Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 227, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 September 1912 — THE MAXWELL MYSTERY. [ARTICLE]

THE MAXWELL MYSTERY.

(Copyright, The Frank A Munsey Co.) ‘ ii o CHAPTER Tin. In Quest Of Clues. • First I looked at the bronze horse as it stood in its place on the library table. This table, which was real!* a flat-topped desk, was hovered with books, writing implements and bric-a-brac of various kinds. The bronze horse was one of a half dozen different paperweights, and was a beautiful specimen of its kind. I picked it up and gazed at It intently, wishing it could speak for itself and solve the mystery. As I stored at it I suddenly noticed that one ear was broken off. It was a very small bit that was missing; indeed, scarcely enough to impair the beauty or xalue of the ornament, but if that Jmissing ear could be found on the library floor, it would be a pretty fair proof that Mildred had thrown the hose in the way she had described. Eagerly I went in search of the maid whose duty it was to dust the library. In response to my questions she told me that the horse had belonged to Mr. Philip, that It was one of his favorite possessions, and that it was comparatively new. She had noticed the day before that the horse’s ear was broken. She could not say positively, but "she thhught that if it had been broken before that she would have known it. Exelted at the prospect of something like a real, clue at last, I returned*'to the library and began a systematic search for the missing ear. Getting down on my hands and knees in the space between the desk and the window, I searched, inch fly inch, .the thick Persian rug and was finally rewarded by discovering' the tiny piece of bronze that I was hunting for. Comparing it With the other ear, indeed, fitting it to the very place from which it was broken —I saw there was no doubt that I had succeeded; and though I could not imagine how the horse had been replaced on the table, I could no longer dubt the truth of Mildred’s assention regarding it. Carefully wrapping the broken ear in a bit*of tissue paper, I put it away and devoted my attention to the inkstand. The large and elborate affairs stood In the center of the table. The inwell itself was of heavy cut glass, and was mounted on an ornate silver standard which was also a pen-rack. TJJie longer I looked at it the more I felt convinced that nobody could disturb the ponderous ornament and restore it again to its place in the way Mildred told of. For it held as much as a small cupful of jet black ink, and even though the Persian rug was -of an intricate design in small figures, yet it was light enough in its general coloring to make ink spots perceptible. Helpless In the face of this assurance, my eye wandered aimlessly over the article on the desk, when toward the right hand end and not far from the bronze horse I spied a second inkstand. It was heavy, but not so large as the other, and had no silver standard. I opened It and looked in and found it to be nearly half full of red ink. I looked again at the rug. The predominating color was red in varying shades. Instantly the thought struck me that if Mildred had thrown that inkstand and if there had not been muoh Ink In it, the drops on the carpet would be unobservable because of the similarity of color.

Without stopping to inquire how it could be restored intact to its place, I dropped again to my knees and again searched for traces. The pattern of the rug being so complicated and mosaiclike, it was almost impossible to discover spots other than those which belonged there; but at last I thought I did find on a small white figure red blotches that were not of the Persian dye. Almost trembling with excitement, I procured from a drawer in the desk a fresh white blotter. Moistening this, I placed it on the doubtful red Bpots and gently pressed it Then lifting it, I found that it showed dull red blurs which had every appearance of being red ink. j Reserving further experiments to be done in the presence of witnesses, I went in search of Mr. Hunt He had not yet arrived, so I telephoned him to come as soon as he could. Meanwhile, I returned to the library to think over my discoveries. ; ' _ Hunt soon arrived, and was more than pleased at what I had done.. I found plenty of blotters In the drawer, and proceeded with great care in getting a blotting paper impression of many more red ink spots. We.proved to Mr. Hunt’s satisfaction, and to urine, that the inkstand had

