rouble he was in. Atwood, and his
confederate, then waited in the dining room of this apartment until
the victim rang the bell. Newman admitted him and led him into the
dining room. There the two men confronted him with revolvers and on
the threat of taking his life, forced him to sign a paper."

"After that, the victim made an attempt to escape. He fled to the
front of the apartment, closely pursued by the two men. They
attempted to make away with him silently, as originally planned, by
knifing him to death. The victim brought a hitch into their plans by
drawing a revolver and firing one shot before he died. Had this not
occurred, it is probable that the murderers' plans would not have
been discovered until long after they had made a safe getaway. As it
was, the shot merely hastened their actions at the time. The lights
in the apartment were turned out, the dead man was carried across
the hall, through Atwood's apartment, and down the rear stairs,
where he was thrown into a waiting automobile. When the police
arrived, a few minutes later, the men believed that they had gotten
safely away, without leaving a trace. They did leave traces,
however, and from that minute the police never left the trail until
they closed in on the men today."

Marsh took a photograph from his pocket. "Among the traces left in
that apartment," he went on, "were the imprints of a man's hands on
the dining room table. I have here a photograph of those imprints,
and among the many identifying marks there is a scar of a peculiar
shape."

Marsh returned the photograph to his pocket.

"I am very glad to learn that you have cleared up the murder of my
employer, Mr. Marsh," said Hunt. "What seems curious to me, however,
is why you should think this man Atwood would want to kill Mr.
Merton. Surely Mr. Merton could never have had any dealings with a
criminal such as you describe Atwood to be."

"On the contrary, Mr. Hunt," returned Marsh, "Merton had extensive
business dealings with Atwood. In fact, he went so far as to place
Atwood in a position where he could rob Merton of several hundred
thousand dollars worth of stocks and bonds. The transfer of these
securities had been taking place for a year or more, and it had
reached the point where the greater part of Merton's fortune was in
Atwood's hands. It is evident that Atwood's original intention was
to step quietly out of sight with this fortune, but subsequent
events led him to believe that he