shape and colour of the bottles, both of which are
peculiar."
"Good! Now let us see your detective."
But Sweetwater was not called in yet. Just as Coroner Perry offered to
touch his bell, the door opened and Mr. Clifton was ushered in. Well and
favourably known to both men, he had no difficulty in stating his
business and preferring his request.
"I am here in the interests of Elwood Ranelagh," said he. "He is willing
to concede, and so am I, that under the circumstances his arrest was
justifiable, but not his prolonged detention. He has little excuse to
offer for the mistakes he has made, or the various offences of which he
has been guilty. His best friends must condemn his hypocrisy and
fast-and-loose treatment of Miss Cumberland; but he vows that he had no
hand in her violent death, and in this regard I feel not only bound but
forced to believe him. At all events, I am going to act on that
conviction, and have come here to entreat your aid in clearing up one or
two points which may affect your own opinion of his guilt.
"As his counsel I have been able to extract from him a fact or two which
he has hitherto withheld from the police. Reticent as he has shown
himself from the start,—and considering the character of the two women
involved in this tragedy, this cannot be looked upon as entirely to his
discredit,—he has confided to me a circumstance, which in the
excitement attendant on Miss Carmel Cumberland's sudden illness, may
have escaped the notice of the family and very naturally, of the police.
It is this:
"The ring which Miss Cumberland wore as the sign and seal of her
engagement to him was not on her hand when he came upon her, as he
declares he did, dead. It was there at dinner-time—a curious ring which
I have often noted myself and could accurately describe if required. If
she took it off before starting for The Whispering Pines, it should be
easily found. But if she did not, what a clew it offers to her unknown
assailant! Up till now, Mr. Ranelagh has been anticipating receiving this
ring back in a letter, written before she left her home. But he has heard
of no such letter, and doubts now if you have. May I ask if he is correct
in this surmise?"
"We know of no such letter. None has come to his rooms," replied
the coroner.
"I thought not. The whereabouts of this ring, then, is still to be
determined. You will pardon my having called your attention to it. As Mr.
Ranelagh's legal adviser, I am very anxious to have that ring found."
"We are glad to receive your suggestion," replied the district attorney.
"But you must remember that some of its force is lost by its having
originated with the accused."
"Very true; but Mr. Ranelagh was only induced to speak of this matter
after I had worked with him for an hour. There is a mystery in his
attitude which I, for one, have not yet fathomed. You must have noticed
this also, Coroner Perry? Your inquest, when you hold it, will reveal
some curious facts; but I doubt if it will reveal the secret underlying
this man's reticence. That we shall have to discover for ourselves."
"He has another secret, then, than the one involving his arrest as a
suspected murderer?" was the subtle conclusion of the district attorney.
"Yes, or why does he balk so at the simplest inquiries? I have my notion
as to its nature; but I'm not here to express notions unless you call my
almost unfounded belief in him a notion. What I want to present to you is
fact, and fact which can be utilised."
"In the cause of your client!"
"Which is equally the cause of justice."
"Possibly. We'll search for the ring, Mr. Clifton."
"Meanwhile, will you cast your eye over these fragments of a note which
Mr. Ranelagh says he received from Miss Carmel Cumberland while waiting
on the station platform for her coming."
Taking an envelope from his pocket, Mr. Clifton drew forth two small
scraps of soiled and crumpled paper, one of which was the half of another
envelope presenting very nearly the following
peculiar."
"Good! Now let us see your detective."
But Sweetwater was not called in yet. Just as Coroner Perry offered to
touch his bell, the door opened and Mr. Clifton was ushered in. Well and
favourably known to both men, he had no difficulty in stating his
business and preferring his request.
"I am here in the interests of Elwood Ranelagh," said he. "He is willing
to concede, and so am I, that under the circumstances his arrest was
justifiable, but not his prolonged detention. He has little excuse to
offer for the mistakes he has made, or the various offences of which he
has been guilty. His best friends must condemn his hypocrisy and
fast-and-loose treatment of Miss Cumberland; but he vows that he had no
hand in her violent death, and in this regard I feel not only bound but
forced to believe him. At all events, I am going to act on that
conviction, and have come here to entreat your aid in clearing up one or
two points which may affect your own opinion of his guilt.
"As his counsel I have been able to extract from him a fact or two which
he has hitherto withheld from the police. Reticent as he has shown
himself from the start,—and considering the character of the two women
involved in this tragedy, this cannot be looked upon as entirely to his
discredit,—he has confided to me a circumstance, which in the
excitement attendant on Miss Carmel Cumberland's sudden illness, may
have escaped the notice of the family and very naturally, of the police.
It is this:
"The ring which Miss Cumberland wore as the sign and seal of her
engagement to him was not on her hand when he came upon her, as he
declares he did, dead. It was there at dinner-time—a curious ring which
I have often noted myself and could accurately describe if required. If
she took it off before starting for The Whispering Pines, it should be
easily found. But if she did not, what a clew it offers to her unknown
assailant! Up till now, Mr. Ranelagh has been anticipating receiving this
ring back in a letter, written before she left her home. But he has heard
of no such letter, and doubts now if you have. May I ask if he is correct
in this surmise?"
"We know of no such letter. None has come to his rooms," replied
the coroner.
"I thought not. The whereabouts of this ring, then, is still to be
determined. You will pardon my having called your attention to it. As Mr.
Ranelagh's legal adviser, I am very anxious to have that ring found."
"We are glad to receive your suggestion," replied the district attorney.
"But you must remember that some of its force is lost by its having
originated with the accused."
"Very true; but Mr. Ranelagh was only induced to speak of this matter
after I had worked with him for an hour. There is a mystery in his
attitude which I, for one, have not yet fathomed. You must have noticed
this also, Coroner Perry? Your inquest, when you hold it, will reveal
some curious facts; but I doubt if it will reveal the secret underlying
this man's reticence. That we shall have to discover for ourselves."
"He has another secret, then, than the one involving his arrest as a
suspected murderer?" was the subtle conclusion of the district attorney.
"Yes, or why does he balk so at the simplest inquiries? I have my notion
as to its nature; but I'm not here to express notions unless you call my
almost unfounded belief in him a notion. What I want to present to you is
fact, and fact which can be utilised."
"In the cause of your client!"
"Which is equally the cause of justice."
"Possibly. We'll search for the ring, Mr. Clifton."
"Meanwhile, will you cast your eye over these fragments of a note which
Mr. Ranelagh says he received from Miss Carmel Cumberland while waiting
on the station platform for her coming."
Taking an envelope from his pocket, Mr. Clifton drew forth two small
scraps of soiled and crumpled paper, one of which was the half of another
envelope presenting very nearly the following
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