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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 2, 1908)
THE SUNDAY OKEGOXIAX, PORTLAND, AUGUST 2, 1903. - j? , FRfjr MAN WITH I I-4C 7AI Solver ND 6 (: V f Bein& vNo. 5 -The Squared Triangle i I T certainly looked Mack for Arthur Edgerton. Even Clarke, who usually. I find, la Inclined to let his sympathies rest with the accused until all shadow of doubt is dispelled, was hard put to find excuses for him. TVs discussed the rase, recorded In glaring headlines, over our morning; meal. "It's Incomprehensible," he said, as he read the third time the damning details. 'His whole life, his success, his ap proaching marriage, everything cries out against this crime." "So they did In the case of Eugene Aram." I replied, "and yet Aram pro tested his innocence. If Edgerton Is not guilty. It should be a simple mat ter for him to account for his where abouts from 7:30 to 10 last night, but this he refuses to do. I am of the opinion that for once the police have shown commendable energy and nabbed the right man. Can you Imagine a more convincing chain of circumstantial "evi dence?" "I don't have to Imagine. The his tory of circumstantial evidence contains many a more perfect chain which was only broken after an Innocent man had been hanged." "Then, again." he continued, "what-do you make of the robbery? If through Jealousy Edgerton killed Garner, why should he rifle his pockets, tear out a diamond stud and wrench the ring off his finger like a common freebooter?" "That might have been the work of someone else who arrived on the scene after the murderer had fled," I sug gested. . "A stronger argument on your side would be that It was done to throw the police off the track. But we argue to no purpose, and I, for one, prrpose to l await the sequel." It was the old. J triangle. In the der tragedy has been tr. I ...... 1 ,1 KAcran . old story, the fatal demonstration of which he corollary since the world began two men and one woman. Arthur Edgerton possessed the three almost priceless talesmen to the gates of modern society youth, good looks, and wealth; and these had won for hlra the master-key. social position, despite the handicap of antecedents unknown, some said even doubtful. Harrison Garner put Into the balance against these: Wealth, a family name honored for generations, and an unblem ished character. Edgerton's brilliancy " he . offset by unfailing good humor and wholesomeness. Mazie Morrison, secure In her own little social realm and with no lack of suitors for the hand of its queen, had played one against th other, She had finally silenced the gossips by accept ing Edgerton, and then set their tongues wagging faster than ever by receiving both on' equal terms, despite the cards and the ring and all the de 'htful. bothersome preliminaries to .in trimony. And then the sequel: Garner found shot through the heart In Edgerton's automobile on a lonely spot on the Lake Shore drive: Edgerton, blood be . spattered, hehind prison bars, and ' Mazle Morrison, weeping. Inconsolable. distraught. In her pretty boudoir, stunned at the havoc her little hands had wrought In three lives. This was the picture I painted that Summer morning at the breakfast table. Later I found the canvas wanted touching sadly. Ignoring the futility of the argu ment. Clarke and I prolonged our dis cussion of the case in the library over our cigars when we were interrupted by the sound of carriage wheels. Clarke's dark features lisrhted with ex pectancy. I wondered if his remark able prescience told him that the ve hicle stopped at our entrance held any connection for us with the tragedy of the night before. Or was I absorbing a portion of his sensitive intelligence? Tee. the call was for us. The bell rang and we heard our servant, who at this period chanced to be a Jap boy, blandly answering a feminine voice which Inquired for Mr. Carlton Clarke. Our visitor was heavily veiled, and as Clarke stepped forward to offer her a chair. I was able to Judge nothing of her personality beyond thac she was young and owned a fljrure. svelte, but suggesting through her dark costume anlmal-llke lines and curves. Or was It the art of the dressmaker exempli fied In a perfectly gowned woman? "I am Miss Mazie Morrison.. Mr. Clarke." she said sadly, lifting her veil from a face, the beauty of which even the evident traces of tears could not mar, and brushing back her dark; rebel lious hair with a dainty little hand on which sparkled an engagement ring. "Yes, Miss Morrison. I am glad you have called on me. It Is about the Edgerton case. I suppose," replied Clarke, while I discreetly retired be hind the portler of my bedroom door. "O. yes. Mr. Clarke. Tou have seen the papers. Tou know the terrible trouble I am In. It seems that no one ran help me. but I heard papa and brother Joe talking about what you did for Richard King and I have come to you. I had a perfectly dreadful time slipping away from home. I am watched by the police and even by my own family, but I know Arthur did