The Argosy, October 1906 — page 182: what you’re looking at

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

case,” sighed Postmaster Gray. doesn’t look as if we shall ever get to the bottom of it. Just as we think we have a substantial clue, Ht melts: away like vapor. “It’s the most arpstenioa case I’ve ever heard of, Jeremiah. Who are all these foreigners, anyway, and what con- nection have they with this murder? Who is the tall foreigner, -with the close- cropped. hair, whom that newspaper photographer told us about? Why did Dupree want his picture so badly? Who is the one-armed foreigner who induced the girl to run away from the city? What could have been his object? And now, lastly, who is this long-haired foreigner who hired the messenger-boy and who went around to the telegraph office the other day to find the boy again?” The lawyer smiled at the old man’ S. vehemence. “T wish I could answer all those ques- tions, postmaster,” he said. ‘(I feel sure that if I could I could also tell you who killed Paul Dupree and_ why. We've got to run that gang of foreign- ers down without delay. We must find every one of them, and we've got to solve the problem of that mysterious snap-shot. “Tt looks to me as if the whole mur- der case may hang on that picture, or rather those pictures, for there were two poses. It’s a funny thing, when you come to think of it, what became of those photographs. -They weren't found on Dupree’s body or anywhere in the office. It’s more than likely the photographs were in the wallet and that the man who murdered Dupree stole the wallet, not for the money that was in it, but for the pictures.” “That sounds like a good theory, Jeremiah,” said the pestmaster. “It looks as if all these foreigners may be in» league together, and that, by procur- ing the photograph of one of them, Du- pree incurred the deadly enmity of the bunch. Probably a secret society or something, eh?” “That’s just my idea, postmaster. You've hit the right nail on the head. You can bet your boots that that picture incident is at the bottom of this whole mystery. Just as soon as we can find out THE ARGOSY. why it was that Dupree wanted that man’s picture badly enough to be willing to pay one hundred dollars for it, we'll be on the track of the murderer. For I’m just about convinced that it was an associate of that man with the close- cropped hair who killed Dupree.” “Well, there’s only one thing against the theory,” have worked that wallet. trick? How could any of them that money-order mistake? ‘““ How could any of them have known enough to send that wallet to Sutton with just the right amount inside? How could any of them have known that Sut- ton knew Dupree’s typewriter girl? “No, Jeremiah, when you come to look at ‘the. matter in a rational way you must admit that it looks as if somebody inside that office conimitted the murder. It must have been either the keeper or the girl. There wasn ‘t any- body else in the office, according to their own statements.” “Well, I’ve got a theory, postmaster, which may explain that bafiling prob- lem,” said the lawyer quietly. ““T won't say ‘anything about it, even to you, until I have investigated further. You can rest assured, however, that it is quite possible that somebody may. have worked that_wallet trick without having ‘been in the office at all during ‘Sutton’s inter- view with Dupree. The more I think of it, the more I think that I have hit the right trail at last. Yes, postmaster, I feel almost positive now ‘that Dupree was murdered. Py that poser foreigner.’ “What is this new. __-theory, - Jere- miah?” asked the old man. eagerly. ‘“Don't ask me now. I hope to be able to tell you all about _it and solve the ee of Paul Du- pree’s murder.” __ ‘You don’t fal me waned ‘the: old man in surprise. — = Well, if you do solve it.in a few hours, youll” be a ‘wonder, Jeremiah Packard, for, as it appears to me, the casé is more puzzling now “than it ever was. Where are we going now Px’ : Za EO the office: of the Daily. Mirror? What tore “To see that “newspaper photogra- 1ave known about -In a few hours rejoined the postmaster. ~ “How could any of those foreigners book= - comicbool cS, co