Show A 1 00 OF 40 T H E I 1 I 1 DARK ak Z a g A J I 1 I 1 I 1 6 ir win g 0 AI 1 by and CO ira I 1 ijohn L bartley Dur noted criminal ri cantly returned from ecret service work du during rini ur the war waro Is 1 ask ka by th a of new york to vesti it i mysterious attempted rob a the th robert nobert balyk home at circle LAX 0 bear saratoga peculiar circum tan 0 of ur th cu intaro IWUY and h L a IL with hie his friend alt ey ajro to 1 lak the pair u minor the cut ul ts of 1 dob ob curria an old frio ind afa w af T aalt the blaka home yke apper uy res ts cora in C as ying ba sis sau 20 th two con soon to in erg son for the th attempted robbery was ww WU rulley baru 1 next ext mom wom ing le found rad r ax ui bd appart ap ur SY havenar hot himself CHAPTER ua M potter the dead buin sister in anilde anil IN ur village polac chief koch roche and ur he tag family byis tan doctor au all agree aar alake it ibid M ham felt if but feruy ingists he h was wa murdered investigating bartly bartley find finds that blake attar a card party he h hd had given rm was hoc OC on an the tb tower of q the th houna hou undressed and plad ta in ic bd durins his hi atom th the room someone removes the to rt volver fron fro n hand band CHA pta apelt r tarts out to cintr view ur the members nier obre of the th card party lie find da to his hi surp riso that parent ly b broat kar had offard to eu him bt i we aada eylane that the in 1 jall for or umsted robbery 9 alaka were frand ara vl VI from a visit to saratoga bartley P pelt t and currle currie come upon a large aa motor moor truck without lights and off ur the roul they are dis dt bvrd endeavoring to Ws ur license number and fired on tb the truck ff axy away th ahr corns upon 3 conr sod burfal vault AP area 3 y it 0 lock ock te Is new nd bartly bartley pie r a it they and ur the neul tault t tord with and alao alio ur the revolver which bd had ben been found in bicken hand A num seemingly well ata qt a with th P alc plc oe J rave mind nd ury they detain him lum zt is 1 elskoe mail chauffeur A dot vs for ur the revenue arrives and takes tak ch chare ire of ur ma vault 1 I fliam antena ten cl to burc your reet rt e ing enss W pelt you are am like all newspaper men you enjoy building up a etory story out of nothing in this affair we let ourselves gat et sidetracked traC kod we shall need all the clear thIr thinking dring we can doal do anxious to redeem myself I 1 bald said john wo have been going on the tits theory that some one from outside came into the bouso house and killed a mysterious visitor who arrived after lawrence had left perhaps the murderer woe w hading tn in the house all the time he cave gave me an interested look and an approving nod suppose I 1 went on that the murderer was on the balcony it waa was a good place to hide it was wits so dark up there them that he could not have been cron brom the ground then let us assume that heard a sound above him win when he was wm in the we room below he the balcony and went up to see what it wax the person may way have bave made tho the sound on purpose to attract hie bla attention lon at ony any rate when he be does come coine out on the bl bal cony be Is killed 19 bartley did not speak for a while turnlee my suggestion over lo 10 his mind then he answered you may be it Is blo that some one wax wits waiting for him to come upstate out do not forgot forget that if that Is so go the person would have had bad to wait there for a long time tor for he auld could not tell when would come into the room below the balcony still SUII your suggestion 1 in well worth keeping in mind although be poke spoke BO so favorably of my idea I 1 could see that he did sot not really agree with me an I 1 yawned and bartley bawer glanced at gifts watch it was after three and we should have been la in bed bod several hours oco aro lie ile rose bosn and taking two objects from his pocket placed them on the desk I 1 leaned over to see what they were lying black and sinister on the dark mahogany surface were ere the revolver that had been taken from hand and hidden in the avit and a little cork stopper its it end covered with red wax that showed where a knife had been used on it IL look bartley bald said pointing at them with a laugh the sole result of a days work the only clues we have are before us ux one Is a revolver that did not hav a it finger anger print on it the other a little stopper that might have come from anywhere prom from these we have to discover the murderer agajan he be laughed I X stood looking at the two objects thinking how bow in significant they w and they could speak and tell their story Cat catching chInS my mood hia lace face grew grave he stood looking at them for a moment then with a sudden gesture swept them into int a adall box saying we ought to hav have beebi la in bed hours bours aroen ago I 1 had reached ray my room and wax puling down the bed bod boyers bhea he called to me rae I 1 returned reto raed to blu room ana anta found him euting on an the edge efte of hie hw bed askin taking off bu show 1 I forgot to