The Argosy, June 1904 — page 59: what you’re looking at

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

BY THE ENEMY’S WILL. to my ears a squeak of the hinge of the outer door. I recognized it in a moment —it had long needed oil. Before I had quite realized that that couldn’t be im- agination, another key was inserted in the lock of the inner door.” “Two keys. This grows interest- ing!” “JT knew then that I was not sleep- ing, dreaming, or imagining. Indeed, the rattling of the second key made me very wide awake indeed. So much so that I did not frighten the burglar away by any movement, but determined to see the thing through. I lay back in my chair in the darkness, awaiting de- velopments.” “ An act of wisdom, I think—under the peculiar circumstances.” “The door opened. Closed again. Then my ears were startled by the rustle of a dress: a woman’s dress. She came into the room in which [ was sit- ting in the darkness.” “Stumbling? Or after the manner of a person knowing her way?” “That she knew her way was evident by her movements. She struck a match, and in its light I saw—for the first time in my life—the girl I was subsequently accused of luring into my chambers and murdering.” Watson Ward remained silent a full minute after I had ceased speaking. Then he summed up all I had told him in the trite words: “Truth is stranger than fiction.” CHAPTER XXIX. THE DETECTIVE TOUCHES THE SPot. THERE is the possibility that Kane did not believe what I had said. Any way, he seemed to wear a disbelieving look. That troubled me little. Because it was plainly evident that Watson Ward did believe, and if he handled the case with a belief in my innocence as a basis of his methods, I felt that the future might vet be tinted rose color. All the fear I had felt about consult- ing the great detective vanished. “T am rather a believer in the power of truth,” said Watson Ward, “ but, after all, I can’t help saving I’m in- 11 A * PRODUCED BY UNZ.ORG ecomiclooolK« ELECTRONIC REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED D45 clined to think you acted wisely in ab- staining from telling it on this occa- sion.” “And now,” interpolated Jane, “that explanation having been given you, what do you say about undertaking the case?” As if his answer depended on the time, Watson Ward pulled out and con- sulted his watch. A glance at the open page of his diary, and he said: “JT have an appointment here in just two hours from now. Raymond Build- ings isn’t twenty minutes by cab, is it? Shall we go?” That was a sample of his suecinct style of talking and action. Kane was prompt in answering. “ Decidedly! I am awfully glad you are able to come at once.” “Tt is as well perhaps,” responded Ward grimly, “seeing that at the pres- ent time you’ve a dead body—more or less—on the premises.” That was a speech which accorded well with Kane’s humor; he laughed heartily. Perhaps Watson Ward was a believer in phrenology,and had observed Kane’s humor bump! In a few minutes we were being driven back to Gray’s Inn. The cab stopped at number three, and all of us went up to Kane’s suite of rooms. This was the first time I had been in them. The arrangement of the flat was sim- ilar to that of my own. Through the open door of what corresponded to my bedroom, I noticed a flight of wooden steps leading up to the skylight, similar to those in Zairbeni’s rooms, I assume that they were so placed by the builders in case of fire; I do not know. It was a peculiar fact that they were absent from my own rooms. After casting his eyes about the room, Watson Ward slowly mounted the lad- der-like steps and handled the body of the cat which lay on the roof. He never spoke once during his examination, and we did nothing to disturb him in his in- vestigations. He was some minutes at the scuttle, and we assumed that he was endeavor- ing to decipher the initials on the bell. We did not see the cat ourselves. When he came down, Kane said to him: CO