not do that dreadful thing- and I simply had to talk with some one who would helleve me. Tou don't think he did it, do you ?" Miss Morrison, I do not know, but. for your sake. I propose to find out if there is any hope." "Oh. do. Mr. Clarke, and I will pay you anything. I am wealthy In ray own right and they cannot prevent me from giving It all to save Arthur." The question of payment. Miss Mor rison. Is of the smallest consequence Services such as mine cannot be tick eted with a price and sold as commodi ties. I will serve you Just as willingly If nothing is said on the financial side. Now, If we are to fight this- battle against circumstances, first let us take an account of our resources.,- I will repeat to you the evidence contained In the newspaper reports, and you are to tell me wherein It tallies with the facts and to give me any further In formation you can. Are you strong; enough for the ordeal." "O, yes. Mr. Clarke. I am strong enough for anything If It will prove Arthur Innocent." "Then I will call my confrere. Mr. Sexton, to take notes and we will go over the case in detail." I was easily found, for though pre tending to read. I admit I was taking In the conversation from my position behind the portiere. "Now then," continued Clarke, "the papers say that Mr. Edgerton called at your apartment building, the Patio, at 7:30 o'clock last night. That he found Garner there and stayed only about ten minutes. That he and Garner left together, entered -Edgerton's automo ihe Chronicles bile, and started north. Now what oc curred during those ten minutes?" "O. Mr. Clarke, It happened Just as the papers say.' only they have added so many horrible things that are not so. They say Arthur was insanely Jealous of Harrison and that he left me In a rage. He wasn't a bit Jealous. He knew Harrison still called on me as an old friend of our family, and he of ten said he thoroughly approved of It, and that he knew he had all my love. He was acting strangely last night, but he remarked that he was worrying ever some business troubles. He scarcely spoke ten words to me. and when I asked him about an engagement we had for next Thursday evening he could not remember what It was and claimed he had forgotten all about it. I thought this strange, for he never forgets any thing. ' When Mr. Garner rose to go Arthur said he was on his way to see a man on an Important business matter In Edgewater, and offered to take Mr. Garner in his machine to his home on Wilson avenue. I remember thinking this was odd, for he never before men tioned business In the evening." "Had Mr. Edgerton any business troubles?" "None that I know of. Papa said Just the other evening that his factory had. orders enough ahead to run it a year." "Now. Miss Morrison, did you notice anything else strange in his actions?" "Well, there was one thing, but It can't be of any Importance. When he was leaving he rolled a cigarette and I noticed that he rolled It Inward. When he makes his own cigarettes he always rolls them outward and he told me once that was the' proper way. This was why I noticed It. but I suppose It was nervousness that caused lilm to change." "Urn" ejaculated Clarke, meditatively. "Have you seen Mr. Edgerton this morn mornln?" "No, I was going there after seeing you, but I dread the crowds and the notoriety." "I think I can give you a card which will secure you from annoyance." "Oh. thank you. Is there-anything else?" "No. Miss Morrison. Tell Mr. Edger ton for me that we may clear him In spite of himself." "Then you will help?" "Madam, I have already taken the case." When she left, Clarke's eyes danced with excitement. "What do you think if It now?" he asked. "I can't see a ray of light, can your' I replied. "Isn't she a wonderful woman to think of a little thing like that cigarette? Tou and I, Sexton, know something of the obsessions of a cigarette-smoker, and that his prejudices are as Inflexible as the laws of the Medes and Persians. I don't know what It means now, but I will. But let's go. I'm anxious to have a look at that auto before It is removed. I sup- I pose the police have pawed over It now until there'll be no finding out anything from it." When we reached the scene of the tragedy we found the machine standing apparently Just as the murderer had left It. the front -wheels In the ditch and the hind wheels elevated by the grade of the roadway. A dark pool of blond In the tonneau told Us own story. The motor was guarded by a solitary policeman, who kept at bay a gaping crowd of curiosity- seekers. Clarke and I had some difficulty with the majesty of the law, but an air of authority and a cigar finally won the day. "Is the machine just as It was when the body was removed?" queried Clarke. "Yes. sir. It's not to be touched till the Coroner has a look at It." (I would like to give him a dalect, but truth de mands that he spaks remarkably good English.) Clarke gave the machine a most'crltical examination, promising the officer he would leave It just as he found it. He peeped under the' hood, tested the