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Show I Iff"1, U!IHBHHHH!HHtfh il E H HHbH copyri3mt n 1 WJEHBBsWJW HJHy ALFRED A. KNODf h. 1 MURDER? ,'B 8YN0PSIB. Answering an adver- iflj tlaoment calling for a young man flj willing to cngago In service of dan jBJ ger, Matthew West, ex-service man 'il Just returned from France, where !B he had been captain of engineer. jH ratela Natalia Coolldge, writer of .'j the advertisement, and without be- jH Ing Initructed ns to hla probable ' jH duties. Is engaged by her, and that lm tame etftnlng Introduced to her IH frlenda as her fiance. That night. '1 In the CMlldge home, West Is star- , tied by the uppearance In his room .'HI of a young woman, whom he takes 'Hjf to be Natalia. Next morning Nn- 'flJJ tails tells Weat she has been trou- ;HI bled by aome woman, apparently Hjl her double, who haa been Imper- isK. eonatlng he. Perclval Coolldge, ,B Natalie's uncle and guardian, la , BH dlagruntled by Weil's appearance 'HI as Natalie's nance. Natalie. Cool 'mH Idge and West plan a visit of char- 'Hjl Ity. Leaving West In the car, Na- Hl talle and Coolldce enter a small Hi cottage. Defore they return, West Hjl secures Information which leads H him to believe Coolldge Is deceiving Hf Natalie for a purpose. Natalie In- Hi forms Weat she has been mistaken In her suspicions and that she has H no further need for his services. Hi West Is astounded, but leaves. H CHAPTER VI S The Body of a Suicide. Hj As the car whirled West down the Hj circling driveway, the only sign of II fo Hj. visible about the house was the mo Hj tlonlcss figure of Sexton on the steps. H If either Miss Natalie, or Perclval I Coolldge, took Interest enough In the k proceedings to witness his departure, Jhrft they chose to remain carefully con- U j cealcd within. There was no pretense j even at speeding the pnrtlng guest. H I He had simply been dismissed, turned H i out, decently enough, perhaps, con-H con-H 1 sldcrlng his status, yet with a certain H I measure of contempt which rankled ncrcrthclcss. J Tlie young man could not altogether j reconcile tills stylo of treatment with ' his preconceived conception of Miss H Natalia Coolldge. lie had'been too H deeply Impressed by her to easily re-Vm re-Vm tlnqulsh his previously formed opinion j'J ' ncr cmtrnctcr Tn'8 latest action If did not at all colnclrto with her former Ba open friendliness. He had not gone Hr to her as a servant, nor had she In t7 any way treated him as such. What M could account for so remarkable a 1 change? I I'crhaps It was- the Influence of Per- dvol Coolldge.. This explanation I seemed probable. The man had In some way regained her confidence, fl and then, through trickery, had suc-H suc-H cccdcd In poisoning her mind. From H the very first Coolldge had disliked H him Instinctively, and made no effort H to conceal his feelings; he resented H the Intlntacy between htm and Na-H Na-H talle, naturally enough, and would use Hj every means possible to get the young-flj young-flj er man completely out of the house. Hj No doubt he looked upon him as dan-H dan-H gerous. Out why? Thero could only Hj he one answer to this query. Uls own H dishonesty; his secret knowledge of H some trickery relative to the funds of iH the estate. He had convinced the glr H of his honesty, but, more than ever, H West believed the fellow a rascal. H Theso thoughts flitted through his H mind, yet not consecutively, as the car H left the grounds, and turned on to tho jn main roud, leading citywards. They H Were 8tl" Kk,r,lnK the Coolldgo estate, jH although the house behind was con- H ccaled by shrubbery. S'uddcnly, Just i ns they cleared the bridge, and began I to mount the opposite grade, there 1 k. ..