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Show SYNOPSIS, i Howard Jpffriea," banker's con, Under the evil influence of Robert Underwood, r' fellow-student at Yale, leads a life of dissipation, dis-sipation, marries the daughter of a gam- . bier who died In prison, and Is disowned by hia father: He Is out of work and In desperate straits. Underwood, who had once been engaged to Howard.'s stepmother. step-mother. - Altola,-- is apparently In prosperous prosper-ous circumstances. , Taking advantage, of his Intimacy with Alicia, he becomes a f Eort'-nf sociar highwayman. -Discovering his true character, Alicia denies 1dm rthe house.. ,.' He sends her a note threatening suicide: Art dealers for whom lift acted as .commissioner,, demand an accounting. I He-cannot ' make good. Howard -calla at his apartments In an Intoxicated condition condi-tion -to- request a loan -of $'2,-000 jtp enabla I himto take-up a-.business proposition. i: Howard drinks. himself into; a; maudlin ' condition, and goes to sleep on a divan. A caller is announced and I Underwood draws a screen around the drunken sleeper. Alicia enters. She demands - a promise-f rem", U'nderwood that he will. not tak- his: life.-1- Hi? Tctuses unless she will renew her patronage. This she refuses, and takes her leave. Underwood' kills - himself:-- 'Phe'-report of the pistol, awakens awa-kens fioward. -He- finds Underwood dead. Howard' is, turned tover to 'the police. Cant". Clinton, notorious for I his brutal treatment of prisoners puts ' Howard .through the third dgree.-'and Hnally gets an alleged confession from the harassed man. Annie, Howard's wife, declares her -belief In her J husband's Innocence, ana calls on Jeffries, Sr. He refuses to help Unless she will consent to a divorce-. ' To save. Howard she consents, but iwhen she finds that the-elder -Jeffries does not. intend in-tend to stand by his son, .except flnan -cially; she scorns"his help. Annie appeals to Judge Brewster, attorney, for- Jeffries. ,.Sr., 'Xo. t&ke: "Howard's ease. He declines. It Is reported that Annie Is going on the stage. The banker and hls:wife call on - Judge Brewster to find some way to pre-'vant pre-'vant it.i Annie again pleads with Brew-, .'ster ' to defend Howard. He consents. Alicia is greatly agitated when she lettrns , that Brewster has taken thtj case and detectives ard looking-for the woman who called on Underwood the night of his death.. t ,j- ( .; : .- - "' ' '-' .. CHAPTER XVII. Continued. . .. "That's otir object isn't it, Mr. Jeffries- to .. find out?'" he said sarcasm tjCally. -j;,-,,-; ..., ,;j t. j .. r , , ' . "What's the; name, of this mysterious mysteri-ous witness?" .exclaimed the banker testily'.-'-"It the .'police haven't been able to find her why should Howard's wife be able. to do. so? There was a report that. she .herself was " He paused and added, "Did she tisll you wbo it -was?" : - - - s "No,'-' aid the judge dryly,' "she will tell us to-night." i 0 The banker hounded in' his seat. ,. "You'll "see," be cried. S "Another Hash' In the "pan';. ".don't like being mixed up in this matter it's disagreeable disagree-able most disagreeable." J ; .. f Dr. Bernstein puffed a thick' cloud of smoke into the air and said quietly : . "Yes, sir; it is disagreeable but unfortunately it is' life." : i .... Suddenly the door opened and Capt. Clinton appeared, followed by his fidus Achates, .Detective. Sergeant ;Malone'y. Iloth men were in plain clothes. The captain's manner was condescendingly polite, the attitude" of a man so sure of his own position' that he had little respect for the opinion of. any one else.--. With an. effort at amiability he began: . .- ;.'''"'-; ;. ; - y ' -"Rot your message, judged came as soon as I 'could."' Excuse my bringing the sergeant with me. - Sit over there, Maloney.".. ; Half. . apologetically, he addcd"II.e keeps his eyes , open and his mouth shut, so he won't interfere.' TloW do, doctor?"