The Detective's Clew: Or, The Tragedy of Elm Grove

by O. S. Adams

“I don’t know. Perhaps in his desk. It is always locked. Sometimes he goes to the bank. Maybe he deposits it there.”

“How do you know he keeps the desk locked?”

“I have been in the study often, and have never seen it open except when he was sitting at it. Before leaving, he always shuts it and turns the key.”

Numerous other questions elicited nothing further of importance, and Barker was dismissed.

Thomas Mullen was called, and testified as follows:

“I am employed as stable-keeper at Elm Grove. I went to bed as usual Wednesday night in my room in the barn. About one o’clock in the morning I awoke, and thought I heard a noise in the yard. I thought nothing of it, as the dog made no fuss. He is a good watch-dog, and doesn’t allow any one to prowl around. Soon after I heard another noise, and got up and looked out of the window. I saw two men run across the yard and into the road. I thought they were some chaps stealing melons, or something of that sort, and, as they had a good start, I did not give chase. I thought it strange that the dog made no alarm, but concluded he must have wandered into the orchard the other side of the house. Then I heard the rattling of a buggy down the road. I did not get up, and knew nothing of the murder until Barker awoke me in the morning. He told me about it just as he has told you. We found the dog lying dead on the ground. He had been poisoned.”

George Johnson, policeman, was sworn, and testified that on the morning the murder was discovered he made an examination of the premises. He found nothing out of the way, and made but one discovery of importance. That was a strap tied to the hitching-post on the road-side. The strap had been cut, and was dangling to the post.

The livery-keeper testified that the cousins had hired horses of him on Wednesday, and that one of the horses was found, without a driver, standing by the stable door the next morning. It was the one hired by the companion of the prisoner. The horses that Carlos had borrowed, and with which he had returned on Thursday morning, showed signs of having had a hard drive. The hitching-strap was cut, and hanging to the bit.

The portion that the policeman had found tied to the post, and that which remained attached to the horse, were produced, and were found to match exactly.

This portion of the evidence told strongly against Carlos. A buzz went through the room, and there were whispers that this settled the fact of his guilt. The justice rapped for order.