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Show ItRecircular STAIRCASE I . Jg ' By MARY ROBERTS BUTE HART. IS CHAPTER XXVII. I Who Is Nina Carrinjrton? I The fmir dnvs, from .Saturday to the rk following Tues'dny. we lived, or existed, 1 in a state of the most dreadful sus-r sus-r penM-. Wo ate only whdii Liddy I brought in a tniy, and then very little. I The papers, of course, had got bold ot M tli" storv, and we wer besieged by h wwstapcr mon. From nil over tjie eoun-14 eoun-14 trv mlfc elnes camn pnuriug in aud U raided hopes that crumbled again to U nothing. Everv morgue within a hun-( hun-( drtd miU. every hospital, had beon ifi vinitf d. without result. P Mr. Jamieson, jiorsonally. took charge t of tin' organised t-enrcJi, ami every oven-a oven-a A ing, no aiattor where he happened to J 9 be, be railed us by long distance Joic-( Joic-( w phone. If was tko siinic formula, "oth- if 1 jng todav. A new rluo to work on. j ' l JMter luck tomorrow." And heartsick, 31; We would put tip the roceivor and sit ' 11 d wn again to our vigil. ' i& The inaction was deadly. Tliddy cried '(f n'l duv, and. because she, knew T ob-ff ob-ff jeoted In tears, sniffled audibly around corner. ..hit "For Heaven's fkc, smile!" I snapped at hor. And her ghastly attempt at-tempt at a grin, with her swollen jiui and red eyes. .made me hysterical. I laughed and cried together, and pretty . fiorn, like the two old fools we were, v.e wore sitting tocether weeping into tl. name handkerchief. rallies were happening, of course, all the time, but t,hey made little or no im-pnssion. im-pnssion. The Charity hospital called up Doctor Stewart and reported that ?drs. Watson was in a critical condition. condi-tion. T understood also that legal steps wrre being 'taken to terminate my lease at Sunny-side. T.ouiso was out of dancer, but very ill, aud a trained nurse guarded her like a gorgon. There was a minor in the village, brought up bv Liddy from the butcher's, that a wedding had already taken place between be-tween Louiso and. Doctor Walker,, and tuis roused me for the first time to ,'u'tion On Tuesday, then, I sent for t ho car, and prepared to go out. As I waited at the porte-cochere I saw the under-gardner, under-gardner, an inoffensive, gray-haired man, trimming borders near the house. The dav detective was watching him. sitting on the carriage block. When he taw me, he got ui. "Miss Innes,1' he said, taking off his hat. ''do vou know where Alex, the gardner, is)" "Why, no. Isn't he here?" 1 asked. "He has been gone since yesterday afternoon. Have you employed him "Only a couple of weeks." " Is lie efficient,? A capable man J" "1 hardly know." I said vaguely. "The place' looks all right", and T know very little about such things. 1 know much more about boxes of roses than bushes of thorn." "This man." pointing to the assistant, assis-tant, "says Alex isn't n gardner. That lie doesn't know anything about plant." "That's verv strange," I said, thinking think-ing hard. t' Why. he came to me from linns, who are in Europe. " ' Exactly." The detective smiled. " Every man who cuts grass isn't a gardner, .Miss Inncs. and just now it is our policy to belie vo every person around here a rascal until he proves to he the other thing." Warner -name -up with- tshe-ear -then, and the- conversation stopped. As ho helped me in, however, the detective fcrtiil something further. "Not a word or sign to Alex, if he comes back." ho said cautiously. I went first to Doctor Walker's. 1 ' Tas tired of beating about the busk, and 1 felt thnt the key to Jlalsey's disappearance was here at Casanova, in spite of .Mr. .Jamieson 's theories. The doctor was in. He cnine at once - to the door of his consulting-room, and there was no mask of cordiality in his . maimer. "Please come in," he said curtly. "I shall stay here, I think, doctor." 1 did not like' his face or his manner; there was subtile change in both. He had t brown off the air of friendliness, and 1 thought, too. that ho looked nnx-ioii nnx-ioii and harvard. "Doctor Walker." I. said, "T have come to you. to ask somo questions. T lope you will answer them. As you know, my nephew has not yet been "So I understand," stiffly. " believe, if you would, you could help us. and that leads to one of inv unctions. Will you tell mo what was the nature of the conversation vou had with him the night he was attacked and carried off!" "Attacked! Carried off!" ho said, with pretended surprise. " Really, Miss Inucs, don't you think you exaggerate? I" understand it is not" the first time Mr. Innes has disappeared." "You are quibbling, doctor.. This is a matter of life and death. Will you answer my question?" 