erated by the statement of the dead
woman's husband; that, upon bringing her back to the bungalow, he had at
once said good night to her and gone home.

Nor did he puzzle his mind about the unknown individual with the gold
tooth, he who had appeared in Abrahamson's pawnshop and a few minutes
later miraculously disappeared. If the ring pawned had belonged to Mrs.
Withers, why should this man return to No. 5 and murder her? If he had
obtained nothing from her beforehand, he might have had a real motive for
the crime. But, since he had already got the ring, it seemed folly to
assume that he would later kill her.

In spite of his growing belief that the onus of proof must fall upon the
negro, Bristow could not keep his thoughts away from young Morley. He,
more than any of the other suspects, had told an unsatisfactory story.
Besides, he had a bad face.

The latest addition to the Furmville plain-clothes squad remembered how
carefully Morley's hands had been manicured. He----

With a quick motion, he went to the telephone and called for Greenleaf.

"Chief, are you still holding Perry?"

"Sure, I'm holding him. I'll continue to hold him for some time, I'm
thinking. His story don't suit me. He says----"

"All right. Ill get that from you when I see you this afternoon. In the
meantime, I wish you'd have his finger nails carefully cleaned. I
want----"

But the request had instantly overwhelmed Greenleaf.

"What!" he yelled. "Clean his finger nails!"

"Yes," Bristow continued smoothly, disregarding the other's evident
distaste and surprise. "If I were down there, I'd do it myself. In fact,
it would be better for you to do it. Don't leave it to some careless
subordinate."

The chief laughed his sarcasm.

"You know," this still with laughter, "we Southerners are none too strong
on acting as manicures to these coloured folks."

"It's absolutely necessary," was the insistent answer. "And, when you do
clean them, save every bit of dirt thus obtained. Now, will you do it?"

"Why, yes," Greenleaf assented with reluctance. "If you say it's
absolutely necessary, I'll do it--I'll do it myself."

"Good. I'll depend on you for it. By the way, can't you have somebody,
your man Jenkins or some one as good as he is, go out on a real hunt for
the fellow with the gold tooth? You remember Withers' description of
him?"

"Yes. I'd thought of that."

"That's good. If he can't spot him at any of the hotels, have him make
the roun