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Holladay
Case
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JiM- jury uieu slowly out, and I
-watched them airiloiwly. In fare of
the con:irN ins' ructions, they er.ild
bring In but one verdict, yet I knew
from experiomo that a Jury Is ever an
unknown qunntlty, often producing the
most unexpected results.
The dLstrlct attorney came down
from his scat and shook hands with
both of us.
"That was a great stroke!" he said,
with frank admiration. "Whatever
made you suspect V"
Mr. Iloyce hnmled him the note for
.answer. He read It through and stared
back at us In astonishment.
"Why," he began, "who wrote this?"
"'That's the note that was delivered
to us awhile ago," answered Mr. Hoyce.
"You know as much about It as we do.
Hut It seems to me a pretty Important
piece of evidence. I turn It over to
you."
"Important!" cried Singleton. "I
should say so! Why, gentlemen," and
Jils eyes were gleaming, "this was writ
ten either by nn accomplice or by the
Tvoman herself!"
My chief nodded.
Trcclsely," he said. "I'd got on the
track of the writer without delay."
Singleton turned and whispered n
few words to a clerk, who hurried
from the room. Then he motioned to
two smooth faced, well built men who
sat near by, spoke a word to the coro
ner and retired with them Into the lat
ter's private olllce. The reporters
crowded about us with congratulations
mid questions. They scented n mys
tery. What was Uie matter with Sin
gleton? What was the new piece of
evidence? Was It the note? What
was in the note?
Mr. Iloyce smiled.
"Gentlemen," ho said, "I trust that
my connection with this affair will end
In a very few minutes. For any- fur
ther Information I must refer you to
the district attorney. The case Is In lit.-
bands."
Hut those men he had summoned Into, mo to tlmnk you for ,10l. for (h(l Kront
bis oilico were Karle and Johnson, the , work ym (11(1 thls Ilf((.rnooI1( Lostcr -cleverest
detectives on the force. What . to,d ,icr lt Wil3 rpny ym, who ,,JMl
lid he want with them? Mr. Hoyco , (lom t,vel.yti,B. Yes, it was!" he add
merely shrugged his shoulders, where-1 C(1( iinsW0ring my gesture of denial,
jit the reporters deserted him and j Wlil(. I was groping helplessly
mussed themselves before the door Into uroUnd In the dark you found the way
the coroner's room. It opened In u mo-. to tlie lif,hti nut t.omo. we mUHt get
incut, and the two detectives came bur- J baci: to the olllce."
rylng out. They looked neither to the
right nor left, but shouldered their way
cruelly through the crowd, paying not
the slightest attention to the questions'
showered upon them. Then the dis
trict attorney came out and took in thu
situation at a glance.
'Gentlemen," he said, raising his
voice, "I can answer no questions. I
must request yon to resume your seats
or I shall ask the coroner to clear tho
room."
They know that he meant what ho
said, so they went back to their chairs
chagrined, disgusted, biting their nails,
striving vainly to work out a solution
to the puzzle. It was the coroner's
clerk who created a diversion.
"The Jury Is ready to report, sir," ho
announced.
"Very well; bring them out." And
the jurymen filed slowly back to their
seats. I gazed at eacli face and cursed
the Inexpresslveness of the human
countenance.
"Have you arrived at a verdict, gen
tlemen?" asked the coroner.
"We have, sir," answered one of them
and handed n paper to the clerk.
"Is this your verdict, gentlemen?"
asked the coroner. "Do you all concur
in lt?"
They answered In the afllrmatlvo as
their names were called.
"Tho clerk will read the verdict,"
said Goldberg.
Julius stood up and cleared his throat.
"We, the jury," ho read, "Impaneled
In the case of Hiram W. Holladay, de
ceased, do find that ho came to his
denth from a stab wound In the neck,
Inflicted by a penknife in the hands of
a person or persons unknown."
CIIAPTI3R V.
TIIK coroner dismissed the Jury
and came down and shook
hands with us.
"I'm going to reward you for
your clover work, Mr. Hoyce," he said.
