hat he sent. After a sensational
half-column of introduction, fitting the murder on Mrs. Athelstone, and
enlarging on the certainty of one's sin finding one out, provided it
were assisted by a _Banner_ reporter, he swung into the detailed
story, dwelling on the woman's madness and sliding over the details of
the murder as much as possible.

Then he described how, for more than a month, Mrs Athelstone had labored
over the body, hiding it days in the empty case and dragging it out
nights, until she had finished it, with the exception of some detail
about the head, into a faithful replica of the mummy of Amosis, the
original of which she had no doubt burned. It all made a vivid story;
for never had his imagination been in such working order, and never had
it responded more generously to his demands upon it. About two in the
morning he finished his third column and concluded his story with:

"So this awful confession of madness and murder ended. I left the woman
bound and helpless, sitting in her chair, her victim at her feet, to
wait the coming of the police." Then he added to Naylor personally,
"Going notify police headquarters now and go back to hall."

Naylor, who had been reading the copy page by page as it came from the
wire, and who, naturally, was taking a mere cold-blooded view of the
case than Simpkins, telegraphed back:

"What share did Brander have in actual murder? You don't bring that out
in story."

"Couldn't get it out of her," Simpkins sent back, truthfully enough.

"Find out," was the answer. "Get back to hall quick. Brander may have
looked in to help Mrs. A. with her night work while you were gone. Will
hold enough men for an extra."

Simpkins called a cab and started for police headquarters at breakneck
speed, but on the way he stopped at Brander's rooms; for a miserable
suspicion was growing in his brain. "If that really was Isis," he was
thinking, "it's funny she didn't nail me before I got to the door, even
with the start I had."

On his representation that he had called on a matter of life and death,
the janitor admitted him to Brander's rooms. They were empty, and the
bed had not been slept in.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

IX

It was just after three o'clock when Simpkins, an officer on either
side, entered the Oriental Building again, and hurried up the stairs to
the Society's office.

There they were halted, for Simpkins had left his key sticking in
the spring l