tell you pelt that when we re reach the solution of this murder babow or other whisky will wm be nosed up with it IL when yon you told me we that had be tiva riling selling whisky to mi friends fries dx I 1 knew know that something w wax toe the finding dia dIbir of the liquor more tain he ile have known that that binky baft av there why under heaven a nian that lied had the money was to have had should secrete whisky on his life ground grounds I 1 Is more than man I 1 know bat but I 1 reminded him you sly a ay he lie did not have as much money ae as people thought ho bad ye yes that Is 1 truo true the lawyer confirmed what I 1 had heard about his losses whisky and bad had a good deal in common you will find and he yawned dawned and I 1 started again for my room ae an I X reached the door he added black thinks the uie chault chauffeur eur killed maybe ho he did still stil and be laughed 1 I never aw saw sk a man with a square hood head that knew very much and that detective certainly has a square head and with tant absurd remark in my mind I 1 wont A ent to bed CHAPTER VIII vill the open opens it was wits only natural after the lateness of tho the hour at which I 1 went to bed that I 1 should oversleep the next morning ro it was well after nine be fore I 1 entered the breakfast room I 1 found no one there but a sen ant who told me that the others had eaten some timo time before when I 1 had aln fished my breakfast I 1 went in search of hartley bartley and found him in the sun parlor surrounded by a mass of 0 papers lie ile bated to me and went on rending reading the inquest A us not to be held until one and I 1 wondered what bartley wanted me to do with my morning As if in answer to nay my thought lie looked up and bald said ho lie was going into saratoga on some errands and suggested that I 1 go with him and interview the girl friend with whom ruth nuth had intended to spend the night tho the first place wo we stopped on our arrival in town vaa mas at a large drug store where bartley asked to see the proprietor when he appeared hartley bartley placed a small object on the counter before him can you give me any idea he asked what sort of a bottle that cork came from the object was the little stopper with v ith the red wax which be he had showed me the night before picking it up the druggist looked at it very carefully lie ile turned it over in his hand scratched the wax with TI knife and took so long in replying that I 1 thought he never would speak 17 1 I think I 1 can con he said sald at last the little cork not only had its top covered with red wax war but the wax ran down tho the sides of the bottle in or der to get it open it was necessary to cut the wax away it looks to me as if it it came cume from a park graham draham bottle you mean the drug flemr firm bartley asked tee yes I 1 will show you rou he ile went behind the screen and re turned in a second with a little bottle in his hand it was but a few inches long and the cork topper stopper was covered in the same manner with red wax and part of it bad had run down the sides of the bottle it was the mate inato to the stopper that hartley bartley had found bartley examined the bottle carefully noted the label and returned it to 10 mb when wo me bere re cugnin in the automobile Tl nitty 1 I wish I 1 wre were an bic suit alint fint that topper stopper was doing in that room on the druggist la is of the kind of n bottle it came out of real object in coming to town wile wan hoA however ever to visit the jail jall and find mid out from whether the tha chauffeur had lint told what he know or not I 1 left him nt at the jail door prom ising to return within nn tin hour and went in bearch of ho the yount woman aith whom stepdaughter step daughter had expected to spend the night when I 1 found hr her morroa here out all that lind mild said about the way ay site find happened to go horse home the night of the murder they had bad been to a dunce dance together and on ab e way back the car had broken doar dorra near the entrance to the estate ruth eald sald an she wax wo so 0 o near sh h might ar well po go home one of ta th young nic men n find cone with her to the little cottage where her undo uncle lived he had waited until tho the old man had come und and had then re joined hlf tits party story had been true and aud I 1 saw how very ray suggestion to bartley had been that ehe she have committed the th murder when I 1 returned to the jail about an hour later inter I 1 found that hartley bartley had find cone to doctor kinge kings nice and I 1 fol followed loed him there nt onie onte it waa was tho the usual physicians office with cades of instruments along the walls and a flattop flat top desk in the center of the vie room rown hartley bartley and the doctor were bending over a small pud when I 1 entered and bartley told me that the doctor hud find been drawing for him a little map of the roads around the estate the doctor looked older than when ulten I 1 had seen him first tar far cuore tired and nervous it took several years to get over eliell