Part 17 (2/2)
Peter Ruff and John Dory laid their hands upon the girl's wrists She clung to her place frantically She was dragged froht, entered first Alrave
”So has happened in here, I am afraid,” he said ”Please come in quietly”
On the bed lay Fluffy Dean, fully dressed-- doard the floor--froers a little phial had slipped The room was full of trunks addressed to--
MISS SMITH, Passenger to Melborne
SS Caroline
Peter Ruff moved over toward the bed and took up a piece of paper, upon which were scribbled a few lines in pencil
”I think,” he said, ”that I ht to hear theiveme back When I reoing mad! Soirls
FLUFFY
They sent for a doctor, and John Dory rang up Scotland Yard Letty Shaw had fainted, and had been carried to her rooe, half-benumbed excitement, Peter Ruff once h now,” he re roo al with his knuckles, ”you can alh it
If you look a little lower down, you will see where an opening has beentaken care of by Miss Shaw--staying with her here, even Miss Dean hears her lover's voice in this rooht of the murder She has been sent home early from the theatre, and it is just possible that she saw or had been told that Austen Abbott had fetched Miss Shaw after the perforer and jealousy The revolver was there upon the table, with a silver box of cartridges She possessed herself of it and waited in her room What she heard proved, at least, her lover's infidelity She stood there at her door, waiting
When Austen Abbott comes out, she shoots, throws the revolver at hioes off into a faint Perhaps she hears footsteps--a key in the door At any rate, Captain Sotherst arrives a few minutes later He finds, half in the hall, half on the threshold of the sitting room, Austen Abbott dead, and Miss Shaw's revolver by the side of hi man, he would have aroused the household Why he did not do so, we can perhaps guess He put two and two together a little too quickly It is certain that he believed that the dead et rid of the revolver At any rate, he walked down to the street with it in his hand, and was promptly arrested by the policeman who had heard the shot Naturally he refused to plead, because he believed that Miss Shaw had killed the man, probably in self-defence She, at first, believed her lover guilty, and when afterwards Fluffy Dean confessed, she, with feirl out of the country before telling the truth A visit of hers to the office of the steaave rasped both his hands
”And Scotland Yard,” she exclailance at Dory, ”have done their best to hang my brother!”
Peter Ruff raised his eyebrows
”Dear Lady Mary,” he said, ”remeuilty It is mine, when I am employed for that purpose, to find him innocent You must not be too hard upon ainst each other a little too often, as it is”
”A little too often!” John Dory repeated, softly ”But one cannot tell
Don't believe, Lady Mary,” he added, ”that we ever want to kill an innocent h,” she answered, ”to find cri Peter Ruff on the shoulder, ”to look for the truth”
Peter Ruff bowed low--the compliment pleased him
CHAPTER V DELILAH FROM STREATHAM
It was a favourite theory with Peter Ruff that thepapers received very insufficient consideration frolance at the headlines and a few of the spiciest paragraphs, a vague look at the leading article, and the sheets were throay toliterature It was not so with Peter Ruff Novels he very seldom read--he did not, in fact, appreciate the necessity for their existence The whole epito the columns of the daily press The police news, perhaps, was his favourite study, but he did not neglect the advertisements It followed, therefore, as a matter of course, that the appeal of ”M” in the personal colu of its appearance--read not once only nor twice--it was a paragraph which had its own peculiar interest for him