Cottage Grove leader., April 22, 1913, Image 2

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Chronicles
sf
Addington
Peace
B y B . F le tc h e r R obinson
Co-Author with A. Conan Do 7 la of
“Tha Hound of tha BaakarvUlca,"ate.
r . ,11. r ■
I
V
V
<;
Chf t pua n)
TH E TERROR
IN TH E SNOW
— J=
(Co n tin u e d.)
"Baron Steen," he said, "m et with
hla death on an open path betw een a
■hallow duck-pond and a little pavil­
ion. He had fought hard for life, had
rolled and atruggled with his enemy.
T here were four o r five punctured
wounds In his th ro at and neck, from
w hich he had bled profusely. And
now for the thing th a t killed him —
w hatever It was. It could not have
fled down th e cliff path, for the boat’s
crew w aiting below* had heard the
scream s, and had come running up by
th a t way. T hey w ere with him when
we arrived, and assured me th ey had
seen nothing. It could not have tu rn ­
ed to the rig h t or left, for. though the
paths had been sw ept clean—d o u b t­
less by the baron's orders, for be
would not desire his way of escape
to be easily traced— ihe snow on
e ith e r side lay In unbroken levels. It
could only have retired by th e yew
avenue, and It did not break through
the hedge. T hat, again, the snow
proved clearly. So, we m ay tak e it,
th a t w hatever the thing m ay have
been which you saw—It killed Baron
Steen; further. It escaped Into the
bouse—this, you will rem em ber, we
decided In th e garden. L et us Imag­
ine It was a m an—th a t you were de­
ceived by th e uncertain lig h t His
clothes m ust of necessity have been
drenched In blood. H e could not
have struggled so fiercely w ith his
victim and escaped those fatal signs.
T et, he cannot have burned his
clothes, for the fires a re dow nstairs
w here people were passing. Nor can
he have washed them, for neith er the
bath rooms nor the bedroom basins
have been recently used. I have
sp en t some tim e In searching boxes
and w ardrobes with no result. S trang­
e r still, as far as my lim ited Inform a­
tion goes, every one In th e bouse can
prove an alibi—save two."
"And who are they?” I asked
eagerly.
"Mr. H enderson, th e baron's valet—
and yourself."
"Inspector Peace------" I began an-
*rlly.
"T ut, tut, my dear Mr. Phillips. I
w as m erely statin g the facts. Mr.
H enderson's case, however, presents
an Interesting feature, for he has run
away."
"Run away," I said. "T hen th at
se ttle s It.”
"N ot altogether. I'm afraid. I think
ft Is more a m atter of th e ft th an m ur­
der with Mr. H enderson.”
I stared a t him In silence as he sat
there, with his little hands clasped
upon his lap, a picture of Irritatin g
composure.
"P eace," I said, struggling to con­
tro l my voice. "W hat are you hiding
from me? It Is som ething Inhuman,
u n natural th a t has done this dreadful
thing."
T he little detective stretched him­
self, yawned, and th en rose to his
feet.
"I have no opinion except th a t I
th tn k you had b e tte r go to bed. Don't
lock your door, for I may find time
for an hour’s sleep on your sofa be­
fore m orning."
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
of whom I Inquired told me th a t the
secretary had kept to his bed, being
greatly unnerved by th e tragedy, and
I strolled up the sta irs again on an
errand of consolation. T he door was
locked, and th e re cam e no answ er to
my continued tapping.
"T erry," I called through the key­
hole. "It Is I, P hillips; w on't you let
me In?"
"I have a key th a t will fit. If you
will kindly stan d aside," suggested a
1 m odest voice.
I rose from my knees to find the
Inspector at my elbow.
“It would be a gross Intrusion," 1
told him. “If he w ishes to be alone
with his sorrow, we have no rig h t to
disturb him."
"He Is seriously 111."
“How did. you discover th at? "
“By borrow ing a g a rd en e r's ladder
and looking through his window. He
Is unconscious, or was ten m inutes
ago."
