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Show PI The Case and The Qirl As I IDEM CHANOE , Answering nn adverting adver-ting for a young man saco In service of dan-r dan-r West, ex-service man 1 from France, where captain of engineers, Ie Coollriite, writer of ment. and without be-it be-it nn to his probable raged by her, and thnt iff Introduced to her er flunre. That night, gs home, West Is star-ippearanre star-ippearanre In hla room (Oman, whom ho taken , but who escapes he-ie he-ie sure. Next morning i Writ she hnn fben ome woman, apparent Ie, who has been lm-icr. lm-icr. I'erclvul CooUdgr. cle nnd guardian, ap. disgruntled by West's in Nntnllo'e flnnce, nnd antim nlsm la mutual. n til Continued, nit probuble the satchel criminating evidence, itlon wns strong to ob-e, ob-e, n luisty glance nt Hip for this he wiih already ely reaching tho room Sexton appeared, an-iIh.iIoii. an-iIh.iIoii. lis mo lm usually occu-." occu-." West ventured curl-Id curl-Id It happen I wiih put i order from Minn Nairn Na-irn did not mention tho to rcmovo tho bng." nvo you been here, Sex-rs, Sex-rs, sir." Miss Nntnllo'n fnther ; enjoy tho plnce to ro-n ro-n very plensnnt, Hlr, onth or ho," regretfully, ;lnd of tho opportunity lug with one hnnd on lio door. "SI i) co then been Just tho mime." y?" n't exactly know. sir. seems to chnngo her never can please her. hie, mostly. Lnst night til you nil went to bed, d tho house, tho way . Hut that didn't milt dtic stopped mo on tho c mo co hack nn' lenvo nlorkod Just snld she'll herself." o told you? Tou nre her, sir; there was n n the hall, nn' sho wns in though she was goln' o first time, cither. I lit to Kof unythlng, but hut sho wants to go out line ' night. And I I ought to speak to )Olldgo about It." In't, Soxton," snld West mid likely onough only rouble. Probably sho I'll, nnd so walks In the lo no further effort to anvcrsutlon, but began oil n cigarette, Sexton through the opening, In hand, and closed the in. to dig Information out ma not a pleasant ex-tVest ex-tVest felt thnt In this ly Justllle.d, , If he hud ngerlug doubt to what ho previous night, this Iroly viinlahed In tho 'h testimony. Ills vlsl-o vlsl-o whoiuid onlered tho i the sldo d(Hr unlocked, amenot Nntnllo Cool-ngely Cool-ngely resoiidiflng her. her purpose would be, elenrly connected with icre of I'erelvnl. Very nt thnt ho nlrendy had lines of Investigation the womnn, nnd the it was like pursuing u olldge was rent enough. to keep In touch with undent that he would nlly led to a discover)' on. APTER IV to tho Indigent, id either retired to their wandering ubuut the la; nt least none were en West emerged on to t. where Miss Natalie mlldgo wnlted. ii long rhle, tho point short Muhinurgcd street item socton of the city. felt Its way cautiously :h it jostling throng or ingsters, nnd tlnnlly reh Mroet, only two i. with low, two storied, a on either side. Per-irvous Per-irvous nt the surround-tho surround-tho place sought In tho lrst block, mid Natalie ngnlnst the curb, lace?" sho naked doubt-io doubt-io rather disreputable seemK deserted, istcned the door, and right," he nnswered light wait here, West; gone a few minutes, fatnllo West won't W tho younger man lisi?ssW1pWWlH LpUfW(iiiT lffil?rr- --lMfcju2siJ'M'il&. --lMfcju2siJ'M'il&. .r. Bij Randall Parrish Copqrlqht tm bt Alfred A. Knopf, loo. nald heartily, "I shell be very comfort able; don't bother about me." Ho had a dlspct Impression thnt Coolidgo did not desire his company any further, yet this suspicion aroused no sentiment. This wns u matter with which ho wns In no way concerned, nnd the only Interest ho felt wiih strictly Impcrsonnl. Kinking eom-fortnbly eom-fortnbly back In tho seat, his guze centered nn tho mnzo oT children chil-dren ploying In the struct. Their antics amused him for somo nine, but, nt Inst, ho began wondering nt the delay de-lay of those within, and his in I ml drifted to tho peculiar conditions with which ho wns confronted. If some conspiracy win en foot ngnlnst Natalie, Na-talie, what coalit bo Its object? nnd who were directly Involved? Seemingly, Seeming-ly, I'erclval Coolidgo wns tho only person per-son who could bo directly Interested should tnlsfortuno