| Show A r 0 H E all DAR KNES S W A crumiell clu A A copyright lloyt and coira 6 1 I 1 CHAPTER L ajohn barbey noted ctorn recently from cm brulc work during ur the wr war 1 to s asked lk by br the governor ot of nw now york to t 0 a mysterious rob ry ot ur boar home at t ciral noar peculiar 11 a circuns t the CAM latart lat rt BY und and accept IL with his friend pelt brur roe cots to cuva lake ur the pair the guests of bob currle currie an 6 imd the thra ahr visit the ayko alyk bom bows wyk rente artly Brt ly Gond nir saying he h is 1 saus und 64 4 the th tw two aa la in artoon rison for the th attempt attempts 4 robbery iw we gu auty R bruy not next morns morning ing fe found n it 4 in bd bed apparently having hot shot hemsil III miss ma potter the dead alno wister in F aw ur the village police ehlt and ur we famely allm a ir phyl clan docar aln all agree ar felyk k kuld I 1 ilsa him T if but ar arlly y insists h he was murdered finds evident vl that mrk after card att he h hd had given 1 w was bt shot on th the tower of the bou bouse un ard 3rd 1 and flad la in bd bed during his flom the room someone rai novis the ta r front ron akes band V pelt out to inter view ur the of ur ard party he lit flad da to bl surprise ur t 44 apparent ly almy broker bad had otard to 11 1 hi his do whisky icky ll 11 ands t that hat th the aia man to baij jau for attara pw robbery of f fylyk W war framed y at va from A visit to Ber butof bartley pu pelt and curri currie own upon langla motor me r truck without debts mad off C ur the roa raa they are r die dl ad to ur the ica a and arod on tb the truck ff wr away ano fire three colne u upon a a ins 24 kurta vault A p lreh look ak U BW OW aad and 2 brur ru or pl ga 1 it t they th 2 und ns th ur vaul tor state hisky ant nd a 10 lo ur the tat r which bad 4 been found in lyke IC A mai well with VIM th ur alc plc co arrives md and urr they deala bim ba tit it T te slewo meine JL A 40 attly Ir for ur tho revenue d ducaj bunot lio arrive arrives and nd take takes cha go ot of t ur IrMon ault vult ME ina taw af ch aa rac directly in front of the coroners desk and about six feet away were seated the members of household stepdaughter ruth dressed in dark blue was between miss potter and an old ban man who I 1 decided was the minister uncle who had brought her borne bome the night of the murder I 1 could not see miss min potters face but her hands showed a great nervous strain they were never till picking incessantly at t the folds of her drem dress oa on her right were two empty chairs for the chauffeur and hoche and beyond the them the butler and the other servants we bad had to wait some time for the doctor who had been delayed by a case when he arrived he pushed hie his way hurriedly through the people at the far ead of the room rooms pausing only for a moment to speak to the district attorney he took hie his place back of the desk and after removing some paper from his ble bag bair stood for a moment looking over the crowd ho he seemed almost too worn and nervous lo 10 preside A silence fell on the room the curious expectant silence that I 1 have so often noticed at inquests In quests to moat most of the people present the doctor had ceased to be their familiar friend and had become an impersonal officer of the law the instrument for unpaved ing inc a mysterious perhaps wera thinking of the man in whose house they were and whose dead body lay above awaiting burial the silence was suddenly broken by a heavy peal of ot thunder to cay my surprise the doctor called as an his first witness sister in law As an a rule the first person derson called at an inquest Is to the one wito discovered the body brit 1 for some reason the doctor had decided to keep the butler for a later moment the first questions after miss pot ter bad had taken the oath were th the usual onee ones they related to her name and her relation relationship aMp to she eald said her name nam was wan alice potter and that she was the sister of his dead wife had asked her to como come and run his house for him and for the last ten years she had bad done so in response to a question as to whether she had been paid for her servi service cep she flushed rushed deeply and explained that while no real salary bad had been paid whenever she bad had needed money she had asked for it and he had given it to her the sum varied though she doubted if she had e ever v or received more than a thousand in any arty one year he always had been willing villing to give her as much as she asked for la and had not questioned the amounts there had never been any trouble over money matters between biem wem this thin was all evidence that r knew know and while she ah was giving it t I 1 glanced about the room roon then watched the doc tor be lie was finding his position a very difficult one as ba was the family physician as am well as the coroner lie ile put his questions with as an much delicacy as an possible the whole affair seemed to bo be very distasteful to him it was particularly trying for a man who was still feeling the effects of a nervous breakdown miss MW potter for innately became more ore at ease as the questioning proceeded she kept her ei acs ca down and gave her answers in such a low voice that at times it was bard to hear them at all r all through the early