The Argosy, October 1906 — page 202: what you’re looking at

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

| the bincaties almost fell ae his nerve-— less hand. Then he locked again. This time his glass revealed the exact , locality in which he had witnessed the tragedy! For ten minutes his glass was glued upon the fandscape, which he in spected in every detail, knowing that he could net be mistaken as to its identity. Presently his eyes grew weary with the strain, and he dropped his glass to his side, and teok several turns about the woods fer relaxation, dnd to work off something of his overwrought emotions. When he again lifted his glass and loeked threugh it, what was his amaze- ment to find that ‘the scene had changed back to the presaic little farm of the He glanced at his watch. Hardings ! and feund the time a few minutes after ten. For several days he sopesied the ex- periment on the hilltop, and made the follewing strange discevery: — Frem about half past nine to ten o’clock in the forenoen his glass revealed the scene of 2 eee the crime; at all other times = little Harding farm: What did it mean? tery on.mystery. What was it? Optic- al illusion or mental hallucination? Was the strange phenomenon in the glass, or in his eyes, or in his brain, or in the landscape? While he ruminated, a thought flashed into his mind. He hurried home and laid plans for carrying his investiga- tions into a new field. Before sunrise the next morning he had left the city behind him and was clambering up the steep ridge to the south of the one he had been infesting for so many days of late. Mile after mile he trudged aleng the top of the range, stopping every few minutes to scan the landscape on both sides. It need not be said that he was vio- once, with lently tossed about between hope and fear. He had a theory; > <a it as proven true or false? A few hours of toilsome jogging along brought him to the top of the ridge directly above the Harding place. First he leveled his glass northward upon the hilltop that had introduced -Here was mys- ~ _ ‘THE 'ARGOSY. 7 Then he turned southward, and sent -his gaze across the valley toward the tall - range ef hills on the opposite side. _ An exclamation burst. from his dry lips, - a shiver went threugh his whole eae causing him to tremble like a leaf. Do you ask why? “Yonder, on the other side of the val- ley; lay the scene ef the tragedy he had tinctness—the — Eel the heise” ad other farm buildings, a little yard, the erchard, the rail-fence running diag = = the eee the Ee — “He was Jools directly southward. Several miles to the northeast — tay trenoblings with solved it, too, on scientific principles’ & But he ‘meant to make sure, ee he wanted facts, not theories. © A few hours later he had ertese <A a second valley, clambered stealthily up to the oppesite heights, and ee 2 mos on hands and kne gh the woods down to the thicket, which he Se reason to believe. ‘contained an assassin’ 's awfal secret. = _His Fioed ran hot and Sake by turns as he “exami ined the spot. It requir only a few minutes’ inspection to furnish indubitable proof that his judgment was correct—an excavation had been made not Joey Sooe: before in the thicket. _ the < chon and ae i to thicket. ne missing SS ‘was exhumed tice, ~ It was. another case of a crime ne ¢ con one of the. ee witnesses: Kandel was yer for the defense put this Le to him to the mystery he was now trying him. to clear up. The towering summit had the familiar air of a well-known friend. - = How di you account for your seeing this tragedy through . your field-glass, witnessed. _ = _ Even BS the fixed b eye he. broad, beast ae that sparkled i _ This was: = e at real murderer brought to the bar of | jus: Ed ae co mic be 90kKS:CO ~# = Ss -