LEHI CHAPTEB X TH STOBT TiTl'S FABi Betornlnf from viilt ulth Dyk McKlnnoo, bU mnele, Todd MoKlnnon, Georgia Wyeth and imall daughter, Barby, stopped to CHAPTER X That afternoon the household had a caller. Georgine saw hlra through a gquare of bilious-green glass that made him look like something long drowned: a shapeless elderly man stumping deliberately up the walk, his crumpled felt hat set squarely on his head, his top chin tucked down into the folds of skin which had once been other skins. A car stood at the curb, but he hadn't been driving himself, because be-cause there was a woman behind the wheel Mrs. Peabody appeared from the rear of the house, and flung open the door. "Why, it's the Judge," she cried brightly. "That? The Judge?" said Georgine Georg-ine In a shocked whisper. "He looks awfully funny through the purple one," Barby added, far too loudly. An ungentle un-gentle hand was placed on her lips, and her mother removed her. "Nell," said the Judge by way of greeting, reaching the top step, "who's at home?" "Only myself and my guests, Uncle Theron." Georgine attempted to get upstairs, up-stairs, but the Judge saw her through the open door. "Who's that, Nell?" he said in a loud voice. "My guest." Nella's chin went up a trifle. The untidy gray head made a peremptory gesture. Nella came to the door. "Would you come in for a moment, Mrs. Wyeth?" she said in a remote tone; somehow it indicated in-dicated that Georgine would be doing her a favor by complying. "And may I present Judge Till-sit?" Till-sit?" The old man sat heavily in the buttoned red plush chair. Georg-ine's Georg-ine's eyebrows went up as she saw that he made no effort to rise. She gave him a brisk nod and sat down beside Mrs. Peabody, thinking: He came here just to look us over. I wish Todd would get here and take his share ! "Mrs. Wyeth," the Judge said, pursing his mouth, "I hear you and your friend are strangers in town." , "We are." She just saved herself from adding, "Your Majesty," in an acid tone. "Staying long?" "A day or so more, I think. Mrs. Peabody was so very kind as to take us in." "Still got that bug about a tourist tour-ist home, have you?" the Judge said to Nella, with a sort of horrid geniality. "I told you no good 'ud come of It. Never know what you're letting yourself in for." "Uncle Theron! Really" He settled back, and the shrouded shroud-ed eyes went cold and appraising. "You know Nell very long?" "Uncle Theron," Nella was saying say-ing with considerable dignity, "you don't know how much Mrs. Wyeth and Mr. McKinnon have done for me, just by being here." The stain of pink spread in her cheeks. "You know everything that goes on, you must have been aware of what wicked rumors were going around, but you'd never talk to me about them; you'd never let anyone else give me the satisfaction satisfac-tion of an honest discussion, so that I could fight so that I could find out who started " "Nell, you're a damn fool woman, wo-man, and always were," said the Judge loudly and with dreadful deliberation. He swung his fat body around in the red plush armchair. arm-chair. "You're talking nonsense; you got some bee in your bonnet a couple years ago, and if anyone's keeping scandal alive it's you. I'm sorry for you, you got yourself saddled with a worthless don't interrupt me! with Gilbert Pea body. I've been sorry enough for. you to keep you in food since ne left you. and this is how you re pay me." He ended with a fine bellowing flourish,, glaring her down. Nella put out a hand to Georgine. Georg-ine. who was trying to rise and leave the room; she took a brief look at her as if to gain courage, "I think you're repaid. Judge Till- sit," Nella said, "or the larrmy Is. You've put your grandchildren in here to live, almost free, and treat me as if they were doing a favor to a poor relation. You keep speaking of this as your sister s house, but it's not hers any more, nor yours. This is my husband's house, and Tm its mistress, and if you persist in making scenes in front of my guests, I'll I'll have to ask you to leave. The old man drew in his breath with a rattling gasp; the flabby hands clawed at the chair-arms, and then went up to tear at his collar. His eyes rolled up In his head; the shapeless body slumped in a heap. 'Take it easy," said Georgine quickly. She was afraid Nella herself her-self might faint "I'll get the ammonia, am-monia, I saw some in the upstairs cabinet." She glanced out the window, on tM&M&Mm: mm Dij Lenore Cjl enn wn.ultt.vici visit with Mri. Peabody. Mri. Peabody told (hem about the death of Adellno TilUlt. They decided to stay and get married mar-ried and InTeatlgate tho death of Mlis TilUit. Talking with Dr. Crane, former her way to the stairs. There was Todd, just coming up the walk. In answer to Mrs. Peabody's call, the big woman got out from behind the wheel and came up the walk. There was a flurry of medication and spilled glasses of water, and running up and down stairs; the three women hovered over the limp bag of flesh in the Victorian sitting room. "Now he's okay," said Costanza in a soprano voice that, coming from her bulk, fairly made one jump. The Judge, with one more baleful glance around him, allowed his handmaiden to support him as far as the car. Mrs. Peabody and Georgine fell into chairs and looked at each other. "That was a a nice little afternoon call," Nella quavered, almost al-most laughing. "My dear, will you forgive me for letting you in for that?" . Georgine poured out some more water and gave it to her. "It wasn't me he was hard on," she observed. "When he was on the bench, did he treat people this way?" "He never was," Nella seemed glad of the distraction. "We just got into the habit of calling him the Judge, in fun, because he was in the State Legislature for one or two terms." "Oh. That explains a lot I thought he was rather lacking in judicial calm. And just who, or what, is Costanza?" "His, uh, housekeeper," said Mrs. Peabody, glancing up Innocently Inno-cently