TIIE SUNDAY OREGOXIAN. rORTLASP. AUGUST 23, 1903.
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Bein& "the Chronicles of Carlton GIarkncScjatho-Dcdueiiw Solver or
M Criminal Asiarhs. f, by frank lqvell nelson.
Kismet and the
IN looking over my . rather meager
notes I often find it difficult to select
among the countless cases in which I
have been associated with Carlton
Clark the one that will best make a
story. At the time of which this story
deals his fame as an untangler of mys
teries had gone far and wide and our
I Oak-street quarters often presented a
reirular procession of clients as early
and as late as Clarke was willing to
receive them. Sometimes it was some
single note of tragedy, some heart
story laid bare, a missing son or
daughter to' be found, a business con
spiracy to untangle and thwart, a con
fession to be wrung from some sus
pect. More often it was the subtle
reading of human character and the
human mind which showed Clarke in
what direction to point the police. At
times it was a thrilling dash into the
crime-infested districts of the great
city where human life is held at a dis
count compared to secrecy and safety.
But In. all this phantasmagoria of
mystery "and crime I confess my sur
prise at the comparative few that pos
sess all the elements of a good plot.
1 believe the reader will sanction my
verdict In numbering among this few
the tale of the baby orchid and the
dance that It led us.
Many of my readers doubtless will
recall when the city was shocked by
the mysterious murder of the Honor
able Algernon Sydney Hoppington.
Such was ' the sensation at the time
that It seems almost unnecessary now
to go Into the details. The crime, for
crime it was upon the face, was dis
covered about four o'clock. In the
morning, and so great was the figure
that the Honorable Algernon Sydney
had cut during his three years' resi
dence in Chicago, where he4iad come from
England to claim the fortune running well
into the millions graciously founded there
by a great uncle, that the newspapers
held on their entire mechanical force for
a double-column extra. It was fitting
tribute to the Honorable Algernon Syd
ney, for his eccentricities had furnished
the papers with many a column of news
and feature matter; and now that he lay
dead in his palatial Prairie-avenue home
stabbed to tjie heart, his tjutler and his
second man drugged and lying in the dining-room,
and the maids, fainting and
hysterical, locked fast in the butler's pan
trywell, the newspapers could do no less
than give him a good send-off, and they
certainly did.
At- first glance -it looked like an ab
surdly simple case. As Clarke read the
meager array of actual facts presented in
the extras he gave his unqualified opin
ion that the papers had overplayed the
mystery end And before night either the
slayer would be in custody or a good
working description of htm in the hands
of the police.
"By this time the men servants have
told their stories and Uie melds have add
ed their evidence,'" lie suggested. "Either
they know who did it, in which case an
1 arrest ought to follow within a few hours,
or else the crime was committed by a
stranger, a burglar perhaps, in which case
the servants should he able to describe
, him so accurately that it will be up to
the police."
It always affords me a little inward sat
isfaction when Clarke's premises prove
wrong. I think we all feel it when some
mind whose superiority ordinarily we ac
knowledge for once descends to the level
N of our own.
I did not have long to wait.' Clarke
had hardly finished sp?aking when there
was a sharp and authoritative tug at our
bell and I opened the door to .admit our
old friend, late Inspector, now Chief,
Shlpp. It was not his first call at our
humble quarters, for he had long since
discovered where to come for a quiet tip
that demanded none of the official credit
In return, and many a stubborn case had
he laid before Clarke.
We had him back into the dining-room.
Clarke merely nodded and continued to
stp his coffee and puff at his cigarette,
while he watched tfie chief and wailed for
him to sneak.
Well. Mr. Wizard. I suppose you know
what I'm here for before I tell you," be
gan the chief.
"Yes. I should cay It is the Hopplng
ton case. I am afraid I will have to
revise the estimate of the affair I was
Just delivering to Mr. Sexton here. Not
so simple as it looked then. Tell us
about It. Haven't the servants put you
on the right track?"
"Not within a thousand miles of the.
track. They don't know anything.
Hoppington was writing in his library
at 11 o'clock. He called the butler.