spark, noted the supply of gasoline, and marked the course of a bullet along the leather of the rear seat. "An automatic." he quietly remarked. "Nothing but a steel-jacketed bullet could go clear through the body of a man and then cut so clean a furrow. There are no signs of a struggle. The polish of that woodwork hasn't a scratch on It, which wouldn't be likely If there had been a fight. Officer, are you sure these levers haven't been touched since the body was found?" "Yes, lr. I came with the wagon last night and they were Just that way. The lieutenant left Clancy to guard It and I relieved him at 8. Neither of us have touched them." "Well, then. Sexton, we might as well go back to town; we can't learn anything more here." On the return Clarke was Immersed In his own thoughts and I did not in terrupt him; but as we neared our cor ner lie turned to me and said: "So you still think Arthur Edgerton committed that murder?" "I have learned nothing to change my opinion," I replied. Well. I have. Sexton, it Is my solemn Judgment that Edgerton was not In that automobile when the killing was done, It's a simple little thing, but to me It's conclusive. "The machine was set on. the secondary speed. The gasoline tank . was almost empty and the oil cups dry as a bone. hoever ran that car was afraid of the high speed, and he had been burning up the engine and squandering the gasoline to make time. W hen he stopped he left the throttle on the second speed, threw off the gear-clutch, applied the emergency brake, and skidded Into the ditch on his tires. They are cut through. The en gine was not burned out from being left running, for the machine Is of a type which disconnects the batteries when the gear-clutch Is .thrown. No expert mo- torlst ever did such a bungling Job." But In the stress of excitement' I suggested. 'I never saw excitement cause one of them to forget the high speed. and be sides, all this, except the stopping, oc curred before the shooting." Perhaps Edgerton was a new hand at the game." No. On our way back I have been trying to think where I had heard his name before. I just recalled It. He drove his own car in the races at Washington Park last year. 1 must pay more attention to sports. Really, n our line of business one can't afford ford to neglect any branch of informa tion. No. we're not going to get off. I want to go down to Central station. It may be best to have an Interview with Edgerton." Now," continued Clarke, as we set tled back In our seats, "assuming that you have come over from the camp of the enemy, let us count our forces and see wherein our little army of facts Is superior to that of the police. First the motive. Jealousy and robbery, say the police, but I never knew of these two Impulses to work together. Their case would be stronger with either of these motives alone. Robbery Is out of the question, and we have Miss Mor- of Carlton Clark, rlson's word that he was not Jealous, and the testimony of the levers that he was not In the car." - J "And against this." I said, "the po lice are holding a man who started in iue car witn liarner, wno, wnen arii ed in his apartments after a lapse of ample time for him to have returned by cars from the scene of the crime, has blood spots on his coat and Is la boring under stress of great excite ment. Moreover, he has tacitly ad mitted the act, and makes no effort at an alibi. Our friends, the enemy, will call It a perfect chain of evidence." "Yes, but perfect chains of evidence sometimes have weak links and then the whole chain Is worthless. We have found two weak links; the motives and the levers. I might add a third, the cigarette; but here we aro out of. the tunnel and at the city hall." When we entered the gloomy corrl dors of Central station, Clarke at once sought out Inspector Ship, who hap pened to be In charge, and begged for an Interview with Edgerton. "I'd like to favor you. Mr. Clarke," said the Inspector, although It's very Irregular. I can't refer to you as his lawyer, as ha- has refused to employ one; still I can't forget several little turns you have done for me, and so I'll see If. he wants to talk to you." Here we met a stumbling- block of formidable proportions. Inspector Ship returned with the word that the pris oner absolutely refused to see anyone. "Then, inspector, I wish you would lock me up in the cage next to Edger ton, and preferably on the side his bunk Is on, if that one is empty. Tou can do that, .can't you, and leave me there for an hour? I may be able to; Interest him through the grating" "Well, I guess I can, but It isn't often they come here asking to be locked up. Come on down stairs." "Better go out and have your lunch eon In. the meantime. Sexton," said Clarke, as he and the. Inspector disap peared down the Iron stairway. At the restaurant to which I went for luncheon I met some friend. Jovial good fellows, and we tarried long over the coffee and cigars. When I finally broke away, I realized in dismay that fully two hours had elapsed since I parted from Clarke. I hurried at once