r was carrying on his person the
twenty-five thousand dollars; research also discloses there are times
when the man's nature changes, when he flies into a towering rage that
might well become violent; and finally, we have found that shortly
after the crime he paid the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars to
Helga Strawn for her interest in the Dry Lands. Third, there is Martin
Leland."

"Martin Leland!" cried Shandon.

Kinsell nodded thoughtfully.

"Martin Leland is the man who advanced the money," he said drily. "He
has shown himself in the matter of the mortgage and foreclosure a man
to be reckoned with. You see all three men mentioned were in positions
to have previous knowledge that your brother was in possession of that
sum of money; all three were in positions to menace his life for merely
sordid reasons; and, strangely enough, all three were men whose tempers
are such that in a moment of rage, in a hot quarrel, they might have
committed such a crime. Six months ago, Mr. Shandon, I think that it
would have gone very hard with you at a trial. The concensus of
opinion was pretty strong against you. Making a fugitive of yourself
made matters worse. But since then I think things have changed. There
are many men who, having learned of the deal Leland and Hume tried to
put over on you, have come to look upon them as crooks, and are willing
to suspect either of them of having killed Arthur Shandon."

"But Martin Leland suspected," muttered Shandon. "It seems--"

"Exactly," smiled Kinsell. "It seems rather like the finger of God,
doesn't it? Now we'll go on. I have learned that Sledge Hume bought
Helga Strawn's interest in the Dry Lands about two weeks after the
murder. At that time Hume had something like five thousand dollars in
the bank. I have had the record of the deed looked up. The deed is
noncommittal in the matter in which I was interested. Like so many
documents of its nature it says merely that in consideration of the sum
of ten dollars, the receipt of which is herein acknowledged, and so
forth, Helga Strawn deeded the property to Hume. That's common enough.
All right. Next, I find that Hume doesn't take the world into his
confidence ordinarily but that he has been free enough to tell a good
many people sneeringly that a woman is a fool and that he bought from a
woman for five thousand dollars. I find that the five thousand dollars
in his bank had been drawn out, a draft for that amount h