Evening Star Newspaper, June 22, 1922, Page 22

By Arthur B. Reeve. One of The Star’s Week-End Fiction Series. Each story complete in three installments. T I T T T e RAIG,” I remarked one morning as I sauntered In on him, hard at work, “I don’t see how you stand this feverish activity." “Stand it?” he repeated, holding up a beaker to the light to watch a reaction. “It's my very life. Stand {t? Why, man, If you want me to pass away—stop it. As long as it quit T shall be all right. Let it quit and I'll—I'll go back to research work,” he laughed. Evidently he had been waiting for me,for as he talked he laid aside the ' materials with which he had been working and was preparing to &o out. = “Then, too,” he went on, 1 like to with people like Spencer and Brixton. For example, While T was X ing here for you. there came a mery Pitts” Smery Pit 1 echoed he ‘want? “What best way to find out is—to ' he answered simply. “It's promised to be late and_ I 1 think we'd better = minute later we were gehered into a large 5th . avenue mansion and were listening to a story Which interested even Kemnedy. a blood spot has the kitchen. Nothing | since the discovery | chef. except thatl murdered E moved into the} has been one of the “thousand steel.” overwrought & he wa y a murder in his own JBusehold, sank back in his t‘uiy-i hair, exhausted. | = Pitts was not an oid man; indeed, fa vears he was in the prime of life. Tet by his looks he might almost have been double his age. the more :ontrast with Minna Pitts, his nd very pretty wife, who him in the quaint break- room and solicitously moved a Pitlow back of his head. = Kennedy and 1 looked on in amaz ment. \We knew that he had recent retircd from active business. giving i o rewson his failing health. But Baither of us had thought, when the; na summons came early that morning to visit him immediately at his hou th his condition was as t now appeared. K chen?" repeatgd not prepared for ¢ the house. <. who had closed his eyes. now ¥eopened them slowly and I noticed how contracted were the pupils. : he answered somewhat itchen which | dtted up. You know, I r diet, have heen ever since T offercd 0.000 for the sure I shall have you v on the ta . as they had bee had heen an-| as apparently and unnerved by the ery in the house. idea who the murder- 3 sked Kennedy, ad- g.‘—»smg Pitts, but glancing keenly at replied Pitts. “if T had 1 ve called the regular police. ¥ wanted you to take it up before| ZThey spoiled any of the clues. In The first place, we do not think it could have been done by any of th othér servants. At least, Minna says that there y =sow could an got in| a servants’ | lock Mrs. Pitts 4 hroughout the di 1 could not} elp thinking that she suspected Somothing, perhaps was concealing omething. Yet each of them seem- #d equally anxious to have the ma- fauder apprehended, whoever he might be. “My dear,” he said to her at Jength, “will you call some one and pave them taken to the Kitchen? As Minna Pitts led us through the rn:e mansion preparatory to turn- g us over rvant she ramm hastily % been illngnd was now taking a treatment under Dr. Thompson | No one having answered her! bell in the present state ite- | fent of the house. she stopped short 2t the pivoted door of the Kitchen.| ith a little shudder at the tragedy. nd stood only long enough to relate | fo us the story as she had heard it om the valet Edward. . Mr. Pitts, it seemed, had wanted an #arly breakfast and had sent Edward 20 order it. The valet had found the kitchen a veritable slaughter house, weith the negro chef Sam lying dead .on the floor. Sam had been dead, ap- parently. since the night before. { As she hurried away Kennedy pushed open tha door. It was a mar- elous place, that antiseptic or rather septic kitchen, with its white tiling and enamel, its huge ice box and gooking uten for every purpose, 811 of the most expensive and modern ake. There were marks everywhere of a ruggle. and by the side of the chef, Wvhose body now lay in the next room awaiting the coroner, lay a long garving knife with which- he had evi-: @ently defended himself. On its blade and haft were huge coagulated spots £ blood. The body of Sam bore marks ¢ his having been clutched violently gy the throat, and in his head was a ingle deep wound that penetrated he skull in a most peculiar manner. t did not seem possible that a blow“ ew Lord rom a knife could have done it. It Yvas a most unusual wound and not t all the sort that could have been ade by a bullet. i As Kennedy examined it éhe re- fnarked, shaking his head in con- firmation of his opinion, “That must _been done by a Behr bulletless n § “A bulletless gun?” I repeated. I Yes, a sort of pistol with a spring- perated device that projects a sharp lade with great force. No bullet and 0 powder are used in it. But when t. is placed directly over a vital point f the skull so that the aim is un- rring, a trigger lets a long knife #hoot out with tremendous force, and death is instantaneous.” 3 Near the door leading to the court- ard that opened on the side street ‘ere some spots of blood. They were #0 far from the place where the valet ad discovered the body of the chef hat there could be no doubt that liey were blood from the murderer imsel Kennedy's reasoning in the tter seemed irresistible. { He looked under the table near the oor, covered with alarge Hght cloth. neath the table and behind the t. 2" he tablecloth is 1 1a used aloud. “The loodless.” Craig appeared to think a moment. en he unlocked and opened the jpor. A current of air was created d blew the cloth asid N £ *Clearly,” he exclaimed, “that drop f blood was wafted under the table s the door was opened. The chances | re all that it came from a cut on rhaps the hand or face of the mur- lerer himself.” It seemed to be entirely reasonable, gr the bloodstains about the room lere such as to indicate that he had en badly cut by the catving knife. “Whoever attacked the chef must mve been deeply wounded,” I re- arked, picking up the bloody knife ahd looking about at the stains, com- ratively few of which