Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 58: what you’re looking at

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848 of success to his adversaries. ‘That is how I read this crime. Oddly enough, I am, perhaps, even better acquainted than you with the circumstances. Ill explain myself later. What I want you to do now is to set aside any dreams as to the future you may have indulged in, and help me in find- ing Mr. Lanson’s murderer. Once we know the motivé of the crime we shall not be far from discovering its perpetrator.” “ But, Mr. Winter,” sighed the other, “ I had hoped—” ' “Qh, yes. I have sized up the situation. I’m nearly twice your age, and happily married, too, to one of the best women in the world; yet I don’t mind telling you she was not the first girl I wanted to call my very own. I’m very glad to have had this chance of a clear understanding with you. And that will be all on the senti- mental side just now. Our present job is to ascertain who killed this poor fellow. He, or she, is in this building yet, or Pm a Dutchman.” ‘“‘ She!”? cried Davidson, so thrilled by a new thought that the stupor to which he had yielded for a little while vanished. “Ves. Why not? It is nothing new for a woman to masquerade as aman. They do it much more often than people imag- ine. Besides, even if a man’s hand drove home that dagger, a woman may have in- spired the thrust. I take nothing for grant- ed in an inquiry like this. For instance, where was Mr. Victor Denasch at half past ten? And why did Miss Lanson want to assure herself that Sevastopolo was actually in London? Do you realize how amazing her action was? She used that telephone there, while the dagger which pierced her father’s heart was actually resting beside the receiver. In this case we have no evi- dence but a hundred clews. Let us follow some of them now—this instant!” CHAPTER VI. A BATTLE OF WITS. HOUGH skilled doctors and famous T detectives have many qualities in common, circumstances have con- spired to mislead Dr. Macgregor, else he ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY, would never have lost an invaluable quarter of an hour before telling Winter the one definite thing which in its sequel profound- ly affected the fortunes of many people con- cerned in the Lanson tragedy. As it was, he saw to the installing in Alice Romer’s room of the nurse whom he had brought from the Cottage Hospital, and directed the removal of Mr. Lanson’s body as well. Then he sought a confidential word with the representative of Scotland Yard. ‘* May I ask why you sent off that chap Denasch in such a hurry?” he said when Glen and he returned to the library to- gether. “Simply because I didn’t want him here, and had no valid legal excuse for arresting him,” was the reply. “Oh, I thought you had ordered him out of the town!” ‘Why in the world should you think that?” * ** Because he crossed the Slea Bridge in a car half an hour ago, and must now be some miles along the London Road.” ‘““ Are you sure of your facts?” demanded Winter, speaking so seriously that Mac- gregor bent his brows in the characteristic Scottish way which indicates real mental concentration. ‘“ Absolute certainty is a rare thing in everyday life,” he announced ‘after a weighty pause, “ but it does seem to me that what I have told you is an instance of it. In the first place, I barely missed running over him when I left the castle, so I slowed down, and apologized, offering to take him to the hotel, but he refused. Then I made for the Cottage Hospital. As I anticipated, there being no troublesome cases in hand, every member of the staff was in bed, and I had to wait nearly quar- ter of an hour for the nurse I wanted. Coming back through High Street, I saw Mr. Denasch, still in evening dress but wearing a light overcoat, enter a car waiting outside the hotel, and drive off. His lug- gage was on top; I recognized him quite clearly; I knew the car, which came from our local garage; and it has gone along the London Road. The links in the chain of circumstantial evidence are fairly complete, I take it?” 3A DOO|KKS..CO oO Coin @