Biffin, to get a bottle of wine. Half
an hour later he came out to the dining-room,
where Biffin was with Bry
son. the other man servant, and handed
them the bottle one-fourth full and
told them to finish It. They did. and
that is the last they remember.
Drugged. I suppose. I have the bottle
with the few drops that were left and
will have them analyzed. The three
maids had been entertaining company,
some of my men, it appears, In the
klttjhen. They had Just let them out
the back way and had gone Into the
butler's pantry to get a bite to eat be
fore going up to bed, when the door
slammed and they heard the bolt shot
and they were locked In. About an
hour afterward, as near as I can gather
from their hysterical memory of what
happened, they heard a piercing female
scream ring through the house.
"And look here. Found it on the
lower step of the stoop," and the Chief
drew from his pocket a bundle and on
unrolling It displayed a tiny white
satin slipper, a No. 1 A. It was liter-
II ally soaked In blood.
"A woman's work, you think?"
r queried Clarke.
"WhaT I thought for a minute, but
there's the knife. I can't show you
that, and you couldn't guess where I
found It with all your black art. It's
an eight-Inch bowie or hunting-knife,
and It's stuck clear to the hilt through
the three-quarter-Inch top of a walnut
table 12 feet from where the body lay.
That smashes the woman theory and
the suicide theory at one lick. No
woman ever struck that blow. No
man ever stabbed himself, walked 10
feet, smashed that knife through a ta
ble top and then walked back to die.
. Why. I couldn't have pulled it out, even
If I had cared to disturb the evidence."
"Anything further on the telephone
call for the police the papers tell of!
Inquired Clarke.
"Not much. The call has been traced.
The operator at central exchange re
members that shortly before 4 o'clock
a female voice called up and said:
"Have patrol wagon sent to 600 Prairie
avenue, quick. Murder." She does not
remember from which exchange the
call was transferred."
"And you have the men the. maids
were entertalnng?"
"Oh. yes. A couple of my own men
away off their beats. They hurried
back to pull their boxes and the dif
ference In the time the maids say they
left and that on the operator's sheet
shows that they muet have made a bee
Una. They heard nothing and koo.
Baby Orchid
nothing. They'll hear something though,
before I get through with them. Now,
that's about everything, unless you
think of something. What do you make
of itr"
"Nothing as yet. I'll go out and take
a look at the house. Has anything
been disturbed?"
"It's Just as we found it, except that
the coroner has ordered the body removed.
I'll take you and Mr. Sexton right out in
my auto if you wish."
At the Hoppington number we found
one of those square red stone mansions
typical of the period immediately follow
ing the fire. A wide reception hall in the
center opened onto a drawing-room on
the left and a library on the right. It
was the latter room which engaged our
principal attention. It was a large square
room, finished in black walnut, and fur
nished with an eye to harmony and laste
rather than to display in antique walnut
furniture and Oriental rugs. A dark red
stain upon one of these, a magnificent
Dagheslan, before the fireplace told mute
ly of the tragedy It had witnessed. There
was the knife, a hunting tool of much
usage, still sticking through the table top.
and a heap of broken glass on the hearth,
but aside from these and a slight disar
rangement of the rugs such as the police
themselves might easily have made there
were no signs of such a struggle as a
man of Hoppington's known brawn would
be expected to make In the defense of
his life.
The dining-room In the rear of the li
brary showed nothing unusual but the
natural disorder of an upset household.
Opening off the dining-room on the right
was a small conservatory.- This was de
voted exclusively to orchids, and from my
limited knowledge of these plants I
Judged the collection to be an exceedingly
fine one.
"Ah. he was a fancier of orchids, I see,
remarked Clarke.
"Yes." replied the chief, "I believe It
was his greatest hobby. But don't you
want to Interview the servants?"
Clarke, however, was oblivious to every
thing in the study , of the plants before
him. He went from bank to bank, peer
ing at the long, unpronounceable scien
tific names like a beagle on a fresh scent.