to the station, and there found a la conic note from him. "Can't wait any longer. Come at once to 435 Fourth avenue." "They've only been gone about ten minutes," said the captain who handed me Clarke's note. " The Inspector Is with him. Don't know what they're up to." I lost no time In getting to the ad drees named, which proved to be a low resort I knew well as the harboring place of thieves, and a breeding spot for the worst forms of vice and crime. The gaudy front opened Into a rather Innocent-looking bar and that on smaller rooms beyond. I went In boldly, and at a venture, said authoritatively to the barkeeper, Who was serving a solitary suctomer: "The Inspector Just came in with a plain-clothes man. Where are they now?" Ho. taking me as I expected him to, for a "fly cop," aald nothing but Jerked Criminal his thumb expressively in the direction of the depths beyond. Just as I was about to enter the swing ing doors an awful hubbub arose from within, the sound of chairs hurled violently to the floor, the crash of break ing glass and overturning tables, curses, and the deep breathing of man In deadly battle. The one customer, who had pricked up his ears at themention of the inspector, fled Incontinently. The barkeeper, schooled by long experience to no Interference with the law other than to break It where safe, wiped glasses as If nothing was happening. I pushed the doors aside and rushed in. The scene that met my eyes was over In less than the time necessary to" de scribe It, but It was thrilling while It lasted. Two men were locked In deadly embrace, reeling about the room, over turning tables anil chairs, while a third circled around them watching for chance to administer the quietus with the butt of a pistol. The man In the embrace of the stranger was Clarke. The one with the pistol the Inspector. The stranger had a long knife In his right hand which he was trying to bring to bear on Clarke's anatomy, but I was pleased to note that the wrist of the hand that held the blade was encircled with four Angers and a thumb that I knew possessed a grip like a pipe-wrench. The affair could have but one ending. and I did not see that. I could be of any use. With one powerful effort Clarke brought his opponent's head within range of the butt of the inspector's revolver, there was a quick thud, and a limp form slipped out of his arms to the fioorc- Desplte the blood which ran down his face from the cut in his forehead, the grime, and the torn clothing and dis heveled hair, I knew htm from the plo turea that filled the daily papers. It was Arthur Edgerton. "What devil's luck Is this you're play ing on me. Mr. .Clarke?" roared the In spector. "We left this man at the sta tion not half an hour ago. How gomes It that you lead me here on a false scent and then drag my own prisoner out of that room and force me to slug him?" "I didn't lead you on a false scent. Inspector," returned Clarke, with a grim smile. "I gave you my word of honor that if you would come with me I would give you the privilege of arresting the real murderer of Harrison Garner. There Kn tm nnrf all vnu have tn An Is to hfLnd- cuff him. He'll be corning around In a minute, though I aonT. think there's much fight left in him. The police cer tainly deserve great credit for this. I imagine the morning papers will have a good deal to say about the wonderful piece of work accomplished by Inspector Ship. It isn't too late fo an extra, even." - "That's all very well, Mr. Clarke, but what does it mean?" "I'll tell you ah, he's coming back to earth. That was a sclentiflo crack you gave him. Just hard enough but not likely to Interfere with the later uuties or tne hangman. Inspector and Mr. Sexton. I have the pleasure of Introducing to you Arnold Edgerton,- the twin brother of a most estimable man, who has risked his own neck to save one that is absolutely worthless. Now, Inspector, you may tak,e the case and Mr. Sexton and I will retire again to private life." It was many months alter tnese events Teeedho - that I first heard the connected stpry from Arthur Edgerton's own lips. Nothing came out at the trial, as Arnold was in duced to olead eu ltv and accent a term of life Imprisonment, there being little doubt that -he was Insane. Edgerton the virtuous, lived In retirement until he could wind up his business affairs, when he and Miss Morrison were quietly mar. ried and denarted to make their resi dence in Europe. The evening before they left they called at our apartments to express again their gratitude to Clarke for making their great happiness possible. "I was born in Rio Janeiro." began Edgerton after, with some reluctance, he had consented to tell his story. "My brother followed me into the world a few hours later and our mother died at his birth. My father was the younger son of a titled English line and had settled In Brazil to make his fortune which he did most successfully, acqulr Insr In the course of time, an extensive ranch and large holdings of city prop- ertv "We were the only children, and after our mother's