Georgia Historic Newspapers

    WEDNESDAY. APRIL 8.
The Case of Jenny Brice
PROLOGUE.
- Was Jennie Brico murdered?
- ishe were murdered, who was
guilty of the foul deed ?
If she were not done away
with by an assassin, what became
of her?
. V/.'.cnc* aid she disappear?
' These and a few other inter
esting questions are raised at
once in this very clever tale of
mystery written by a woman
gfko is not only an adept at
fpeiting fiction of this charac
ter, but the possessor of a stylo
that chains the interest by its
clearness and directness and
wins by its rich humor,
I
Continued From Yesterday
I went cold nil over ond bad to clutch
the railing. But when Terry had come
and the two of them brought the thing
to the surface it was only the dining
room mg, which I had rolled up and
forgotten to carry upstairs!
At 1:30 Mr. Holcombe wrote a note
and sent it off with Terry and, bor
rowing my Itoots. which had been Mr.
Pitman’s, Investigated the dining room
and kitchen from a Hooting plank; the
doors were too narrow to admit tbi
boat But he found nothing more im
portant than a rolling pin. He wns not
at all depressed by his failure. He
came back, drenched to the skin, about
8 and asked permission to search the
Ladleys’ bedroom.
“I have a friend coming pretty soon
Mrs. Pitman.” he said, “a young news
paper man named Howell. He's a
nice boy, and if there Is anything to
this I’d like him to have it for his
paper. He and I have been having
some arguments about eircnmstnntia!
evidence, too, and 1 know he’d like to
work on this.”
I gave him a pair of Mr. Pitman’s
socks, for his own were saturated and
while he was changing them the tele
phone rang. It was the theater again,
asking for Jennie Brice.
“You are certain she is out of the
city?” some one asked, the same voice
as in the morning.
“Her husband says so.”
“Ask him to come to the phone.”
"He is not here.**
“When do you expect him back?”
“I’m not sure he is coming back.”
"Look here.” said the voice angrily,
"can’t you give me any satisfaction?
Or don’t you care to?”
Pve fcrtd you all I know.”
“Yon don’t know where she is?”
“No, sir.”
"She didn’t say she was coming back
to rehearse for next week’s piece T”
"Her husband said she went away
for a few days’ rest. He went away
about noon and hasn't come back
That’s all 1 know, except that they
owe me three weeks’ rent that I’d like
to get hold of."
The owner of the voice hung up the
receiver with a snap and left me pon
dering. It seemed to me that Mr. Lad
ley had been very reckless. Did he
expect any one to believe that Jennie
Brice had gone for a vacation with
out notifying the theater? Especially
when she was so rehearse that week?
I thought it curious, to say the least
I went back and told Mr. Holcombe,
who put It down In his notebook, and
together we went to the Ladleys'
room.
The room was In better order than
usual, as I have said. The bed was
made—which was out of the ordinary,
for Jennie Brice never made a bed—but
made the way a man makes one. with
the blankets wrinkled and crooked be
neath and the white counterpane pulled
smoothly over the top, showing every
hump beneath. I showed Mr. Hoi
combe the splasher dotted with Ink as
asual.
’Til take it off and soak it In milk,”
3 said. “It’s bis fountain pen. When
the ink doesn’t ran be shakes it. and”—
“Where's the clock?" said Mr. Hol
combe, stopping in front of the mantel,
iwltb bis notebook in his band.
“The dock?"
I turned and looked. My onyx clock
(was gone from the mantel shelf.
Perhaps it seems strange, but from
the moment I missed that clock my
rage at Mr. Ladley increased to a fury.
It was all I had left of my former
gentility. When times were hard and
I got behind with the rent, as happen
ed now and then, more than once I’d
been tempted to sell the clock or pawn
It But I bad never done it Its tick
s tag had kept me company on many a
lonely night and its elegance had help
ed me to keep m.v pride and to retain
the respect of my neighbors. For In
the flood district onyx clocks are not
plentiful. Mrs. Bryan, the saloon
keeper's wife, had one, and I had an
other—that is, I had had.