- cam n Rharp report, sounding so close B at hand tho chauffeur clamped on his i brake, and glanced anxious! over tho i side of tho car, 4 "Blow-out. wasn't It, sir?" ! "No," said West shortly, staring hlm- ' self out Into the thicket of trees ut their left. "It won a shot fired over . , there; o revolver I should say. Walt " a second. Sahdcre, until I see what has happened.' It was largely curiosity which led i him to leave tbe car. The sound of either a rifle or a shotgun In that lonely lone-ly spot would have been Instantly dlo-mlised'as dlo-mlised'as natural enough, but a pistol was different. That was no plnce for such a weapon. It somehow had a (trimly sinister sound, Determined to lenrn exactly what hnd happened. West pressed his pns-. pns-. ogo forward through the Tines of tho fence, and emerged Into the field beyond, be-yond, a half dozen yards and he found the clover trampled, as though a rann hnd passed that way. The trail led Into a shallow depression, past a ratlu-r large boulder,, near which tho trampling of the grass was even more plainly Tovenlod. ns though tho stranger strang-er hno remained here for some time, nnd even Reuted himself, and then, ?!Ip,,y cm,ed n few yrds away. sVi .i?l,r ,h0 fe,low ,md turnert baci u-w pouil and retraced his stepa. West, now thoroughly puzzled and already convinced that some mystery hovered over the plnce, began to circle through the untrnrapled clover, but without any defined purpose. All at once, at the lower end of the gully he enme, unexpectedly, upon another trail, this one well mnrked, apparently appar-ently frequently used, which led straight across the field; and terminated terminat-ed at a sinnll gate leading through the wire fence. Evidently here was a short cut to the road, well known to the servants on the cstnte, and possibly possi-bly others. The discovery, however, told nothing further than this, and contenting himself with another glance about the unchanged field of rustling clover, West proceeded along the courtc of the path, Intending to thud rejoin the automobile, waiting his return re-turn behind the trees. Within a few steps of the gate, which was closed, he came to a sudden, sud-den, horrified pause, stnrlng nbead at a strange something huddled In tho path. It was a shapeless tiling, bearing no resemblance to a human being, until he advanced closer; thcu he recognized recog-nized the form of n mnn, curled up ns a dog sleeps, face down, hidden by his arm, and limbs drawn up, ns If In a sudden spasm of agony. A hat was In the pnth beyond, where It had fallen, and a revolver lay glittering In the sunlight a few feet nway. There wus nothing familiar about either figure or clothing, yet unquestionably there lay tho body of a suicide. The single shot they hnd heard, the tell-tale revolver closo to the dead man's hand, were clear evidence of what had occurred. The unexpectedness of this discovery, discov-ery, the peculiar position of the dead man, the loneliness of that deserted field In which he lay, shocked West and, for a moment left him strangely hesitant. Who was the man? Whnt could have led up to the pitiful tragedy? trage-dy? Yet ho advanced step by step nearer to the hideous object In the path. The man hud been shot directly behind the right ear, killed Instantly, no doubt, as tho deadly bullet crashed through the brain. West lifted the ann which concealed the face, already shrinking from the suspicion which had began to assail him. Then he knew who the dead man was Perclval Coolldge. West stood guard beside tho body until servants came and bore It to the house, but made no effort to follow. Instead be gave his address to Sexton, and continued hla Journey Into the City. After what hnd passed between them he had no desire to again encounter en-counter Miss Natalie; and under these circumstances, actually shrank from meeting her. Just what this man's death might mean to the girl he coul.d not safely conjecture, yet deep down In bis own heart, he felt convinced that this act of self-de- Who Was the Man? Btructlon would later provo to bo a confession of guilt. Yet, he thnt ns It may, he was ulready definitely rated out of the tnntter. Not unless she personally sent for him could he ever venture to go to her ngnln In nny capacity. ca-pacity. To his mind this decision was final. Ho was cnlled for the Inquest and gave hln testimony. The hearing wns brief, and the fuels ascertained so clear thero remained no doubt In the minds of any one but whnt this wns a cnFO of suicide. No particular nt-tempt nt-tempt was made to n-obo Into the cnuso, the personal affairs of tho dead man being left for Inter Investigation. West finw Natalie at tho Inquest for the very few momenta she was upon the stand, but their eyes did not meet, nor did the girl give nny evidence of recognition. Somehow the Impression the young woman left upon him In those few moments wns not n pleasant