"My next step, therefore, was to make a list of the victims and all their business and social acquaintances. I then compared these lists to ascertain the men known in common to all, or the majority of the victims. In this way I discovered a certain number of men known to all the victims. The lives and habits of these men were investigated in search of a possible clue. No definite results. Finally, pondering over the case one day, the initials of one man impressed themselves upon me. His initials were F. P.—the same initials that would stand for ’Friends of the Poor.’ Such a clue might seem fantastic. In criminal investigation, however, clues are often the result of inspiration, and I could not afford to let this coincidence pass. I made a more thorough investigation into the history and actions of Frederick Prentice." "Frederick Prentice!" gasped Forrester, starting up in bed. "Exactly," returned Marten, "the supposed first victim." "Our families have been friends for years," groaned Forrester. "His daughter, Diana, and myself were childhood companions. How could he attempt _my_ life?" "The man was mentally unsound," explained Marten. "The successful operation of his scheme excited his weakening brain until it became an obsession with him. Although he had achieved his original purpose of recuperating his broken fortunes, I believe he continued his threats and killing for the sheer insane joy of playing with his victim and then killing him. Possibly, the attendant mystery and notoriety also appealed to some perverted side of his nature." "Go on with your story," said Forrester. "These were the facts which I discovered about Prentice," continued Marten. "His mother died years ago in a private sanitarium for the insane on Long Island, New York. This showed a possibility that Prentice’s mind might be affected, and in its weakness assume a criminal trend. I found that Prentice’s father had willed him a certain amount of money, and that Prentice had lost approximately this amount in the stock market. That showed a possible reason for his step, for Prentice had a rather expensive wife and daughter to maintain, and he knew absolutely nothing of business. Prentice’s father also willed him the piece of property upon which the oak tree stands. A few weeks before the affair started, Prentice ostensibly sold this property to a man named Hans Eckmeier, who in turn quickly sold it to a colored woman who lived in a small cottage on the property—a woman, by the way, without visible means of support, and without any financial resources which could be located. This unquestionably indicated preliminary preparation designed to eliminate any connection of Prentice with the property. There were rumors, too, that this woman had murdered her husband. Rumors are hardly to be considered as evidence, yet this story offered a possible basis for Prentice having a hold over the negress.