I stood staring at the mark in the
dust of the mantel shelf, which Mr
Holcombe was measuring with a pock
et tape measure.
“You are sure you didn’t take it away
BTourself, Mrs. Pitman?” he asked.
“Sure? Why, I could hardly lift it.’
1 said.
He was looking carefully at the ob
long of dust where the clock had
stood. ’The key Is gone, too," he said,
y busily making entries in his notebook
“What was the maker's name?"
“Why, I don't think I ever noticed!'
He turned to me angrily. “Why
• i
By M ARY ROBERTS RINEHART
didn't you notice?” lie snapped. "Good
God, woman, do you only use youi
eyes to cry with? How can you wind
a clock time after time and not know
the maker's name? it prows my con
tention-tile average witness la totally
unreliable.”
"Not at all," 1 snapped. “I nra ordi
narily both accurate and observing.''
“Indeed!'' he said, putting his bunds
behind him. “Then perhaps <’au
tell me the color of the pencil I have
been writing with."
"Certainly. Red." Moat pencils are
red, and I thought thia was safe.
But he held Ills light hand out with
a flourish. ’Tvo been writing witli n
fountain pen," he said in deep disgust
and turned his back on me.
But tile next moment he had run ti
the wnsbstand und pulled it out from
the wall. Behind It, where It hau
fallen, lay a towel covered with stnln
as if some one had wiped bloody hands
on it He held it up, his face workin;
with excitement I could only cove:
my eyes
’This looks better." he said and he
gan making a quick search of tic
room, running from one piece of furui
ture to another, pulling out bureai
drawers, drawing the bed out from tin
wull and crawling along the baseboard
with a lighted match in his hand. Il>
gave a shout of triumph finally and re
appeared from behind the bed with the
broken end of my knife in his hand.
“Very clumsy,” he said; "vefy clurn
sy. Peter, the dog, could have done
better.”
I had been examining the wall pnpei
about the wnsbstand. Among the Ink
spots were one or two reddish ones
that made me shiver. And seeing u
scrap of note paper stuck between the
base hoard und the wull I dug it out
with a hairpin and threw It into the
grate, to be burned later, it was by
the merest chance there was no fire
there. The next moment Mr. Hoi
combe was on his knees by the tire
place reaching for the scrap.
"Never do that under such clrcum
stances,” he snapped, fishing among
the ashes. “You might throw away
valuable— Hello, Howell!”
X turned and saw- a young man in
the doorway, smiling, his hat in hi-*
band. Even at that first glance I
liked Mr. Howell, and later, when ev
ery one was against him and many
curious things were developing, I stood
by htm through everything and even
helped Idm to the thing he wanted
more than anything else in the world
But that, of course, was later.
“What’s the trouble. Holcombe?” hi
asked. “Hitting the trail again?"
“A very curious thing that I jus:
happened on,” said Mr. Holcombe
“Mrs. Pitman, this is Mr. Howell, o!
whom I spoke. Sit down. Howell, am
let me read you something.”
With the crumpled paper still uii
opened in his band, Mr. Holcombe tool
his notebook apd read aloud what In
had written. 1 have It before me now
“ ‘Dog meat, $3, bont hire'—that's no
it Here. ’Yesterday, Sunday. Marc!
4, Mrs. Pitman, landlady at 42 L'nioi
street, beard two of her boarders quar
reling, a man and his wife. Man :
name, Philip Ladley. Wife's nuun
Jennie Ladley, known as Jennie Brie,
at the Liberty Stock company, wher,
she has been playing small parts.’ ”
Mr. Howell nodded. “I’ve heard ol
her,” he said. “Not much of an nc
tress, I believe."
“‘The husband wns also an actor,
out of work, and employing his lalsuri
time in writing a play.’ ”
"Everybody's doing It” said Mr
Howell idly.
‘The Sbuberts were to star him in
this,” I put in. "He said that the
climax at the end of the second act”-
Mr. Holcombe shut his notebook
with a snap. “After we have finished
gossiping,’’ he said. "I'll go on.”