A skillful tw ist or tw o w ith a hit
of wire and the key w as pushed from
the lock. T he duplicate opened the
door. Peace walked Into th e room,
and I followed a t his heels.
On his bed, fully dressed, lay poor
T erry, w ith a face pa le r th an his pil­
lows. H is breath cam e and w ent In
short, painful gasps. One hand stra y ­
ed continuously about his throat,
groping and plucking a t his collar
with feverish u n re s t It w as a very
painful spectacle.
"I will send for a doctor a t once," I
whispered, stepping to th e bell. But
Peace held up a w arning hand.
"Come here." he said, “I have some­
thing to show you."
W ith m ovem ents as ten d e r as a
w om an's he unfastened the m an’s col­
lar and slipped out the stud. T hen
be paused. T he eyes th a t watched
me had turned cold and hard.
"If It Is as I suspect, you m ay be
called as a w itness. Do you object?"
"Y es; but I shall not leave you on
th a t account."
“Very well,” he said, as he opened
the sh irt and the vest beneath It.
Sm eared and patched In dark etch­
ing upon the w hite skin was a broad
stain of blood, of d ried and clotted
blood, the life’s blood of a man.
"He Is wounded. Peace," I cried.
"Poor fellow, he m ust have nearly
bled to d eath .”
"Do not alarm yourself," said the
Inspector, dryly. "It Is th e blood of
Baron Steen."
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
A w eek had gone by, and I w as sit­
ting alone In my Keble S tre e t room s,
w hen Peace walked In, w ith a heavy
traveling coat over his arm .
“T hank H eaven, you have com e at
last,” I cried. “How Is M aurice T e r­
ry?”
"Dead—poor fellow,” he said, w ith
an honest sorrow In his voice. "Y et,
a fte r all, Mr. Phillips, It was th e best
th a t could have happened to him ."
"And his sto ry —th e causes— the
m ethod?" I dem anded.
"It has taken som e hard work, but
th e bits of the puzzle a re fitted to­
gether iff l a s t You w ish to h ear it, I
suppose?"
"A ccording to your prom ise,” I re­
m inded him.
"It Is a case of unusual In tere st,”
he said. "Though It b ears a certain
sim ilarity to th e O ottsteln tria l a t
Kiel In '89."
He paused to light his big pipe,
and then sa t back In his chair, with
his eyes fixed In a b stra c t contem pla­
tion.
“I was convinced th a t the m u rd erer
was In the bouse; and th a t he had
entered by th e side door, tow ards
which you had seen him pass. W hen
studying th e spot I m ade a discovery
of some Im portance. S teen had left
by the sam e e x it Also he had reason
to fear some person In th a t wing, for
he had turned from the path and m ade
a circuit over th e grass. I had al­
ready noted his broad-toed boots when
exam ining his body—and th e foot­
prin ts In th e snow w ere un m istak ­
able. W ho w as his enem y In th a t
wing? It was a problem to be solved.
"I discovered no stain ed clothing,
and no signs of Its cleansing or de­
struction. From w hat Inform ation I
could gather, all the house p arty had
been In the roulette-room save you
yourself; and all the se rv an ts had
been a t th e dance save H enderson
and a m an w aiting on th e guests. B ut
In th e course of my search the foot­
m an who accom panied m e discovered
th a t a quantity of gold plate was m iss­
ing. It was reasonable to Im agine
th a t H enderson w as the thief. P rob­
ably th e confidential v alet had learnt
of the B aron's projected flight and
of th e w a rran t for his a rre st. It was
a m om ent for Judicious robbery, the
trac es of which would be covered by
th e confusion of th e news. But was
H enderson also a m urderer? I did
n o t think so. T he death of his m as­
te r was th e one thing which would
wreck his scheme. In th e e arly m orn­
ing I Interview ed the farm er on
whose c a r he had driven Into Nor-
brldge. He told me th at, a cting on
orders he had received from H ender­
son. he m et th at person a t the cor­
n e r of th e stables a t eleven o’clock
The news was out a fte r brealtfa*t—
the news th a t led to mild hysterics
and scurrying of lady's-maids to the
packing of boxes, and the chastened
sorrow of those gentlem en who owed
the baron money. T hrough all the
turm oil of the m orning moved the lit­
tle detective, the m ost sym pathetic
of men. It was be who apologised so
hum bly for th e locked doors of the
bath-room s; he who superintended
th e lighting of fires, and the making
of th e beds, and the packing of
tru n k s for th e station so closely th at
th e housem aids were convinced that
he e n te rta in ed a secret passion for
each one of them ; It was he who an­ OWNED HISTORIC OLD HOTEL
nounced H enderson's robbery of the
gold plate, following It by Inform s P ro p rie to r of S tru c tu re B u ilt A ro u n d
tlon as to th e culprit's arrest. The
C a b in of C ap tu re d B r it is h F r ig ­
e stab lish m en t had by this tim e be-
ate Is Dead.