occur to his niece; he was tho gunrdlnn of her Inheritance, Inheri-tance, and responsible for whnt remained re-mained of her father's estute. Undoubtedly Un-doubtedly he also wns the next heir at Inw. Ills Interest In tho mutter wns therefore cnslly figured out. West hnd to learn tho condition of the Steven Coolidgo estnte, nnd whether or not I'erelvnl had administered It Justly. Once satisfied upon that point, ho would know better whnt further steps to take. If Coolidgo wns cngnged In some criminal scheme, the man wnn certainly certain-ly shrewd enough to carefully cover his trail. It was no sudden temptation to which ho hnd yielded, but a deeply' laid plan, formed, perhaps, ns long ago us his brother's death, nnd now Just coming to n head. West's glnnco took In tho surroundings, surround-ings, but with no conception that they would hnvo nny direct benrlng upon tho mystery he wns endeavoring to solve. It wns u block or Irregular houses, n tenement ou the corner, a dlrty-Iookliur brick, the other houses of wood, mostly two stories In height, rather disreputable In appearance, but the ono before which the machine waited wait-ed wns n frnino cottngc, well back from the street, and rather respectublo In 41 trwat "Really I Feel Quite Unnerved." nppenrance, although It must have been somo years slnco last painted. Tho door was shut. The chimney Indicated Indi-cated no sign of smoke, thu front ynrd gave every evidence of long neglect. An urchin, chnslng a ball, plunged recklessly beneath tho iiuto, emerging with the sphere In his grimy list. West stopped him with a iiuo.stloti, ;Who lives In thine?" "I don't know, Theso folks Just come In. They ain't got no kids. Hero ye ure, Micky 1" "Walt a minute. Here's n dime for ou. You say these people Just moved InV "Yep." "When?" "Couple days, maybe. Hooligans moved out 'bout n week ago, nn' then, a while after that, these guys moved In. I ulu't seen nobody 'round, but u korter inlddlln ol womnn." Wast, having abstracted all the Information In-formation possible, made no further effort. Tho knowledgo thus obtained as to the present occupants of the cot-tugo cot-tugo did not exactly coincide with the story Coolidgo hnd told. He hnd spoken spo-ken of u widow w Ith throe children In destitute circumstances following the father's death. Tho boy nsaortjed there were no children In tho family. And they hnd Just moved In, within a very few dns, during which time the neighborhood neigh-borhood hnd only glimpsed a "middling "mid-dling old" wonmu. It was strangu nt least, adding distinctly to tho puzzle of tho whole ntTalr. West grow nervous, nerv-ous, wondering why the two should remain so'long within, out of sight nnd henrlng. Ho hnd been waiting now for three-quarters of nn hour. He opened tho door or the enr and stepped out upou the curb, almost tempted to Investigate tho causa of delay. As he stood there undecided, the two emorged from tho cottage, und descended de-scended tho steps together. Through tho oitcned door ho caught no glimpse of nny one within, yet somo unseen hand closed It quickly behind them. They enmo down the nnrrow board walk together, Perclval carefully holding hold-ing the Indy'fl nrm to prevent her tripping trip-ping over the loosened plnnks, but neither exchanging n word. Nntnllo appeared somewhat sobered by her visit, und West noticed that she hnd tied n light veil over her face, which slightly shndowed her features. It' was only as they reached the curb thnt she siwkc, her voice rather low nnd listless. "Would you mind driving the car buck?" she nsked Coolldge. "Itenlly I feel quite unnerved." "No wonder," he rctuni'ed sympathetically, sympa-thetically, "I hnve never witnessed n sudder case; the conditions were even worse than I Imagined. I should never have brought you with me, my denr." "Oh, I am not sorry I came; but It has been a lescon to me. I do not think I ever before realized whnt such poverty meunt. It wns most pitiful." "IJo not think of It nny longer, Natalie." Na-talie." Coolidgo Insisted rather gruffly. gruff-ly. "They me nil right now. I shnll telephone for a doctor us soon ns we get back, nnd nttentl to tho rent the first thing tomorrow." "I know, Uncle, but I cannot