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Show IASJT7 y Marry Irvinq Yosonde of the AtfhorojT lltuslr?lon V a confident that be would at once admit bl possession of It and offer some explanation that would Immediately satisfy everybody. LeDuc was looking steadily at him, apparently as pus-zle- d by bis answer as waa I. To all outward appearances there wee something hidden benesth tbe skin here, end I determined to make a quick thrust at the heart of the matter, bleeding him of hie secret for his own Greene good. SYNOPSIS. ?enthth.k,eyvlf th h0u,e b8nc .preml8ei were entered 1M. lullldar.Wund and lnn.lt.1. In d00r M th back Kx"m. hi mud end ffo.ono mlu-- f ff0? th ,D8,de. Will you PTlii of tho etory la taken up be t MUgh t0 ,ot m8 b8ve yours Lrh!. n'pfuw Tom. Uvln In th. aami for LieVre other relatlvea; reck lean Uruca SITday and rrotty Clara Wlnton. Itruca. Lv broker,ti haa bean trying to "It'a queer about that kev ran rough a deal and 'V(S to putfinancial i ruin, iia hag Kve hlnuelf from tootled to hli mlaarly uncle and to others carivSt th ,ad llaBUlr 8Uayi Tom my purse, but when I loan but haa been refuged. e an earched for It a few moments EU for WilliamwithLomu's, a detective agency, ago on rrttnd connected U wu not there. etory Tom ravarta to Ida FoV ItfluaJntanca with a lira. Dace, a wealthy th 1 cannot lmaBne Mow whoee bualnaaa agent ia Richard where I could have misplaced It, for boodler and political bona, and la deeply f bBT een V0ry careful to r'i i with jealoua of Mackay Bruce Mrs. iMca. Halllday n tova t ,n that one place. 1 alwaya aa an adventureaa. rna him to ahun her and Mackay togeth. know 1 have not lost It, but It simply om ecea Mra la Just ti afterwarda meeta the woman at 88 8trange aa it can be." She aqulrm-e- a horae race, and, happening to mention like a worried echoolglrl. Hriire had a tip on the winner, aha fra him $M0 to place on the race we go hack a little. When Suppose looea her money. . wrong and aha Ixtt Tom Inveete In stocks. Ha makea do you remember of having It last? money, and returna the loat S00 to he pursued. Her forehead wrinkled ,l5 Pace. It la at thla Juncture that the i'7ft of tha MO.OOO from old Abner llalll-j- y with thought. occura "Three, or four daya ago when 1 came over here. 1 have not had ocIX. CHAPTER (Continued.) casion to think of It since until Tom called me up a few moments ago. 1 all know ia about you Tou lay that am as worried about It as I can he, t phase of the matter. Very good, but 1 am certain that 1 have not lost ut what elae do you know?" Driven It" irly into a corner I answered 1 saw 'LeDuc'a gaze run over the form of the girl and then graceful 1 know be had a key to the house, settle upon her face with an expres bile I was sitting with him at the alon waa that doubt one of beyond he tervlew 1 have Just mentioned unequivocal approval; That Clare, un-e- 'i of at the thought w hose heart waa fine angry as open to the world refusal to assist him, and struck as Is the heart of a flower to the with some e table several times light of the sun, could harbor any ill metallic object which he had secret as dark as this waa preposterThe ous to one who htly clenched In his band. knew her. I had never miliar appearance of the object met a girl with sounder morals or attracted my attention and better Instincts, and her character was managed to see enough of It to know of spun gold. And even though she I loved Bruce and at It was a key to this place. had alwaya defended ,i aomewbat surprised, not know hla frailties, I did not believe that ; bow he bad come into possession she would have shielded him had she It; but thinking it was hla own believed him guilty of as unnatural a slneis I did not mention it to him crime as this, matter of history I do hla then condition of mind. though It Is that one can never tell it believe that he knew that 1 had what heights or depths a woman will tlced it, or waa even aware that be achieve to aave the man who carries 1 exhibited it In his excitement, her heart Quietly 1 asked her when ir Immediately after his outburst be she had seen Bruce .last, and knowing nut it back into hia overcoat pock-- I her mannerisms as 'I did became think that I have now without aware Jhat my question had umtlon told you' all that I know put her on the rack, for a faint worda and actions shadow flitted cloudlike across her :ceralng hla bin the last few days. He can face. Yet she answered me with her explain hla possessorshlp accustomed frankness. Jr key as well as hla whereabouts before yesterday and 1 do entire satisfaction, not"Day rains it Ilight toIt your understand It either. He was to o will not even be neces-t- see me hope yesterday evening, but he hurt bis pride by questioning