He had varied
his regular rounds because of the recent depredations of
motor-car yeggmen who had timed him in pulling off several jobs
lately. As he hurried toward the large mausoleum of the Phelps
family, he saw two figures slink away in opposite directions in
the darkness. One of them, he asserts positively, seemed to be a
woman in black, the other a man whom he could not see clearly.
They readily eluded pursuit in the shadows, and a moment later
he heard the whir of a high-powered car, apparently bearing them
away.
At the tomb there was every evidence of a struggle. Things
had been thrown about; the casket had been broken open, but
the body of Montague Phelps, Jr., which had been interred there
about ten days ago, was not touched or mutilated.
It was a shocking and extraordinary violation. Shaughnessy
believes that some personal jewels may have been buried with
Phelps and that the thieves were after them, that they fought
over the loot, and in the midst of the fight were scared away.
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