One bank so absorbed his attention that
he seemed to forget absolutely the pres
ence of the Chief and myself. I heard
him running over the names aloud and he
finally took from his pocket a note-book
and began to copy them down In it.
When this was finished he looked up.
"May I ask. Chief, how you qualified
for the position of head of a Police De
partment?" "Well," answered Shipp, taken aback,
"that's a funny question. By experience,
of course, from walking a beat up.".
"Then allow mo to suggest that you
made a mistake. You should have de
voted your attention to the study of
orchids." and Clarke closed his note-book
and put It in his pocket. .
"Humph!" snorted the Chief. "I'm sure
I dou't know what you are talking about,
but if you're looking for clews there ace
the knife and the slipper, that are worth
more than all your old orchids put to
gether for my purposes."
"Yes, and they have told you all they
can tell you and you are stumped. Now
what would you say If I told yu that I
can lay my hands on the man who used
that knife and the woman who wore that
shoe within the hour? And the credit
will all be yours."
The "Chief waxed grandiloquent at the
prospect of such a coup as solving so
famous a case out of hand.
"I would say, Mr. Clarke," he said
pompously, ""that the sincerest thanks
of the Police Department of Chicago will
be due you."
Just then the lieutenant in charge of
the house stepped up to his superior and
handed him a cable envelope. The Chief
took it and read It hastily. Instantly a
puzzled look came into his face and his
manner toward Clarke changed visibly
as he turned and said:
"But I trust we will not need your
services. I Just have e clew that seems
to clear the situation up considerably
and I am sorry to have bothered you
about what seems after all to be a trivial
matter."
"All right," returned Clarke, knowingly.
"Then we will Bid you good morning.
Come, Sexton."
Once out - of the house Clarke ex
claimed :
"Quick, Sexton, a cab. We'll beat the
Chief at that little game."
I hailed a passing hansom and Clarke
directed the driver to get to the Audi
torium Hotel in the quickest possible
time.
"'You see It, do you not?" he asked.
I confessed that I saw nothing .at alL
"The cablegram. The Chief's sudden
change of heart. It's the reward. I
noticed by the morning papers that all of
Hoppington's money will got to Bertie
Hoppington, his nephew, who is a young
blade In London. He evidently has
cabled the Chief. And the amount well,
it must have been large to bning that look
of cupidity Into the eyes of one who
doubtless has touched many fat pickings.
Now what Is the first number that conies
Into an Englishman's mind? It's 1000
pounds. Isn't it? So I should say the re
ward is not less than JSOOO."
"And can you really lay your hands
on the couple within an hour?"
"Oh, of course It Is always well to
make these things strong when talking
to one of the Cnief's caliber, but here Is
the case as I see it. It may need several
revisings before we come to the end. I
admit, when confronted with the evidence
of the knife through the table, the blood
stained slipper and the mysterious tele
phone call, to say nothing of the drugged
wine and the servants carefully rendered
hors de combat, I couldn't see a ray of
light from them. It was evident Hopping
ton had been entertaining a man and a
woman; that either he disposed of the
servants himself in order to carry out
some criminal design of his own or else
that he was tricked into doing it as a
part of the plot that was his undoing.
"The knife thrust through the table
seems to suggest either pure bravado
or an excess of murderous passion
that Is not borne out by any other evi
dence of struggle In the room. The
satin slipper and the telephone call .are
the points of evidence added by the
woman. She may have stepped Into
the blood and shaken off the slipper,
not to avoid being tracked, for she
thereby left a dangerous clew, but be
cause It would be easier to explain a
lost slipper than one soaked with
blood. But here I was faced by a
stene wall and I could go no farther.
I began to think It was not a case for
my talents at all. The human agency,
which Is my proper field, was elimin
ated and nothing but the Inanimate re
mained. I wished for Thaida, whose
psychometric mind might have built
up around these objects the tragedy In
which they bore a part as siie did In
the case which you have chosen to
call the 'Soul of the Blue Bokhara."