"Why, yes; certainly. I'll bo glad to,
win you uiku inu koou nu3 iu jim mi(1 wo jeft jt together. I was com- BUU" ,u"1 Ul-r muitM, whuih, hh quuu "wnat would n ooy'H nesenpiion no
Holladay?" iotey uie dark as to my compan- certain, sho loved dearly. So what re- worth? It would bo at the best vaguoj
My chief could not repress the swift jon. purn08e nnd yet It could havo but roaliiH?" nnd Indefinite Besides, they've not
flush of pleasure which reddened his 'i...,.i..i ., i. nH "Only one thing." I Bald, deeply Inter- ,,vfin found the bov. Now. to return to
cheeks, but ho managed to speak un- . m n Holladav case. ostud ,n UllH exposition. "Sudden paa-. Uie note."
concernedly. IlnlesR-nnd I danced nt him again. H,on-" We had come to Uie coffee nnd c
if you wish It," ho said. ' mn'uoven lf' uo waH( i Would rather
"I do wish It," Goldberg assured him h advcnture. My curl08lty
with n tact and penetration I thought h bnt u
admirable "You may dismiss tho po- WoIl. X Bald. "I'll bo glad to
liceman who is with her. I invitation, Mr."
Our Junior looked inquiringly at tho '- -'
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' llySlery I
f f T t
X'.n u
Contin
BURTON
S1EVLN.
N
Copyright, I'JO. by
Henry Holt anil
Conn Any
-H
'"""a..
district nttoroy.
'Before I jo," he said, "may I ask
what you hit hid doing, sir?"
"I intend nndlng the writer of that
note," answe.'cd Singleton, smiling.
"Hut, about Miss Holladay?"
Singleton pipped his lips thought
fully with his pencil.
"Before I nnswer," ho said at last, "I
should like to go with you and ask her
one question."
"Very well," assented Mr. Hoyce In-
Btautly and led tho way to
the room
where Miss nolladay awaited us.
She rose with flushing face as we en-
tered and stood looking at us without
speaking; but, despite her admirable
composure, I could guess how she was
racked with anxiety.
"Miss Holladay." began my chief,
"this Is Mr. Singleton, the district at
torney, who wishes to ask you n few
questions."
"One question only," corrected Sin
gleton, bowing. "Were you at your fa
ther's olllce yesterday afternoon, Miss
Holladay?"
"No, sir," she answered Instantly and
emphatically. "I have not been near
my father's olllce for more than a
week."
I saw him study her for n moment,
then he bowed again.
"That Is all," he said. "I don't tii.nk
the evidence Justifies me in holding
her, Mr. Hoyce," and he left the room.
I followed him, for I knew that I had
no further part In our Junior's errand.
I went back to our table and busied
myself gathering together our belong
ings. The room had gradually cleared
and at the end of ten minutes only
the coroner and his clerk remained.
They had another case, It seemed, to
open In the morning another case
which perlums Involved Just as great
heartache and anguish as ours had.
Five minutes later my chief came hur
rying back to mo and a glance at his
beaming eyes told me how he had been
welcomed.
"Miss Holladay has started homo
with her maid," ho said. "She asked
We found a cab nt the curb and In
i moment were rolling back over the
route we had traversed that morning
ages ago, as it seemed to me! It was
only a few minutes after y o'clock,
and I reflected that I should yet have
time to complete the papers In the
Hurd case before leaving for the night.
1 Mr. Graham was still at his desk,
and he at once demanded an account
I of the hearing. I went back to my
work, and so caught only a word here
and there enough, however, to show
me that our senior was deeply Inter
ested In tills extraordinary affair. As
for me, I put all thought of It resolute-
I ly from me and devoted myself to the
' work In hand. It was done at last,
I and I locked my desk with a sigh of
' relief. Mr. Graham nodded to me
kindly as I passed out, and I left the
oiilee with the comfortable feeling
that I had done a good day's work for
I myself as well as for my employers.
I A man who had apparently boon
j loitering in the hall followed mo Into
' the elevator.
I "This Is Mr. Lester, isn't It?" ho
asked as the car started to descend.
' "Yes," I said, looking at him In sur-
, prise. He was well dressed, with
alert eyes and strong, pleasing face. I
, had never seen him before.
"And you're going to dinner, aren't
, you, Mr. Lester?" he continued.
I "Yes to dinner," I assented, mora
and more surprised.
"Now, don't think mo Impertinent,"
he said, smiling at my look of amaze
ment, "but I want you to dine with
me this evening. I can promise you
as good a meal as you will got at most
places in New York."
"Hut I'm not dressed," I protested.
"That doesn't matter In the least
neither nm I, you see. We will dine
'without others. "
"Where?" I questioned.
"Well, how would the Studio suit?"
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Vn ,. inK. ,, wnH nnt nnnflrt.ne
He nodded npprovlngly.
"There spoke tlio man of bouso.