death he devoted himself to our care, with the assistance of a rencn Inverness and a Spanish housekeeper who presided over the large retinue of serv ants In our villa at neauiuui i-etropoi'is. Thin: we arauired from Infancy three lan guages. These have been a great help to Arnold In his villainy, though in the matter of. education requiring applica tion he is deficient. "He early developed the very worst traits. At the age of S years he cut off the legs of the family cat with a hatchet Just to see- her hop, he said. By the time he was 16 he was utterly beyond restraint. Our father repeatedly settled his gambling debts, paid forged bills, and spent large sums keeping him clear of the law. I am sure Arnold's escapades hastened his death, which occurred about five years ago. Everything was lert to me with the admonition that I was to take up the burden for which our parents had both given their lives. "I have performed this duty to the best of my ability. I closed up my father's affairs, sold off everything and came here, thinking it might save Ar nold to get him away from his evil asso ciations, but wherever he Is he consorts only with the lowest. I have made hlra a liberal allowance too liberal, I fear which he has squandered in debauchery in various cities, always returning to me when In need of money. In these mo ments he mb master of all the arts ot fawning. "In his heart I knew he hated me be cause our father had not seen fit to di vide his property between us, and he has repeatedly threatened my life. "One of his choice methods of worry ing me has been to impersonate me and call upon my friends, usually doing some act to disgrace me. You have seen tne resemblance between us, and as I never mentioned to my friends that I had a twin brother, it was easy for him to Impose on them. I have repaid many a loan that I never borrowed, knowing it to be his work. 'Finally I met Miss Morrison and I felt It was an epoch In my career. As I became better acquainted and the truth dawned on me that all my hopes of hap piness were wrapped up in her, I realized. as never before, what a cruel burden my father had bequeathed me. j )edvLetve BY FRANK LOVELL NELSON. "I hesitated to tell Mazle of my family skeleton. I had no Intention of deceiving her, and would have told her all before our marriage, but I sought to put oft the evil day." "It wouldn't havo made the least bit of difference, dear," said Airs. Edgerton, with an affectionate pressure of her hus band's arm. "I would have married you if you had had a whole penitentiary full of wicked brothers." "Before I asked Mazie to be my wife," Edgerton continued, "I called my brother Into my office and made a compact with him. In consideration of a majerial In crease In his allowance he was to leave Chicago and not return for five years. I almost hoped that before that time was up he would either drink himself to death or be killed In some brawl. "He has always shown himself Incapa ble of keeping his word, and I was scarce ly surprised, when, on the day of. the tragedy, he walfted Into my office. I was angry and lost my temper. I told him he would never get another cent out of me. At first he whined and begged, but when he saw I was firm he became furious and opened upon me a torrent of abuse. I ordered him to leave or I would kick him out. "He went, vowing the most terrible ven geance against me. When I cooled down I was filled with remorse and felt that I had been untrue to my father's trust. But I reasoned that his desire for money would bring him back. "When I got to my apartments that evening the Janitor looked at me In sur prise. 'Why, Edgerton,' he said, "you're back early. I saw you leaving in the au tomobile not 15 minutes ago. Did you find your keys inside?" I knew at once what had happened. My brother had gone to the garage and taken out my car and made the excuse of losing his keys to get the Janitor to let him into my rooms. I went up stairs and found my worst fears realized. His own clothes were there and a black suit, the mate to the one I was wearing, was missing. He was out to make trouble for me. "I had no thought of his calling on Miss Morrison, although I knew he knew of her and had seen her with me at a distance. I think that she was indeed in his first scheme of vengeance, and that had the presence of Garner not of fered richer prey he would have enticed her out In the automobile and dealt violently with her." Mrs. Edgerton shuddered and drew up closer to her husband. "It was a hopeless task to attempt to track him. so I went to the resort in Fourth avenue, where you found him, and where I knew' he would turn up some time during the night. "Sure enough he came about 11 o'clock. He tried to pass it all off as a joke, and A Giant Task THERE is still plenty of work for ex plorers. In spite of the remarkable discoveries effected during' the second half of the l!Hh century, vast portions of this globe have still to disclose their secrets. And it must be remembered that the beellne Journey which a Stanley makes across Africa