"Then we went Into the conserva
tory and my whole view of the case
changed In an instant. When a man
has an overmastering hobby It Is not
hard to read something of his charac
ter from the methods he uses in Its
pursuit. It Is even possible to go a
little farther and read lh his collection
a good many pages of his past. Hop-
plngton was a passionate collector of
orchids. Orchids meant nothing to the
chief, simply because he knows noth
ing about them. They meant a great
deal to me because I know a great
deal about them. It Is another proof
of what I have often argued to you
that to do detective work successfully
man should possess absolutely uni
versal knowledge. See here," and
Clarke took his note book from his
pocket. "Here is the group of plants
that most attracted my atention. I
will not read you all the names, but It
represents the most important group
of the family of orchidaceae, contain
ing the rarest and those most sought
by collectors, the varieties for which
the intrepid orchid hunter risks horri
ble death by snake-bite, by starvation
and by miasmlc fevers in the swamps
of Brazil, the mountains of the Philip
pines and many tropical lands, the
kinds the pollen of which Is often sold
for fortunes for the purpose of propa
gating others. ,,
"Like all of Hoppington s collection
this group is arranged with admirable
care in ascending order from the
commoner varieties to the most rare.
"But what instantly attracted my at
tention was that the topmost pot or
the pyramid was empty. There was
the label, 'Odontoglossum Crispum
Alexandrae,' a rare form of the baby
orchid found only In the Philippines.
I know of but four in civilization. Nor
had the 'Odontoglossum' ever been In
the pot- The earth was freshly pre
pared and evidently had been tended
with care by Hoppington personally In
"reparation for the plant that was to
be his crowing acquisition. There
was the clew. Now what do you make
"'Absolutely nothing." I said blankly."
"Of 'course not; but read this and
see If it throws any light on It. I
clipped It from this morning's paper.
iTwas an Item from the personal in
telligence column ahd It said: Capt.
Fitzhugh Graham, the famous English
orchid hunter, arrived In ttis c ty y
terday after a six months' stay In the
Philippines and is registered at the
Auditorium Annex."
"And you think he did it?
"I don't know, but I do know, that
the very orchid which seemed to be
the overmastering ambition of Hop
pington's life is found only n the Phil
ippines, and if any orchid hunter could
get it for hlinit would be Capt, I itz
hugh Graham."
"But the woman?"
"Wre'll cross that bridge when we
get to it. Anyway, I have an idea that
an interview with Capt. Fltzhugh Gra.
ham should prove lnterresting to saj
the least, and may throw light oa
other things besides orchids. But
here we are at the hotel.
"Capt Fltzhugh Graham.' said
Clarke to the clerk at the desk, ten
dering our cards.
"Capt. Graham is Indisposed and
begs to be excused." came the answer
through the clerk's telephone. He was
In, then. It . looked Innocent enough.
There was no attempt to escape.
Clarke leaned over my shoulder at
the desk and scribbled the following
note on the back of one of his cards:
"Mr. Clarke would like to consult Cap-
tain Graham about the Odontoglossum
Crispum Alexandrae. If Captain Gra
ham does not desire an interview Mr.
Clarke will take the liberty of refer
ring him to Chief of Police Shipp, who
at this moment happens to be inter
ested in this- variety of the Odonto
glossums." M
"Captain.Oranam win sen yu-
tho answer the bell-boy returned.
When the door of the captain's room
opened in response to the bell-boy's
ring we found the captain In his shirt
sleeves standing In the midst of a
nlethora of trunks, boxes and cases.
all In the various stages of packlng.J
while every article or iurniire was
strewn with wearing apparel, rifles,
hunting knives, toilet articles, and all
the heterogeneous assortment of traps
that the true Britisher thinks he must
carry when he travels. Evidently we
were none too soon. A day's, even a
few hours' delay and we might have
found but an empty cage.
The captain hastily cleared two
chairs for us. "Mr. Clarke I under
stand then is a fancier of orchids," he
said as his eyes wandered Inquiringly
from one to the other of us.