shock from alch he lie buffered ered he lie told us and lie had been very foolish to start to practice again so 80 after ills re turn frum from the front lie ile recounted a few of his war ar experiences and they were ere enough to lime broken uny any man he said that as soon ns tits hie ills duties in regard to the case acre ere over lie was going to lake a rest all the time he ile talked to us he lie placed planed with a pencil penell or tapped the denk desk in front of him wo we spoke of the inquest and he be told us that he did not need to call a coro coroners nees jury unless lie wished the facts were ere so complex or eu so simple 11 7 he suggested that if it were mur der someone from saratoga might have committed the crime it was hard to say which that a jury would be confused by them he admitted bitted that there was no doubt that had bad been murdered but doubted if any jury would bring in a verdict dict of murder on such slight evidence no a we had bad he suggested that it if it were murder some one from saratoga might hae committed the crime it was wail not a bad suar estion and fa in mv surprise ranee ijar barney tiey seemed to regard recard it favorably evorn bly the doctor Wentlo mentioned ned the chauffeur arrest and said that ho he had only known the man by night we tallied for nn hour or more inore then ro turned home hartley bartley tion in hie his room changing lili ills suit atilt for luncheon when a telephone colt came cattle for or him when ho he returned he told mu mo that the call had been from mr lawyer HO had phoned him bartley dartley aid until that the papers in the safe was an onvel envelope ope with ten thousand dollars tin jn bills in it and that tho the hank had informed him that on the da day y of or our had deposited thirteen houRn nd dollar dollars with them while this was interesting news I 1 could not sea 00 oo that it wae was of any importance to us and aid said an much to bartley ils half stuffed re its he reminded me that ten thousand dollars aam an a lot of money to keep in the house and anti added that it wits that should deposit thirteen ee n and retain another ton iri id hie tits house jie no wondered if hie his keeping the money find any relation to the visitor that bf expecting at any rate the man wan had find not gotten the money if it that had tied been what he was after luncheon over currle currie bartley end and I 1 started for the inquest In tho the news papers had evidently received a tip that there wae more in death than had appeared for when we arrived we were forced to run a caunt gaunt lot of reporters re who recognized bart dart toy nt at once and crowded around him they realized that if he were inter ested in the case ease it was of more importance than they had ted 11 and nd wanted to know if it he be did not bae hae some information to rivo give them with a laugh at their ho he replied that he did not but ahon hen he be had he would see that they were the onos to get it there were a number of care in front of the honeo bouse and a email small crowd nf of men standing about in twos and throes tuat just as A 0 a turned to mount ohp stops pe lawrence Ln wrence drove up and greeted un with n rother rather forced smile tho The inquest lInquest was as to be held in thea large ahing room in which the bur lara lind had been found though it w was na not a public hearing open to every one there were a goodly number of people present doctor kine king and the other officials lind not yet nr arrived rived and binek who ieng talking to a it group of men ilien jort oft them and came come to greet us he tie told na that the chauffeur was to c brought from the jail by bs noche and that he thought big testimony make a sen sensation bartley to understand what he meant homod though ough I 1 did not nol the chauffeur had MCI refused to talk and had answered alt all que questions alons b saying that he be would tell what lie knew at the inquest all at tempts to and out what that b t kili t ii I 1 i ed bartley naked black if lf be till tm thought that the chauffeur was guilty of the murder black countered by stating that he lie did not believe that anyone else knew ni as much about the affair ae am he h did it was hie his opinion loi that if the chauffeur had not killed him he at least knew know so something ab about out the crime one thing the man had admitted when questioned and that was wa that aben hen he be testified he would ruin min beveral several reputations reputation iL bartley rae was much interested and told black that he wished he would aek ask hoche not to bring Driff eur into the courtroom until it was time for him to give his big testimony want to spring hemr asked the detective with witt a grin bartley nodded and black went away to arrange the matter I 1 could we what bartley wae was after only the police and ourselves knew that the man waa was to be placed on the stand and bartley wanted to see what of ef fact his sudden introduction might have on those present there might be someone eo so surprised by it that he away CONTINUED NEXT WEEK |