one. He could not clearly anulyzo this result, yet she wns cither 'acting a part to conceal her true emotions, or else she wns really Indifferent. It was not nulll the following day that reason began to reassert Itself, and ho succeeded In marshaling the facts of the case more clearly In bin own mind. He even began to doubt and question his own testimony, jet, before he reached any real conclusion, one of the club servants approached his chair. ."Captnln West, there Is a man out here asking to see you." "A mnnl Whoro?" "I had him wait In the anteroom, sir." "Very well. Mnpcs." It was Sexton, twirling his lint nervously nerv-ously In his hands, and still standing Irresolutely In tbe middle of the floor. As sight of West he took a hasty step forward, eager to explain tho causo of his presence. "You'll pardon me, sir," Jic burst forth In apology, "Dut I must see you, sir." "That's quite all right. Sexton. Let's step In hero where wo can talk quietly." quiet-ly." He pointed the way Into a private card room, closing the door behind his visitor. "Take the seat over there. Sexton. You came In to seo mo from Fnlr-lawn?" Fnlr-lawn?" "No, sir, I didn't. The fact Is, I'm not out there any longer," "Not there I Whnt do you mean?" "I've been discharged, sir. with two other servants, since the funeral yesterday." yes-terday." "Discharged I By whom? Not Miss Nntnlle, surely?" "Yes, sir. She didn't give no renson ; Just said we were not wanted nny longer. That's one reason why I camo here to see you, sir." "Hut I hardly know bow I can bo of help. I have no house of my own. and well, the truth of the matter Is, Sexton, Sex-ton, Just nt present I am not on very good terms with the young, Indy myself." my-self." "I know thnt, sir," more confidently, "and It Isn't a position I am seeking, at all. I hare quite a tidy blfpf money laid awny, and could get plenty of work. Thnt's not tho point, sir. Why should Miss Nntnlle tell mo to go like that? It Isn't n hit like her, sir; she nln't seemed natural nt nil lately, and I tell you there's something wrong goln' on out there. I'm sure o' that, sir." "Sur? of what?" "Well, for oue thing, It's my opinion that Perclval Coolldge never killed himself, sir," , West sat up stiffly, as though struck' a blow. These words startled him; drove his own mind Into sudden activity. ac-tivity. "What makes yem think that. Sexton?" Sex-ton?" ho questioned slowly. "Well, there's more than one thing." ns though glad to have made the plunge, and nnxlous to Justify himself. "Dut first of nil that wasn't his revolver re-volver they found lying beside hltn. He always hnd one In his valise, an' It's there now, or was when I looked to sec." "You didn't tell thnt to the coroner." "No, sir; he never put me on the stand. Besides I didn't know about It then. Did you notice where he wan shot, sir?" "Behind tho right car; the wound wns plainly visible." "Not very easy for a man to do himself, him-self, sir." "No. but possible, nevertheless. The coroner wns satisfied on thnt point." "Yes, sir, but tho coroner overlooked one thing, sir. He was sure It was n suicide case, and wanted to get don with It In a hurry. I and Simmons sir, washed the body to get It ready for burial, an I combed the hnlr down over the bullet wound. There wnsiv't no powder marks on the skin, an' not a hnlr wns singed, sir, Thnt's v,hn makes mo say he never killed himself," West sat silent and motionless, took Ing straight at the mnn opposite, en--tleavorlng to decide on n course of nc tlon. Some way In the depth of his earnestness. Sexton no longer appeared n servant. He was n man, voicing a man's heart. West realized the rhnngr Instinctively; here wns nn Intelllgoir loyal fellow, to be met frankly, im' for the time being, nt. least, on tin ground of equnllty. It would bo use loss to try to either mislead, or de elve. "Sexton," he began finally, "this If a pretty serious charge you make, m mnn, but since I have been thliililnr things oer, I confess some susplclntu clrcumstnnces have arisen In my owi mind. Of course I wns not aware ol these facts you have Just related, but they fit In nicely with some observe tlons of my own. The' truth Is." In confessed frankly. "I did not tell nil I knew to the coroner's Jury. I menni lO UU ZHJ, IJUi llic MK". itui-ou"im nm not asked me, nnd