While Clarke was Introducing him
self and presenting me I took the oc
casion to make a rapid survey of our
host and antagonist. He was unmis
takably English from the badly shod
aggressive feet to the curl of his long
auburn mustache and the pink of his
cheeks showing beneath the bronze of
a score of tropical Summers. He was
fully six feet two. of straight and mil
itary bearing. Clarke's sinews are de
ceptive and I can boast of six feet one
and Its proportionate beef, but a
sporting man would not have hesitated
to back him against the two of us. His
air was calm and confident. There
was nothing in the face before us to
suggest that its owner carried a ter
rible secret born of the night before.
"Yes." said Clarke, "I have paid some
attention to the orchidaceae, al
though I can scarcely claim to be a
connoisseur. I am Informed that you
have lately returned from the Philip
pines with a specimen of the Odonto
glossum Crispum Alexandras. As. you
expected to dispose of this specimen
to Mr. ' Algernon Sydney Hoppington,
whose collection lacks only this one
variety of being the most complete In
America, and owing to his most un
fortunate death last night a sale In
that direction Is out of the question,
I have called to ask If there Is any
possibility of acquiring It."
The captain hung over the back of
his chair with boredom written on his
face. There was no flaw In his acting.
If acting It was, as he carelessly re
plied: "You have been well Informed, Mr.
Clarke, but I regret to say that the
Odontoglossum stood the trip badly,
as you know they nearly always do.
It was not such a specimen as I would
oare to offer. In fact, I had deter
mined not to spoil Hoppington's col
lection with It, even If he had not been
murdered and this morning I had the
slavey throw jt out, If that is all, you
will kindly excuse me and I will con
tinue my packing as I am. leaving for
London this afternoon."
"Too bad, too bad," said Clarke in a
sorrowful tone. . "I had at least hoped
to buy a little pollen. That's too bad.
Sorry you're busy. I had hoped to dis
cuss the Orchidaceae with you."
A Clarke talked he had arisen and
was wandering carelessly about the
room, but with his wary eye always In
the direction of the captain, for the
moment surprised out of. pis lndlrrer
ence by Clarke's strange actions. Sud
denly my companion stopped before a
species of humidor nestling upon 'a
chair. It had a handle by which to
carry it and it was evidently too pre
cious a piece of baggage to be intrust
ed in a trunk.
Clarke glanced quickly from Graham
to me, and I thought I detected warning
In his eyes. The captain watched him
with apparent nonchalance, but there
was something in his attitude which
suggested the crouch of a tiger ready
for the leap.
"And so the servants threw the
Odontoglossum out? How sad. I do
not believe there are two specimens in
Chicago."
Clarke suddenly reached over and
threw open the door of the humidor.
Within there was an orchid of sur
passing beauty.
"Yes, there are three, and Captain
Graham, you have lied."
The metamorphosis to the tiger was
sudden and complete. Full half the
length of the room, the captain leaped,
knocking over two chairs in his flight
through the air, while his long sinewy
fingers closed around the throat of
Clarke. It was so sudden that I scarce
ly seemed able to gather the thought
necessary to bring my finger to the
trigger of the revolver In my pocket.
Had Graham adopted the trick,
which doubtless he knew, of the Zulus
who break the neck of an antagonist
with a deft twist the moment their
fingers close it would have beeu a
closed chapter with Clarke. But It
takes a few minutes to strangle a man
to death, and those few minutes
Clarke put to such use that bjj the
time I had gathered my scattered
senses the danger was past.
As soon as I saw Clarke's hand go up
and encircle the captain's straining
wrist I recognized one of Clarke's fa
vorite tricks of Jlu JItsu. A look of
Intense pain crossed the captain's
face, the arm became nerveless and
In a moment more his huge bulk of a
body swung around and Clarke bore it
easily and gently to the floor, then
reaching for the other hand, clicked on
the beautiful little pair of nlckle-steel
handcuffs, dainty as a lady's bracelet,
that he always carried In his hip
pocket.
"And now, Sexton, kindly step to
that telephone and call up the chief.
