it over. It was dated May twenty-third--four
days after the murder--and was the same in substance as many other
articles I had read in the past week.

"No new evidence has come to light in regard to the sensational
murder of Colonel Gaylord whose body was discovered in Luray Cave,
Virginia, a few days ago. The authorities now concur in the belief
that the crime was committed by the son of the murdered man. The
accused is awaiting trial in the Kennisburg jail.

"It seems impossible that any man, however depraved, could in cold
blood commit so brutal and unnatural a crime as that with which
Radnor Gaylord is accused. It is only in the light of his past
history that the action can be understood. Coming from one of the
oldest families of Virginia, an heir to wealth and an honored name,
he is but another example of the many who have sold their
birth-right for a mess of pottage. A drunkard and a spendthrift, he
wasted his youth in gambling and betting on the races while honest
men were toiling for their daily bread.

"Several times has Radnor Gaylord been disinherited and turned
adrift, but Colonel Gaylord, weak in his love for his youngest son,
invariably received him back again into the house he had
dishonored. Finally, pressed beyond the point of endurance, the old
man took a firm stand and refused to meet his son's inordinate
demands for money. Young Gaylord, rendered desperate by debts, took
the most obvious method of gaining his inheritance. His part in the
tragedy of Colonel Gaylord's death is as good as proved, though he
persistently and defiantly denies all knowledge of the crime. No
sympathy can be felt for him. The wish of every right-minded man in
the country must be that the law will take its course--and that as
speedily as possible."

"Well?" said Terry as I finished.

"It's a lie," I cried hotly.

"All of it?"

"Every word of it!"

"Oh, see here," said Terry. "There's no use in your trying to hide
things. That account is an exaggeration of course, but it must have some
foundation. You told me you weren't afraid of the truth. Just be so kind
as to tell it to me, then. Exactly what sort of a fellow is Radnor? I
want to know for several reasons."

"Well, he did drink a good deal for a youngster," I admitted, "though
never to such an extent as has been reported. Of late he