The Complete Detective Pennington Wise Series. Carolyn Wells

speak to Mr. Manning. Then I told of his sudden, almost mysterious disappearance.

      “Not mysterious at all,” said the Chief. “He gave you the slip purposely. He went away at once, and has hidden himself carefully. But we will find him. It’s not easy for a man to hide from the police in this day and generation!”

      “But, Miss Raynor!” I said, still incredulous. “Why? What motive?”

      “Because her uncle wouldn’t let her marry Amory Manning. When she said she went to her friend, Miss Clark’s house, she really went to the home of a Mrs. Russell, the sister of Manning. She was to meet Manning there. I have all this straight from Mrs. Russell.”

      “And you think it was Miss Raynor’s shadow I saw on the door!”

      “You said it might have been a woman.”

      “Very well, then look for another woman! It was never Miss Raynor!”

      “Your indignation, Mr. Brice, is both natural and admirable, but it is based on your disinclination to think ill of Miss Raynor. The police are not allowed the luxury of such sentiments.”

      “But—but—how did she—how did Miss Raynor get out of the room?”

      “We do not entirely credit Jenny’s story of the man with a revolver running downstairs. And we do think that the person who did the shooting may have gone down in the private elevator with the victim. It would be easy to gain the street unnoticed, and it presupposes someone acquainted with the working of the automatic elevator.”

      “But Miss Raynor said she had never seen it,” I cried, triumphantly. “She said she had only heard her uncle speak of it!”

      “I know she said so,” returned the Chief.