Hallen spoke. "How are you to prove his innocence, Mr. Oakes, as you said?"

There was a slight element of doubt in the question.

"Get up, boy," said Oakes; "get up." And turning to us, the cool man looked long at us all, then said: "The evidence showed conclusively that the weapon used was a heavy one, of 45-calibre probably--a revolver in all likelihood, and fired from a distance of about one hundred and fifty feet. That means a good shot. Now, this boy is right-handed, as you have noticed, but he could not use his right hand to shoot with, for the first two fingers have been amputated near the ends. Plenty of loss to preclude good pistol shooting!

"To have used such a weapon with the left hand, and with such accuracy, is out of the question save for a fancy shot. If this boy could shoot like that, he would not be boot-blacking for a living.

"Again, he has not noticeably strong arms, nor a wrist powerful enough to handle a heavy weapon properly. The boy is innocent--in my opinion."

"Oakes, you are a demon," said Hallen.

"Oh, no, I hope not; only I hate to see mistakes made too often. Poor devil!"

And Oakes patted the boy on the back.

With a pathetic, dog-like expression, sobbing with joy, the befriended negro seized the man's right hand and, kneeling, showered kisses upon it.

_CHAPTER XVII_

_Checkmated_

The negro was led away. He was in better spirits now, and smiling as only a negro can. That extraordinary genius--the mystic Oakes--had, by a process of reasoning that Joe himself was able to follow, not only cleared him of suspicion, but made a _hero_ of him. The innate vanity of the race was reacting on the boy, and coming to the rescue of his nervous system, recently so severely strained.

When he had gone, Oakes turned to us and, interrupting our exclamations, remarked:

"Now that we are all here together, it would be wise perhaps briefly to review what clues we have obtained and their probable significance."

We all a.s.sented to this suggestion, and by tacit consent Quintus Oakes began:

"First, we have found that the _cartridge picked up_ in the cellar, and evidently dropped by the man in the robe, _is of the same pattern as the old ones in the pouch upstairs_.

"They all belong to the old revolver which was taken away from its place--and for which another was subst.i.tuted since my first visit here.

With regard to its calibre (the important point), _that old revolver meets the requirements of our deductions about the weapon used to murder Mr. Mark_. Therefore we have a chain of evidence connecting my a.s.sailant in the cellar--the man in the robe--with the a.s.sa.s.sin.

"We know also that the revolver was fired not far from the hundred-and-fifty-foot distance; _the man was an excellent shot_, for you must consider the old style of weapon.

"He must have been _large_, or at least _strong in the wrist_, for a good shot with such a weapon cannot be made by a weak person."

I interrupted: "The murder of Smith was considered to be due to a pistol ball of large calibre. Could the same weapon have been used?"

"It could," said Oakes. "That one has been in the family for years. The style of the cartridges is somewhat similar to our modern ones, but they are very old, as we know by their appearance.

"Further," he continued, "in my opinion the 'woman story' connected with the Smith murder is based on a _man_ in a black _robe_. It may have been the same man who is at the bottom of these later mysteries--though we are to remember that when Mr. Mark was killed Joe saw no _robe_.

"In the annals of crime we find very few women doing murder in that way; it is a man's method.

"We must look then for a _strong-wristed_ man--a man who has also strong arms, and a _cross_ on the _left_ one; finally, a man with a knowledge of revolvers, and who has in his possession--or has had--a large, old-fashioned weapon and cartridges, and also a robe.

"And one thing more strikes me," added Oakes in a slow, deliberate voice, "he is a man _with a mania_--_an insane man_--always, or at intervals."

"Yes," said the doctor. "I had concluded so too, Oakes. The wearing of a robe--especially in a confined place like the wall s.p.a.ce--the cutting out of a panel and the peculiar method of attack seem nonsensical and without proper reason. And the absence of provocation for those a.s.saults, and for the murder of good men like Smith and Mark, point strongly to an unbalanced mind."

"Probably correct," Oakes replied. "And I should say that the _insanity is present at intervals only_."

"Mr. Oakes," said Chief Hallen then, "don't you think it advisable to investigate that story of the bandana handkerchief as soon as possible?

Affairs in town may become pressing at any time, and we may be needed there."

"Yes, Chief, certainly. We should lose no time about it," said Oakes.

Then he spoke to Martin; and the latter retired and presently returned with Joe.

The detective asked the boy if he would go and point out the stone from which the murderer was leaping when the handkerchief fell into the water. "You know it is nearly full moon and several of my men will go with you, and so will Mr. Martin."

The negro a.s.sented reluctantly, though bravely, for he was not devoid of superst.i.tion. Oakes called in four of his men and said:

"Go with Mr. Martin and Joe. Take lanterns, and find the handkerchief which is at the bottom of the stream if the boy is telling the truth, and the murderer has not recovered it. He did not notice it drop, did he, Joe?"

"No, Master Oakes; he just flew along and never looked round. He did not know where it dropped." The negro was using good English, and standing erect with a very important expression. He was innocent, and the central figure now. He realized that dignity was becoming. An educated boy of his race can show great self-control under such circ.u.mstances.

Vanity--thou G.o.ddess of Transformation!

While the searching party was gone, we spent the time discussing Mike's peculiarities--most of all his horseback ride in the moonlight, a curious departure for a hired man.

"This whole thing is unusual in the extreme, Stone. Since the night that you were escorted to the pond by Chief Hallen's men and there warned of impending danger, and your unknown friend was chased by the man lying in wait for you, I have had a net around Mike and Maloney and Cook, but with negative results," said Oakes.

"You see, Maloney and Cook go about their business in a quiet fashion, while Mike cannot be approached very well; the men report him as very shrewd and suspicious."

"Did you find out where Mike went on his horseback trip?"

"No, that is another curious thing. The Lorona man who brought him the horse says he has done it for a few days and received good pay. The horse was always returned promptly, once or twice by a boy; the other times by Mike himself."

"To have done that, Mike must have walked back from Lorona," said Hallen.

"No, he may have ridden part way. We found a man this evening who saw him take a team on the Lorona Highway and ride into Mona after dark."

"Where is Mike now?" I inquired.

"Since the episode of that horseback ride, witnessed by Dr. Moore and yourself, he has disappeared."

"Disappeared!"

"Yes, eluded all our men and never returned the horse."

"Skipped! Got away!" we cried in amazement.

"Yes, but he won't stay away long; he will come back."