part of miss 1 potters evidence there them warn rumble or instant balk ani lt in ry my chair I 1 pushed tho the din perles that hid the window rind looked out it was almost like night A bh big etona vae wait close at hand thy thunder was still some miles away and I 1 could nee dystant almost con sinuous flashes of lightning after a quick glance I 1 lot let the curtain fall back into place when I 1 turned my attention again to the evidence doctor king was questioning miss 1 potter about tho the finding of the body she te stifled that he the was at breakfast when tho the butler rushed into tho the room crying that something oro ething was wrong with mr rhe she knew her brother in law had bad intended to go flailing that morning and was surprised to learn that he was not yet up the butler had told her that he find called him hint and receiving no reply had entered his room and found mr still in bed when he did not answer vohen hen spoken to again he the butler had come at wee mee to her liar bhe she stated that she site had gone tp lip at once to hie his room the door ot 0 which had been left loft open by the butler butter when he rushed out she bad had crossed to tho the bed and called him by nnnie name when he lie did not answer she lucked looked closer and law saw that be he was dead her voice broke a little on this thin I 1 hist tat statement but she soon lecove recovered red and anti continued the ito next thing abo she had done she eald said vas nina to call the doctor for the first time the district at tomey torney took it band la in the proceedings pall us liow how you found him she site answered that ho he was lying on his fits back tho the bedclothes pulled up around his chin and his hands by his tits side aide she bile had lind not pulled the bed clothes down doun from the body nor disturbed them in any way it was not until she had noticed th ura tha a wound in hie fits head that she realized he bad had been shot did a aou disturb the bodar was the next question there was a long silence allene then haltingly 1 1 I l well that isi Is 1 I 1 did close hie his eyes their expression frightened me so I 1 closed them sho received a rather disgusted too look from the district attorney who naked asked did you not know that the body should have been left as you found it 1 I 11 aha made an appealing gesture 1 I never thought of that only of his emesi eyes I 1 they frightened me they stared so no I 1 simply closed them but I 1 did nothing else king then asked a question that surprised me thought he be bad had committed au lder she hesitated started to speak I 1 stopped and at last last found her voice why yes that that ini in la I 1 did at the time but I 1 dont know what to think now why did you think he kallel him eeler til this seem zd a harder barder question to answer than the other why I 1 dont know you see he was shot and I 1 knew know of no ono one who would want to kill him As far as 83 that goes I 1 know of no reason why he should have wanted to take his own life the next questions qu salons were along the line ahn she had x asted by her ansi ers 1 why did you think he killed him adelfo elfr AO could eho the not think or some rensol why wily ho he Illi might gilt have commett d eul out cado health or money tre bubles caT und ho he quarreled with anyone lately she refined to have more difficulty with these last questions than with vi tb any of the previous onoe ones she wae was so long in tin answering that some of them had to bo be rep repeated a abed several timer she bas so careful of what nhat eho she bald that she gave me the impression Impre salon that she sho was trying to keep something back in response to the first question giro repeated repented that she bhe knew know no reason why wily sly be should want mant to cora anit suicide sho site had heard beard of no n 0 money troubles and hie lily health w was an good no she lie had find never heard of his tits haing quarreled with ith anyone it was as this last answer antiser ans iser that ehe site had lind hl s stated longer oer than oer any of the others and it was the one which caused tile to feel suro puro she was hiding something the question regarding he the revolver that had been found in es hand she answered readily enough ile bad kept it in his tits room just where she did not know it N as one that be he bad had bought a year bedol 3 when questioned as nn to her own do ings on the night of ills fits death she could tell us nothing of value I 1 there had been a card party but she site had gono gone to bed about ten and had not v en heard the men go out during the night she had heard no sound As this was man alt all she had to tell she left the stand though her testimony had find thrown no light on what had taken place I 1 felt more strongly than ever that she could have done so had sh 3 wished I 1 glanced at bartley and the smile ho he gave me tile hinted that he tot tor thought as I 1 did the next witness uns a doctor webster I 1 knew know that a second phy had hud been en called lied in on th tha rooming morning 1 of f the tile crime hut but had find not met net him doctor klogy 0 s position pogi tion was wits a peculiar one he was uns not only the physician nho iha had first seen the body but aleo also lie the coroner in order to have the testimony of a second medical