" ‘Employing his leisure time in
writing a plsy,’ ’’ quoted Mr. Howell.
“Exactly. ’The husband and wife
were not on good terms. They quar
reled frequently. On Sunday they
fought all day, and Mrs. Ladley told
Mrs. Pitman she was married to a
fiend. At 4 o'clock Sunday afternoon
Philip Ladley went out. returning
about 6 Mrs. Pitman carried their
supper to (hem at 0, and both ate
heartily. She did not see Mrs. Ladley
at the time, hut heard her in the next
room. They were apparently reconcll
ed. Mrs. Pitman reporta Mr. Ladley
in high good humor. If the quarrel
recommenced during the night the oth
er boarder, named Reynolds, in the
next room beard nothing. Mrs. Pit
■tan was up and down until 1 o'clock,
when she dozed off. She beard no un
usual sound.
" ‘At approximately 2 o’clock in the
moraing, however, this Reynolds Canu
te the room and said he bad heard
some one in a boat In the lower hall
He and Mrs. Pitman Investigated. The
boat, which Mrs. Pitman uses during a
flood and which she bad tied to the
stair rail was gone, having bean cut
loose, not untied. Everything else
was quiet, except that Mrs. ladley s
dog bad been shut in a third story
room.
"‘At a quarter after 4 that morning
Mrs. Pitman, thoroughly awake, heard
the boat returning and. going to tin
stairs, met Ladley coming In lit
muttered something about having gone
for medicine for his wife and went ti
bia room, abutting the dog out Thb
la worth attention, for the dog ordlna
rily slept In their room.’ ’’
_"What sort of a dog?” asked Mr
Howell. He bud been listening at ten
lively.
“A water spaniel. ’The rest of the
night or early morning wns quiet. At
a quarter after 7 Ladley asked for cos
fee and toast for one. and on Mrs. Pit
man remarking this said that his wife
was not playing this week and bud
gone for n few days’ vacation, having
left early in the morning.’ Remember,
during the night he had been out for
medicine for her. Now she was able
to travel and, in fact, had started."
Mr. Howell was frowning at the
floor. “If he wns doing nnytiitng
wrong, he was doing it very badly,"
he said.
“This is where I entered the ense,"
said Mr. Holcombe. "I rowed Into the
lower hall tills morning to feed the
dog Peter, who was whining on the
staircase. Mrs. Pitman was coming
down, pale and agitated over the fact
that the dog shortly before had found
flonting In the parlor downstairs a slip
per belonging to Mrs. Ladley and later
a knife with a broken blade. Sbe main
tains that she had the kidfe last night
upstairs, that It was not broken and
that it was taken from a shelf in her
room while she' dosed. The question
is, then. Why was the knife taken?
Who took It and why? Has this man
made away with his wife or has he
not?”
Mr. Howell looked at me aud smiled.
“Mr. Holcombe aud I nre old enemies.”
he said "Mr. Holcombe believes that
circumstantial evidence may probably
hang a man; I do not” And to Mr.
Holcombe, "So, having found a wet
slipper and a broken knife, you are pre
pared for murder and sudden death!”
“I have more evidence,” Mr. Hol
combe said eagerly, and proceeded to
tell what we had found in the room.
Mr. Howell listened, smiling to hitn
aelf, but at the mention of the onyx
clock be got up and went to the man
tel.
“By Jove!” he said and stood looking
at the mark in the dust “Are you sure
the clock wns here yesterday?”
“I wound it night before last and put
the key underneath. Yesterday, before
they moved up, I wound it again.”
“The key Is gone also. Well, what
of it, Holcombe? Did he brain her
with the clock or choke her with the
key?”
Mr. Holcombe was looking at his
notebook. "To summarize,” be said,
“we have here as clews Indicating a
crime, the rope, the broken knife, the
slipper, the towel and the clock. He
■ldea, this scrap of paper may contain
some information.” He opened it and
sat gazing at it In bis palm. Then,
“Is this Ladley'g writing t” he asked
me In a curious voice.
