny
which had revealed nothing in the
light of evidence except Noel Moi
fats silver pencil. In Mrs. Castle
toms room, however, the sherln
found a number of things which
gave him cause for speculation. The
financier's wife, it seemed, had q
penchant amounting almost to an
obsession for the serpent motif IN
ievelry. In a fooled leather box
on her dressing table, whose tiny
gold lock the sheriff opened ell
GENTLY by means of delicate lnstru-
ment he carried in his pocket, Haz-
ard discovered an amazing array OF
necklaces. bracelets and rings. on
all of which there curved with a
sinuous grace the gliding image OF
q serpent.
Most of the pieces were Egyptian
In inspiration, and many OF them
bore the incised figure of the horned
viper which was the symbol OF
ROYALTY in ancient Egypt. From the
connoisseur's point of view they
were probably collectors items,