man he had hail sent doctor webster to examine the body and testify as no to its condition As the doctor took the seat near the ole coroner I 1 examined him closely ife was wan a man of at least sixty rather stout with a beaming kindly face and whir beard that fave gave him tho the app appearance varance of a arao Ut Ioner of the old school la in response to questions he told how doctor king had requested him to go to the house and examine the body ba because cause a as coroner king him self could not testify at the inquest in terms more scientific than plain he be described bow how met his death a 8 death which be he said must have been instantaneous as ura the bullet bad lodged in the brain doctor do you think the wound could have been self belf inflicted 7 came me we Que question suon the doctor paused then theil answered anew cred thoughtfully that te to vary hard to answer so fur a an tho the wound itself Is 1 concerned it could hove have been self nut but other that were brou brought glit to my attention cause nio me to believe that it could nut not havi been so 0 indicted inflicted the room into attention it wae was the unit first bint hint they had had alint have hare been explain our answer what du do you mean by other things wire m are brought to your the doctor replied slowly the facts I 1 will mention brought to tny lily atton attention tion by mr john hartley dahley the famous criminal investigator whulen I 1 found nt at the house alien I 1 arrived at tho mention of Bartl cye rinta a little murmur of surprise ment ent over the tile room half half way down the tile room tho tim reporter for the first time were ere sri ting hurriedly and in a minute a boy went out with a mars n nf telegrams within an hour tho the fact that bartley waa was working on the tile case would be in all the neaver in new york the doctor continued mr aided me in making my of th tira tha a body the wound u an an I 1 have eald said one that a rilan could have anally 11 inflicted upon himself but bui such 1 a wound causes death a few seconds Beco tida after it ie Is made I 1 thought thou ailt at first eight that it woe was stile suicide tie but ut air hartley bartley pointed out that the hands of the dead man one of holcli Ol lell held h eld tho re revolver mere ero under the bedclothes and that they were pulled up smoothly around hia tits neck it would hine lime been impossible for mr alyks himself to have done that I 1 mean he could not have killed himself and then placed bis his arms under tile cloth clothes es after first pulling them up brou around nd his fits chin he ile m would not riot have had lind time tinie I before fore lie died had he fired tho the shot As mr bartley pointed out and arid as I 1 should have thought or for myself in anres of violent death the 03 ebes are open mr eyes were mere almost closed clod how they were mere closed after death miss potter has just told as asp again 1 there came a murmur of astonishment ment the tho doctors statement hod find been entirely unexpected by most of the tho audience the first time it nas suggested that instead of homing lulled himself he lie had been murdered all awaited ted eagerly further tits then rhen aou ou would say that mr slake uns os murdered canie came the question the doctors answer was a long time in coming 1 1 I hardly know what to soy say what mr sir hartley bartley pointed out to me 4 causes me nie to bell 1 me that mr anns as killed of course there Is a possibility that theu the wound have been sol induct M ana and else 1 ranged the bedclothes around hie his beck iaeck after he ho was dead ito paused again then continued alint might havo have been done but tile chances are that he did not kill himself I 1 cannot positively state however it wa was suicide or murder ilia ills hesitation started a long loni argument between him tho the coroner and the district dietr lct attorney torner it if had killed himself then someone cleo else must lieve pulled up the bedclothes and arranged tho the body what had been tho the ix minx tg reasons for doing it if on the other hand ho he had beeam i ur dered then it ery cry definite attempt had been mado to make it look like ilke suicide ul clde the reseller in the dead nana hand gaind nino under discussion and doctor webster mid sold that though it could be placed in lit a persons hand after benth anny eye could detect the fact ills evidence while it had form dortho 0 ant timo suz ested that a it tau have been committed had ye yet f don done lit tic to clear up the mystery I 1 could BOO sea by the doubt and bewilderment in their faces that hie uncertainty as to w whether it was murder or suicide had communicated itself to tho the audience they looked eagerly about for the next witness wondering what hie testimony would disclose there waa wan little enough as an I 1 know too well that any w witness could tell that would throw light on death tho coroner glanced at fat a piece of paper and said will emr ir john bartley kindly take the stand CHAPTER IX the cry in the dark there mas a little stir of excitement as bartley with easy grace arose and tind took his sent in tho the witness chair every one uns utis eager to sec see biro him ond and he became at once tho the center of all c es ea doctor king did not trouble hartley with questions but |