neltber came nor sent word as to why la." he broke the engagement It is not Uui Duc leaned forward with deep in-i- t like blm to do such a thing, and la hla face. Then If there are while I suppose there Is some good tour keys to the front door known reason back of It, 1 do not know In la existence, and as your uncle what It is. Anyway, I am worried." tti Own as well as thi one which She dropped her eyes and tapped gentformerly possessed, and as Mrs. ly on tbe floor with her toe. "I wish still has hers, the only one you would try and get him on the log to be accounted for should wire, Tom, and find out if he Is all la the possession of your other right. That U all I care to know at 'Hi, Hiss Wlnton. If she still retains 1 assented and started for present then the one Bruce bad must the telephone, but had made but a teceisity be a duplicate, and a or two before I heard first his Aate could not have been made step familiar ring at the door and a mobout tbe maker having for a time ment later his equally familiar voice one of the originals. That phase from the hall below. Then up the 'be matter we will take up, If nec-'7- . stairs he came and at the first footwhen we come to it, but what fall I Usually he ut to know now la regarding tbe mountedhalted, listening. fashion tbe after something fluls. And to ascertain that we of a scurrying cat In a series of light tbow whether Miss Wlnton haa leapR, but now bis feet pounded the keepershlp of hers. I must boards with heavy uncertainty. 1 kr at once." opened the door before him, but at the baps It would be well for me first sight of his face 1 stepped back. her up over the wire and ask He advanced to the doorway, fal"Un-11- 1 come here," I suggested. tered there with one hand braced be glad to see her, and I the jamb and the crimson against be will dance with anxiety to he saw Clare hen she bears about this." He flushing his face as us. His eyes were as red-shamongst hla acquleecense, and going to as a bloodhound's, and the band klrphone I briefly put her In pos-tothat hung by his side was aspen. The of the news with the request unmistakable marks of an evil night iba come to In ua immediately. were stamped about his mouth and ttcltement and eagerness she W the ear Instrument Instead of his usually clear face looked puttylsh and mottled. I heard Clare gasp as ctbg It upon the hood and I arose and slowly approached him bear her as she rushed about she with unbelieving eyes. He stepped 'too calling upon her mother for bt and glovea. Fifteen minutes aside as though to avoid her, his floor. b was ringing at the front glance falling to the "I have heard about It It Is In the UDuc shot me a look full of wance. papers. Tell me the particulars. he From fou aay that she and Bruce said with a hoarse intonation. I pitied him heart of my bottom the Wged, or something to that ef-as I gently pulled the girl back to her Inquired, referring to a seat and answered him In matter of I had dropped a few mo--t before. I nodded. fact tones. Bnjc Intimated to me. I knew There Is nothing to tell at present wgr that the aafe was burglarized1 except desperately fond of each stolen. n he told me that had he not last night and the $40,000 and found downtown Ped out he the night spent would have married and unconscious rat. she does not seem Unde Abner bound I returned home this morning. her key with her this when jnorn-Is all right answer. Down stairs He was not much hurt and Mr. MIDuc, who has Tebbets opening the now This is Abner to Uncle by n,oment latf with a pat- been engaged I think matter. the out and a and ferret hos. upon rustle of 8klrt Clare try Is the whole thing in a tut shell, y U8, er eye were that d ns If In a half daze, his gaze he 80emed nlmoat ready He stood over us. im c rom oppressed excitement, rambling mumbled at length. Word were about Uncle Any clues?" he bow-lnr. , . reply, merely no spoken ,0 ,R w,lether he was now I made elf detective. the of Ut f direction In the Rner I assured her ha and ,hen Introduced Le-i- Atid nt the signal UDuc immediately ran.., assumed vocal command. .nR ,llftt 8ie 8eat herself no learned as h Us bofore going Into "The only thing we have It. G. 