com e convinced that Henderson was
th e m urderer, and breathed relief at
Jacob Sm ith, hotel pro p rieto r of
th e news.
City Island. New York, died th ere a t
T hey bad brought th e body of Baron the age of seventy-three years.
Mr.
Steen to th e bouse early In the m orn­ Sm ith s hotel has for years been one
in g —It had been laid In the garden of the show places on th e Island. It
pavilion on Its first discovery.
was known as the M acedonian hotel,
W ith d e ath In so stra n g e a form because It was built around the cabin
p re se n t am ong us, I w as disgusted by of the B ritish frigate M acedonia,
th e noise and bustle, th e gossip and which was captured by the U nited
c h a tte r am ongst th e guests of the S ta te s frig ate D ecatur off Cape V erde
dead man. I w andered off In search Islands during the w ar of 1811 A fter
ef th e one person who bad seemed the engagem ent th e M acedonia w as
sincerely affected by the new s, the towed to w hat Is known as Cow Bay,
young se c re tary . M aurice T erry. He City Island, and th ere Sm ith acquired
was now here to tie found. A serv an t 1 It la 1174, pulled It on land and strao-
preclsely—five m inutes before the
m urder occurred. T h at finally elim i­
nated the valet from th e list.
"On my re tu rn from the farm I ex­
am ined the g ardens again with g re at
m inuteness. At the c orner of th e lit­
tle pavilion, about fifteen feet from
w here the body bad lain, there w as a
patch of bloody snow. T his puzzled
me a good deal, until th e solution of­
fered Itself th a t the m urderer had
tried to wash his hands In the snow,
the w ater of th e pond being frozen
hard. Yet his clothing would also
b ear th e stain. W hat had he worn
th a t show ed so w hite to you In the
sta rlig h t? Could It have been th a t he
wore no clothes a t all?
“A naked m an! T he suggestion
was full of possibilities.
"It w as fo rtu n ate th a t I had brought
a ssista n ts to help me In S teen 's cap­
ture. T h eir presence gave me a wid­
e r scope, for they w ere both good
men. I left them to search the pavil­
ion and lau rels for the clothing,
w hich th e m u rd erer m ight have con­
cealed when be realized how fatal
was Its evidence. As I walked back
to th e house I began to u nderstand
th e situation m ore clearly. T he m ain
drive, curving down the slope of the
park, w as in view of a tall m an com ­
ing up by th e yew walk. T he m u r­
d e rer m ight have noticed our ap­
proach. W hat m ore n a tu ra l th an th a t
he should have b e n t double as be ran,
th u s obtaining th e cover of the left-
hand hedge, which was not m ore th an
four to five feet high? Did not this
answ er to your description of th e
th in g you had seen? It would have
been cold w ork for him. I m ade a
note to be on th e look-out for chills.
"F o r a couple of hours I devoted
m yself to speeding those guests who
caught the eleven-thirty train . I do
not th in k a tru n k left for th e sta tio n
of w hich I have not a com plete In­
ventory.
Indeed, the b aro n 's cred­
ito rs have to th an k m e for th e re tu rn
of sev eral trifles of value, which w ere
Included, accidentally, no doubt. In
the ladles’ dressing-bags.