He's probably back at his office by this
time. We might as well let him know
first as 'last that he has lost. I had
hoped to discuss the matter amicably
with the captain here, but he Jias
chosen to inject force into the argu
ment." I did Clarke's bidding, and soon had
the chief on the wire with the word
that he would be there as soon as his
auto could bring him. While we
were awaiting his coming Graham sat
on his trunk with his face burled in
his manacled hands. All Clarke's ef
forts to draw' him Into a conversation
by which, he might put into play his
peculiar telejpathic powers faled.
Never in all my association with
Clarke have I seen him put a victim
on the rack In so gruelling a third de
cree. All his finesse, all his subtle
fathoming of the human mind, all his
delicate irony of confidence were
thrown to the winds as he went ham
mer and tongs for the man before him.
Through it all Graham was un
moved. He met Clarke's broadside
with a stare of bulldog pertinacity and
had his features been carved in stone
they could not have been more sphinx
like. I began to see that Clarke for
once had met his match. This stolid,
practical mind was not one that his
arts might bend and fathom at will
and. but for the one brainstorm of
temper which was his undoing, the
orchid alone might never have solved
the murder of Hoppington.
Then the coming of the chief re
lieved a situation that was becoming
tense.
"Well, Mr. Clarke," he said, when
he had heard the details, "you have
your nerve with you. coming right Into
a swell hotel and slipping the darbies
on a distinguished foreign guest on
the evidence of a bloomln' flower: but
I never knew you to be very far wrong
yet and If It works out as you say I'm
free to admit that you have done me.
Won't talk, you say.. WTell, we'll Just
take him over to the station and give
him a chance to think It over. Maybe
he'll change his mind. And, by the
way, there's a little matter of a re
ward, something like five thousand, I
believe. We don't like to see those
things get away from us, but if you
bring mo the woman and keep your
connection with the case quiet I give
you my word that your Interests will
not suffer."
Clarke's dark eyes flashed In scorp
at the chief's pompous tone.
"I am perfectly aware that the Hon.
Bertie Hoppington cabled you to offer
a thousand pounds. I am not In this
case for money, but without me you
would have floundered until the prey
was gone, and when I have completed
my work I shall know how to take
care of my own interests. As for the
credit with the public, you know how
much I care for that. It is yours and
welcome. I will bring you the woman
before night."
i Captain Graham stood haughtily at
the door, waiting the chief's will
Whatever battle had been raging In his
mind evidently had ended in mastery
for he quietly Interposed:
"Mr. Clarke I ask that you take no
further steps. It is useless. I alone
am guilty. At the proper time I will
tell all."
Not a soul In the hotel except the
discreet clerk to whom Graham gave
some hurried directions about his lug
gage knew that It was an arrest as the
prisoner, unmanaoled for the occasion,
and the chief got into the later's auto
and Clarke and I waved them goodby
and returned to the hotel cafe to get
our long-neglected luncheon. It was
already late in the afternoon, and if
we made good Clarke's, promise to the
chief we still had plenty of work be
fore us.
"How do you expect tl locate her?
Has Graham pointed the way?" I asked
Clarke.
"You saw I could make nothing of
him. He has a wonderful mind. It is
Impossible to fathom it- It would not
be hard to trace her by the regular
police routine, but that Is too slow, a
matter of days. To pick her up in what
Is left of this afternoon is a different
matter. But let's eat now and then
work"
I had mechanically taken from my
pocket a morning paper and spread It
out before me. You know how some
times at a glance one item, one name,
stands out on the printed page as If it
were in black face. There It was be
fore my eyes. "Captain Fltzhugh Gra
ham." Hastily I read the item.'
"Clarke, Clarke. I've got her." I al
most Bhouted, thrusting the paper at
him. - '",...
The Item was under the head of
Society Notes and read: "Among the
occupants of the boxes at the perform
ance of Aida by the Metropolitan
Grand Opera company at the Auditor
ium last night were Captain Fitzhush
Graham and Countess Evelyn Scryra
gour, of London."
"Quick, a telephone," ordered Clarke,
and the obsequious waiter set an in
strument on the table and connected it
with the wall switch. He soon had my
old newspaper office and asked for the
society editor.
"Here," he said, handing me the re
ceiver. "Ask her where the countess
is staying."
