ph. From it he passed to the other
news. He noted that little publicity was given to the Palace Mansions
affair, from which he judged that public interest in the matter was
already growing cold. A short summary appeared on the front page, and
this he eagerly devoured. It read as follows:--

PALACE MANSIONS MYSTERY

The police are following up an important clue to the murderer of Mrs.
Vernon, and it is significant in this connection that a man answering
to the description of Soames was apprehended at Olton (Birmingham) late
last night. (See Page 6). The police are very reticent in regard to the
new information which they hold, but it is evident that at last they are
confident of establishing a case. Mr. Henry Leroux, the famous novelist,
in whose flat the mysterious outrage took place, is suffering from a
nervous breakdown, but is reported to be progressing favorably by Dr.
Cumberly, who is attending him. Dr. Cumberly, it will be remembered, was
with Mr. Leroux, and Mr. John Exel, M. P., at the time that the murder
was discovered. The executors of the late Mr. Horace Vernon are faced
with extraordinary difficulties in administering the will of the
deceased, owing to the tragic coincidence of his wife's murder within
twenty-four hours of his own demise.

Public curiosity respecting the nursing home in Gillingham Street,
with its electric baths and other modern appliances, has by no means
diminished, and groups of curious spectators regularly gather outside
the former establishment of Nurse Proctor, and apparently derive some
form of entertainment from staring at the windows and questioning the
constable on duty. The fact that Mrs. Vernon undoubtedly came from this
establishment on the night of the crime, and that the proprietors of the
nursing home fled immediately, leaving absolutely no clue behind them,
complicates the mystery which Scotland Yard is engaged in unraveling.

It is generally believed that the woman, Proctor, and her associates
had actually no connection with the crime, and that realizing that
the inquiry might turn in their direction, they decamped. The obvious
inference, of course, is that the nursing home was conducted on lines
which would not bear official scrutiny.

The flight of the butler, Soames, presents a totally different aspect,
and in this direction the police are very active.

Soames searched the remainder of the paper scrupulously, but failed to
find any further reference to the cas