substitution of prisoners in its
relation to Whitmore's untimely death. Whitmore had escaped prison only
to meet a worse fate, and in less than twenty-four hours after his wrist
was freed from the cold pressure of the steel bracelet.

"It was Beard who engineered the substitution," observed the chief.

"Yes," replied Britz.

"And to save Whitmore from prison he took a chance of going to jail."

"Evidently he stood ready with the deputy and the substitute to forfeit
his liberty for the sake of his employer."

"But was he actuated by loyalty to Whitmore or did he have a sinister
design of his own?" questioned Manning.

"That's for us to ascertain."

"And how are we going to do it?"

"By means of the man he hired as a substitute," declared Britz in
positive tone.

"But how--how?" demanded Manning.

"That will depend on circumstances. Now I'm ready to hear the
developments at this end."

Manning settled back in his chair with the relieved air of one about to
discard an irksome burden. From a drawer of his desk he produced half a
dozen long envelopes which he tossed to Britz.

"They contain all the reports of the men," said he. "You'd better go
through them at your leisure to-night or to-morrow morning. It's useless
to discuss the case further until you've familiarized yourself with
them."

As they left Headquarters for their homes, the three men realized that
despite the many developments of the case, they had, as yet, barely
penetrated the surface. Every new discovery had only succeeded in adding
further complications to the mystery. The evidence thus far was
fragmentary, disconnected, throwing an uncertain light on the crime. The
substitution of prisoners tended to involve Beard, yet it gave not the
least hint of the motive that actuated the killing of Whitmore. Nor did
it reveal how the crime was committed. That it would prove of
importance, of vital significance in solving the crime, Britz believed
implicitly. But, such are the complexities in all human things, that the
possibility of error is never eliminated. And in a criminal
investigation a single error may destroy every chance of success, just
as a single error on the part of the criminal may destroy all the
safeguards which he has so carefully thrown around him.

At the Seventy-second street station of the subway Britz bade his
companions good night. Dismissing the Whitmore case and all other police
business from his mind, he headed straight for