and taking a drink of water. She s been at the farm for years, now." Georgine heard a movement in the hall, and cried out, "Todd, for goodness' sake, where have you been? We could have used you. It didn't dawn on me that you wouldn't come in. The Judge had a fit, right on our hands." Todd looked interested. McKinnon looked quickly from one woman to the other. He took his hands out of his pockets and fill f Georgine gave a loud scream. sat down. "There was a reason why I didn't know you'd need help," he said softly. "You see, I came up on the porch by the dining room. I saw the old gentleman. He seemed to be alone " 'That must have been while we were rushing around for remedies," reme-dies," Mrs. Peabody said. "Perhaps, He was sitting up straight," said Todd in an offhand manner, "and looking around him. Then he seemed to hear someone coming, and slumped down in his chair." Nella Peabody got to her feet in an angry movement "1 suppose," Todd continued musingly, "that this was the sort of attack he had, when Dr. Crane suggested an autopsy on his sister?" sis-ter?" "It's the kind he's been having for four or five years," Nella said in a choked voice. "But that one must have been different it must have been, because Johnny Crane wouldn't be fooled as as we've been, he'd know the Judge was just trying to get his own way!" Todd said nothing for a moment Then, looking out the window, he remarked soberly, "Maybe he did know." , 'Todd," Georgine said in a low voice when Nella had gone, "she does know how strong a case there is against Gilbert Otherwise would she grasp so eagerly at any other suggestion?" He shook his head thoughtfully. "May be that may be something else. Curious lot of undercurrents in this business." Take a look at the mattress hnsband of Mary Lvlen, aa well aa Helen and Soian Labare, none to Hii TUIsIt, developed little Information. Horace Till' ait expreaied belief in Gllbert'a guilt and advised tbey check on Serena. when you get the chance," she said almost inaudibly. She watched him taking the look, glancing round and going with unerring instinct to the bureau-whatnot, on one of those marble-topped shelves the hatpin lay, beside the faceted crystal crys-tal of the dresser set. As she folded the last beaded cape and banged down the lid of the trunk, she saw Todd's Interested study of the skylight sky-light and the blue-white bulb that illuminated the garret. Todd came close to her. "Every inch of it punctured," he said, his agate eyes narrowed. "Probably that hatpin has been jabbed into all the upholstery, too, only the plush doesn't retain the marks. H'rrt. Enterprising rats, these." "That means asystematlc search, doesn't it?" He nodded. "And in secret. Soon as you told me about Susie and her delusions about the light in the attic, I wondered. Someone began the search not long after Nella moved to the downstairs bedroom, knowing that either she couldn't hear or would scarcely come up three flights, with her heart condition, con-dition, to investigate. The person was careless at first, and then, after the warning about he lights, he waited until the moon on the glass alibied him." "Sounds as if it must be one of the cousins," Georgine said, troubled. trou-bled. "H'm. Perhaps." Todd looked round him again, at the harsh sprawling shadow of the dress bag that still swung gently from the last time he had brushed against it "But the cousins aren't home every night, remember. It'd be easy enough to check on their whereabouts. Could be anyone who's at all familiar with the house and knew about the side stairs that are enclosed all the way up and the unlocked lower door." "That's right," said Georgine slowly. "Nella leaves it open so the tradesmen can get in, they leave the milk and the laundry and stuff in the basement She locks her own room door, but isn't that queer, when she's so nervous about being alone?" Todd said, "I doubt that she's afraid of burglars, or of the milkman." milk-man." He took another turn about the room. "Horace and Hary Helen might seriously think that , rats make the noises. Maybe they've never heard 'em, and are just reassuring re-assuring Nella." "Oh, dear Lord," said Georgine despairingly, sitting down on one of the trunks. "To think that on the first night I convinced myself that it was rats; and I heard the stairs creak . . . But Todd, what are they after? Do you do you think it's something to do with Miss Tillsit's death?" The dinner table seemed positively posi-tively festive, set for six and graced with the presence of both the Judge's grandchildren. The conversation began with someone's innocent mention of "Judge" Tillsit "Grandfather's livid, I should imagine, about our discussing the late unpleasantness," said Mary Helen with a giggle. But he must know that everybody's been hashing hash-ing it over for four years everybody every-body except him, that is." "And me," Nella murmured. "You amaze me," Horace said, lighting a cigarette and giving her a curious look. "You really amaze me. Nobody'd ever have thought that you'd take it this way." "You've known my attitude all along," said Nella mildly, with a slight lift of her eyebrows. "Yeah, but do you mean to say it hasn't changed, now that you know the facts?" Todd had not spoken for some minutes; he sat turning a spoon over and over on the shining damask da-mask of the tablecloth. Georgine saw his deep-set eyes moving, alert and inscrutable, from one speaker to another. "Do I know all the facts?" Nella said, looking at him in smiling appeal. ap-peal. "Shall we rather say all the circumstances?" Todd replied smoothly. "I think you know about everything I do. No, there's one thing nobody seems to have known until this afternoon. Costanza told me." "Costanza?" said Mary Helen, turning her large light eyes toward him in amazement "You mean to say you got some information out of that old Mexican hag?" "We held a conversation," said Todd, faintly smiling. 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