Well, you shall not go unrewarded.
Godfrey Is my nnmo-no, yon don't
know me, but I'll soon explain myself.
Here's my cab."
1 mounted Into It, lie after me. It
seemed to me that there was an un
usual number of loiterers about the
door of the building, but we were off
In a moment, and I did not give them
a seeond thought. We rattled out Into
Broadway and turned northward for
the three mile straightaway run to
Union square. 1 noticed in a moment
that we were going at a rate of speed
rather exceptional for a cab, and It
steadily Increased as the driver found
a clear road before him. My compan
ion throw up the trap In the roof of
the cab an we swung around Into Thir
teenth street.
"All right, Sam?" be called.
The driver grinned down at us
through the hole.
"All right, sir," he answered. "They
couldn't stand the pace a little bit.
They're distanced."
The trap snapped down again. We
turned Into Sixth avenue and stopped
In a moment before the Studio, gray .
and forbidding without, but a dream
within. My companion led the way up-
stairs to a private room, where a table
stood, rendy set for us. The oysters
nppeared before we were fairly seated,
"You see," he smiled, "I made bold
to bollovo that you'd come with me,
and so had the dinner already ordered."
I looked nt him without replying. I
was completely In the dark. Could
this be the writer of the mysterious
"Of couruc you're puzzled," he an Id.
note? Hut what could his object be?
Above all, why should he so expose
himself? He smiled again as he caught
my glance,
j "Of course you're puzzled," he said.
"Well, I'll make a clean breast of the
matter at once. I wanted to talk
witli you about this Holladay case,
and I decided that a dinner nt the
Studio would be Just the ticket."
I nodded. Tho soup was a thing to
marvel nt.
i "You were right," I assented, "i no j
Idea was a stroke of genius."
'T knew you'd think so. You see, j
since this morning I've been making
rather a study of you. That coup of i
yours at the coroner's court this after
noon was admirable, one of the best
things I ever saw."
j I bowed my acknowledgments.
j "You were there, then?" I asked.
"Oh, yes. I couldn't ufford to miss
It."
"Tho color blind theory was u slmplo
one."
"So slmplo that lt never occurred to
any ono else. I think we're too apt
to overlook the simple explanations,
which are, after all, nearly always
the true ones. It's only In books that
we meet the reverse. You remember
It's Gaborlnu who advises ono always
to distrust the probable?"
"Yes. I don't agree with him."
"Nor I. Now take this case, for In
stance. I think It's safe to state that
murder, where It's not tho result of
sudden passion, Is always committed
for ono of two objects revenge or
gain. Hut Mr. Holladay's past life has
been pretty thoroughly probed by tho
reporters, and nothing has been found
to Indicate that he had ever made a
deadly enemy, at least among the class
of people who resort to murder, so that
does away with revenge. On the other
hand, no one will gain by his death
many will lose by It In fact, the whole
circle of his associates will lose by lt.
It might seem, at first glance, that his
daughter would gain, but I think sho
losos most of all. She already had all
the money she could possibly need, und
He nodded exultantly.
"That'B it. Now, who was the wom
an? From the first I was certain it
could not be his daughter the very
thought was preposterous. It seems
almost equally absurd, however, to
suppose that Holladay could be mixed
..1.... I-...- I ,.! . ..!.. lit.. ....ti .. . . . ... .11
up with any other woman. He cer-1
talnly has not been for the last quarter ;
of a century- but before that well, It's
not so certain. And there's one slrlk-!
Ing point which seems to Indicate his .
K'ullt." I
"Yesyon mean, of course, her re
semblance to his daughter." I
"PrccNely. Such a resemblance must
exist a resemblance unusual, even
striking or It would not for a moment ,
have decehed Rogers. We must re-1
member, however, that Rogers' olllce
was not brilliantly lighted and that be
merely glanced at her. Still, whatever
minor differences there may have been,
she had the air, the general appearance,
the look, of Miss Holladay. Mere facial
resemblance may happen In a hundred
ways by chance, but the air, the look, '
the 'altogether,' Is very different-It In-1
dlcatcs a blood relationship. My the
ory Is that she Is an Illegitimate child,
perhaps four or live years older than
Miss Holladay."
1 paused to consider. The theory
was reasonable, and yet It had Its
faults.
"Now, let's see where this leads us,"
he continued. "Let us assume that
uonauay nas neen provming ior mis
illegitimate uauguier IOr years, ai
last, for some reason, he Is Induced to
withdraw this support, or, perhaps, tho
girl thinks her allowance Insufllclent.