could have come from the one deep fatal wound rn the head of the victim. ‘Kennedy was still engrossed in vidently co ktudy of the stains, ize, shape ang midering thag “their - e lthe graded sc jagain. | ta Mr. Pitts hadl o |1 notice, location might throw some light on what had occurred. alter,” he| said finally, “while I'm busy here I wish you would find that valet, Ed- ward.” I want to talk to him. I found him at last, & clean-cut young fellow of much above average intelligence. ;There are some things I have not a vhen you opene: Edward pointed out the exact spot. near the side of the kitchen toward the door leading out to the breakfast room and opposite the icebox. “And the door to the side street?” asked Kennedy to all appearances very favorably impressed by the young man. N “It was locked, sir,” he answered positivel Kennedy was quite apparently con- sidering the honesty faithfu ness of the servant. At last he lean ed over and asked gquietly, “Can I trust you?” of the young fel- lo_was convincing enough. pursued Kennedy, s to have some one inside this house who can tell me as much as he can see of the visitors, the me: sengers that come here this morning. It will be an act of loyalty to your employer, so that you need have no fear about that. Edward bowed and left us. While had been seeking him Kennedy had telephoned hastily to his labora- yry and had found one of his stu- dents there. He had ordered him to bring down an apparatus which he described. and some other material. While we waited Kennedy sent ord to Pitts that he wanted to see im alone for & few minutes. he instrument appeared to be a Lulb and cuff with a_rubber | tached to the inside. From it tube which ended in anot zraduated glass tube with a thin line cury in it like a thermometer. ig adjusted the thing over the brachial artery of Pitts, just above the elbow “It m he & little uncomfortable. Mr. Pitts,” he apologized. “but it will be for only a few minutes.” Pressure through the rubber bulb shut off the artery =o that Kennedy »uld no longer feel the pulse. at the wrist. As he worked I began to see vhat he was after. The reading on le of the height of the r of mercury indicated, I knew, pressure. This time, as he 1 noted also the flabby skin worked, i as well the small and 1 asked. “What did A b he replied. “was a Sphyg- momanometer, something like the sphygmosgraph which we used once in another Normal blood pres sure is 1 . Mr. Pitt shows a very high. The large i C CH 4 S are now i ould tell that apoplexy he really is, is actu- vou know, the saying | man is as old as his arteries. { tts has hardening of the arteries. | rteriosclerosis—perhaps other heart | < ¢ troubles—in short, pre- paused, then added senten- tiously as if to himself: “You have | heard the latest theories about old e, that it is_due to microbic poi-| Sons secreted in the intestines and ponetrating -the intestinal Well, in premature symptoms are the sam only mental acuteness paired. We had now reached the kitchen The student had 130 brought down to Kennedy a number of steril- ized roscope slides and test tubes i from here and there in thej es of blood spots Kennedy was & and preserving samples. He | also took samples the varlous ! foods. which he preserved in the ster- flized tubes. While he was at work Edward joined us cautiously. “Has anything happened?” asked Craig. A finessage came by a boy for Mrs. Pitts.” whispered the valet. “What did she do with it walls? not so im- And the pleces?” = She must have hidden them some- e. ne if vou can get them.” d nodded and left I remarked after he had! gone,” “it does seem as if the thing { to do was to get on the trail of & person bearing wounds of some kind. | for one thing, Craig. that| Edward shows no such marks, nor | does any one else in the house, so far | as I can see. If it were an ‘inside job, I fancy Edward at least could Clear himself. The point is to find the person with a bandaged hand or plastered face. Kennedy assented, but his mind was on another subject. “Before we go we must see Mrs. Pitts alone; if we ! can,” he said, simply. In answer to his inquiry through one of the servants she sent down: word that she would see up-imme- diatey In her sitting Toom. The events of the morning had_ quite naturally upset her and she-‘was, if | anything, even paler than when we her befor: Mrs. Pitts,” began Kennedy, “Ij suppose you are aware of the physi- cal condition of your husband? 1t ‘seemed & litile abrupt to me at | first, but he intended it to be. “Why,” | she asked, with real alarm, “is he| so very badly?” i “pretty badly,” remarked Kennedy, mercilessly, observing - the effect of his words. “So badly, I fear, that it would not require much more excite- ment like today’s to bring on an at- tack of apoplexy. 1 should advse ou to take especial care of him, Mrs. Pitts.” Following_his eyes, I tried to de- termine whether the agitation of the woman before us was genuine or not. 1t certainly looked so. But then, I knew that she had been®an actress | vefore her marriage. Was she acting | a part now? FWhat do you mean?” she asked, tremulously. . “M Pitts,” replied Kennedy | . obsérving still ‘the play Dfi emotion on her delicate features, “gome one, I believe, either regularly in or employed in this house or who| had a ready means of access to it must have entered that kitchen last night. For what purpose I can leave you to judge. But Sam surprised the imtruder there and was killed for his_faithlessens: s Her startled look told plainly . that though she might have suspected something of the sort she did not think that any one else suspected, much less actually perhaps knew it. “I can’t imagine who it could be, unless it might be one of the ser- vant: she murmured hastily; add- ing, “and there is none of them tHat 1 have any right to suspect.” She had in a measure regained her composure, and Kennedy felt that it was no use to pursue the conversa- tion further, perhaps expose his hand before he was ready to play it. (Continued In Tomorrow's Star.) 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