“Yes.”
I glanced at the slip. Mr. Holcombe
had Just read from his notebook:
“Rope, knife, slipper, towel, clock.”
The slip X had found behind the
wasbstand said “Rope, knife, shoe,
towel. Horn”— The rest of the last
word was torn off.
Mr. Howell was staring at the man
tel. "Ciockl” he repeated.
CHAPTER IV.
£f1 T was after four when Mr.
I Holcombe had finished going
E? over the room. I offered to
SeJ make both the gentlcmeu
some tea, for Mr. Pitman bad been an
Englishman, and I had got into the
habit of having a cupful In the after
noon, with n cracker or a hit of bread.
But they refused. Mr. ilowell said he
had promised to meet a lady, and to
bring her through the flooded district
in a boat. He shook hands with me
and smiled at Mr. Holcombe.
“You will have to restrain his en
thusiasm, Mrs. Pitman,” he said. “He
is a bloodhound on the scent If his
baying gets on your nerves Just send
for me.” He went down the stalls
and stepped into the boat. “Remem
ber, Holcombe,” he called, “every well
constituted murder has two things—
a motive and a corpse. You haven't
either, only a mass of piffling details.”—
“If everybody waited until be suw
flames Inst cud of relying on the testi
mony of the smoke,” Mr. Holcombe
snapped, "what would the fire loss
be?”
Mr. Howell poled bis host to the
front door and. sitting down, prepared
to row out
“You are warned, Mrs. Pitman,” he
called to me. “If he doesn't find a
body to (it the dews he’s quite capable
of making one to fill the demand.”
“Horn”— suld Mr. Holcombe, look
ing at the slip again. “The tail of
the ‘n’ is torn off—evidently only part
of a word. Hornet, Horning, Horner—
Mrs. Pitman, will you go with me to
the police station?”
I was more than anxious to go. In
fact, I could nod bear the idea of stay
ing alone in the house, with heaven
only knows what concealed In the
depths of that muddy flood. I got on
my wraps again, and Mr. Holcombe
rowed me out Peter plunged Into the
water to follow aDd bad to be sent
back. He sat on the lower step and
whined Mr. Holcombe threw him an
other piece of liver, but he did not
touch It.
Wo rowed to the corner of Robinson
street and Federal—it was before Fed
eral street was raised above the flood
level—ond left the boat In charge of a
boy there. And we walked to the po
lice station. On the way Mr. Holcombe
questioned me closely übout the events
of the morning, and I recalled the in
cident of the burned pillow slip. He
made a note of it at once and grew
very thoughtful
To Be Continued Tomorrow •
THE AUGUSTA HERALD. AUGUSTA, GA.
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From the Diary of the Gambler
February sth.
Today I went into the casino though I
take no Interest whittever In cards or
gambling In any form. I consider it
foolish to risk money you have earned
by hard work even If there Is a chance
that vou may get It Imck a hundred fold.
I don’t cure for the big gamblers who
risk fortunes at evdry spin of the
wheel. The small gamblers are much
more sympathetic. They understand
their business, they have studied the
mysteries of chance and Invented a sys
tem which gives them a small goln every
day. These. I think really earn their
money, for they work for it. In a wny,
but to throw money awtiy with full
hands as most people here do, f don't
und,e-stand. As a irtntter of fact I don’t
understand how anybody enn ever play
roulette’ It Is Incredible how crowded
the rooms are and how carlessly the
people throw their money on the green
tallies I too threw down if five francs
piece end lost It It wns dreadfully hot
In there. I went outside and dl not
return.
February 6th.
My Vielghhor at the dinner table tried
to explain to me how there are certain
rules and laws in every gnme of chance
and particularly In roulette, for accord
ing to certain never changing rides the
balls always return to certain numbers
According to his idea each number tins
Its favorite days, which you are able to
calculate In advance If you watch the
game closely. If you place your money
on such (i number nr one near 't you are
sure to win Of course I dec ared that
this wns sheer nonsense but he grew
nngrv and said I should not talk of
things I did not understand. ! tried to
convince him that there could not pos
sible he any laws In a game of chance
••Hut even chance Is subject to cer
tain laws,” he said.