'thor of be to Rny Shn dropped Upon yet which seems pBrtbply :4gn,TOI!l Miss c.mlr fldgetlngand nerv- lar Interest Is that Len All the mmedlately all court- - has mysteriously disappeared. ed and for accounted ,le h,s clar- othera ha vo been locatehers.Shela to ntoir'h yo".but R nonient. we are anxious explanation, and aPologlzed. his faint unable to offer any ua w to you as one h turn we therefore ng,nie breaklng Into an the In company 1 Rm frequently in her Investigating in offer a suggestion. von nmy u ,hIn ? lnlere8t8 of your un-o- r P0 of recovering Ur. have ,h 8 oney, I am going 1,ne and !mne , hla head decisively as one of the our i y, wll, ?at you. IUUO. nd to Blv nie yowr wiLU 'nc 1 ,bo moment froa0nt ievntift mlwrly millionaire, ,.d.' iaaoi.SV VS dr old-tim- I mr lee , des-fairl- at IGH or NG Where were you last night, Bruce?" asked quietly. The pallor of his cheeks took on the unhealthy hue of wet ashee and he stood mute with an unpleasant narrowing of his eyes. For a long minute the silence was unbroken, LeDuc scanning him Impatiently and Clarn, her pupils expanded, leaning far forward In her Intentness. Then he shitted sullenly upon his feet "1 have no reply to make to that question at present." 1 signaled to LeDuc, who Instantly caught the cue. "But perhaps If the young lady would pardon he murmured ' with a courteous bow to Clare. She arose upon the Instant, and glancing neither to right nor left passed Into my uncles apartments, while Bruce glooming after her with tightened lips moved no muscle. As the door closed behind her 1 made'an-othe- r effort In his behalf. : 1 wish you would be reasonable In this matter, Bruce. You ought to know that you can trust us Implicitly when 1 give you my word as I now do. If you have any reason any man's reason to think that your whereabouts last night If known to Clare would distress her, Mr. LeDuc and 1 will bind ourselves upon our honor to keep your communication confidential. Later on you make such explanation to her as yon may desire, hut In view of certain statements which you made to me It is necessary that our mutual friend here should know where you spent the night. Will you tell us? A pale glow of passion, phosphorescent like, appeared deep behind his eyes and he answered me doggedly, almost defiantly. "No. It is a matter which at present concerns only myself. Nor do I understand your insinuations when you say It Is for my own' good that I make confidants of you. What do you mean by such attempted intimidation? Ignoring the gathering storm, I answered him in a calm tone: "Bruce, I trust you implicitly and tell you now that It would take nothing less than a bombshell of absolute proof to shatter that belief. That being the case, when I assure you that I have reason to believe that It Is for your own good to do so, I tblnk you might bonor me with your confidence. Along that same line I am going to ask you another question. Do you oh Ject to showing us the contents of your pockets everything? He turned a dull red, seemed about to explode with the beat of bis passion, and then growing suddenly cold bowed frigidly and began laying before us tbe con tents of his clothes. It was tbe us ual miscellaneous assortment of a man's personal carryings, and when he bad finished a glance told us that the object for which we were searching was not among them. The pockets of your overcoat, please, purred LeDuc. With mocking deliberation Bruce began turning tbe folds and crevices of that garment inside out. Nothing of Interest was exposed to us, and when be bad finished we sat eyeing each other with silent lips. I broke tbe hush. Bruce, you bad a key to the bouse You pounded upon the yesterday. table with It as we sat together downtown and then put it back in your side overcoat pocket I noticed it distinctly. Now Clare's key has disappeared and It Is Impossible for us to overlook the coincidence. Where did you get the one you bad and 1 whim you do not now show us? Wo have a right to know, and for your own good you should tell, bearing In mind that wo ore all your friends and believe In you beyond telling." Hie eye narrowed. "You mean to say that I bad a key to this house yesterday?" he returned with alow distinctness. I bowed. For a moment he stood looking at me with an expression I had never seen him wear before creeping over his feature. Then he turned away abruptly. "I make no reply beyond saying that 'you are a very badly mistaken Individual. Neither do I understand what you mean by all these intimations, and furthermore I am Indifferent. I have nothing more to say. You may both present the devil with my compliments for all 1 care." Pausing not at all, he went thumping down tbe stairs, while I sat staring at the detective, who in turn sat smiling queerly back at me. . . us" CHAPTER X. The expression on my companion's face remained unchanged as the.sound of my cousin's footsteps was cut off by tbe bang of the closing door. The smile seemed to have grown Into bis features, so unaltered did It remain, and tiring of Ita monotony I arose and without apology passed Into the next apartment. Clare was sitting beside the bed of Uncle Abner, stroking bne of his gorilla-likhands as he rolled hla head from side to side with weak whisperings. Most of the lines