Show 1100 TR TRUE DE DETECT DETECTIVE lVE STORIES I 1 A CHANCE CLUE Cop Copyright right 1921 by the Wheeler Newspaper Newspaper Newspaper News News- paper Syndicate Coincidences which figure so largely In detective stories also appear with startling regularity In real life lite For example ex ex- ample one would not expect that a criminal criminal crimi crimi- nal nat investigator who had already solved one of th the most baffling f e railway murders murders mur mur- nt ders in ju the tem annals a of the police history of or London would only a short time later be faced by another mystery of almost the same kind But that is precisely what happened to Colonel James chief ot of police In London Tho The first case was the Red lied Hand lIand Mystery Mys Mys- tery tory involving l Franc anc Mueller the German German German Ger Ger- man who mur murdered Thomas Briggs and the second hinged on the strange disappear disappearance pear nce of John Gold a wealthy merchant merchant merchant mer mer- merI I chant of Brighton The Gold case was even more baffling I than the Mueller affair for the thc merchant I apparently vanished from the train somewhere somewhere somewhere some some- someI I where be and Preston Park The fact that there had been no stops en route only added to the mystery Gold had boarded th the express There was no doubt of of that for the guards had on- on him somewhere between the Merstham Mere Meis- tham thain an and l Balcombe tunnels But when the train pulled into Preston Park Parl there was no trace of him whatever He had gone vanished gone vanished One Oue of ot the men in the same carriage carnage however howe told a stor story which the police at first thought had a material bearing on the case Giving his name as Lamon this passenger maintained that he had been the tho victim of an entirely unprovoked unprovoked yoked assault while the train was passing through the Merstham l tunnel Someone Someone Some Some- one one he stated fired a pistol and then before he could offer any assistance he ho was knock knocked d over the head and did not consciousness until th the train pulled into Preston Park Parle Lamons Lamon's appearance appeared to bear out oat his 1 tory story His Ills head was cut and swollen There was a a. under one eye eje and his clothing was disarrayed But Hut the police poll not desiring to overlook anything anything any any- thing which might tend to throw light upon the Gold disappearance accompanied accompanied panle Lamon to the place where he was supposed to live a live a girls' girls school kept by some relatives of ot his at Cryden Lamon I entered the building giving as au an excuse excuse excuse ex ex- ex- ex I cuse the fact that he wished to change his clothes and then dropped completely out of sight subsequent investigation showing that ho he had made his escape through a rear door Colonel Fraser who Immediately took I charge of ot the case saw that there were two distinct angles angled to it the It-the the discovery of ot the body of the missing merchant and the location of ot the tho man who wh had told such an unusual story about his experience experience ence en-ce on the train It was practically certain that the two were closely connected connected connected con con- but it was first necessary to find J I I the tho bod body of ot John Gold Under Frasers Fraser's direction every foot toot ot 01 the railway and the country around It was carefully Inspected with the result that the remains of oC the Brighton merchant merchant merchant mer mer- chant were found hidden in a thick clump of bushes only a few feet away from the track His watch and ana about 1000 were missing evidently having haing been taken taen after he had been struck over the head Working along the same lines he had followed tn ln the Briggs murder Colonel Fraser then ordered that the railway carriage In which Gold had been travelIng traveling travel travel- travel travel-I Ing be sealed until he had an opportunity to examine It carefully Mueller the murderer of Briggs Brigge had been located i through his carelessness In leaving his cap in the coach and Fraser Fl-aser did not In Intend Intend In In- tend to overlook ny a-ny other clues that nature But the first and even the second examination of ot the carriage failed to I bring to light any clues whatever There I were no finger prints no bits of torn I clothing nothing which seemed to provide provide pro pro- vide a a. basis for a reconstruction of the crime No man argued Colonel r Fraser could commit a murder of this kind pressed as he was for time and fearful that at itt t any moment the guards might discover him without leaving some trace behind him Its It's here somewhere and its it's up to us to find it With that he lifted one of the seats of the compartment and slipped his fingers along the space at the back There he found two smooth round ob objects which when examined proved to be gold pieces piece But fortunately there was a peculiarity about the coins They were both Han and Inquiry developed the fact that the Brighton merchant had been paid in gold on the morning of disappearance The Inference was that Lamon had the rest of ot them and an or order order order or- or der was immediately flashed to the police throughout the country to keep a sharp watch for tor any anyOne ne who offered similar gold pieces in exchange for goods of ot any kind A As might have been expected the re returns returns returns re- re turns from this order were so numerous as almost to swamp the police facilities Hanoverian coins while ont oat exactly common com corn mon were by no means U unusual and the st rt of u were r forced to o follow scores of false leads e before aY they found the right one e Some weeks after the Gold murder however the report came In that a man named Parks had bought some groceries In a Stepney store and had paid for them with two Hanoverian coins Upon lookIng lookIng looking look- look Ing Into the matter the police polide e found that the he description of Parks tallied very closely with that of Lamon and Colonel Fraser himself went to Stepney to hives hives- The moment he saw Parks Parks and and noted bis gaze ln shifty gaze and hunted bunted I sion slon the chief of police knew that he was on the right trail Pardon me me Mr 11 Parks Parl s said Fraser but might I see the back of your hands bands for a moment Not suspecting that he had been discovered discovered discovered dis dis- dis- dis covered Lamon extended his hands and the next moment found that he was handcuffed I think that this ends the Gold murder murder murder mur mur- der mystery announced Colonel Fraser And he was right The The murderer o oi of John Gold had been traced by the gold he had taken from the dead mans man's pockets pock pock- ets the fact that he had overlooked the coin which had slipped sUpped In behind the railway railway railway rail rail- way seat |