Show a 13 5 OBER aj 4 6 BY 5 ev 1 som T SYNOPSIS ala mla neg Bp p lnater n r and guard lun 1 of artrude a ami n 1 11 y li rs ri tit fit aall t 11 nu 11 tiroui s I 1 tile ilia servi servanda ser vanla int dearte M As aa WM 3 inna n bokil lo ke kil 1 l u up p or ilia I 1 night I 1 I 1 alie a 1 e wim W 1 1 lin r Is d u by y a d bark a rk figure r on j n thil tha eranda sho aai gilds I 1 a t r night wilt 1 I was wa ched with will I 1 II siimes Imes in alio morning all s annen cunil a 11 shiang I 1 nit culy autt button n in a clothes otlien Cl 0 it jack tile the hliouas wall awak enoil ened by a 11 v r shot allot A t trai range iKO plan man we wail fal founie rh shot it to lentil ileath in til the e hall it proved to tie be th air bodil body of arnolie 1 d ekr arni n I 1 s blinker bank e I 1 v t the h cn country try ho housel e inns found foun 1011 oy a ri ro tolver wolver on tile the lawn llo ire and jack bally hal had 1 tin unit link aik oik 1 button t r 1 j D dr jf u annl I 1 wr if tha coroner coro rr r nir r arrived pearld ni that bit blip was waa 1 0 o jk nill v w with ft v chont hohag rha I 1 liall a n fit in 11 1 1 lilliarn lilli it arl I 1 buoni ruoni 0 u few eft III nil 1 I ill i murder Jande soll tom told M ala mla I 1 innes ali lat it 11 dhe lie wn was hlll ruc evidence iron hlyn hr lm prisoner art an intruder In in n 1 vin ahe ln l n r em eadd ampil pil I 1 blohn a laundra rhu i auti rt U bev aped that the ih v was IH a D woman gertruda gerirude was tl for or th e intrude loft a print ot of a bira bare foot gertrud re ri tu tut t home with iler light ackle d A negro found cunil th alir half it f what provo bromil I to lg be jack lealh hillry ys a cuff bilt bileton ton ilat y su ared no llo said bald lie he rind nalley hail had lett left bic auw thail a telegram gertrude get a rr tha haft bile he luid had given ully an un rv olier raring to give him ain iral veys lodd weapon CHAPT CHAPTER E R IX continued they stared at each other across the big library table with young eyes all nt at once hard bird suspicious auspicious and then gertrude held out both ha handa ads to him appealingly we ve must not she salil said brokenly just now with so much nt at stake it la 19 shameful I 1 know you me are as igi borant as 03 I 1 am make mo me believe it li alsey soothed her as best he could and the hi breach each seemed healed but long after I 1 wont went to bed he sat downstairs tit in the living room alone and I 1 knew ho he was going over the cise case as he had learned it bome ono things were ere clear to him that were dark to tile me lie he know knew and gertrude too why jack bailey and lie he had gone away that night us oa they did ile he knew where the they hai had been for the last 48 hours and why jack dalley balley lind had not returned v with etli him film it seemed to me that without fuller confidence from both the children abey are always children to me mei I 1 should never bo be able to learn karn anything As aa L I 1 was finally getting ready for bed bd upstairs and sand knocked at my door when whan I 1 had bad got into a negligees negligee I used to say wrapper before gertrude Gei trude came back front bioni school 1 I let him bim in lie he stood in the doorway a moment and then he went vent into agonies at 0 silent lint mirth rth I 1 sit sat down on tho the sido of the bed and waited in severe for him to stop but tit ile he mily seemed to grow worse when he be had recovered lie he took me ine by tile the elbow and pulled me ine in front of 0 the mirror how to be beautiful 1 lie he quoted advice to maids and matroni mat rons by beatrice and then I 1 saw myself I 1 had neglected to remove my wrinkle eradicators and I 1 presume my appearance was odd I 1 believe that it Is a woman B duty to care for her looks but it la Is much like telling a ri necessary falsehood one must not be found out by the time I 1 got them ott oft was war serious again and I 1 listened to hta his story aunt ray he began extinguish ing his cigarette on the back of ray my ivory hairbrush hair bresli 1 I would give ghe a lot i to tell you the whole thing hut but i 1 cant for or a day or so anyhow tint but ono one thing I 1 might have told you sou it long time a ago it you had known it you would not have suspected me for a moment ot of of having anything to do with the attack on arnold armstrong what I 1 might do to a fellow like that if thero there was enough provocation and I 1 had a gurt gun in my hand under ordinary circumstances bilut I 1 care a great deal about louise armstrong aunt lay I 1 hope to marry her some dayi day la Is it t likely would kill hill her brott brother ker nut but the whole thins thing is absurd I 1 argued and besides gertrudes avor statement that you left before arnold Arni armstrong strong came would clear oil nt at once got up anil and began lopace to pace lie and the he air of 0 cheerfulness dr dropped like it mask site she cant swear it lie he said finally gertrudes story was true at as far as it vent ment but she tell everything arnold armstrong cague here at aso canle caine into the bill billiard hard room and left in n five ill L ful ile he came to bring something li alsey I 1 cried you yott must tell tile me the whole truth bilile T see a way any for you to escape you block it yc eulth this wall vail of mystery what did he