The Thousandth Woman

table on the way up

the morning papers; and the two strange friends, planted opposite each other in the first-class smoker, travel

ing the fatal blow to some such weapon as the missing truncheon; there was the butler's evidence, finally timing the commission of the deed to within ten minutes; there was the head

r the library, where, at seven fifty-five, on going to ask if he had heard the gong, he had obtained no answer but found the door locked on the

the gates about the same hour, as he knew by the sounding of the gong up at the house; they often heard it at the lo

sked whether Mr. Craven was at home, had been told that he was out motoring, asked when he would be back, told he couldn't say, but before dinner some time, and what name should he give,

ch even he showed no wish to avoid this morning. He had dropped his paper, to find that Toye had already

d with the telephone system in this country! Why, you don't have a system, and tha

d will it

ered for not getting a move on him in time to catch that man, even if he did think he'd only been swiping flowers. But if he went and left h

to trouble him at all, but it was becoming more and more clear that Hilton Toye

e got over to the other side first. He made the mistake of taking a slow steamer, and that's just about the one mistake they never

he closed the digression by asserting somewhat roundly that neither

the first inquiry that comes along. They don't give out any description of the man that ra

father's time; he must be getting an old man, and no doubt shakier on points of detail than he would be likely to admit. Cazalet instanced the alleged hearing of the gong as

he was not thinking of the weather-board and corrugated iron strewn so sparsely over the yellow wilds that he had left behind him. The old

king of the night before last-I meant in the bush-and now to think of a t

of poetic justice

night that Henry Craven never was a white man, and I won't unsay it now. Nobody may ever know what he's done

lf. His dark eyes twinkled with deliberation and debate. "How long

startling question; at l

What on earth mad

eing the dead man's friends, I guess

t wa

mean fourteen, ordinarily, i

e not. In fac

how much it

e more t

ton may be

us

t gives you something to chew on," said

!" cried Cazalet, white to

the less readily, with almost ingenious courtesy and fulness, but he ended by explaining himself i

t, wouldn't you want to kill him the

m if he did it, too!" he exclaimed. "I'd move heaven and eart

he place you're in, I guess!" And the keen dark ey

ss hours I was inclined to keep, let me down lighter in every way than I deserved. You may say it was part of his game. Bu

If you knew i

told you so t

lia?" said Toye, with a smile

expectedly. "In a letter,"

n Toye, and began folding up his newspaper

sting things. He managed to get an answer through that would never have passed the prison authorities. And-and that's why I came home just when I did," concluded Cazalet; "that's why I didn't wait till

that was fine!" he exclaimed simply. "That's as

," said Cazalet

ff. Is he out yet, for sure? I

wrote to tell me that he was comin

said Hilton Toye. "I guess I'