At any rate, after, let us suppose, In
effectual appeals by letter, she does
the desperate thing of calling at his
olllce to protest In person. She finds
him Inexorable we know bis reputa
tion for obstinacy when he bad onco
made up his mind. She reproaches
him she Is already desperate, remem
ber and be answers with that stinging
sarcasm for which ho was noted. In
an ecstasy of anger she snatches up
the knife nnd stabs him; then, In an
agony of remorse, endeavors to check
the blood. She sees at last that It Is
useless, that she cauuot save blm, and
leaves tho olllce. All this Is plausible,
Isn't It?"
"Very plausible," I assented, look
ing at him In some astonishment. "You
forget one thing, however. Rogers tes
tified that he was Intimately acquaint
ed with the affairs of his employer
and that ho would Inevitably have
known of any intrigue such as you
suggest."
My companion paused for a mo
ment's thought.
"I don't believe that Rogers would
so Inevitably have known of lt," ho
said at last. "Hut, admit that then
there is another theory. Holladay has
vat been supporting his Illegitimate
child, who learns of her parentage and
goes to lil til to demand her rights. That
fits the case, doesn't lt?"
"Yes," I admitted. "It also Is plausi
ble." "It Is more than plausible," ho said
quietly. "Whatever the details may
be, the body of the theory Itself is un
impeachable it's tho only one which
fits the facts. I believe It capable of
proof. Don't you see how the note
helps to prove lt?"
"The note?"
I started at the word, and my suspi
cions sprang Into life again. I looked
at him quickly, but bis eyes were on
the cloth nnd he was rolling up innu
merable little pellets of bread.
"That note," he added, "proved two
things. One was that the writer was
deeply Interested In Miss Holladay's
welfare; the other was that he or sbo
knew Rogers, the clerk, Intimately
mow than Intimately; almost as well
as a physician knows an old patient."
"I admit the first," I said. "You'll
have to explain the second."
"The seeond Is self evident. How
did the writer of the note know of Rog
ers' Infirmity?"
"His Infirmity?"
"Certainly his color blindness. I con
fess I'm puzzled. How could any ono
i else know lt when Rogers himself
didn't know It? That's what I should
like to have explained. Perhaps there's
only one man or woman In the world
who could know. Well, that's the ono
who wrote the note. Now, who Is It?"
"Hut," I began quickly, then stopped.
Should I set blm right, or was this a
trap he had prepared Tor mo?
His eyes were not on the cloth now,
but on me. There was a light In them
I did not quite understand. I felt that
I must bo sure of my ground before I
wont forward.
"It should Ikj very easy to trace tho
writer of tho note," I said.
"Tho police have not found it so."
"No?"
"No. It was given to tho doorkeeper
by a boy Just an ordinary boy of from
twelve to fourteen years. Tho man
didn't notice him especially. He said
there waB no answer and went away.
How are tho police to And that boy?
Suppose they do find him. Probably,
nil ho could tell them would be that a
man stopped him at the corner and
gave him n quarter to take the note to
tho coroner's ofllce." I
"Ho might givo a description of tho
mnn," I ventured.
be
ilgars,
nnd I felt it time to protest.
"BeforJ wo return to Uie note, air.
Godfrey," I said, "I'd like to nsk you
two direct questions. What Interest
have you in the matter?"
"The interest of every investigator,
0f crime," be answered, smiling.
"You belong to tho Uetectlvb force,
then?"
"I have belonged to lt. At present
I'm In other employ."
"And what was your objoct In bring
ing me here this evening?"
"One portion of my object hns been
accomplished. The other was to ask
you to write out for mo a copy of tho
note."
"Hut who wns It pursued us up
Hroadway?"
"Oil, 1 have rivals!" he chuckled. "I
flatter myself that was rather neatly
done. Will you give me a copy of the
note, Mr. Lester?"
"No," I answered squarely, "You'll
have to go to tho pollco for that. I'm
out of the cane."
He bowed across the table to nm
with a little laugh. As I looked at htm
his imperturbable good humor touched
j me.
"I'll tell you ono thing, though," 1
added; "the writer of the note knew
nothing of Rogers' color blindness.
You're off the scent there."
"I am?" ho asked nmnzedly. "Then
how did you know lt, Mr. Lester?"
"I suppose you detectives would call
It deduction. I deduced It."
He took n contemplative puff or two
as he looked nt inc.
(To be Continii"d )
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