bring A for bailey hn he sidd said it 11 camo by special ironi from town and was I talley had Ot arteAl for hero here and ther tiles messec seu ger had gont eow back to the tha city the steward gave it to arnold who had beau drinking all day and sloop sleep and was going for a stroll in the alio direction of and he brought it yes teg ii 1 I can tell you M ni so orlas as certain things are made public it 11 I 1 la only a dafter ir allX of oe dayis now mow gloomily k api alid Gertru gertrudes ties story of a tle tt 1 l aloot grutle rr ude lie half whispered vilo I 1 n little girl aunt ray iq I 1 1 N if 1 they stared at kach each other across the big library table there was v as no such message no doubt your detective detec tha already knows that and discredits nil all gertrude told him and when she went back it was to get the telegram tele giam probably Pio bably said slowly when you get to thinking about it aunt ray it looks bad for all three ot of us it and yet I 1 will talce take my oath none of us its even inadvertently killed that poor devil I 1 looked at tile the closed door into gerturdes Gerl Ger lurdes dressing room and lowered my voice I 1 iha same horrible thought keeps recurring to me I 1 whispered halsey gertrude probably had your our revolver she must have examined it anyhow that night after you sou and jack had gone what it that aln came back and slie she and she I 1 finish stood looking at tile me with shut lips she might have heard beard him fumbling b at the door lie he had bad no key the police say and thinking it was you or jack she admitted him when she saw said tier her mistake she ran up the ho stairs a step or two anti and turning tu r ning like an animal at bay ba she fired halsey had his hand over my lips before I 1 finished and in that position w we stared each at the other our stricken glances crossing the revolver volver le my revolver thrown into the tulip bedl bed he muttered to himself thrown perhaps from an upper window you say it was burled buried deep her prostration ever sin since ler aunt ray you dont think it was gertrude who fell ell down the clothes chute J could only nod my head had in a hopeless affirmative CHAPTER X the traders bank the morning after Halsey Hal 8 return was tuesday arnold armstrong had been found dead at the foot of the circular staircase at three on sunday morning the funeral services were to be held on tuesday and the interment of the body was waa to be deferred until the Arni armstrongs strongs arrived from california no one I 1 thi think was very sorry was waa dead but the manner of ills his death aroused some sympathy and tin an enormous amount of curiosity mrs ogden ritz fitzhugh hugh a cousin took charse charge arrangements and everything I 1 believe was us as quiet as possible I 1 gave thomas johnson bohnson loh anti and mrs aira watson permission to go into town to pay their last respects to tile the dead man main but for some reason they did not care to go Il alsey spent part f tho the day with mr jamieson Jam leson but he said nothing 0 f what happened ile ila looked grave aull abir anxious and lie ho had a long conversation with gertrude late in the thearter after noon tuesday evening found us its quiet with the quiet that an explosion gertrude gerdrude and were both gloomy and distraught and na as laddy had already discovered iliac rome of tile the china was broken it la Is impossible to have any secrets ti from otil nil old serva servant i nt 1 I was not flot in a pleasant humor myself warner brought up ill tile afternoon mall mail and the evening pape rai seven I 1 was curious to know what the papers said of the murder we had turned away at least a dozen rv ve portera porters out I 1 read over oner he head lino that rau ran half bait halfway way across tile the top of ithe h gazette dazette twice before I 1 comprehended it halsey abuid opeil the chronicle and was staring tit at it lix edly the Trat traders bank closes its ita doors was what I 1 read and then I 1 put down the paper and across the table did you know of 0 this I 1 asked Il halsey alsey 1 I expected it hut but not so soon he replied I 1 anil and you to gertrude Gei trude jack told us something thing gertrude said faintly oh II 11 alsey what ft hat can lie be do now BOW jackl I 1 said bald scornfully your jacks flight Is easy enough to explain now and ana you helped him both of you to get awall away you got get that from your mother it an limes dines trait do you know that every dollar you have both of 0 you la Is in that bank gertrude trude tried tiled to but halsey stopped her that all gertrude he said quietly jack Is under arrest under arr arrest estl gertrude screamed and tore the paper out ot of his hand i she glanced at the heading then sho she crumpled the newspaper into a ball and lung filing it to the floor willie while halsey looking stricken and white was trying to 0 o smooth it out and read it gertrude had dropped her head on th the table and was sobbing stormily storm lly I 1 have the clipping somewhere but just now noi I 1 can remember only the essentials senti als on the afternoon before monday w while bile the traders bank was in the rush of closing hour between two and three mr air jacob president put i IL sent two telegrams of 0 the pearl brewing company came into the bank to lift a