certain detail? slipped my memory until too late. Do you recall a boulder of rock out In thnt clover field?" "Yes, sir. to the right of the path; It Is mostly hidden now by the growth; "Kntlrely concealed, a few yards awny. Well, when I crawled through the fence after hearing thnt shot fli d I saw nothing, and heard nothing. I had advanced Into the field several rodt when I came upon the trail of some one lending directly north. It wns not a path; merely evidence thnt n single person hnd passed that way. I followed und enme to this boulder. Here thero was every proof vlslhle tliut tho previous party had remained for some time, seated and lying on the ground under protection of tho stone The occupancy wns a recent one. Then evidently, whoever It was, had advanced to (lie right In the general dlrectl"ii of the gnte through tbe fence, near where Coolldgo's body wns found. Tho marks of advance ended on n llltlo rlsjj. some ten yards from the boulder, where the fellow apparently appar-ently turned about and retraced his steps." "How far was thnt from the gnto Into the toad, sir?" Sexton asked breathlessly. "Within ensj shnollng dlstnnce for a revolver of that calibre. I should any. Any good marksman could have rung the hell." "And you saw-no one?" "No; not n sign; the fnct Is I fulled at the time to put two nnd two together. to-gether. The thought of a possible murder never occurred to me." "You think It was murder then, sir?" "Yes, I do," replied West gravely. "It hns nil the marks, but who committed com-mitted the crime? Whnt was tho motive? mo-tive? It will never do for us to mnke such n charge, after tho coroner's verdict, without posltlvo proof." "No. sir." "And you know of nothing which might clear this up?" , "No, sir; I've been with the Coolldges sir, ever since Miss Natalie "You Think It Was Murder, Then, Sir?" was a little girl, and I nln't heard of any trpublo that ought to nd In mur-dnr, mur-dnr, lr." "how old was Miss Coolldge when her father died?" "She muBt have been seventeen, sir." "And since then Perclval Coolldge had full charge of the estate?" "Practically, yes, sir; there was another an-other trustee, but he died; nnd then, ns I understand, Miss Natalie hud some funds of her own." West took n cigar from his pocket, and lit It. Although not altogether clear In his own mind, he had begun to sec tight CHAPTER VII Aaalnct a Stone Wall. Was this discovery anything to him? What difference could It make whether wheth-er Perclval Coolldge had died by his own hand, or been treacherously shot from ambush? How would It benefit Natalie Coolldge, to have the truth reveuled? And. If It would benefit her, why should he devote his time nnd labor to such nn effort? She hnd cast him off, thrown him aside; her affairs af-fairs had no further Interest for him. Let her lawyer take care of them. These were West's first thoughts. All true, yet this state of mind brought no satisfaction. He wns interested; in-terested; he could not escape his first Impressions of the girl, or drive from lilm a desire to serVehei, whether she wished It. or not. She might, Indeed, he In equal danger from nn assassin. He could not determine this until he learned the cause of tho slaylnR of Perclval. Then, on the other hand, suppose some one else's suspicions were iiIro aroused. Who would they naturally look to ns guilty of this horrible hor-rible crime? There wns but one answer an-swer -Nntnllo Coolldge. She wns seemingly tl only person to directly benefit by his death. All these considerations consid-erations urged lilm on. overcame his doubt and Indecision. Thrn he desired to lenrn the truth himself. His eyes rested on Sexton's anxious face. "I've been thinking It over," he admitted ad-mitted quietly, "nnd I guess It Is up to you and me to find out what this inenns." "Yes. sir," hesitatingly. "You you don't think It wns Miss Natalie. slr7" "No, I do not, Sexton. I hnve my own reasons for saying that. Yet naturally sho In the one to be first suspected. Do you know anything?" "Only thnt I nro sure she wns In the garden, sir. when the shot wns fired. I sow her thero Just after you drove away." "That Is couclnslve then,- so far ns her personal actions nrcqjonccrned." "Rather wild guess, but It will give ui comethlng to do. Are you nnme, Soxton?" ito uu c.o.s'n.Ni.uu.) |