"The Victorian, I believe," came the
answer. '
It was only a step away and we paid
our bill and hurried out. It was plain
as day. At the opera together at
eleven, to Hoppington's by cab be
tween that hour and midnight. The
countess, whoever she might be, was
too closely connected with the action
of the night before not to know some
thing at least.
When we reached the Victorian we
were aware of unwonted excitement
In the neighborhood o fhat usually
quiet hostelry. A police ambulance
and a patrol wagon were at the door
discharging their load of bluecoats.
Several active young men whom I Im
mediately spotted as reporters were
hurrying into the lobby. One of them
whom I knew. Nevlns of the Globe, I
gripped by the shoulder and asked
for an explanation.
"Countess of Scrymgour or some
thing committed suicide In her room.
Come on with me."
Under his guidance we followed the
police aud the reporters to the fatal
room on the parlor floor.
There across the bed lay the woman
of whose existence we had learned
not five minutes before and with whom
we had hoped to be in conversation at
that very moment.
Nevlns was prowling around making
his investigations Independently of
the police. I kept my eyes on him and
watched him abstract a letter from the
open secretary. He glanced at the
address and put it carefully In his
pocket. I drew him into a corner.
"Look here, Nevlns," I said, "let me
see the letter and I'll let you In on the
biggest story you ever pulled off.
Trusc me and you'll go Into the office
with the full story of the Hoppington
murder."
This was bait enough and he took
the letter from his pocket. I glanced
at the address. It was "Captain Fltz
hugh Graham."
"We've got it. Quick! Out of here."
I whispered, catching Clarke's eye and
beckoning him to follow.
A few minutes later we were at cen
tral station and with the chief In Gra
ham's cell.
Clarke handed him the letter. His
face blanched as he- glanced at the
address, but he pulled himself to
gether, broke the seal and read the
contents. Then, but for 'Clarke catch
ing him, he would have fallen lifeless
to the cell floor. We laid him on the
bunk and the Jail attendants rushed In
and applied the usual restoratives.
The chief had picked up . the letter
which had fallen from Graham's fin
gers. He read it and passed it to us.
I give it verbatim:
"Beloved: Kismet Is too strong for
us. There Is but one way out and I
shall take it. The blood of 'the beast'
is on my hands and your love could
never wash them clean. Tell all and
save yourself. When you read this I
shall be dead by the little weapon you
gave me. Forgive me for the ruin of
your life. You only have I loved. 1
kiss your mouth. "EVELYN."
For weeks we despaired of ever
hearing Graham's story "while he lay
in brain fever, the result of the shock
to his already overwrought nervous
system. At last, however, Clarke, the
chief and I, who. despite the fact that
we were the instruments of his undo
ing, he regarded as his closest friends,
sat by his bedside and heard the piti
ful tale. I will abridge It to give the
reader only the points in the story
which remained a mystery to us and
must be equally so to anyone following
these lines. ' ,
Captain Graham first met the Count
ess Evelyn Scrymgour at a house
party In Warwlskshire. He had fallen,
deeply in love with her at first sight
and he laid siege to her heart as per
sistently as ever he followed a rare
specimen of orchid. That she returned
his love he was sure, but there was a
restraint in her relations with him
thac he could not fathom. Finally
when riding to hounds they found
themselves far from the pack. Night
was coming on, a beautiful moonlit
night that no lover could resist. A
they Jogged their horses side by side
along the bridle path he took her In
his arms across the" saddle. She strug
gled feebly, yielded and their lips met
in one long, passionate kiss. At last
she freed herself and told her pitiful
story. She could not marry him. She
could not In honor say -that she loved
him. She was already the wife of an
other, wedded before the registrar, al
though she did not tell him this man
was the Hon. Algernon Sidney Hopping
ton. The marriage must be kept secret
because if Hoppington married against
the wishes or without the knowledge and
consent of the great-uncle in America,
he forfeited all right to his vast estate.
Yes, she had thought she loved him, but
now but she might not say; honor sealed
her lips.