which now harrowed his fare were unfamiliar to me.' Heretofore he had always appeared as a fairly man of nearly forescore, but now bis face was as wrinkled as ones palm. He shot a sidewise glance full of apprehension as I entered, but see lng it was only I resumed his muttering. Clare's face was unwontedly serious. Her lips were tight fitting and thinned by compression; tbe laugh had entirely deserted her eyes, and altogether she was the picture of one who suffers uncomplainingly. Of course It took no wizardry to guess the cause of her unhappiness. Bruce, to whom she was engaged, and to whom she therefore must be devoted, had broken bis faith with her without explanation or apology; and If that had not been enough In Itself, bis appearance had been sufficient to shock any one who had pride In blm. I knew Clare as I knew the alphabet There never was a woman more generous, nor one who once having decided to give gave more freely. Therefore I knew that having bestowed her heart upon Bruce she had done so without stint or reservation. Her nature lay close to tbe surface, and what might have been a superficial wound to an other would hurt her to the core of her being. Sympathizing deeply with her I approached her from behind and took her cheeks In my palms. "It Is bound to come out all right, Clare,' I half whiskered. , She freed her face by a slight forward movement and Uncle Abner, closing his eyes wearily, lay for tbe moment Inert on the pillow. They seemed to be Ignortng me In their silence, and unable to think of anything to do or say which might relieve the situation, I turned away and left them to themselves. LeDuc had gotten upon his feet in my absence, and hat In hand, appeared to be waiting for me to go with him. The whole atmosphere of tbe place was offensive to me, and as I led him down the and out Into the open I filled my lungs to tbe uttermost, as a convict might who breathes the pure air of freedom after long confinement In a fetid, cell. It was quite a while before either of us saw fit to speak. At tbe end of the block be threw bis cigar Into the street The police you did not tell them about seeing your cousin have tbe key yesterday T' e o DE , - g n ir n"r y attention to local- - "Its Queer About that Key; I Can't Find It" "Bruce, You Had a Key he said half Interrogatively, half assertively. I told him I had not Ills next question was, Why? "Because of several reasons. First of all, they did not ask me; second, because I have no Idea that Bruce Is guilty In this Vnatter; and third, because 1 did not care, under the circumstances to put bis reputation In tbclr hands. Also, I assumed that he would Immediately acknowledge his possession of It and give an adequate explanation. You will readily understand that I did not want the newspapers to come out with a sensational story, and I, therefore, reserved that bit of Information for my own Investigation. You may be sure, however, that 1 had Intended to mention It to him privately when we met again, and only volunteered the Information to you because I knew you would work up to It eventually and corkscrew It out of me. Furthermore, I know 1 can rely upon you to suppress details, which although as yet unexplained, In all probability have no real bearing on the Issues. His reply came without hesitation. Tom, you have known me for years and you know that even as a boy I always played fair. Now, I have no more use for a professional criminal than I have for a mad dog or a venomous serpent. They have shot me, stabbed me and laid In ambush to assassinate me, and when I tblnk of them I am Imbued with a great and righteous wrath. But when I come across a young fellow of good Instincts who has fallen because of a reckless step, I would a whole lot rather give him a boost than a kick. I want you to get me right on that statement. As I signified my comprehension. he himself said, LeDuc had always been a fair, even a generous, fighter, and his last assertion was wholly In accord with my understanding of tbe man. Glancing about to make sure that we were safely beyond earshot of any possible listener I broached a matter about which I had been thinking for some little time. "Billy, there Is another thing which the police did not bring out and which I did not volunteer, but which you ought to know. My excuses for not having stated It before are practically the same as those I gave In Bruce's case, namely, because I do not believe It has anything to do with tbe crime and because I wish to shield a certain Individual from annoyance and publicity. Under the same understanding that you are to consider It as a privileged cwnmunlratlon 1 will tell It to you. It Is this: There is one more person, at least, who knew that