lonn loan As aa se carity for the loan he had deposited some international steamship compary be in total value mr went to the loan c lerk clerk rind after certain formalities had been gone through the loan clerk went to the vault mr who was it large and genial german waited for a time whistling under lila its breath tho the loan clerk cleric did not mot come back after an interval mr lur saw caw the loan clerk emerge from tho the vault and KO go to the assistant cashier the two went hurriedly to the vault A lapse of another ten minutes and the assist nt cashler cit shier came out find and appi approached preached pro cached ached mr lie ile was noticeably tice ably white and trembling mr air tsuan was waa told that throng ti an oversight the bonds hail had heen been nils inis danced liln ced find was asked to return the following morning when every everything thin lie be anade all right mr air however was a business man and tie he did not like tho the appearance appen ranie of things lie ile left led the bank apparently sati satisfied and SO 31 rai minutes tie lie hau had called up three different men ibers of 0 the trad era oral board of directors at there was waft aa hastily convened board meeting with some stormy scenes and late in file lie afternoon a national liante hank exam iner was in possession of 0 the books the bank had not opened for business tuesday at 12 1230 30 the saturday before as soon as the business ot 0 the day was closed sir air john halley balley the cashier ot of the defunct bank hail had taken ills hat and departed during the afternoon he had called up sir air aronson a member of 0 the board and said he was III and might not be at the bank for a day or two As aa bat bailey ley w m as highly highley thought of mr aronson merely ax expressed pr ased a i regret egret from that time uti un ill monday night when mr air dalley bailey had surrendered to the police little was known of tits his movements tents some time after one on saturday he had entered the western union office at cherry and white streets and had sent ent two telegrams ile ho was at the greenwood country club on oil saturday night and appeared unlike himself it was reported that he would be released under enormous bond some time that day tuesday the article closed by saying buying that while the officers officer of the bink bank refused to talk alk until the examiner had finished his work etwas it was known that securities aggregating a million and a quarter were missing then there was a diatribe on the possibility of such an occurrence on tile the folly of a one man bank and of a board of dir directors actors tuat that met only to lunch together and to listen to a brief report from the cashier er anti and on the poor policy of 0 a government ern anent that arranges a three or four day examination twice a year the mystery it insinuated had not been cleared by the arrest of the cashier before now minor officials had been used ilse d to cloak the misdeeds of men higher up inseparable as the tha words speculation and peculation have grown to be john bailey flallen was not known to be in the stock market ills his only words after his surrender had been send for mr air armstrong at otice the telegraph message which had finally reached the president of the tha traders bank in an interior town to NY n in california had been responded to by a telegram from dr walker the young physician who was traveling trailing with the armstrong family saying that paul armstrong was ft as very ill and unable to travel I 1 that was liow how things stood that tuesday evening the traders bank banic had suspended suspend pd payment and jo john hn dalley dailey was under arrest charged with wrecking it paul armstrong lay very ill in california and his only son had been murdered two days before I 1 sat eat dazed and bewildered tho the childrens money was gone that was bad enough though I 1 had plenty if they would let me share hut but gertrudes grief was beyond any power of mine to comfort the man she had chosen stood accused of a colossal embezzlement and even worse for in the instant that I 1 sat there I 1 seemed to see the alie coils closing around john dailey bailey as the of 0 arnold armstrong gertrude lifted her head at last and stared across the table at a halsey why did lie he do it she walled you stop him halaby it was suicidal to go back halsey wad wa looking steadily through the windows of the breakfast room but it was evident ho he saw nothing it t was ohp only thing to do trude he be said at last aunt ray when I 1 tot found nd jack at the greenwood club last saturday Satu iday night lie he was vas frantic I 1 cannot talk until jack tells mel may but he is absolutely innocent or all this believe me I 1 thought trudo trude and I 1 thought I 1 we were helping him but it was the wrong way ile iio came cama back that the act afan of an innocent man then why did he leave at all I 1 asked unconvinced what innocent man would run away from here at three in the morning it look rather as though lie he thought it impossible to escape rose angrily you yon are not even justl she flamed fla ined you yon dont know anything about it and you condemn him I 1 1 I know that we have have all lost a great teal deal of money I 1 said 1 I shall believe sir mr bailey innocent the moment he la |