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Show ii HeSIiotWright I :: Dog j :: J By EDWARD XE VI itE ,, (, 1921. Wtrn Newiptpr Unloo uTt'B a He. Sergeant. "-1 didn't kill , Wright. What; would I want to kill Wrlght for? He Was mj best friend, and If I happened to be calling at his house that night he was mur dered, that was on a business matter. . "What matter? Why, I owed him a thousand dollars, and he was pressing me for. money, and It meant ruin. 'A hard man, Wright was, but Tcertalnly didn't kill him. .I'm not a murderer. . "Why aid I buy that pistol? To protect myself against burglars. . The bullet that af discharged? Why, 1 killed Wright s dog with It , ' "Well, It's this way, Sergeant I was feeling pretty " murderous when., 1 knocked at Wright's door that night and I admit I had a gun, but I wouldn't have used It I Just wanted to frighten fright-en him Into giving me time about that thousand dollnrs. "Wright kept a hound, a great brute of a creature you knew that hound, Sergeant? Well, that night It came rushing at me, and my nerves were so unstrung I Just fired and killed It. "What did I do with the body? Why that's the point, Sergeant I'd knocked at Wright's door and rung the bell. Of CQurse I had no means of knowing he'd been killed by a burglar, had I? And so I thought he was away. Then I looked at the body of the hound.. 1 ' "It made me feel queer all over, to see the great brute lying there, and I began thinking how wild Wright would be about It, and how I'd tost all hope of his letting up on that thousand dollars. dol-lars. And so I carried the great creature's crea-ture's body away on my shoulders. The street was dark, and I didn't meet anybody. ' "That's how I got those bloodstains on my coat and collar. The creature must have bled a great deal. Human blood? Oh, no, Sergeant. Well, the fact Is, It wasn't quite dead when 1 picked it up, and In Its death agony It nipped my neck. Not badly, but still It bled some. The mark? Why, I guess It's healed up by now. You-see, You-see, that was three days ago, and my wounds heal quickly. "Anything else, Sergeant? Oh, yea, what did I do with the dog? Why, I burled the body In a ditch at the bottom bot-tom of one of my fields. I'd take you there, only I did It in the dark, and can't remember where It was. You'll find the animal's body there. Rut of course all this has nothing to dowwlth Wright, and you can't prove anything on me. I didn't see him on the day he was murdered. "The bullet Is the same caliber as my pistol? Nothing surprising In that Most of those pistols are the same 'caliber. Tes, I guess that'll be all, Sergeant And now I may go, mayn't i l? A few more questions? Certainly. "Why was I found digging at the bottom of my field lant nlxht? Why, I was kind of worrie about that dog. You see, although I'd killed It, It came to me In the night and sot yowling beside my bed. And last night, too. So I thought I'd burn the body. But I couldn't find it. I forgot where I'd buried It. I told you that "You've got something to 'show me before I go? Ry all means, Sergeant I've told you a straight story, and I guess you're satisfied, aren't you? No, I repeat once more, I did shoot Wright's dog, and burled It, and It came yowling and bothering me In the night, but I didn't shoot Wright. Don't know anything about It. This way? Certainly, Sergeant In this room? Why, there's Wright In the flesh 1" The detectives looked hard to see whether the man was shamming. But he was pointing excitedly at the big chained dog Wright's dog which snarled at him from Its corner. "There's Wright I" he cried triumphantly. trium-phantly. "You needn't curse at me, old man. You've living, and that's the best proof I didn't murder you, nor anybody else. You'll let me go, Sergeant? Ser-geant? Oh, something else to show me? Certainly. Hut you see now Wright Isn't dead, so I couldn't have-In have-In here? Why" A howl broke from his Hps. In the temporary morgue the murdered man was lying, Just as when he had been slain. The prisoner's eyes seemed bursting from his head. He clutched, cowering, at the sergeant "Don't let him loose I He'll bite me!" he shrieked in terror. "Yes, I shot him the dog, the dog, the dog, and he won't give me any peace I" |