Uncle Abner occasionally had considerable sums of money on hand, and to whom I Imparted in a conversation the circumcasual stance of this particular amount being In the house. I had a little visit with her yesterday on my way downtown after my quarrel with my uncle. In It I told her of Bruces mlsfortune. Also, I once left my keys at her house through an oversight and they And remained there several days. while I should bitterly resent even the Intimation that she was a conscious party to the crime, It is never-th-e less a crevice through which the Information may have leaked. I suppose you would like to hear me out on this line." He Bltpped his arm through mine, drawing me closer to him. "By all means. It may prove decidedly Interesting. My promise goes to this angle of the rase as well as all others. Shoot ahead. "Then 1 do not mind telling you that I am In the habit of railing upon a lady who Is well, we will call her an exceedingly good friend of mine. I care a great deal for her, respect her thoroughly and believe sho Is fond of me. I have incidentally told her about Uncle Abner and his strange ways, and one evening left my keys In ber apartments after having opened to the House Yesterday. a bottle of wine with a corkscrew which I kept attached to my key ring. It was several days later that I called her attention to my oversight and received them bark from ber. While I trust her Implicitly, yet she has a yellow maid who Is Inscrutable to me ac(f who always seems to be hovering within earshot. To my mind It Is not Impossible that this maid waa In possession of the keys while they were on those premises in fact, her mistress so intlnjated when she returned them to me. That tbe maid through outside acquaintances might have taken advantage of any Information which she chanced to overhear U. within the realm of possibilities. Yom understand I merely offer this as a, ' suggestion." And do you know anything of tho character of the maids acqualntances-otbe outside? was the swift Interrogation. I bit my lip. "No. But I do know this. I know that Richard Mackay Is the business agent of this girl's mistress Mrs; Dare of the Arcadia and that he-- ' sometimes calls upon her. And knowing hla reputation as I do, It bas occurred to me that stranger things-havhappened than that this gtrl might be under his Influence and reveal secrets to him that she bas become possessed of. I understand there Is practically no limit to tbe mans machinations." LeDuc brought me to a, sudden standstill. "Do you mean Richard Mackay, Coughing Dick, the boodler and arpb conspirator?" he cried, hi band gripping my arm like a trap. "Yes. You will remember the fact that uncle mentioned the fact that the man who choked him cleared bis throat In a peculiar manner." Tbe grip upon my arm loosened and for a moment my friend stood staring Into my face. Then with a soft whistle he drew me on again. It was several moments before he once more broke the silence. "Bye the bye, you had better give me your card with your telephone number on it so that I may be abl6 to reach you over tbe wire In case of he suggested reflectively, necessity, and 1 felt In the pocket in which I always carried my card case In order to comply with his request The case, which was an unusually handsome affair, had been presented to me by Mrs. Dace, and I would not have lost It for a great deal, but at the end of a couple of minutes search, which exhausted every nook and cranny of my raiment, I was compelled to glv up the quest In despair. "I must have lost It, I announced, LeDuc looked at deeply chagrined. me with a question In his eyes. And you had It last when? were his words. 1 ran the course of my actions during the past few day through my mind until I recalled the oernslon of its last use. "Last evening. After the theater J gave the friend who was with me one of my cards with the request that he call me up some evening when he Was lonesome. But I have a distinct recollection of putting It back In my upper vest pocket. I would not have lost It for mnny times Its value, and It was a rather expensive trinket at that." Ruefully 1 continued my search for the fourth or fifth time as he sympa? thlzed with me. following hla condolences with the remark that a pencil memorandum In his book would answer tho samo purpose. Therefor I gave him the number orally and noted that he wrote It down correct ly. Then with an apology and an excuse of uvgeut business he darted aboard a passing car with a farewel flirt of h's hand. (TO BC CONTINUED.) Country Makes a Difference. In Chinn, a fellow never see-hiwife till after they Hre married. She How strange. In England, tt'e the wife who never sees her husbane after they are married. M. A. P. lie s |