- ' . . " ,Maloney took a position at the far end of the room, while Dr. Bernstein introduced - the captain to Mr.' Jeffries, Jef-fries, ! ; -"" ';:'";, "Yes, I know the gentleman. How do,' sir?" il :l . -. '-:" ' The hanker nodded stiffly. : He did: not relish having to hobnob1 in this way with such a vulgarian as a grafting graft-ing . police captain. Capt,. , Clinton turned to Judge Rrewster:, . ;. "Now, ' judge, explode ' your bomb! Rut 1 warn you I've made, up my mind." , "I've made up my. mind,' too," retorted re-torted the judge, "so at least we start even." ' ' -'' - - - - , - ; ' -. "Yes,"- growled, the. other. ; .' ' . ' ''As t stated Id my letter, captain," went on the judge coolly, "I don't want to use your own methods in this matter., mat-ter., J don't want to spread Teports about you, or accuse you in the papers. pa-pers. That's why I asked you to come over and discuss the matter Informally with me. I want to give you a chance to change your attitude." "Don't want ai,y chance," growled the policeman. - "You mean," said the judge,' peering at Ms vis a vis over his spectacles, "that voir don't want to change your attitude." Capt. Clinton settled himself more firmly In his chair, as if getting ready for hostilities. Defiantly he replied: "That's about what I mean, I suppose." sup-pose." "In other words," went on Judge Hrewster calmly, "you have found this this boy prulU.y and you refuse to consider evidence which may tend to prove otherwise." " 'Tain't my business to consider evidence," ev-idence," snapped the chief. "That's up to the prosecuting attorney." . "It will be," replied the lawyei sharply, "but at present it's up to you." "Me?" exclaimed the other In genuine genu-ine surprise AND , Y W ARTHUR I10RNBLOW V ILLUSTRATIONS BY RAY VALTER$ I CPTrWGNT, IV9, tt O.W. DILLINCHArt COrlMKY ' . - Lid IkM - - --You Have Besmirched Her Character with Stories of Scandal-". - ' '"Yes." -went on "Judge Brewster camuy, vyou-were instrumental. in ob-i tflining a : confession . frpmv him,:-, rm raising a, question as to. .the truth of that confession." "" 1 There was ' a' '; sudden ' interruption caused by 'the-en trance' fef the butler .who- approached: his master and whispered.,, whis-pered.,, something-to him. -j Aloud fbe judge sajd; .. ..,, .-- - "Ask her. to wait' till we are ready." ' The servant retired and Capt. Clinton Clin-ton turned-to i:he judge. With mock aefereiice,'."nC sail : ZZJ:-? ' i . 'Say, Mr. Jrewster, you're a great constitutional lawyer- the greatest In .tlusicountryand "l..ta"6e off my hat to you, but I don't think criminal law Is in your line." " "' -' -. Judge Brewstet pursed his lips and his eyes flashed asr he retorted nulckly: ' . :- ' ' -' "I don't think It's constitutional to take a- man's'rmind away from him and substitute your -own,. -Capt. Clinton.'': Clin-ton.'': '.".'J ';.-'t"! -;.-'' ' '. ," "What do you . mean?" demanded the chief. .. ' .' : "I mean that. Instead of bringing out of this man his own true thoughts of innocence, you have forced into his consciousness, your own false thoughts of his guilt." . . . ,::"' , , '. , - The" judge spoke slowly, and deliberately, delib-erately, making each word tell. The police bully squirmed uneasily on his chair. - r. : ; 7 . , - ;'. "I 'don't follow you, judge. Better stick to international- law. This police court work is beneath you." ' "Perhaps it is,", replied , the lawyer quickly without losing d his ; temper. Then he asked: , "Captain, will you answer an-swer a few questions?" - '. ' , : "It all depends," replied the other Insolently. .. .... . -.- ''If you don't," cried the judge sharply, sharp-ly, "Til ask' them through the. me-' dium of your own weapon the press. Only my press will not consist of the one or two yellow ' journals you inspire, in-spire, but tjie... independent,, dignified press of the United States." "; The captain reddened..; ',.- . .'yu "I don't like the Insinuation, judge." "I don't insinuate, Capt. Clinton," went on the lawyer severely, "I accuse you of giving an untruthful Version of this matter to two' sensational newspapers news-papers in this city. ..These scurrilous sheets have tried this young man in their columns and found him guilty, thus prejudicing the whole community against him before he comes to trial. In no other country In the ; civilized world would this be tolerated, -except in a country overburdened with freedom." free-dom." , - , ;."'