or a Burton through Brazil really leaves those countries prac tically as undiscovered as before the Journey was made. In fact. It may be said that while the courses of the great African rivers and of the equatorial lakes were traced more or less accurately by Burton, Speke, Baker and the rest of that galaxy of mid-Victorian explorers, otherwise the dark places of the world remain pretty wen as they have been since the dawn of planetary life. That popular opinion should hold otherwise is due to a con splracy of mapmakers. Examine any old may of Africa, and you will see that the Niger, which really makes a bend at right angles to itself, so that its whole course sweeps in a semicircle round the west coast of Africa, is brazenly depicted as flowing straight across the continent, nnd Joining the great lakes thousands of miles from its actual source. The same eittrontery Is manifested to day. Africa, the "dark continent," is scarcely whiter than before it was dl vided among the powers of Europe, in fact, old Portuguese maps of three cen turies ago display with passable accu racy the intricate system of equatorial lakes which were forgotten and not shown on maps of the early 19th century. West of the Soudan are vast negro kingdoms civilized by the rapidly spreading Moham medanism of the present day, manufac turing their own cloth and showing evid ences of considerable civil development, but these are only a rumor to the officials of the European colonies which border them. And even In countries such as the Transvaal even in Cape Colony Itself are regions which no white man has pene trated. says Harper's Weekly. Egypt, again, which shows so gravely upon the map In British red. Is really a tiny strip of territory some 30 miles In width, on either side of which lies un known desert haunted by predatory tribes. The vast territory of sand . and stone which stretches from the Atlantic through the Sahara and thence into Arabia, the home of the Bedouins who conquered all Northern Africa, with Algeria, Morocco, Spain, Portugal and half of France, and may do so again. Is still as solitary and remote as In the earliest times . when Abraham set forth from Babylon. In Europe little or nothing Is known of Albania, Montenegro and the mountainous districts of the Balkans. In Asia, tne whole northern portion of Siberia is un explored. The Northwest Passage has been made less than half a dozen times, yet the north coast of Siberia is daringly presented upon the maps as though its configurations had been surveyed by care ful geodoesy. Outside the railroad and the course of the streams the whole of Siberia Is an unknown forest and swamp. The desert which embraces one-third of Cen tral Asia Is practically unexplored. Civ ilization unknown to us may yet De found. Sven Hedln, the sweoisn ex plorer, has already discovered evidences of such among the monasteries of the nirfhi.' monks, from which he has pro cured manusarlpts and records whose ex istence was unsuspected. Southward still IS tne vast taDiemna of Tibet, with Its mysterious capital, Lhasa, ruled by an emperor-pope, a rlty nrhih was seen but once during the lDth century by Western travelers previous to the English military oxyeumuu ui c years ago. JJescenaing to curiiiuu, mo exact source of the interior of Slam, the hllL. tribes of the South-Chinese frontier, French Cochln-unina, or tne jungles oi Malaysia. About two-thirds or tne wnoie land area of Asia, in laci, " s" terra Incognita. The East Indies are almost totally un known. New uumea, tne iourtn largest island In the world, Borneo, with Its head-hunters, the Celebs, Sumatra, are Inhabited either by " wandering head hunters or petty Mohammedan poten tates, who have successfully resisted the encroachments of their Dutch conquer ors for centuries. The entire central por- , tlon of Central Australia is an unknown of said the machine had broken down and he had left it at a garage near Lincoln Park. He said he was sorry for the scene he had made In my office and that If I would give him money he would leave town that night and never bother me again. I was so anxious to get rid of him that I was willing to agree to any thing. "At bis request I changed coats with him, as he showed me that he had grease from the auto all over the one of mine he had on. I did not guess that It was blood. "I had scarcely returned to my apart ments before I was arrested and charged with murder. Then the whole, horrible truth flashed upon me. I thought of my brother, speeding away from the city and I registered an instant resolve to take his place. "It occurred to me later that his first Impulse, on finding himself in possession of his ill-gotten booty and the money I had given hlra, would be a debauch, and then, hearing of my arrest and that I was disposed to shield him, he would lie low In his thieves' retreat until a safe opportunity presented to get away. So I felt pretty safe In telling Mr. Clarke where to find him." "And Just think, dear, you might have been convicted In his place If I hadn't come to