'Certainly. He saw his nerves were bad, aud I gave him a prescription for them. T am violating professional ethics eth-ics when I tell 3011 even as much as that." 1 could not tell him he lied. J think J looked it. But I hazarded a random ran-dom shot. "I thought perhaps," I said, watching watch-ing him narrowly, "that it might be about Nina Carriugton." For a moment 1 thought .he was going go-ing to strike me. He grew livid, aud a small crooked blood-vessel in his temple, tem-ple, swolleil and throbbed curiously. Then he forced a short laugh. "Who is Nina Carriugton?" he asked. "I am about tp discover that," T replied, and he was quiet at. once. It was not difficult to divine that he feared Nina ""Carriugton a good deal more than he did. the devil. Our leave-taking leave-taking was brief; in fact, wo merely stared at each other over the waiting-room waiting-room fable, with its litter ofyear-old magazines. Then I turned and went out. "To "Richfield." 1 told Warner, and on the way. I thought, and thought I bard. "Nina Carrington, Nina Carriugton, ' the roar and rush of wheels scorned to sing the words. "Nina Carrington. N. C." And I then knew, knew as surclv as if I baT seen the whole, thing. There had been an X. C. ou the suitcase suit-case belonging to the woman with the pitted face. How simple it all seemed! Matlie Bliss had been Nina Carrington., Carring-ton., It was she Warner had heard in the library. It was something she had told Ilalsey that had taken him frantically frantic-ally to Doctor Walker's offieo, and from there perhaps to his death. If wo could find the -woman, we might find what had becomo of JIalsey. We were almost at Kichficld now, so .1 kept on. My mind was not on mv errand there 'now. It was back with Ilalsey on that memorable night. What was it he had said to Louise, that had sent, hor up to Sunnyside. half wild with fear for him? 1 made up my mind, ns ihe car drew up before Tate cottage, that f would sec Louise if T had to break into the house at night. ' Almost exactly The same scene- as before be-fore greeted i'y eyes at the cottage. Mrs. Tnte, the baby-carriage in the path, the children at the swing all were the same. She came forward to meet me, and T uoticed that some of the anxious Hues had gone out of her face. She looked young, almost pretty. "I am glad vou have come back." she said. "I think T will have to bo honest and give vou back 'Our money." "Why?" I asked. 'Has the mother come?" "No. but some one eiime and paid the boy's board for a month. She talked talk-ed to him for a long time, but when 1 asked him afterward ho did not. know her name." --"A young-woninni? fit - "Not very young. About forty, 1 suppose. She was small and fair-haired, just a little bit gray, aud very sad. She was deep in mourning, and. 1 think, when she cauie, sho expected to go at once. But the child, Lucien, interested her. She talked to him for a long time, aud, indeed, she looked much happier when sho left." "You are sure this was not the real mother?" ' 'O mercy, no! Why, she didn't know which of the three was Lueicn. I thought perhaps she was a friend of yours, but, of course, I didn't ask." "She was not pock-marked?" 1 asked at a venture. "No, indeed. A skin like a baby's. But perhaps you will know the initials. She gave Lucien a handkerchief and forgot it. It was very fine, black-bordered, black-bordered, and it had three hand-worked letters in the corner F. B. A." "No," I said with truth enough, "she is not a friend of mine." F. B. A. was Faunv Armstrong, without a doubt! With another warning to Mrs. Talc as to silence, we started back to Sunny- side. So Fanny Armstrong knew of Lucien Wallace, and was sufficiently interested to visit him and pny for hii support. Who was the child's mother and where was she? Who was Nina Carrington? Did either of them know whore Halso- was, or what had happened happen-ed to him' On the way home we passed the little cemetery where Thomas had been laid to rest. 1 wondered it Thomas could have helped us to find Ilalsey. hadjio lived. Farther along was the more imposing im-posing burial-ground, where Arnold Armstrong and his father ny in the shadow of a tall granite shaft. Of the three, I think Thomas was the only one sincerely mourned. CHAPTER XXVIIL A Tramp and tho Toothache. The bitterness toward the dead president presi-dent of the Traders ' bank seemed to grow with time. Never popular, his memory wns execrated by people who had lost nothing, but who were filled with disgust by constantly hearing new stories of the man's grasjung avarice The Traders' had been a favorite bank for small tradespeople, and