Year: 1879

other hand, they both knew that the far
mer, having been robbed many years be-
fore, always kept loaded firearms in the
house.


But there were the boot marks and the
button, and upon these the old constable
based his investigation.


An hour after he had left the farm, he
returned to in, bringing with him pair
of boots and a waist-coat. The latter
had David Thomas name written in it,
one of the fancy buttons was missing,
and that found on the farm window-ledge
perfectly agreed with those on the waist
coat.


AS TO the boots, they fitted the i'm
pressions in the garden ground near the
window to a hairs breadth, and they
also fitted other marks on side bed in
a garden in front of the farm, where
David had gone on the previous day in
order to pick up a young blackbird,
which had futtered under the laurels
on his first flight from some neighboring
nest.


When the police constable told all
these things to the farmer, neither knew
Ruth was listening. Poor child, she had
recognized the button in a moment. It
was one of the set she herself had given
David.


But she never for moment believed
him guilty. There was some mystery,
and beyond that she would not go. She
neither tainted nor lost her presence of
mind. She knew it was no time for sem
timent. Her conscience told her she
must be up and doing.


'Let us go to him." she heard her
father say. "Perhaps he has done it for
a joke, Summers. We will suppose he
did it in fun; and, if he gives US the
notes back, no harm will be done. Let
us 60 to him."


Summers nodded. and after putting
the waist.coat and boots in a cupboard
the two men started for the cousins
farm.


There was no time to be lost-that
Ruth knew. She went to the cupboard,
took out the accusing articles of clothing.
and pondered.


Now this is certain-that in habits of
watchfulness of small things women are
far more accurate than men.


In moment Ruth Hartley thought,
as she examined the waist-coat:


"If the button was torn of when the
thief was climbing in at the Windows
how did it happen that it came from
almost from under the collar of tie
waist coat ?"


She examined the thread that had faS
tened the button to the cloth, and she
found that it had not loosened, but that
the different stitc hes had all been brokcA
through. so that great force must hav.
been used. 1t had not dropped of, it
had been torn away, and yet the waist
coat showed no sign of having been in
jured.


Then she went out and compared
the footprints In the front and back gar
den.


She saw that the distance between the
footsteps in the front garden was great
er than that between the marks in the
ground at the back of the house, while
the prints farthest apart were deepest.


So she reached this conclusion:


"There is no doubt that the sane
boots made the marks in both the front
and back garden, but they must have
been worn by different persons HI
who made the marks in the back ground
CHOSE effected by the burglar) "beins
the lighter man, SO the less depression
of the ground and the shorter man
hence the shorter distance between th
footsteps in the back ground"



In a moment she knew she had clu,
his cousin Josiah, who was both light
er in weight and shorter than David.
In mere second she was morally con
vinced that Josiah Thomas had torn tn
button from the waist-coat in question
to clench the accusation of the boot
marks.


But what could be his motive? H
was evidently attached to his relative
and while nothing was to be gained b
the act of treachery, much was to be los
while his own name would be involve
in shame.


How could she accuse him He wa
equally respected with the other cousin
and it was against the elder the condem
natory proofs were to be found.


His motive-what could be his mC
tive?


Again, how bring his guilt home b
signs as palpable as those which menat
ed the other?


1t is astonishing how woman wi
banker after the hidden when it effec


her happiness. She could only breath
easily when she stood at the open viii


dow, by means of which entrance to ii


house had been effected.


Pondering. watching, listening, m;


neuvering-and suddenly success.