"Well, I don't know," was the cool response. "The wires, as I
understand it, are to run an electric lathe, and they might easily have
become crossed."

"Oh, yes, of course!" admitted Carroll. "And then, again, they might
have been crossed on purpose. It's a new stunt--electrically shocking
an old lady before you bang her over the head or stab her, but it's a
good one. I'll have a look at that switch. I thought maybe I might
find something interesting here when I heard about the shock to the old
servant, and I didn't miss my guess."

There was nothing for the colonel or Mr. Kettridge to say or do, and
they remained passive while Carroll took his time looking about. Then
he telephoned for Haliday of the prosecutor's office, and also for the
chief electrician of the police signal system, and all three spent some
time looking at the wires and testing them.

"What do you think about it?" asked Mr. Kettridge of the colonel, when
the store was again dim and quiet.

"What do I think? I don't know! I'm going to have a talk with Darcy
in the morning, and if I find he's been deceiving me-- Well, I'll
drop his case, that's all."

If Darcy simulated surprise when, the next morning at the jail, told by
the colonel of what had happened to Sallie Page, the prisoner was a
consummate actor, the detective thought.

"Colonel Ashley!" Darcy exclaimed. "I never knew that my lathe wires
crossed or connected with any circuit that might shock a person. It is
true I had the wires run in secretly, as I didn't want my cousin to
know about them. She didn't favor my experiments on the electrical
lathe, and I had to keep quiet about it.

"But I never strung those wires to shock her, and of course you can
easily imagine I never could plan to injure Sallie Page that way, or
the young lady who was knocked down the other day."

"Well, Darcy, you may be telling the truth, and, again, you may not,"
and the colonel's voice was as noncommittal as possible. "But I am
bound to point out to you that the prosecution will make the most of
this, and that--it looks bad for you."

"I know it does, Colonel. But I had no more to do with my cousin's
death than Carroll or you. Nor have I the least suspicion who did kill
her. My God! what object would I have?" and he turned and paced up and
down.

"Well I'll do the best I can," said the colonel. "But I must say it
looks black. Then you never knew your wires might, by the closing of
the switch on your table, shock some one standing near the show case?"

"I never dreamed of it! The wires must have been changed since I used
them."

"That will be looked into. And the stopping of the clocks? Could your
apparatus have done that?"

"Never. It is true a strong electrical current might, under certain
circumstances, stop clocks, as well as start them. But it would not
stop all the clocks in the store--or all that were going--at different
hours."

"Perhaps not. Well, I must see what I can do. Carroll and Thong, with
the prosecutor's men, will use this for all it is worth. We must
combat it somehow."

"Please find a way, Colonel! I was so hopeful and--now--"

The young man could not go on for a moment because of his emotion.

"Amy--Miss Mason--how does _she_ take this?" he faltered.

"She doesn't know it yet, I believe. It didn't get in this morning's
papers, but it will be in this afternoon's."

"I wish you could see her and explain. I--I can't stand it to have her
lose faith in me."

"I'll see what I can do. I'll put the best face on it I can for her."

"And you yourself, Colonel! You--you don't believe me guilty because
of this new development, do you?"

"If I did I wouldn't still be handling your case, Mr. Darcy," was the
answer. "But I don't say that there isn't something to explain. I am,
now, giving you the benefit of the doubt."

"Then maybe Amy will do the same."

It was not many hours before the colonel knew this point. The first
edition afternoon papers had not long been out when the detective, who
had gone to his hotel after an early morning visit to the jail, was
telephoned to by Miss Mason.

"I happened to be in town, shopping," she said, and the agitation was
plainly audible in her voice, "when I saw this terrible thing about Mr.
Darcy's wires and poor Sallie. Is she in any danger, Colonel?"

"I believe not."


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