XI - FLEMING STONE––––––––
NEXT day brought the advent of two men and a boy to Sycamore Ridge.
Samuel Appleby, determined to discover the murderer of his father and convinced that it was none of the Wheeler family, had brought Fleming Stone, the detective, to investigate the case. Stone had a young assistant who always accompanied him, and this lad, Terence McGuire by name, was a lively, irrepressible chap, with red hair and freckles.
But his quick thinking and native wit rendered him invaluable to Stone, who had already hinted that McGuire might someday become his successor.
The Wheeler family, Jeffrey Allen, Curtis Keefe, and Burdon, the local detective, were all gathered in Mr. Wheeler’s den to recount the whole story to Fleming Stone.
With grave attention, Stone listened, and youn