"A fter the c arriag e s had sta rte d I
w ent In search of T erry, and discov­
ered th a t he had not left his room.
E qually to the point, his windows
looked down upon th e spot w here th e
baron m ade his d eto u r over the g rass
while escaping. I becam e In terested
In th is young m an. T he score was
creeping up ag ain st him. A ladder
from an obliging g ard en er allowed me
to observe him from th e window. A
visit to th e housekeeper gave m e a
duplicate key to his door. W hat hap­
pened In th e room you know, Mr.
P hillips.”
“B ut, the m otive— why did he kill
his patro n ?" I asked him eagerly.
"I doubt If we shall e v er learn the
tru th on th a t point," he said. "As
fa r as I can m ake out, S teen was di­
rectly responsible for th e ruin and
disg race of T e rry 's father. P robably
the son did not fully realize th is when
th e baron, w ith a pity m ost unusual
In th e m an, give him th e se c re tary ­
ship. B ut of all participation in the
flight be was certain ly Innocent, for
he w as In bed a t th e tim e."
"In b e d !” I cried.
"D on't In terru p t, If you please.
W h at happened I tak e to be as fol­
low s: T e rry w as In bed w hen th e old
m an trie d to creep past his window.
Som ehow he heard him, and. looking
out. understood w hat w as up. P e r­
haps th a t rascal H enderson had told
him th e tru th about his fa th e r; per­
haps S teen had prom ised him com­
pen satio n —he had a m o th er and sis­
te r d ependent on him —w hich prom ­
ise th e financier m eant to avoid,
along w ith m any m ore serious obliga­
tions, by ru n n in g away. At any rate,
passion, revenge, th e sense of Injus­
tice— call It w hat you like— took hold
of th e lad. H e caught up the first
handy w eapon; It chanced to be a
dagger paper-knife— dangerous things,
I h ate th em —and rushed down a back
sta irc a se and through th e side door
In p u rsu it of h is enem y.
"W hen th a t had happened, which
happened, th e fe a r th a t com es to all
a m a teu rs In crim e took him by the
th ro at. H e wiped his hands In th e
enow; h e tore off his sleeping suit—
th a t Is how I know he had been In
bed—and th ru st it. w ith Its terrib le
evidences of m urder. Into the thatch
of the little pavilion. W e found it
th e re a day late r. T hen he sta rte d
back to th e house as naked as a baby.
"H e saw us ru n n in g down th e hill,
and m ade for th e side door, bending
double behind th e hedge. W ho w ere
we? H ad we noticed him ? Believe
me, Mr. Phillips, w h e th er he had held
the m u rd er righteous o r no. It was
only the rope he saw dangling before
him. M ight not th e alarm be given at
any m om ent? H e dared not wash
him self, and th e sta in s had dried
upon him. He hu rried on his clothes,
shivering In th e chill th a t had struck
home, and so to th e sa fest place he
could find—the roulette-table."
“I t Is well th a t he died " I said sim ­
ply.
"It saved th e law som e trouM e,"
rem arked th d inspector, w ith a grim
little nod a t th e wall.
(C H R O N IC L E S
TO
BE
C O N T I N U E D .)
turally added to It. In tim e he had
a building large enough to accom m o­
date a num ber of persons.
T hree years ago a m em ber of a his­
torical society In England, which had
learned of th e e xistence of th e Mace­
donia. cam e to City Island and offered
Mr. Sm ith 830,000 for It, but he would
not sell.
He said he w anted It to
rem ain In the fam ily, w hich consists
of seven d a u g h te rs and tw o sona
A s s u re d of F r e sh F ish .
Gorgeous Sartorial Creation
by Leading French Modiste
SIMPLE LESSON IN POLITICS
W om an
D o e sn 't 8ee N e c e ssity of
L e a r n in g H a rd W o rd s W h e n
M a rc h in g A n s w e r s Purpose.
"C harley, dear," said young Mrs.
T orklns, "I’m going to be a suffragette
and m arch In a parade."
“You are, eh?”
