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The two men, however, afforded him no support. They kept their eyes on Braceway. They gave the effect of falling away from some evil contagion. "Because," Bristow continued, "I have been the innocent victim of trumped up charges of embezzlement by the crookedest man in a crooked business, he accuses me of murder when " "Shut up!" commanded Braceway, dropping his hand to his side.
And this question, at first whispered in the gossip in Furmville, had crept into the newspaper dispatches. The result was a morbid curiosity generally, and, in the minds of many, a belief that Braceway would fasten the crime on Morley.
They were greatly pleased with what they had accomplished; and each one, without giving it voice, knew the other's pleasure was increased by the thought that they had got the better of Braceway. They saw from the porch that an automobile was standing in front of No. 5. As they settled back in their chairs, Fulton and George Withers left the bungalow and got into the machine.
And yet, if he were Withers, he would not come back to Manniston Road. Nobody could foresee what Braceway might imagine and exaggerate, even if it indicted and condemned his closest friend. But the next morning was the crowded beginning of the biggest day in Bristow's life, and the trip to the library was delayed.
Maria Fulton, after the lame man had left her, lay back against her pillows and looked out the window with misty eyes. Counteracting the sorrow that had weighed upon her for two days, was her speculation as to how Braceway would receive the facts she had revealed.
Braceway repeated the report to Bristow, eliciting the comment: "Is somebody trying to make fun of us or what is it? If those rubies belonged to Mrs. Withers, one thing at least is certain: Morley was in the bungalow the night of the murder, and after the murder had been committed.
"That description," the lame man was thinking, as they rolled through the streets toward the northwest part of the city, "fits Withers perfectly, except for the moustache and the colour of the eyes. But that's absurd. I'd like to " He began again to wonder what, in addition to the capture of the guilty man, had brought Braceway to Washington.
"Either he'll go to the bank on time this morning, to throw off suspicion," said Braceway, "or, if he mailed the jewelry to himself here the night of the murder, he'll try to pawn them in Baltimore or at a pawnshop in Virginia, just across the river. There are no pawnshops in Washington. There's a law that interferes." "Delaney won't lose him?" "Not a chance."
The chief's tendency to claim credit for Carpenter's arrest had disappeared. He liked Bristow, was impressed by his quiet effectiveness. "I'm glad you think I can get away with it," the lame man said, much pleased. "Now, you see why I want to go to Washington with Braceway. It's merely to keep my hold on this case.
Why, Abrahamson himself told you Greenleaf was positive Withers and the other man were there at the same time." "Oh," Braceway said, obviously a little bored, "That's one of the things we have to watch for in these cases wild impressions, the construing of words in a different way by everybody who heard them. It's a minor detail anyway."
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