The Argosy, October 1906 — page 199: what you’re looking at

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

a + SEEN THROUGH A FIELD- GLASS. | 569 =~ 2 be 335, the man replied, ‘his face going white and red with apparent amazement: ‘“ What in the world am I arrested for, Mr. Op I—lI’m a tow aniding citizen.”? As -he spoke, the feck on his face was certainly one of pure astonishment; not of guilt. - Mandell could not help won- dering at the innocent expression. He surely did not look like aman who would commit even a trifling | ‘wrong, to Say nothing of a capital crime. ~ However, the officer was accustomed to the simulation. of innocence, and would not allow himself to be diverted from the performance of his duty. “ You - shall know in good time, Mr. Harding,” he said, somewhat ‘grufily. “When - we’ ve - made an examination “Of. the premises we shall doubtless have abundant evidence of your crime. saree George,” turning tosone of the offi- cers, “ you may remain in charge of the prisoners. while the rest of us look about and make an investigation. “Now, Mr. Mandell, tell us” Just where the—the— eyeut= took place.” “Tt must have been right here,” SS dell replied, looking abeut in a slightly puzzled way; “ right at the side of the house, only a few feet from the path; at about this point, I should say. member the path distinctly. S ‘The officer proceeded to examine the lawn and path, even going down on his knees in his search for blood spots. —Be- ginning at the peint indicated, he moved around in widening circles till he had covered nearly a8 whole area of the side - yard All the while ‘Mr. aed Mrs. Hordine were watching the performance with wide-eyed wonder. If they were guilty of a capital crime, the penalty of which they must have known. to be death, they certainly were aes at ‘disguising ar feelings. Presently the teal rose, and came back to Mandell, saying : = “T find nothing» incriminating here.” __“ It’s very strange,” rejoined Mandell. es But the proofs may. have been removed between the time of es the deed and that of our arrival.” Hee = But there’s no sign | of any “conflict having taken: place on the lawn.” “ Yes, that is odd,” Mandell admitted. JT Te ¥ “ But come, Mr. Tompkins; Pil lead the way up to the copse yonder.” 7 “In the name of God, what are . you looking for, men?” Mr. Harding broke in at this point. “Surely you. don’t mean to accuse us of a foul crime!” “You shall know about that in good time, Mr. Harding,” parried the sheriff. “Where can we find a couple of shovels? ” “Yonder in the wood-house,;” Harding replied, without a sign = Te- luetance. Followed by the sheriff and two of the other officers, Mandell led the way up the hillside in the rear of the farm build- ings. When-they came to the corner of the orchard he was puzzled for a few moments by a peculiar circtimstance; the rail-fence ran longitudinally acress the slope instead of diagonally, as he had supposed... But perhaps viewing it at a distance made it appear so, he reffected. They followed the fence till they came to a thicket at the border of a small tract of timber. ‘This must be the cepse in which the woman’s body was surrepti- tiously buried. ~ Mandell’s pulses throbbed hotly as he appreached the place, which now seemed to him to have an uncanny atmosphere about it. ‘The sheriff and his men pushed into the copse and began to examine the ground at the spot pointed out te them by their guide. To their surprise, they found the earth everywhere covered with dead leaves and grass and small bushes and briers. No fresh dirt was to be seen; no signs of any excavating having been done; not a leaf, not a grass spear, not a bush or brier in the whele thicket, which was only a few rods square, had been disturbed. All the bushes were firmly rooted, and bore no evidence of ever having been dug up. The searchers went carefully over every foot of soil. At length the sheriff pulled himself out of the copse, and looked at Mandell as if he doubted the latter’s sanity. “What do you make of it, Mr. Man- dell?” the sheriff inquired. “Tm teetotally beaten!’ Mandell admitted, mopping his forehead with his handkerchief. “‘I was sure I could lead you right to the spot. Yonder is the hilltop across the valley where-I- stood Mr.* comicbooks:com