THE WINNING CLUE (Detective Novel Classic). Hay James

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      Morley stared a moment, as if calculating something.

      "Why, yes; I believe I did," he said finally.

      Greenleaf, glancing down at Morley's feet, noticed what Bristow had seen three seconds after Morley had entered the room—his feet were large, abnormally large for a man of his build. He must have worn a number ten or, perhaps, a number eleven shoe.

      "I thought so," Bristow observed carelessly. "I sleep out on my sleeping porch at the back of the house here, and I knew it rained hard from early in the night until seven this morning."

      Morley, without commenting on this, looked at the two men.

      "Is there anything more?" he inquired.

      "No, nothing more; thanks," said Bristow.

      The young man went out quickly, slamming the door in his haste.

      Bristow answered Greenleaf's questioning look:

      "There was no use in our looking round the outside of the house for possible footprints this morning. If there had been any, the rain would have cleared them away. But, when I first ran up on the porch—it's roofed, like mine here—I noticed the dried marks made by a wet shoe hours before, a large shoe, by a large shoe with a rubber sole, or by a rubber shoe."

      "The devil you did!"

      "I did.—But it may turn out that Perry, or somebody else, or several other people, wore rubber shoes, or rubber-soled shoes last night. Negroes always have large feet."

      "Well, I hope my man's found this Perry nigger," said the chief. "He's the fellow we want."

      “And yet,” ruminated Bristow, “what young Morley said is interesting enough—two quarreling sisters living together—one decked in jewels, the other deprived of them—the jewels gone this morning.” He smiled and waved his hands comprehensively. “As long as it is a mystery, let’s have it a real mystery. Let’s look at all sides of it. There’s Perry. There’s Morley. And—there’s Miss Maria Fulton.”

      "Miss Fulton!"

      "Yes—a possibility."

      "Oh, I don't connect her up with it any." The chief's voice was tinged with ridicule.

      Bristow answered a knock on the door and opened to admit a uniformed policeman.

      "Beg your pardon, chief," said the officer, "but I had something for a Mr. Morley. The men on guard down there at Number Five wouldn't let me in to see him—said I'd better see you."

      "What have you got, Avery?" asked Greenleaf.

      "It's a little package. You know, I'm on that beat down there. Takes in the Brevord Hotel. The clerk said this Mr. Morley had sent his grips to the station, but had said he was coming up to Number Five, Manniston Road. He said there had been a murder up here. The clerk said he didn't know what to do with this property but turn it over to the police. As soon as I saw what it was, I hurried up here."

      "What is it?"

      "It's a ring, sir."

      "A ring!" exclaimed Bristow. "Let's see it."

      Policeman Avery handed Bristow a tissue paper package.

      The lame man unwound the paper and discovered a woman's ring, the setting a tremendous pigeon's-blood ruby flanked on each side by a diamond. It was an exceedingly handsome and very valuable piece of jewelry.

      "Where did the clerk get this?" Bristow asked swiftly.

      For the first time, he was visibly excited.

      "A maid found it under the bed on the floor of Mr. Morley's room at the Brevord," answered Avery.

      Greenleaf needed no hint from Bristow this time.

      "Avery," he said, "your beat takes in the railroad station. Go down to Number Five and get a good look at this man Morley. After that, if he attempts to leave Furmville, arrest him."

Chapter IV.

       Two Trails

       Table of Contents

      "I'm afraid," said Bristow, after the policeman had hurried out, "we made a mistake in permitting Morley to talk to Miss Fulton just at present."

      "I can go down there and interrupt them," Greenleaf volunteered.

      The lame man reflected, a forefinger against the right side of his nose, the attitude emphasizing the fact that this feature was perceptibly crooked, bent toward the left.

      "No," he concluded. "We'd probably be too late." Then he added, "And we didn't find out Morley's employment or profession in Washington—but we can do that later."

      The chief of police prepared to leave, saying he was going to call at Douglas Campbell's office and from there go to headquarters in the hope that Perry had been found.

      "Can't you come with me?" he invited.

      "It's against the doctor's orders," Bristow replied. "He tells me not to leave this house or its porches. If I started to run around with you, I'd be exhausted in an hour. But I'll tell you what: this afternoon, after you've talked to Campbell and the darky, suppose you come back here, and we'll drop down to interview Miss Fulton ourselves."

      This surprised Greenleaf.

      "You mean you suspect——"

      Bristow laughed.

      "Oh," he countered lightly, "we've enough suspecting to do already. There's Perry—and there's Morley. Don't let's complicate it too much. But what Miss Fulton has to say may be valuable. By the way, if I should need to do so, how can I persuade anybody that I have authority to ask questions, or to do anything else in this matter?"

      The captain thought a moment.

      "I'll appoint you to the plain-clothes squad. I appoint you now, and the city commissioners will confirm it. They meet tonight. You're on the force—at a nominal salary—say ten dollars a week. That suit you?"

      "Perfectly," consented Bristow. "What I want is the power to help in case I have the opportunity."

      Greenleaf went out to the porch, followed by Bristow, and started down the steps.

      "By the way," his new employee said in a cautious tone, "don't forget to stop at Number Five and look for those scratches, on the fingers and the neck."

      "By cracky!" exclaimed the chief. "I'd forgotten all about it. I'll do that right away."

      Looking toward No. 5, Bristow saw a hearse-like wagon drawing up in front of the door. The coroner had already made arrangements for the removal of the body of Mrs. Withers to an undertaking establishment.

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