The Argosy, August 1905 — page 170: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

ee ES 4 ‘ “Then suddenly a startling thought shot through my brain. It came to me almost intuitively, for there was no good reason for it. ‘I wonder,’ I said, ‘if Mr. Stanton could have met with foul play?’ “* Maybe so, sir,’ said the man almost indifferently, ‘although I hope not, sir, for he was as kind an old gent as ever wore shoes.’ “<The last you saw of him he was going up-stairs,’ I said suddenly. * Then ~ you never saw him go out again at all?’ “<= 7 did not, sir.’ “Then, for all you know, he may be up-stairs now, perhaps lying dead or helpless.’ “*<We may, sir, but I hope not, the fellow replied with a coldness and indif- ference which maddened me. “* Suppose we go up-stairs and find out, I suggested. “*We can’t, sir,’ replied the man. ‘The door of the room is locked, and Mr. Stanton, sir, left strict orders when he took the apartment that nobody was to enter the rooms when he was out. He is a regular crank in that respect. Not even the cleaning woman is allowed to go into his rooms when he is not at home.’ ** Well,’ I said, ‘if nobody has been up-to that room since last Monday evening, I’m going to break in that door, for I am afraid something terrible has happened. Iam a friend of Mr. Stan- ton and will assume full responsibility for what I do.’ “ Well, after a great deal of argument the man finally consented, though with great reluctance, and I took an ax and breke in the door. “'There [ saw the horrifying sight I have described to you. Poor old Stan- ton lay dead on the floor with the re- volver clutched tightly im his hand. There is scarcely a doubt that it was a ease of suicide. The door was locked from the inside, and the key in the door. “ Of course I yelled for help as soon as I made the discovery, and the janitor went out and called in the police. Poor old man! No wonder he did not come his nephew’s funeral when we tele- o him,” most surprising feature of the case is that he did not come to his nephew’s funeral. Young Stanton was murdered last Monday night. His unele must have committed suicide since then. Why, it looks at first sight as if the old man must have killed himself directly on receipt of the news of his nephew's death, but surely he would not have been as much bound up in young Stanton as all that.” “No. Of course he thought a whole lot of young Stanton, but I hardly think he cared enough to commit suicide be- cause of his death. I know, however, that he was very much set on Arthur marrying my sister. He was always talking of it to both Stanton and Effie.” “Did your sister know the old man well?” asked the professor suddenly. “ Of course she did. She was a great favorite with him, but he was so set on her marrying that he had sworn not to let either of them. have a cent of his fortune unless they agreed to marry each other.” * And you think that Effie intended to marry Stanton if the latter had not been murdered?” asked the professor, taking care not to put too much interest ito the words. *T do think so, professor. You see, I am sorry to say, Effie is a girl who eares a great deal for the good things of life, and I think that she would not have let a fortune go begging. She had already refused poor Courtney, you know, who is a much better fellow than Stanton ever was.” : “ But your sister denied at the mquest that she intended to marry Stanton.” “That is something I cannot under- stand,” said Hilton, shaking his head and wholly unsuspicious of the drift of the professor’s questioning. ‘ She must have changed her mind very sud- denly, I think.” e “T think so, too,” said the professor, sola voce; but aloud he merely replied: “ Well, we are straying from the subject, aren't we? To return to o ns termine i comicbooks.com