"Did Mrs. Watson say that anything had happened to alarm her?"

"No, sah. She was jes' natchally skeered. Well, that was all, far's I

know, until the night I come over to see Mis' Innes. I come across the

valley, along the path from the club-house, and I goes home that way.

Down in the creek bottom I almost run into a man. He wuz standin' with

his back to me, an' he was workin' with one of these yere electric

light things that fit in yer pocket. He was havin' trouble--one minute

it'd flash out, an' the nex' it'd be gone. I hed a view of 'is white

dress shirt an' tie, as I passed. I didn't see his face. But I know

it warn't Mr. Arnold. It was a taller man than Mr. Arnold. Beside

that, Mr. Arnold was playin' cards when I got to the club-house, same's

he'd been doin' all day."

"And the next morning you came back along the path," pursued Mr.

Jamieson relentlessly.

"The nex' mornin' I come back along the path an' down where I dun see

the man night befoh, I picked up this here." The old man held out a

tiny object and Mr. Jamieson took it. Then he held it on his extended

palm for me to see. It was the other half of the pearl cuff-link!

But Mr. Jamieson was not quite through questioning him.

"And so you showed it to Sam, at the club, and asked him if he knew any

one who owned such a link, and Sam said--what?"

"Wal, Sam, he 'lowed he'd seen such a pair of cuff-buttons in a shirt

belongin' to Mr. Bailey--Mr. Jack Bailey, sah."

"I'll keep this link, Thomas, for a while," the detective said. "That's

all I wanted to know. Good night."

As Thomas shuffled out, Mr. Jamieson watched me sharply.

"You see, Miss Innes," he said, "Mr. Bailey insists on mixing himself

with this thing. If Mr. Bailey came here that Friday night expecting

to meet Arnold Armstrong, and missed him--if, as I say, he had done

this, might he not, seeing him enter the following night, have struck

him down, as he had intended before?"

"But the motive?" I gasped.

"There could be motive proved, I think. Arnold Armstrong and John

Bailey have been enemies since the latter, as cashier of the Traders'

Bank, brought Arnold almost into the clutches of the law. Also, you

forget that both men have been paying attention to Miss Gertrude.

Bailey's flight looks bad, too."

"And you think Halsey helped him to escape?"

"Undoubtedly. Why, what could it be but flight? Miss Innes, let me

reconstruct that evening, as I see it. Bailey and Armstrong had

quarreled at the club. I learned this to-day. Your nephew brought

Bailey over. Prompted by jealous, insane fury, Armstrong followed,

coming across by the path. He entered the billiard-room wing--perhaps

rapping, and being admitted by your nephew. Just inside he was shot, by

some one on the circular staircase. The shot fired, your nephew and

Bailey left the house at once, going toward the automobile house. They

left by the lower road, which prevented them being heard, and when you

and Miss Gertrude got down-stairs everything was quiet."




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