forgot so easily." Tho returning rjde seemed very brief, and, nlmost before West realized re-alized It, tho cur whirled In through the Coolidgo gate, and came to n stop nt tho door. The party separated pleasantly. Natalie disappeared some-Kvhcre some-Kvhcre within, whllo the two men strolled out to the tennis court whero tho guests were enjoying n spirited game. All met ugnlu at lunch, und then sepnrated, some to motor over to tho hike, tho others amusing themselves them-selves us Uiey suw lit. lloth Coolidgo and Nntallo vanished, while West, finding himself nlone, chose n book from the library, und, solaced by n cjgur, sought n shndy nook on the porch. The book, however, was but n mark for his thoughts, which continually revolved re-volved about the strange surroundings In which he found himself. Ho was apparently making no progress, was no nearer a solution of tho mystery con-fionllng con-fionllng him. Thus fur, at least, no direct clue had presented Itself. Numerous Nu-merous things had occurred to strengthen suspicion, und to Increase Interest In tho queer. Hut beyond this nothing. Ho liked the girl nnd wns completely enlisted In hcr'servlce. IIo disliked I'erclval, and was convinced the fellow wns planning evil. Several Incidents had nlreudy strengthened this belief; yet there was nothing positive posi-tive upon which to build; no path of adventure for him to follow. To speculate spec-ulate wns ensy enough, but real facts eluded him. Soxton appeared In the door, evidently evi-dently looking for some one. Tho man espied him thcro In the shadow of tho vinos, and enmo forward. "Miss Coolldge requests your presence, pres-ence, sir, for u few moments," he snld gravely. "Why, certainly; did she sny where, Sexton?" "In the library, sir; she Is waiting there now." "Very well. I will Join her nt once. Thnnk you, Sexton," nnd West disappeared disap-peared Into tho cool, darkened hull. CHAPTER V An Unexpected Dismissal. Tho similes had been drawn closely to exclude the Min, and. for a moment after he llrst crossed the threshold of the library, West was irtiiihlo to distinguish dis-tinguish nny occupant. He heard Sexton Sex-ton silently closo the )jor behind him, but It was not until sho moved isllghtly that he was able to perceive her presence pres-ence directly across from where he stood. Her voice broke the silence. "You will find u seat next to the window, Captain." she said quietly. "It wns very good or you to come." "The pleasure was mine," he replied. re-plied. "You wlslnyl to spenk wl" mk, the servant said" "Yes." She leaned bnek agnhlst the couch on which Mie rested, with face now clearly revealed, one hand nervously nerv-ously twirling n fan. "This Is a very stnmge situation In which we find ourselves, t'nptuln West." "I have felt so." he admitted, surprised sur-prised ut this beginning. "Yet I must confess, I utu now becoming quite reconciled." She Hit up suddenly, with eyes iearchlng his face. "Whnt do you mean by that?" "Perhaps I ought not to say." he nnswered nn-swered boldly. "Yet clreumstnnces seemingly Justify frankness between us. I menu that I feel fnr more deefi-ly deefi-ly Interested hi thu flnnl outcome or this nffalr today tluin I did yesterday It menus more to me." "Indeed 1 Why?" "Largely, 1 Imnglne. because I nm privileged to know you much better. That naturally makes a difference." "Does It indeed? You Imply then nn Increased Interest In mself as nn In-dlildunl In-dlildunl brings with It n greater desire de-sire to serve me?" "Assuredly, yen." "Then you render mv tusk doubly hnrd," she said soberly, yet with uerinln ImrdueHH In the tone. "I ,mi1 not suspected nny personal Hide wtiot ever. You were H total "traincer to me. Cnpta'n West, and 1 Mnpi.iwij you J BBVMaSaKSHlaaiBVdHKESWMSiiEjRn In this matter merely In a business way, as as a detective. Surely you understand this elenrly?" "In a mensure thnt Is quite true," feeling tho shurp sting of her words. "Yet the comparison Is hardly fair, Is It? I am not a detective In the sense with which you employ the term. You know I wns not serving you for pay." "Did I?" "I should hope you did." his voice hardening slightly. "Hut for whnt other end did you volunteer your