"No,” I replied, “ns soon as law en
ters. chance disappears." He did not
want to give In and we dismissed the
suhlect for a considerable length of time
without getting nnv further At last
we decided to trv our respective Ide s
at the gambling tables tomorrow. What
a fool that man Is:
February 7th.
We were both very punctual at the
tables and made notes of the figures.
The first number was seven, and after
the fourth turn seven came out again
“Put your money on seven and on th’
numbers from four to nine.” he said.
I did and In n very short time I won
f,nn francs T had to admit that he
was right. He Is really an exceedingly
smart and clever fellow In the after
noon we took an automobile ride to
Nice. The weather Is glorious.
February Bth.
T.ast night when I r ” tinted the monsy
end looked at the gold coins, I had won.
T thought the matter over. This money
I said to myself I have got for nothing
I have cot got It as a present from the
bank. I have slmnlv taken It, The
bank had to give ft to me. for I was
the stronger. The amount, of course.
Is a m<e-r trifle hut he who has never
vet received monev as a present, knows
that manv high officials have to work q
Whole month for ROD francs he knows
that It will pay tw weeks' hotel hills
■at a first-class seaside resort, and that
Jit would make many a poor man hap-
THE STAGE EXIT
py, and then you wonder that It Is pos
sible to make money so easily. Why
shouldn't It be possible for me to win
BftO francs every day? And even morel
If I had the courage 1 might will even
a thousand nay a hundred thousand
frillies a day. Why not? If I am lucky
tbes-e Is nothing to prevent It. It was
very late when I fell asleep. /
February 9th.
I was at the Casino when the games
opened und walked briskly through the
rooms where they plan trente et quar
ante. There Is really nothing attrac
tive about that game You can never
win Mny more than you risk. The best
game, Indeed the only game Is mulatto
where you may win three times as much
us you risk. Today I again made i
note of the number a which came out
most frequently and staked my money
on them They very seldom won. how
ever, and I shonlfi have lost If I had not
discovered what you may call the sixth
sense. Instinct or foresight.
It happened In this way. I wus star
ing at the green field wllh the 86 num
bers. The ball was already being
started, It moved, when I Mt some
thing suddenly I knew where It was
filing lo stop I threw my money on
treit figure. The next moment the hall
stopped at my number or lit leust one
very close to It.
Another time while I was slating on
the numbers, concentrating my whole
mind on them a certain number sudden
ly looked larger It seemed to raise It
self and almost to shout to me: Htuke
your money on me. And when It dbl
not come the first time 1 was sure to
w!n the third or fourth time How
strange. If I had not played like u
coward and risked only small amounts I
should have won many thousand Francs
As II whh I tied in he satisfied with SOU
frnnes for towards tie end my Instlnet
failed to resort Itself, my brain was
getting tired.
February 10th,
Today 1 no t some friends and wr.wrnl
on an excursion lo Cannes. We spent
nil day there. I spent o Jot of mon
ey much more than I had ever done
it efore. MV Ideas of the value of mon
ejf have changed. I had made money
too easily. I wns n* times very ab
sent-minded I was thinking <f money.
February 11th.
For six hours I sat at the roulette la
hie. I d d not play with interest, did
not concentrate rny mind and so my
lick changed all the time Humbling
after all Is verv fascinating. There Is
nothing to whldi von may compare It.
Kvrn love has Interva's. tired half hours
and Interruptions during which your
thoughts wander about, Even the most
exciting drama on the stage does not
hold your attention every second If
lasts.
You get tired when you are working
but never while you nre gambling
Gambling Is stronger even than life's
other great sensation woman. On carp
fide of me there nre w< men. wonderful
beauties from Paris, but I never even
look it them. No gambler ever looks
at women, the game holds his whole at
tention.
February 12th.
! sat down et the roulette table and
trusted my inatlnct. It was perfectly
clear to me that I must plAy he figures,
one, two, three I stalked accordingly.