in its savings, sav-ings, department it had solicited the smallest deposits. People who had thought to be self-supporting ro the last found themselves confronting the poorhousc, their two or three hundred dollar savings wiped :uvay. All bank failures have this elemeijj, however, and the directors were trying to promise prom-ise twenty per cent on deposits. But, like everything else those days, tho bank failure was almost forgotten by Gertrude and mvself. We did not mention .lack Bailey; T had found nothing to change my impression of his guilt, and Gertrude knew how 1 felt. As for the murder of rhc bank president's son, J was of two minds. One day T thought Gertrude kuew or at least suspected sus-pected that .lack had done it; the next I feared that it had been Gertrude herself, her-self, that night alone on the circular staircase. And then the mother of Lu-eicu Lu-eicu Wallace would obtrude herself, aud an almost, equally good ease might be made against, her. There were times, of course, when was disposed lo throw all those suspicions aside, and lix definitely on the unknown, whoever who-ever that might be. T had my greatest disappointment when it came to tracing Nina Carriugton. Carriug-ton. The woman had gone without leaving a trace. Marked as she was, it should have been easy to follow her, j but sho was not to be found. A description de-scription to one of the detectives, on my arrival at homo, had started the ball rolling. But by night fhc had not been .found. I told Gertrude, then, about the telegram to Louise when she had been ill before; about my visit to Dr. "Walker, and my suspicions that Mattie Bliss and Nina Carrington were the same. 1 said nothing to her. however, of the detective's suspicions about Alex. Littlo things that I had not noticed at the time now came back to me. I had an uncomfortable feeling that, perhaps per-haps Alex was a spy, and that by taking tak-ing him into the house I had played into the enemy's hand. But at oight o'clock that ii'ght Alex himself appeared, ap-peared, and with him a strange and repulsive individual. They mado a queer pair, for Alex was almost: as dis reputable as the tramp, and he had a badly swollen eye. Gertrude had "been sitting listlessly waiting for the evening message from Mr. Jamieson, but when tho similar pair came in. as they did, without e.er-cmonv. e.er-cmonv. she jumped up and stood staring star-ing Winters, the detective who watched tho house at night, followed them, and kept his eyes sharply on Alex's prisoner pris-oner for that was the situation as it developed. He was a tall, lanky individual, ragged rag-ged and dirty, and just now he looked both terrified and embarrassed. Alex was too much engrossed to be either, and to his day 1 don't think J ever asked him why he went off without permission the "day before. "Miss Junes." Alex began abrnptly. "this man can tell us something very important about tho disappearance of Mr. Innes. I found him trying to sell this watch." He took a watch from his pocket and put it on the table. t It was Ilalsey 'a watch. I had given it to him on his twenty-first, birthday: 1 was dumb with apprehension. "He kivh he had a pair of cufflinks cuff-links also, but he sold thorn " " Fer a dollar 'n half." put in the disreputable individual hoar.selv, with an eve on the detective. I "tie is not dead?" I implored. The 1 tramp cleared his throat. ! "No'ni," he said huskily, "Tie wns used up pretty bad, but" he weren't jdead. lie was cumin' to hisself when I I" he stopped and looked at the detective, de-tective, didn't steal it. Mr. AVint-ers." AVint-ers." he whined. "T found it in the ! road, honest to God, L did." ) Mr. Winters paid no attention to him. ! lie was watching Alex. "I'd better I c-I I what he told me." Alex broke in. "ll will be quicker. When Jamieson when Mr. Jamieson j calls up we can start, him right. Mr. j Winters. 1 found this man trying to j sell that watch on Fifth strobt. lie offered it to me for three dollars." "How did you know the wntch?" Winters snapped at hint. "T had seen it before, many times. T used it at night when T was watch-j watch-j ing at the foot of the staircase." The 'detective was satisfied. '"'When lie j offered the watch to me. "I knew it, and T pretended ' w:,s buy it. ! We went into an alley and I. got the (watch." The tramp shivered. It. was ! plain how Alex had secured the watch. , "Then T got the story from this fel-! fel-! low. He claims to have seen the'whole affair, lie i-ays he was in an empty ear in the enr" the automobile struck." The tramp broke in here, and told the itory, with frequent interrupt ioiib by j Alex and Mr. - Winters, llo