services?" "Perhaps that Is not so easily explained. ex-plained. It was a spirit of adventure which first led me to answer your advertisement, ad-vertisement, I presume. At least, I can give It no other name. Then, when we met, you nppeuled to mo personnl-ly; personnl-ly; I felt n desire to further our acquaintance ac-quaintance nnd well, your story aroused my Interest. "Is that all?" "It might hnvo been hnd not you chosen methods of procedure which led me to other thoughts." She Inughed. "Oh, I seel All this hns happened because I Introduced you to tho others us my llnnce. Why, that Is positively funny. Didn't you know thnt was only n pnrt of tho game being played?" "Yes," ho snld, Ignoring the humor of It, nnd feeling oddly sober, "I understood, un-derstood, und wns playing, the snmo as you. Only both of us, I think, forget for-get nn Important fact." "What, plea.so?" "Thnt we were young, socially on o level, and that you were nn exceedingly exceed-ingly charming young womnn." Sho Inughed again, yet this time with more restrnlnt. "That Is qulto ridiculous, Captain West. Surely, you are not nctually making lovo to me?" "No, I nm not. I am merely facing tho sltuntlon very frankly. It would be useless for mo to claim luck of Interest In-terest In you. From our very first meeting you have appealed to me strougly more so thnn any other woman wo-man of my acquaintance. I confess I cure for you us a woman." "Itenlly you nre quite fluttering. I never dreamed I possessed such innr-voIoub innr-voIoub powers." She remnlned silent n moment, her eyes shuded by their long lushes; then uplifted them again to his fnce. "This makes It ull tho wore necessary that I now speak plainly," plain-ly," sho went on nt length, "Thnt I should expluln to you It hns all been n mistake. Thnt wns why I nsked you to come here now." "All a mistake l Not tho trouble you were In, surely?" "Yes. I must have dreamed most of It. I think. I hnvo Just had a long, confidential talk with Perclval Coolldge, Cool-ldge, and wo understood ouch other IierTcctly. Everything has been ex-plnlned. ex-plnlned. So there Is no necessity for our pretending nny longer." West rose to his feet, comprehending comprehend-ing her full mennlng, yet unwilling to yield his position without further explanation. ex-planation. "Your words nre certninly plidu enough," he said slowly, "yet I trust I muy be pardoned If I ask a question or so. Do you mean the mystery Is nlrendy solved without my further nsslstnnce?" "I am convinced Jhcro was no mystery; mys-tery; that It was 'only imagination, Captain West. My calling you was a mistake." "There Is no one Impersonating you?" "No." "Tho checks at the bank; tho strange person using your name; all these were myths?" She laughed. "Of course. I really believed nil I said to joti at the time, but everything bus been explained since, and I real-Izo real-Izo how very t'oollsh I have Deen." "You sent for me, then, merely to sny I wns dismissed?" "Yes." "And you told Coolldge, or course, how I came to be here?" "Yes." "And tho others? What will they think?" "Why, thnt can mnko no difference. Let them suppose wd had a quarrel, nnd that our engagement Is broken," und she laughed ugoln, evidently vastly vast-ly nmused nt the idea. "nut you, personnlly?" ho Insisted. She sobered Instantly, also rising, nnd facing him. "Captain West, let us be sciwlblo. I Invited you here ror u certain purpose. pur-pose. You wero employed as much as any or my other servants. Is that a sullhient answer?" "It certulnly Is. I win ,crmrt ttt once." "Thunk you. The limousine will bo at the door. You will return to the dub, I presumo?" "Temporarily, until other arrangements arrange-ments are made." IIo bowed nnd lett her stnndlng there In the shadows, tho expression of her fnce wiled, but thcro seemed no resrionse, no softening In the rigid attitude of her figure, sho did not cure; was only Interested In his Immediate Im-mediate departure. The change hnd occurred with such abruptness, Wen was nimble as yet to realize Its fuU significance, but, with no attempt to comlmt her decision, left the Mom closing I he door hmlng him. "Then he knew who the dead man was Perclval Coolldse." to ds ou.NT:Miiico,i " |
