THE EMPTY MATCH BOX.

Stratford Evening Post, Issue 44, 5 December 1929, Page 3

THE EMPTY MATCH BOX.

By Aidan de Brune.

-So much for the .preliminaries.” approval. “Now the titota. ’You entered by the door. ytkte the windows open or closed?” ' “Both windows were closed and ' “ 1 “I presume there Is a desk in the, fcoom. * How| was ty situated—in. Professor’s body ?” “He risen from the ehdle an!* * fallen. immediately orfiMo W&rth The tlesk is cltit to *be fireplace.” j Biw (K\ the desk— ’ ftf disorder ? I mean than would be nmn' getting: up im M rn* *““• of his •wort.” I : , ;j . “No.” d w « ;ij * •• .',, U'sy t “Any aligns of a struggle.” r ~ mm ■Whatever.” ' . r /girthing, unusual on the desk?” 1 femeraber.” The r“li*iS9l6tte4r.- “Except—it irlhfffr rtf* ♦imf 'dißSfc? though> it was o£ r llm fS|, tfltiMt u-ttder his hand, ksp4l (ft importance a'ny- '■< 14-:? '■ '•>: -tf&a it?” The journalist’s 'wti" eidifem'etit. “Speak up, you?” Grime Looked

Surprised. ‘lt was only an empty jfcatch.fcJ&'UWS all Hive ’em. Run out of matches, I suppose and got tf 'ib ltesd li'eW te jfA’ff t as—” ‘ °h the desk? Any 4q. asli-iray.” , The fa.ce his guesl nan. only reHMMafeef.”

••nßM»>' ? '-':The ; detective hesitated; ••I don’t helieye I saw any smpkJng stultvafe. I’d have noticed an ash4r^ : .'‘i^:*cej^lii- ££1 —” .“Gag .or' eiectricßy?” , lights.” The police oQ£es< epote more certainly. “Centre lamp aud, table lamp—both .afy stood- in the. corner, on table by the fireplace. Sajt/;<Fwfrac*- What’s the matter?” <Fh« man had strode to tm> fati '-' Wittooiti answering,- he retfirfiing wearing his oi&Mf; His* hat* fh his hao,d. ft;#* are blatter!” He spoke dVawlffig fdhee. “Only tvWy&i giihg to sbutfe^ead

,A- mask .K^’ ;I seitteci over Frayne’s lace Detective Grime Into ' “Clovefty^ 7 Almost immobile -to Grime’s description ofr the room where the Professor discovered.’ In silence, to; the death chamber, fc**bicl£ the seifehtist lay. Before Mishgfl his recital the JcMmmRM tod hack to the study. ' m6t he stood before the bJf’fle*## the Professor tiB iW #6rt6a. It was flat-topped M papers stood xio'r tobacco con.tjiteii:;, ’fitlu the Professor had XvSmo^er.. ( • , - , Grime's theory that the de*d ctaa. had. run out of matciTes Vrhile iWffcing- had no foundation. There was no taper nor sealing wax on the desk; a Why then the empty hot

-■ His meditations were interrupted Ijjfe tl* : «^Fatf*0 V of Mrg - Hathpden. sfe| ; %i|Ktljt, as the -dOiiW# ijlitfl 1 . the visual ihtrocl'uc'i&fitfi .fee n at thought of tffibttoMc ; 5 J j :, ’ :iti , sVH#hapdtiii was, the Professor’s jfiembeisa'i''reading that the scientiit had' marled, some ten months

beforti ffidy—a widow. , He glanced at her curiously. About

$ m\s fern « age, 1 losing. •Wliat had I I#%# t§s'' r ssßSn' i# Ktfk hter Mftfci’ # S&f oi Sixty- M; &e&ufijfi safety from the Uhlversthp ipusehold rf)gs eyes. The Frof^»pr v Toi4 hh& 'engrossed in his Ufa's -iriWkl'hoyoHns'feQid pretty wotferUnh. by-the . most in-slwe^^p'-IgWi of- itwentyag£ of Ihef v.maeplayWg- W> polities -afid> temmk Vliat little home i tim lot. A “Happy # J w&e "Shiite •finite ibe I jM £5 oHm iipa;.., srg " sat do&n ,on the lounge " at; the farther end' of ie room, looking from Frayne to the detective in.., acute, interrogation. In a few v-words Gfiibe explained the Journalist’s; presence. | ‘‘But/1 . thought my—the Frofea ior-j4i|iCTi , om heart failure?” ex•lMtpd ■Mrs. Hampden. entered upon an inFrayne watched '.Seohlyi ;■ He noticed that tlte Widow’s eyes . continually wan-*.-y Mreif ffotii -'tHfe'hearth r TUg to- the atfd Pondered. SudM t'edlthed that there lay the yrpuhg widow jvatch-

ing the matchbox? The journalist was puzzled. He sauntered j across th e room and picked it up. (There was nothing strange about it. (’The slide-drawer was half-open. He .‘noticed that cine of the corners was i dented. Suddenly hg looked across, at Mrs (Hampden. Her eyes were fixed on j him—no, on the matchbox he held. iHe turned and replaced it on the ishelf. Why was the woman anxious? i Could ther e be a connection between .that common article and the processor's death Fr,om the Fraynje i turned to the big desk, his bio\Vs /puckered in thought. He turned j I over the litter of papers. I Grime had been wrong. The desk had be6n searched. Frayne came to the sheet of paper on which the Professor had worked. The last sentence was Incomplete—ending lh }.gj splattering blot., On the paper 1 lay a fountainperi, the nib badly I bent.

