| Show Telegram Fiction I Murder at the Mocking House I 1 By Walter Brown CHAPTER 50 Harper was asking himself how it was vas possible that this modish beauty could be thrice a murderess murderess murderess-Aline Aline Croyden was asking herself how much of her story this sergeant of detectives had lad guessed I I 1 have been eavesdropping Mr Harper she announced simply as aso o one e who puts Q E. E D D. D at the end cad of a demonstration in geometry Harper relaxed the tenseness lag ing ng from muscles instinctively braced against the possible impact of ot flying steel teeL The woman was sane and collected col col- at all aU events But her right hand was still invisible and there was no sign of ot wavering in the set lines ines of her mouth or the look in her eyes Aline Croyden noticed this fugitive lapse apse of attention Please dont don't try anything heroic she spoke through tight ight lips Sit down over down over there Stay Where You Are Harper with an air of casualness took ook the chair she indicated This is is very dramatic but quite useless you ou know he objected Her eyes ees burned at him suddenly alive live I 1 had to be sure She shivered a little As soon as I saw your our face face face- The detective leaned forward Mrs Croyden let us talk this situation ever ve quietly between ourselves Gun way Ing ng is out of place at this stage There must have been some terrible driving power that forced you to such lengths Only you can state what that was Joseph oseph Donaghy's part In it I can guess ue uess but the other other- I 1 did not come here to talk I felt fel you ou getting closer and closer to the solution and I had to see if it you really knew new You forced my hand by going after fter my sister and Pierre They have nothing o thing to do with this matter and andt at t least I can have the final decency to o shoulder my own burdens Ancor And Anc for or your own safety let me repeat your our warning to Joseph Donaghy Donaghy- you u can hang a person only once Remember that and act accordingly Have you ou a gun in your our pocket Harper shook his head I carry one ne only on special occasions You may search me if you like he added half alf rising from the chair Sit still If you move or make a anoise anoise noise oise Ill I'll shoot There Ther was no mistaking mis taking aking the steely ring of that voice Come now Harper pr protested tested Even if I had a gun in my pocket I wouldn't try to beat you to the draw That hat isn't necessary You cant can't bluff me Mrs Croyden Youre You're the one inthe inthe in the IB dangerous spot and you cant can't shoot loot your way out of it this this- time My ly advice is to give in gracefully I shall escape she replied I dently Do you suppose I would plan lan everything thing else and not arrange for Cor or that Everything is read ready Harper shook his head again You cant ant get awa away If you shoot at me you'll not get out of ot this house perhaps per per- haps laps not out of at this room And sup sup- pose ose you did escape temporarily Where could you go so To whom could you ou turn The full machinery of the law would be turned to tracking you ou down own You would be a marked woman woman woman wo wo- wo- wo man wherever you went You couldn't even ven find a refuge in the lowest slums lums of f the underworld They'd give you up i in a minute At most a few days of terror and flight and you'd be run rundown rundown down own like a rabbit hunted by dogs Small Devices De Give Results Results' Well not argue that point The face turned to him with its ils set t lines the shadows under sleepless yes eyes Tell me how did you OU know The detective silently pointed to tole the le lens on the table Mrs Irs Croyden gave it a swift glance I dont don't understand What were you lookIng oking at a professional secret Mrs Croyden royden Suppose you u use ue e the lens for r yourself I 1 would like to but I can cant can't t trust you ou Tell me please Her voice suddenly broke in quick pleading Nothing can matter now I The detective thought If I can keep on on n talking long enough someone will willry try ry that door When that happens happens' Ill I'll 1 close in and take my chances with her cr gun I II I He said aid aloud When you came in inI I 1 had just made nn an important dis dis- covery We had failed before to find any iy fingerprints on that table but I just noticed a number numb r of tiny mar maron marks markson on n the top and they furnish a 3 clue nearly nearl as distinctive as ai a fingerprint iL ell He u ou deliberately struck the top of ot that table four o or or five times with a clenched fist That Tha at suggests a quarrel or or an argument The marks were made by that rin ring you are arc wearing Mrs Croyden Th The diagonal setting of those two di diamonds dia- dia monds makes an unmistakable pa pat pal tern That gave it away The woman digested this in silence She looked at the ring on her finger then standing at the table made th the motion of phantom anger rapping rappin I with knuckles down Such a small smal thing she murmured Great results are lre often measure measured by small devices the detective an an- She looked at atthe the ring again Otherwise Oth you ou would not have known she questioned I wouldn't say th that t Harper re re- re plied It really would have been bee more baffling to us if Donaghy's death deat had appeared in its ils true colors Camouflaging it as suicide really broke up the puzzle It was there ther that your logic tripped itself up fo foin forin for lor lorin in order to pin the whole thing o othe on the supposed suicide through his confession confession con you had to give away The secret of that first escape A fatal fata error error for it prompted me to look fo for forthe forthe the same clue in the s second cond instance The same clue she repeated Yes Yes the the same clue No matter matter matte how clever the deed there is always alway an unsuspected clue left behind Sometimes we are not alert en enough ouCh to find it iL He waved toward th the table Those diamond marks are a an instance But the clue I referred t to was a peculiar cut in jn the snow which was made when the rope w wh was s shaken shake free tree and hauled back We found that mark in the beginning begin begin- ning but could make nothing of ot i it It was only when we were put In possession of the rope itself that its meaning became clear Naturally this led me to look in the snow agai again after we found Donaghy Donagh and there ther vias was the same ame kind of ot mark That labeled it at once as another murder in spite of ot the typed confession confes conies sion the nature of the wound and th the recovered articles articles' That ingenious excuse excuse ex ex- ex cuse for the absence of the blackmail mone money Donaghy had W was ls suspicious too loo for lor we knew he had not been away from his room last night Who Was H. H D. D Thanks for the advice She drew herself herselt together slowly pulled the ring from her finger and deliberately placed it on the table This has betrayed be be- me once It would be dangerous danger danger- ous to wear it any longer wouldn't it See that it gets back safely to my husband she said steadily and tell tel him Im I'm sorry for all the trouble Ive I've caused But Mrs Croyden you cant can't go away like ike this simply saying nothing In your own defense There must be reasons explanations you can give You owe it to yourself to-yourself to present your side of the story Surely Officer Hamill had done nothing to warran warrant his death Alma Aline Croyden Croden winced from that name as from a blow That is the real burden on my conscience she whispered I lost my ray hen head head I I I wen went vent crazy I razy I saw the whole perfect plan I had designed destroyed by that one blind ilind chance That w was murder but those hose other two she flashed with sudden S anger blazing blaring in her shadowed eyes eyeS' that was only justice I have not a single regret I had to use what Weapons I could against them Harper lowered his voice Mrs Croyden who was H. H D. D really Neither you ou nor anyone shall ever know enow that she answered bitterly Let him lie in the morgue Let him himo go o to a potters potter's field Ill I'll never tell teH Its It's the best he deserves No one will willever willever willever ever come forward to claim him alive or dead I 1 am not prying Im I'm merely trying to o understand your story Mrs Croy den Ser Harner HarDer said with sim pie dignity Then Ill I'll help you to understand she he flamed I toI have never been happy in n my marriage It is true that I hadan had hadan an m affair fair with that man As I look back jack now I hardly know how it beg began began be be- g gan n except that I met him at al a time when I was unhappy and starved for excitement She stopped staring scaring blankly lankly at the det detective I soon found I 1 had fallen into the hands of at ofa ata a beast I came to hate hat him I tried to o break a away To be Continued I Copyright ht 1924 by Walter C. C Brow BrowD |