.',, I , Capt. Clinton laughed boisterously. "The early bird catches the worm," he grinned. "They asked me tor information in-formation and got it." Judge Brewster went on: "You have so prejudiced the community com-munity against him that there is scarcely a -man who doesn't believe him guilty. If this matter ever cornea to trial how can we pick an unprejudiced unpreju-diced jury? " Added to this foul injustice injus-tice you have branded this young man's wife with every stigma that can be put on womanhood. You have hinted hint-ed that she is the mysterious female who visited Vnderwooo! on the night nf the shooting and openly suggested that she is the cause of the crime." "Well, it's just -ossible," said the policeman with effrontery. . Judge Brewster was fast losing his mper The man's insolent demeanor demean-or wr.s intolerable Half rtsins from jhis- chair and pointing his finger. .at -mm, ne continued: 1 1 1 - .:.'..-; .:.'..-; ,"You have besmirched her character with, stories of scandal. ; : You have linked her name with that of . Underwood: Under-wood: The whole Country rings with falsities about her. In my opinion, Capt 'Clinton, your direct object is to destroy the value of any evidence she may give in her husband's avor.". The chief looked aggrieved. : "Why, I-' haven't said : a i word." Turning to his-, sergeant, he-asked: "Have I, Maloney?" . "But . these sensation - mongers have!" cried the judge angrily; "You are the only source from whom they could obtain the information." . ' , "But what do I gain?" demanded the captain with affected innocence.'- :", ' "Advertisement promotion," : replied re-plied the judge sternly. "These same papers speak of you as the greatest living - chief the greatest : public official of-ficial oh. you know the political value of that sort of thing as well as I do." Judge -Brewster picked up some papers pa-pers from his desk and read from one of them. . "Captain, in the case of the People against Creedon after plying the defendant de-fendant with questions for six hours you obtained a confession from him?" "Yes, he told me he set the place on fire." "Exactly but It afterward developed de-veloped that he was never near the place." "Well, he told me." "Yes. He told you, but it turned out that he was mistaken." "Yes," admitted the captain reluctantly. reluc-tantly. . Judge Brewster again consulted the papers in his hand. "You're quite right, captain my mistake it was homicide, but it was an' untrue confession." "Yes."; . "It was the same thing in the Callahan Cal-lahan case," went on the judge, picking pick-ing up another document. "In the case of the People against Tuthill and Cosgrove Tuthill confessed and died in prison, and Cosgrove afterward acknowledged ac-knowledged that he and not Tuthill was the guilty man." "Well," growled the captain, "mia-'takes "mia-'takes sometimes happen." ' ' Judge Brewster . stopped and - laid down his eyeglasses. - "Ah; that is precisely the point of view, we take .in this matter! Now, captain, In the present case, on the night of the confession did you show .young Mr. Jeffries th pistol with which he was supposed to have shot -Robert Underwood?" . , .' 'I Capt. Clinton screwed up his eyee as if thinking hard. Then, turning to his sergeant, he said: "Yes. I think 1 did. .Didn't I, Maloney?" Ma-loney?" "Your word is sufficient," said the judge quickly. "Did you hold it up?" "Think I did." "Do' you know if there was a light shining on it?" asked the judge quickly. "Don't know might have been,'' replied re-plied the chief carelessly. "Were there electric lights on the wall?". . , - -Yes'. "' ' - ' "What difference does that make?" demanded the policeman. "Quite a little," replied the judge quietly.- "The barrel of the revolver was bright shining steel. From the moment that Howard Jeffries' eyes rested on the shining steel barrel of I that revolver he was no longer a con- . a'cious personality. As he himself said t'p his wife: 'They said I did it and I knew I didn't, but after I looked at that shining pistol I don't know what I said or' did everything became a blur and. a .blank.'