"Yes. 1 feel It my duty to show an
active In terest In politics.”
"I see. Well, w hat are your views
on schedule K of the tariff?"
"T h at's not politics. T h a t's the al­
phabet.”
"W ell, how about direct prim aries
or the Initiative and referendum ?"
"Oh, I never pretended to know
much L atin.”
"How about banking and finance?”
"W hy—they seem all right, don't
they ?”
"You se e !" he shouted, trium phant­
ly, "you don't know a thing about the
subjects a re being discussed."
"W ell, Charley, dear, you m ean well,
of course. But I m ust say th a t It
seem s very stupid and silly of you to
learn all those hard words and puzzle
over problem s to show your Interest
In politics w hen we can do so sim ply
by m arching In a parade.”—W ashing­
ton Star.
NATU RALLY.
E vening gown of w hite and black lace over Ivory charm euae.
SERVICE DAINTY AND COSTLY ANGEL SLEEVE HAS RETURNEt
E x t r a v a g a n c e M a r k s T e a S e ts W h ic h
M odern H o s t e s s Is W illin g to 8e t
B e fo re H e r G uests.
S o m e w h a t D ifferent F ro m T h o s e o
A n o t h e r D ay, but P ra c tic a lly
A lo n g the S a m e Line s.
If a fte rn o o n te a s e ts con tin u e to
g e t m ore a ttra c tiv e , th e services
w hich w e re considered lovely a few
y ears ago will be relegated to the
n e th e rm o st c o rn ers of china closets.
All In p a le st green porcelain Is a very
dainty se t com prising a tea pot, su g ar
basin, cream p itc h e r and a half dozen
cups and sau cers. It sets upon a
sq u a re tra y of green willow. Q uite
a s d ain ty a n d only a trifle m ore
costly a re tete-a-tete te a se ts of w hite
ch in a banded w ith d a rk blue o r red,
edged w ith a gold vine and stan d in g
on an oblong m atching tray.
Am ong th e four-piece services a re
se ts of a m b er porcelain so th in th a t
th e beverage seem s to color I t T hese
se ts sta n d upon tra y s of am ber crys­
ta l having p ro jectin g handles of gild­
ed m etal, s e t w ith genuine am ber.
E xceedingly p re tty te a sets a re of
silv er deposit-veiled w hite porcelain
o r com prise a te a pot of silver, su g a r
bowl silv er deposit-veiled w hite porce­
lain.
A ngel sleeves have returned. The;
a re n o t exactly like th e ones of othe
days. T hey Bhow grace In th e flowlni
lines and cleverness In adjustm ent
and th ey also show som ething new.
T he re g u la r set-ln sleeve has beei
supplanted by th e loose overdrapery
In som e c ases It is a stra ig h t piece o
w ide lace, caught a t the shoulder
u n d e r clasps, hooked in place afte
being wound In scarflike lines ove
th e a rm s and shoulders; In o th ers 1
Is a sleeve w ith extrem ely wldenln;
lines, and th e re need be no seam s o
g ath ers. T assels w eight down th>
edges, and Jeweled bandings, rhlnc
sto n es being In first favor, edge th>
gauzy d rap ery and hold the flowlni
sleeves In place.
T ulle, m aline, shadow laces and ei
q ulslte m etallic effects on gauzes am
n e ts a re used for angel sleeves, sa y
th e New York P ress. T hese a re eai
lly Incorporated w ith bodice d ra p e r
and a rra n g e d o ver th e shoulders ti
give th e g ra ce and u se of sleeve
w ithout undue m aterial o r trouble li
construction.
T he sh o rt kimono sleeve can b
successfully hidden by draping tra m
p a re n t net, gauze o r chiffon o ver th'
top catch in g the folds by slip stltc h e
h e re and there.
Pin all d rap ery first. A rrange th'
change until th e right line is obtained
T hen sew and rejoice In one of th'
new fe atu res In evening gowns.
SPRING STREET COSTUME
Lip Pom ade.