Mr. Clarke," said Mrs. Edgerton, while her husband stopped to roll a cigar ette In preference to those Clarke of fered him. I noticed that he rolled It . outward. "I shouldn't have been convicted, dear est, as I could have established a, Rood alibi, but the mystery would have been unsolved. I would have been ruined and -I doubt If you would have been willing to take my name. Mr. Clarke's way was by far the best. By the way, Clarke. I didn't want to tell you all at first, but when I looked Into your eyes I knew I , had to. Still you seemed to know It all. anyway. May I ask how you found out I had a brother?" "You may thank Mrs. Edgerton's keen ness of observation In noting your meth--od of rolling a cigarette for the first tip. Then your brother's bungling work with the auto seemed to make It clear as a printed page. It only remained to per suade you to verify my theory." "'I think you could have done that any way. You have a remarkable power over men." ".And over women, too," said Mrs.. Edgerton. "I wonder you have never married. It's lucky for Arthur that I met him first." Which shows that the best of women are at heart coquettes. (The next story In the scries of ad ventures of Carlton Clarke, entitled "The Mystery of the Silver Skull," will appear next week.) for Explorers desert, crossed In one portion by the transcontinental telegraph line, but to tally unexplored outside the small paral lel strip of territory which borders It. Those who remember the great De Rouge mont fraud of a few years back, when the marvelous stories of the pseudo-Australian discoverer were greedily sn-al- . lowed by the Royal Geographical Society, may bear witness to the truth of this. Nor Is our own continent greatly su perior in this respect to those of the ancient world. Three-fourths of Canada Is a wilderness of marsh and tundra. Tim southern half of Florida Is still the haunt of Indians, who live there much as In -De Soto's time. Palm Beach and the most fashionable resorts of the east coast are hardly more than oases along the edge of a pathless wilderness of mangrove swamps. Mexico, Lower California and the Northwest are still possessed chiefly by unconquered Indians, as In the Interior of Y'ueatan, the peninsula which Juts out Into the Gulf of Mexico, where descend ants of the Aztecs still dwell in the recesses of the jungle. The vast interior of Brazil Is given over to roving tribes of cannibalistic tendencies, whose own In teriors aro often replenished from the rubber gatherers that haunt the banks of the streams In their search for a liveli hood. When we add to these regions the enor mous continent around the south polar regions whose existence, dimly conceived by the first travelers of GO years ago. was only demonstrated during the first years of the 20th century, and where new forms of life and even new races may possibly be found. It becomes evident that there are explorations still to bo made before adventurous spirits turn their attention to the canals of Mars and the Saturnian rings. How the Flies Carry Bacteria PLIES are wonderful transportation systems. Each of the fly's six legs has two pads, and each of these carries 1200 hairs. That makes, a total of 7200 hairs, each one of which secretes a sticky fluid. The sticky contents of the pads exude through the hairs at every step, thus enabling the fly to maintain a po sition either on window pane or celling If the pads existed alone the Insect would experience difficulty in removing them. As matters stand, however, the claws are raised when the pads adhere to any thing, and are lowered when It Is de sired to take another step. By the pres sure of their points against the ground and the lifting of the heel the pads are released. Proof that glue exudes Is ob tained by noting the dead flies stuck to the walls tn Autumn. Weakness had disabled the Insects so that even the action of their claws had become Im possible, with the consequence that the glue had become hardened. Now. the house, fly has a keen scent for filth of any kind, and Is an excellent little scav enger. Whenever there Is any within a hundred yards or so the fly goes for It to smear Its mouth and all the sticky hairs of Its six legs with the dirt and disease germs. A second or two suffices to gather up many thousands of disease germs, and then off goes the fly to the nearest kitchen or dining-room. There It crawls over food and other articles, de positing large numbers of germs at every step. In one Instance a fly was found to be carrying in its mouth and on Its legs over 100,000 disease bacteria, showing the affinity to dangerous germs for this active media of dissemination. The daintier the house the fewer the flics at tracted. ' .1 He Warn the Parenls. Delineator. Little Bertram had always longed for a live pet. but as he lived In an apartment-building, he had to be sat isfied with toy animals. Iater his parents moved to the coun try and Bertiuin became the happy . possessor of a kitten. He hugged It close and remarked: "At last I an) the parents of a living creature."