reached the floor about midway between the desk and the window, and that it had then rolled toward the couch, and had stopped just under the long upholstery fringe which decorated the edge of the conch and which reached to the floor.. “That gives us a ray of light 7’ exclaimed Hunt triumphantly. “What do you mean by that?” said I. “I can’t tell you now,” said Hunt, “for some one is coming.” It was Tom Whiting and his wife who came to the Hoof'* 1 “We’re going for an automobile ride,” said Tom, “and if you authorize it, I think it would be well for us to inquire concerning any strangers in automobiles who may have been seen tn town day before yesterday.” “I think it would do no harm,” said Mr. Hunt. , In pursuance of Tom Whiting’s idea, we endeavored to find out if *any strangers in automobiles had been seen in town lately. No hint could we glean of any motor cars other than those belonging in the village. On our return, Mrs. Whiting asked Mr. Crane to come in to luncheon With us and he accepted. He alighted before I did, and as he stood waiting to help Miss Gardiner out, the midday sunlight shone full upon him. I looked at him curiously, thinking What a large, fine-looking fellow he was physically, and how becoming his fashionable automobile coat was to him. Its color was a light brownish gray, and as my eye rested idly upon It, I suddenly noticed something that made my heart stand still. On the front edge were several small spots, visible only in the brightest sunlight, which had i every appearance of being red ink. I went into the house with the rest, and finding that Mr. Hunt had gone, I sent a note to him by one of the servants asking him to return at 2 o’clock.

He came just as we were finishing luncheon, and bidding him go into the library and await me there, I went into Mr. Maxwell’s study. Finding my host there as I had hoped, and not wishing to elevate my voice, I scribbled on a bit of paper a request that Mr. Maxwell would ask Mr. Crane to come into his study, and would keep him there, securely, for 20 minutes at least. Mr. Maxwell read the paper qnietly, handed it back to me, gave me a quick nod of comprehension and immediately went in. search of Gilbert Crane. A moment later, I saw him enter the study with Gilbert Crane and close the door, so I knew that the coast was clear, and that for 20 minutes I need fear no interruption from them. Eagerly siezing his coat from the hat-stand where he had flung it, I hastened to the library. I found Hunt there, and after closing the door I held up the coat for his Inspection. “You don’t mean to say you have found the man!” 'he cried. “I don’t know about that,” I said, very soberly, “but I have certainly found a coat that ought to be looked after. What do you make of this?” I held the front of the coat toward the window to catch the bright sunlight and drew Hunt’s attention to the almost invisible spots on it. He looked at it in silence a moment and then said abruptly: “Get some more blotters.” We dampened the blotters and applied them very carefully, for the spots were faint, and the surface of the cloth dusty. But the results showed strong evidence that the stains were similar to those on the carpet. “Whose coat is it?” said Hunt, although I think he knew. “Gilbert Crane’s,” I answered, looking straight at the detective. “But that does not prove that Gilbert Crane committed the murder,” he responded, looking at me with equal directness. “It does not,” I said emphatically, “but it certainly is a clue that must lead somewhere.” • “And we must follow it wherever it leads.”

“Yes," I assented, “now that we have something to work on, let us get to work. Shall I call Gilbert up here, and ask him if he can explain these spots on his coat; somehow, I can’t help thinking that he could do so.” “Not yet,” said Mr. Hunt “I would much rather that you would replace the coat where you found it, and then bring Miss Gardiner back here with you for a short consultation.” I followed Mr. Hunt’s suggestions to the letter. I found Mr. Hunt making a tabulated statement of certain facts when I returned to the library. "You see, Mr. King,” he said, with a very grave face, "while these things are not positively incriminating, they are serious questions which need clearing up.” __ “Granting that the bronxe horse was thrown at the intruder and replaced en the desk before yon entered tbe room that night, we must allow that it was picked up and replaced by somebody. Mies Leslie Was Incapable

of this act; the murderer was not likely to do it. “Gilbert Crane was the first to find out that the tragedy had occurred. There is no witness to say what he might or might not have done in this room. It is possible therefore that he restored the horse to its place.” “And the inkstand?” “You remember that Gilbert Crane insisted on spending the night in this house. Is it not conceivable that he should have waited until all the others had gone home or retired to their rooms, and that he should then have come to the library, found the empty stand, refilled it and replaced it?” “But,” said I in utter amazement, “If he did not commit the crime why should he be so careful about these details f’ “I am not sure,” said Mr. Hunt in a low voice, “that he did not commit the crime.” (To be Continued.)