>, For some seconds the journalist /scanned the demaged nib. He took a small, powerful magnifying glass from his pocket. Under it the nib showed covered with black ink, amid ’ which were flecks of red. , Frayne lifted the sheet of paper and held It against the light. There was no puncture in it. Then, the blot had not been made by the point of the nib. Possibly the blot had been made when the Professor drop- ' ped hia pen, before rising from his seat. j

But- what did the specks, of red amid the black ink indicate. How had the nib been damaged? Neither question could be answered by the pen-being dropped on the manuscript. Then the damage to the nib and the specks ;pf red had occurred after Hairipden’s death. Frayti.e turned suddenly—to find "Mrs Hampden watching him. Furtively. Almost he" thought he read fear in her eyes. What did the woman knoNv? A sudden elation came over him. He knew now that he was on the right track—if only "he cohid read the riddle! i

With quick decision he went to the door. In the room where the Professor lay, he hesitated. He had come come ther e oq sudden impulse, not knowing what he soughls yet : believing that near* the dead man', lay the key to the mystery. 1 For long minutes he looked down on the still form. At length he threw hack the sheet and commenced to search the body. He was upphccessful until his search almost Completed, he lifted the left hand. On the hall of th e index finger was a small punct.ure, covered with ink. •He dropped the lifeless fingers and stepped back. He remembered asking Grime if the body held any wou»,d—and the detective’s negative reply. •

Again he lifted the hand—now examining the punctur e under his powerful glass. It bad not bled, although moderately deep. That was strange. For moments he meditated, tapping the rim of nis glass against his teeth. The magnifying glass slipped from 'his fingers and rolled finder, the( bed. Fayne stooped to recover it. When he straightened he held a screvi' of White paper. It was a letter. A whistle of astonishment cam e to his lips as he read the agitatedly scrawled lines. H 6 had guessed right when he first met Mrs Hampden. The aged Professor had married a young v-’dman—with the inevitable consequences. There was no hint of triumph in his manner when hei re-entered the study. He strolled across to where Mrs Hampden and the detective sat. Grime looked up, questicqingly. j “Well.” “May I, Mrs Hampden?” Frayne

offered his case. Almost mechanically the widow accepted, a cigaretet. i f“A light, Mrs Hampden Only cOmomn hpuse matches.” He laughed slightly. “Like the empty box Sergeant Grime found—er—on the hearth rug.” i Again the frightened look came in th e woman’s eyes. She glanced unwittingly to where the match box rested on the mantelshelf. “By-the-bye, Grime,” the journalist spoke carelessly. “When did you put that match box on the •mantelpiece?” ( | ‘.‘i ” The detective hesitated. |i“l thought I left it on the hearth rug. Say, Frayne, you’re making a to-do about that match mox.” ( “It’s interesting!” The newspaper man picked up tire box, turmo.g "it careless on his hand. “You left lit on tlie hearth rug? Anc'a the ;key?” ■ . 4 ■. tr'L'fifel • “What key.” ' | ; “The key to the door. You remember the door was locked when [ Mrs Hampden came to find the Proj fessor.” if. “1 had to force it.” The detec-

tive acknowledged. “Still ” ) “The door was locked when you brought me here.” The journalist interrupted. “I suppose you repaired the lock before you left the house?” f “Of course. Wasn’t difficult. 1 had crily loosened the screws and —” “And the key?” “I put it in my pocket.” “You found it—where?—when you first entered the room.” ■' l ig- s On the floor.” < - “By the desk?” “You repaired the lock, shot the bolt and pocketed the key?” The newspaper man was insistent. “Of course.” ‘ißheni no one could enter the room while you were absent.” The detective did not answer; he was staring at the journalist. “You told me the Professor was unwounded. When you removed him to where he now lies,” Frayne continued. “Then you locked this door and left the house ” “Yes.” The newspaper man smiled. He turned to the woman. “You smoke a good deal, Mrs Hampden.” “Sometimes.” The widow showed astonishment. “And usually use house matches? Boxes like this one, Mrs Hampden, Frayne indicated the empty matchbox. The woman nodded, a startled look dawning in her fine eyes. “Good! ; Now, may I trouble you for the second key to this door!” “What do you mean?” Grime sprang 1o his feet “Frayne, do you know • you are accusing ” (To he concluded on Saturday.)