as approached by a man who
was alleged to have been a comrade of his grandfather in the Civil
War. Amos Brown was persuaded that your Tontine group had treated
his grandfather very badly. He was shown that by working with this
old veteran he could not only revenge his grandfather's wrongs,
but also obtain a false justice for himself.

"This kind benefactor, as an evidence of goodwill, bought Amos
Brown a farm in Canada; he bought him a plane. He then convinced
him that by helping kill off the Tontine group the two of them
would share their huge fund.

"Preparations were carefully made. Amos Brown was a strong, active
man. The veteran had access to files where the peculiarities of a
great many criminals, in and out of prison, were carefully
recorded. It was recorded for example that one man had the habit
of getting into places by using climbing irons. Another had a
different method but he had a weakness for large quantities of
food when he committed a robbery, his special weakness being for
eggs. It was comparatively easy for a former police commissioner
to get all this information you see, a police commissioner who
kept in touch with his old department.

"But first of all the murders had to be so committed that they
would look like suicide. The former man hunter knew enough to make
them look like suicides to the casual examiner. But suppose a
careful examination were made of a particular death, and it was
discovered to be murder. Then what?

"Then you see, the peculiarities of a certain criminal would
appear so prominently that the police would pick this man up and
pin the crime on him. But suppose again this innocent criminal
happened to have an unshakable alibi? That could be arranged for
too. The alibi could be made to look 'fishy', as my friend Hale
would put it.

"Former Police Commissioner McGuire knew that 'Chicago' Boyle,
alias 'Lefty' Harris was in this neighborhood. 'Lefty' had been
convicted of entering a house with rope, climbing irons, and so
forth. So first of all, Miller was killed in a manner that would
look to the casual examiner like suicide. When I pointed out that
it was not suicide and further pointed out how the murderer
entered, it was a foregone conclusion that Boyle would be picked
up.

"Boyle had a story, but what policeman or jury would believe it?
The stranger who met him in a speakeasy and drugged his drink took
good care that he would not have a convincing one to tell.

"The one