Part 6 (1/2)

The lame man reflected, a forefinger against the right side of his nose, the att.i.tude 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 Was.h.i.+ngton--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 hea.r.s.e-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.

The lame man went slowly into the house and stood at the window, staring at the mountains. In the clear, newly washed air, they looked like the soft, tumbling waves of some magically blue sea.

Like most retiring, secluded men, he had his vanity in p.r.o.nounced degree.

He saw himself now, the dominant figure in this city of thirty thousand people, the man who had been selected by the chief of police as the one able to unravel the web of mystery surrounding this startling murder. The thought pleased him, and he smiled. He began to think about himself and about life as a general proposition.

Everything was always so mixed up, so involved. People talked of a divine providence, of the law that virtue is rewarded, of the rule that to do good is to have good done to one. He smiled again. If all that was true, what explanation was there for the murder of this woman, this beauty whose good nature, kindness, and cleverness had endeared her to all with whom she came in contact?

He had heard the women on the porch of No. 5 say that everybody had loved her. Why, then, had some ignorant negro or some white man bent on robbery been permitted to steal up on her in the dead of night and crush out her life? Was there any reason, any logic, any mercy in that?

He drummed on the window-pane with his fingertips and whistled, scarcely audibly, a fragment of tune. His pursed up mouth made it clear that he was not a handsome man--the lower lip was heavy, somewhat protuberant.

Pshaw! There was only one rule of life that held good, so far as he had been able to see. Strength and persistence accomplished things and brought success and security. Weakness and foolish prating about righteousness and virtue were never worth a dollar.

That was it! If you were mighty and clever, you stayed on top. If you were sentimental and looking after other people's interests, you went down. You had no time to bother about the safety and happiness of others.

Look out for yourself. Never relent in the fierce battle against the odds of life. That was the only way to conquer and avoid catastrophe.