T h e fro sty atm osphere m akes thi
tin y m etal c ases of Up pom ade espe
d a lly desirable for m y lady's hand
bag. fo r Just a touch of cold creaq
p ro tec ts th e Ups from the dryness o
th e wind. T h e m etal oases are abou'
tw o Inches long, and a re gilt, flnlshe<
a t th e top w ith an Im itation Jewel
and a rin g by w hich they may be a t
tached to a chain. T hey a re abou<
h alf an Inch in circum ference. Th)
pom ade Is slightly tinted, e ith e r fleet
o r rouge color, so th a t Its use cannoi
be detected, or, for those who so wish
It m ay be had In w hite. T hese art
priced a t less th an one dollar, accord
lng to th e m ake.
M a s c o t Fa sh io n .
T h e re Is a growing dem and foi
"lucky” brooches and pendants. Th)
lucky m oney spider brooch, the lucky
enam el ladybird, lucky w ishbones
lucky m eans, a re all popular, and
m any wom en have th e ir own special
lucky hieroglyphics—C hinese. Indian
A rabian and w hat not—inscribed o t
th e ir Jew elry w henever possible.
C openhagen h a s a model f s h m ar­
ket, built by the m unicipality. W ith
th e exception of th e larg e r varieties,
Medici Collars.
like cod and halibut, all the fish a re
S tre e t gown of black accord eon
New Medici collars usually havt
kept alive In ta n k s filled w ith ru n ­
pleated taffeta. T he w aist Is finished vest-llke Jabots of n et o r shadow lac e
ning w ater. T h ere la no o th e r town
w ith w h ite ru ch in g and a sm all chem ­
Bashes of bright Roman striped rib
w here all the fish, w h eth er cheap or
bon a re p re tty on blue serge d re sse s
isette of w hite lace.
dear, a re so beautifully fresh.
Sunday School T eacher—Tommy,
don't you think fighting Is wicked?
Tomm y—Yes’m; when I get licked.
T h e P ro p e r W ay.
“Do you believe w hat th e Germ an
arm y officer says, th a t tightening
one's belt will allev iate the pangs of
h unger?”
"C ertainly, If th e belt Is tightened
In th e proper m anner.”
"Is th ere m ore tn an one way to
tighten a b elt?”
"C ertainly. One way Is to pull It
up tw o or th ree holes, th u s shorten­
ing It, and—”
"T h at w as the way I was thinking
of.”
"B ut the way to so tighten It as to
alleviate the pangs of hunger Is to
cram th e stom ach full of food, thus
distending the w alls of the stom ach
and tightening the belt autom atically.”
T o o k the T a ll End.
T he L ancashire people a re fond of
dogs—In fact, th ey 're very proud of
them , and therefore when a prom inent
dog fancier cam e hom e one night and
found his son had bought a nonde­
scrip t m ongrel he w as ra th e r riled.
"How m uch didst thee gle for th a t
dog?” he Inquired.
"Five shillings,” replied th e son.
“T ell th ee w hat A’ll do,” replied th e
parent. "A'll go sh a res wl' thee. A'll
gle th ee half a crow n for ma share."
T he half crown w as duly paid; then
the fa th e r rem arked:
"A'll ta k ’ t ’ tail end. and A’m goln’
to kick my half outen t ' do o r!”—Lon­
don Tit-Bits.
A ll In Sigh t.
He had been appointed a sm oke In­
spector In Chicago. Day a fte r day he
was seen loafing around the downtown
section.
“W hy don't you trav el around town
and Inspect the sm oker* dem anded
his chief one day.
“W hat’s the use?" was the reply. “I
can see it all from here."
W here He 8tood.
"Surely you a re not opposed to votes
for wom en?” dem anded the horse
teced *emale who headed th e del­
egation.
"No, Indeed," replied the Grouch.
"But I am opposed to votes for suf­
frag ettes.”
S to rm S ig n a ls.
E x trav ag an t Young Wife—George, I
wish to go out th is afternoon to do a
little shopping W hat kind of w eath­
e r Is It?
George—Rain, thunder, lightning,
freezing — and — and earthquake! —
P ack