The Mansion of Mystery | Page 3

give you a word of advice. Never try to get a detective to do

anything for you unless you are willing to tell him all you know and all
you suspect. It is generally hard enough to solve an enigma without
having other mysteries attached to it."
The young man lowered his face and looked confused for a moment.
"Then I will tell you everything," he said. "You may take notes if you
wish."
"It is not necessary, since I have a good memory."
"The Langmores lived just on the outskirts of the town, on the road
leading to Sidham, which is several miles distance."
"I have a general idea of the location."
"The house is a fine, old-fashioned stone mansion, setting well back
from the road, and surrounded by a well-kept lawn and numerous trees
and bushes. At the rear of the garden is a small stream, which flows
into the river a mile and a half below."
"Is the place surrounded by a fence?"
"On two sides only. In the front there is a hedge and in the rear the little
stream forms the boundary of the property."
"I understand."
"At the time of the tragedy there were four persons in the house, so far
as known--Mr. and Mrs. Langmore, Mr. Langmore's daughter,
Margaret, and a servant, Mary Billings."
"Wait a moment. You said Mr. Langmore's daughter. Was she not Mrs.
Langmore's daughter also?"
"No. You see Mr. Langmore was a widower when he married the
present Mrs. Langmore, who was a widow. There are two sets of
children."

"I understand. When did the tragedy occur?"
"At some time between eleven and twelve in the morning. During that
time Margaret Langmore was in her room writing several letters, and
was practicing on the piano in the parlor. The house is a large one, with
sixteen rooms and several hallways and stairs."
"Where was the servant?"
"In the kitchen and out to the barn. There are two other girls, but one is
in the hospital sick and the other was to town on an errand."
"Where were Mr. and Mrs. Langmore?"
"The daughter thought her stepmother had gone out to visit a neighbor,
as she had said something about doing so earlier in the morning. Mr.
Langmore had gone to the bank in town at nine o'clock and Margaret
saw him come home about half-past ten or eleven."
"What was she doing at the time?"
"Practicing on the piano. She heard her father go directly to his library,
which is situated across the hallway from the parlor. She heard the door
shut, and then went on with her practicing."
"Did she hear anything in the library?"
"She thinks she heard something, but is not sure. She was practicing a
very difficult piece by Wagner--"
"And it was loud enough to drown out every other sound."
"That's it. When the clock struck twelve she stopped practicing to learn
if lunch was ready. She also wanted to speak to her father, and so
crossed the hallway and opened the library door." The young man's
voice began to tremble a little. "She found her father stretched lifeless
in an armchair."
"How had he been killed?"

"That is a part of the mystery. He was either choked or smothered to
death, or else he was poisoned. The doctors don't seem to be able to get
at the bottom of it."
For the first time since Raymond Case had begun his recital Adam
Adams began to show an interest.
"If the man was strangled his throat should show the marks," he
observed.
"There are no marks, and the doctors have found no trace of poison."
"Humph!" The detective rubbed his chin reflectively. "What next?"
"Margaret Langmore was so horrified she ran from the room screaming
wildly. Her shrieks brought the servant to the spot, and a minute later
two of the neighbors, Mrs. Bardon and her son Alfred, came over from
next door."
"Where was Mrs. Langmore at this time?"
"Nobody knew. Alfred Bardon is a physician, and, thinking there might
still be a spark of life in Mr. Langmore, did all he possibly could to
resuscitate the gentleman. The servant girl ran upstairs to find some
drugs for him and in the upper hallway stumbled over the dead body of
Mrs. Langmore."
"And how had she died?"
"In the same manner as her husband. This news of a double tragedy
was too much for Margaret, and she fainted. The others notified more
of the neighbors and the police, and of course, the news spread like
wildfire. I was stopping at the Beechwood Hotel at the time and as soon
as I heard of the tragedy, I jumped into an automobile that was handy
and rode over."
"Then you arrived at the house about as soon as