This honor Graham respected, and he
accepted his fate like a man and sought
to forget her In long Journeys attendant
upon his chosen vocation. But Kismet,
was too strong for them. Hoppington
came into his fortune and left England
to claim it. Then ensued a long silence,
In which his wife knew nothing of his
movements but what she saw in the pa
pers. Had Graham returned to England
then a divorce and a happier marriase
might have followed, but he was far off
in the Philippines. At last anger and a,
woman's curiosity to know what was
going on got the better of her. and she
determined to go to Chicago openly, and.
if necessary, fight It out there to the
conclusion of a recognition of her rights
or an absolute divorce.
Kismet brought Captain Graham to
Chicago at the same time to sell to Hop
pington the baby orchid. Kismet placed
them in hotels but a block apart and
Kismet engineered their meeting on
Michigan boulevard.
Would she share his box at the opera
that night? Yes, she had nothing to con
ceal, nothing to be ashamed of, and a
neglected wife's right to do as she
pleased. If her husband was .aware ht
her presence In the city, he had not Inti
mated it. Over the supper table after
the theater she told him all, even thv
name of the man who had ruined her life.
"Hang It, let's have It over with to
night!" the captain blurted. "I'll go out
there with you. Beastly hour to call,
but I have the orchid, and that will be
sufficient excuse for my visit."
So she yielded to his plan and they took
a carriage and drove out to Hoppington's
home, laying their plans on the way.
They drove past the house once before
stopping, as there already was a carriage
at the door. As they did so they saw the
door open and Hoppington in the liKlit
bidding an over affectionate good-night
to a rather flashily dressed youns woman,
who then flew down the steps, Jumped
into the cab, and was driven quickly
away.
"And that," Lady Evelyn had said, lay
ing her hand on Captain Graham s arm,
"is why I am cast off."
"And that," again interrupted Clarke,
"is why he drugged his servants and
locked up his maids."
Then they executed their coup. Captain
Graham went in first, leaving tho countess
In the carriage and gaining easy udmlt- ,
tance through the potency of the name of
the baby orchid.
They bargained for awhile, and then ths
captain got Hoppington out of the room
for a moment while he signaled and ad
mitted the countess. When Hoppington
returned he found himself face to face
with his wife. The orchid seller was gon..
High words followed after his first sur
prise was over, bitter words that coupled
the name of the countess with that of
the captain In a way that made Graham
clench his fists and grit his teeth to keep
from dashing from the dark corner be
hind the stairway where she had his
promise to remain no matter what hap
pened short of actual violence.
Then she charged him with the woman
they had seen leaving the door.
"nd you know that, you she devil,"
he shouted, rushing upon her with up
lifted fist.
He failed to notice that she was toying
with a keen-pointed hunting knife, an .
ornament to his library table. The cap
tain rushed out, but he was too late. In
voluntarily, Graham maintained, and for
the sake of the dead and the inability to
disprove it let us believe so, she had
raised the knife, the whole force of his
body came against It, and it sank Intp his
heart.
The countess gave a piercing scream,
and then the house was still. They were
alone with the dead. When the horror of
the deed had lifted sufficiently for them
to think of the future, Graham drew the
knife from the wound, and, lifting It high
over the table, brought it down with all
the power of his muscular right arm. The
blade sank through the wood up to the
hilt.
"There," he said, "no matter what
comes, darling, no woman's hand did it."
And who sent the telephone message to
the police? Was it the woman they had
seen who later returned and discovered
the crime? Was It the countess who shud
dered to think of. the man she once
thought she loved, and whose name she
had a right to bear, lying there dead and
alone? Graham did not know, and we did
not find out.
I have no doubt -but that Graham's
story, told as we. heard it to tho coroner's
Jury would have set him scot free. But
some complication, some fever doubtless
that he had picked up in the tropics,
set in and proved too much for his weak
ened body. The law had no chance to
correct the error of his arrest.
Hon. Bertie Hoppington came Into his
own. Chief Shipp got the credit for tha
solution of the mystery. Clarke got tho
reward, at least, so I supposp, for he is
uniformly silent on those matters, and I,
well I got the story, and now you have
that.