. Now, I may tell you, "captain,' that-this condition fits " in every detail the clinical experiences of nerve -specialists and the medical experiences of the psychologists. .After .Aft-er five hours' constant cross-qutfstion- ; ing while in- a semi-dazed condi-ion,. you Impressed on him your own-ideas - you extracted from him not the thoughts that were in his own con- -.seidusness, ,but: those -that were A SZ: yours. Is that the scientific fact, doctor?" doc-tor?" .:- 8 l- s: i r'Y?s,' 'irepliedTDr.i Bernstein, "tha optical .captjvation of Howard Jeffries' Jef-fries' attention makes the whole Gasa complete and "clear to the physician," ; ; Capt. rClinton laugbied loudly." ' "Optical captivation is good! ". TiirnO Ing to his sergeant he asked: "What . do you think. of that, Maloney?" ' '" ,.Sergt--Maloney .chuckled.. '-'It's a .new one," eh?"' ''No captain It's a-very oldJone,"1 interrupted the lawyer sternly, "but;-, it's new to us,' We're barely on the'" threshold . of the discovery. It. certainly cer-tainly ' explains .'these ' other cases, doesn't it?". ' ' ' "I don't know that It does," object- , ed the" captain'; shaking his head. "I doh't acknowledge " . - Judge Brewster sat down. Looking the' policeman : squarely - in" the face, -he said .slowly, and. deliberately: - "Capt. Clinton, whether you acknowledge ac-knowledge it or not, I can prove that... you "obtained" these confessions by means of hypnotic suggestion, and that is a greater crime against society than .any jthe state punishes or pays you to prevent." The captain laughed land shrugged his shoulders,.. Indifferently he said: "I guess the boys up at Albany can deal , with that question." '-"The boys -up- at Albany," retorted the lawyer, "know as little about the laws of psychology as you do. This will be dealt with at Washington!" The .captain, yawned.. "I didn't come here to hear aboul that you were "going to produce the woman who called on Underwood the night of the murder that was what I came here for not to hear my methods meth-ods criticised where is she?" ! "One thing at a time," replied the judge. "First, I wanted to show you that we know Howard Jeffries' confession con-fession is untrue. Now we'll take up the other question." Striking a bell on his .desk,-he added: "This' woman can prove that : Robert. Underwood, committed suicide."' "She, can, eh?" exclaimed the captain' cap-tain' sarcastically. "Maybe she did ii herself. Some one did It, that's sure!" The library door opened and the butler entered "Yes, some one did It!" retorted the judge; "we agree there!" To the servant he said: '"Ask Mrs. Jeffries, Jr., to come here." - , - The servant left the room and the captain turned to the judge with a laugh: "Is she the one? Ha! ha! that's easy The judge nodded. t , "She .has promised to produce the , missing witness to-night!' "She has, eh?" exclaimed the captain. cap-tain. Rising quickly from his chair, he crossed the. . room . and talked in an undertone with his sergeant. Thia new turn In the case seemed to interest inter-est him. Meantime Mr. Jeffries, who had followed every phase of the questioning ques-tioning with close attention, left his seat and, went over to Judge Brewster. ."Is. it possible," he exclaimed, -"is it L possible that Underwood shot himself?- I never dreamed of doubting Howard's confeBHlon!" More cordially he went 'on: "Brewster, If this la true, 1 owe you a debt of gratitude you've -done splendid work I I'm, afraid I've .been just a trl fie obstinate.'' "Just a trifle," said the judge dryly. Sergeant Maloney took his hat. "Hurry up!" said the captain, "you can telephone from the corner drua, store." "All right, cap." Dr. Bernstein also rose to depart ' "1 must go, Mr, Brewster; I hav an appointment at the hospital." The judge grasped his hand warmly. "Thank you, doctor!" he exclaimed.: "I don't know what I should havs done without you." '- "Thank you, sir!" chimed In the banker; "1 am greatly indebted to you." ."Don't mention : It," replied :the. psychologist almost ironically.' ' ' ' He went out and the bankt,- Impatiently Im-patiently took' out his watch. "It's getting late!" he exclaimed; "where is this gir! I have no faith in her promises!" As be spoke the library door opened and Annie appeared. ' (TO UB CONTINUEDJ " - j |