n securing the key
to No. 5 the night of the murder, and in the scoffling he had scratched
her. That, at least, would be Perry's story and Lucy's. Braceway had been
certain of that also before wiring to him.

As a matter of fact, Braceway had known all this before they had started
for Washington and had kept it back, playing with him, laughing up his
sleeve. The thought nettled him, finally made him thoroughly angry. He
compelled himself to weigh the new situation carefully.

Well, what of it, even if Lucy were an albino and Perry had scratched
her? Did that affect materially the case against Perry? There was still
evidence to prove that he had been to the Withers' bungalow. He had
confessed it himself. And the lavalliere incidents and the blouse buttons
substantiated it still further.

The albino argument was by no means final, could not be made definite.
The fact remained that there had been scratches on the murdered woman's
hand and that particles of a white person's skin had been found under
Perry's finger nails. That was not to be denied. Of course, the negro's
attorney could argue that these particles had come from Lucy Thomas, not
from Mrs. Withers.

But it would be only an argument. The jury would pass judgment on it--and
he was willing to leave it to the jury.

He closed the book, took it back to the desk and thanked the young woman.
There was nothing in his appearance to indicate disappointment. In fact,
he felt none. By the time he reached home he had gone over the whole
thing once more and dismissed it as of no real consequence. Braceway's
discovery, or his making the discovery known, had come too late.

If it had been brought out ahead of Perry's confession--yes; it would
have made quite a difference then.

"Let the heathen rage!" he thought, remembering the bitter stubbornness
with which Braceway and Fulton denied the negro's guilt.

Braceway's withholding the albino information, playing him for a fool,
recurred to him, and the accustomed flush on his cheeks grew deeper. He
would not forget that; he would pay it back--with interest.

He turned to the Loutois case. Going to his typewriter, he made a list of
New Orleans, Atlanta, and New York newspapers.

"Mattie," he called, "_I_ want you to go down to a news-stand, the big
one; I think it's at the corner of Haywood and Patton."

He handed her money.

"And here's a list of the papers you're to get. Ask for all of them
published since last Frid