Strangely enough rnv numbers never
came out. I raised my stakes Still
they did not come. Impossible! In half
an hour I lost everything I bad won nn.l
all the money 1 had with me. As soon
us my pockets were empty my numbers
came out several limes in siicccmsloii. •
grew furious. Napoleon must have felt
like that when bis reserves failed to
turn up at Waterloo, when their arrival
tnlgbl have turned the ha I tit :n Ills
favor. I was crushed. How could !
ever lose my bead like that’
Gambling Is simply disgusting, fit
only for fools.
February 13th.
I am not going to play nnv more I
linve added enough, bin I am getting
excited at the thought that In the rou-
Brothers Opponents; American
Wives
- -:=z.„
MRB. ALMERIC PAGET
London, —Should the home rule con
troversy come to a crisis It would
place the two brothers, General Sir
Arthur Paget, commander In chief of
the English tjpreos In Ireland, and Al
merlc Paget, one of the Unionist, und
anti-home rule leaders of parliament.
In a peculiar situation. Should the
two brothers tie pitted against each
other, all social London Is wondering
whether their wives will take part In
the estrangement. Both brothers
married American girls, General Kir
Arthur's wife being the former Miss
Stevens, while Mrs. Alrnerlc Paget
was Puulino Whitney.
lette room! the halls are spinning ;*nrl
the Kohl In failing in showers on the
trouts «t qunruntc tables.
Kvery moment them ia a chance for
me to drop hi a couple of gold coins and
return home with hundreds of thou*
Hand*. At leusf I miKiit win hack wnut
I have hat. I am going to try to do
ihut anyway.
February 14th
I have given up vouleUr. A dull game!
When there are .t 6 chances It i> natural
ly very difficult to pick the right one.
And then the crowd la rattier common,
these women with their five trance
placet* and their eternal quarrelling, ana
these dirty buds that never atop where
they ought to und the cold ftally-e.ved
croupiers, who rake In the money. Die*
guatiug! No 1 ahull never again play
roulette. i am going to try trente et
quarante.
February 16th.
Trente et quarunte la a real game.
Chancea are even. The crowd Is more
select und only gold la accepted.
Next to me a gambler who lost made
a row. “Thu hank lakes 7o million
mince out of our pockets every year, *
he said angrily. 1 don't understand
such people. No laxly forced him to p:ay.
lie may leave at any time he likes to
walk Hi trie park and enjoy the view.
I have woriiipilc of money. The weath
er Is glorious.
February Ifith ,
I can't stand this an longer. When
i put my money on red. black wins. And
If I fait It on black, red is sure tocome
out/* Itougeg g.ipue et couleur" Wm
times In succession. And 1 was among
the losers. 1 might have won a for
tune. 1 went to another table and
threw all I had on one chance and lost.
J have not a dingie fram left. I must
telegraph home fur money, Gambling
Is disgusting and not even interesting.
It cannot lie compared with life which
Is not huJf as dull. J shall leave here
soon.
MIGHT DO WORSE.
Miss llogaboom (of Chicago)—And
iri what profession Is your brother,
Lord Humercy?
Lord Hamercy o, when Algernon
leaves Oxford university, don't you
know, I fancy he will take orders.
Miss Hogaboom (surprised) —Yes?
Well, there arc some real nice gentle
men travelling for papa.— fSjck.
AN EYE TO THE FUTURE.
“What's this you have Invented?”
"A parachute, and it Is a success.''
“Hut Is there any demand for a
parachute In ordinary Jlfe?"
“Will be If gowns keep getting
tighter. This is for women to use In
getting off street cars.”—Loulsvillo
Courer-Journal.
SUFFICIENT PROVOCATION.
“Why did you beat Dobson so ter
ribly?" said the Judge, Indicating the
be-banded figure of the plaintiff.
“I asked him why a horse had run
away, your honor,” explained the pris
oner, “and he told me that It was
because the animal had lost his
equlnehmlty.”
“H’m,” said the judge. “Discharg
ed*”—- Lipplncott’s Magazine.
FIVE