used a I H range medlev. in whii-h familiar words j took unfamiliar meanings, but it was gradually made clear Jo us. On the night in question the tramp had been "pounding his ear" this I stuck to me ns being graphic in an empty box car along the siding at Casanova. Casa-nova. The train was going west, and due in leave at dawn. Tho trnuip and the "brakey'" were frirndly. and things going well. About teu o'clock, perhaps per-haps earlier, a terrific crash against the side of Ihe ear roused him. He trifd to open Ihe door, but could not j move it He got out of the other side, j aud just as k,o did so, ho heard some j one groan. j The habit' of a lifetime made him cautious, lie slipped ou to Ihe bump- er of a car and peered through. An j automobile had struck the ear, and stood there on two wheels. The tail j lights were burning, but the headlights 1 were our. Two men were stooping over some one who lay on the ground. Then the taller of the two started on a dogtrot dog-trot along the train looking for an empty box-cur. and, getting in them- selves, stayed for tbre or four minutes. ; When thev emtio nut. after closing tho hiding door, they cut up over the rail road embankment toward the town. One the short one, seemed to limp. The tramp was wary. He waited for ten minutes or so. Some women came down a path to tho road and inspected tho automobile. When they had gone, he crawled into the box-car and closed rhc door again. Then he lighted a match. The figure of a man, unconscious, uncon-scious, gagged, and with his hands tied lay far at the end. The tramp lost no time; he went through his pockets? found a little money and the cuff-links, and took them. Then he loosened the gag it had been cruelly tight aud went his way, again closing the door of the box-car. Outside on tho road ho found the wntch. He got on the fast freight east, some time after, and rode into the city. Ho had sold the cuff links, but on offering tho watch to Alex he had been "copped." The ntorv, with its cold recital of villainy, was done. I having knew if T were more anxious, or less. That it was JIalsey, thero could be no doubt. How badly he was hurt, how far he had been carried, were, the questions that demanded immediate answer. But it was the first real information wo had had; my boy had not been murdered outright. But instead of vague terrors there was now tho real fear that he might be lying in some strange hospital receiving the casual attention commonly common-ly given to the charity eases. Even this, had we known it, would have beon paradise to the terrible truth. I wake yet and feel m3self cold and trembling with the horror of Jlalsey's situation for three dnys after his disappearance. Mr. Winters aud Alex disposed of the tramp with a warning. It was evident evi-dent he had told us nil he knew. We had occasion, within a day or two. to bo doubly thankful that wo had given him his freedom. When Mr. Jamieson telephoned that night we had news for him; he told me what I had not. realized real-ized before that it would not be possible pos-sible to find Ilalsey at once, even with this clue. The ears by this time, three days, might be scattered over the Union But. he said to keep ou hoping, that it was the best news we had had. And in the meantime, consumed with anxiety as we were, things were happening at the house in rapid succession. We had ouo peaceful day then Liddy look sick in the night. 1 went in when I heard her groaning, and found her with a hot-water bottle to her face, and ifinr right cheek swollen nntil it was glassv. "Toothache!" J" asked, not. too gently. gent-ly. " Vou deserve it. A woman of your age. who would rather go around with an exposed nerve in her head than have the tooth pulled! It would be over in a moment. " "So would hanging," Liddy protested, pro-tested, front behind tho hot water bottle. bot-tle. 1 was hunting around for cotton and laudanum. "Von have a tooth just, like it yourself. your-self. Miss Itac.hcl.'" she whispered. And I'm sure Doctor Boyle's been trying lo take it out. for years. " Thero was no lnudnum, and Liddy made a terrible fuss when 1 proposed carbolic acid, just because I had put too much on the cotton once and burned her month. I 'm sure it never did her any permanent harm; indeed, 1 the doctor said afterward that living on liquid diet had been a splendid rest for her stomach. But she would have none of the aeid, and she kept me awako groaning, so at. last. J got up and went to Gertrude's door. To my surprise, sur-prise, it was locked. 1 went around by Ihe hall and into her bedroom (hat way. The bed was turned down, and her dressing-gown and night-dross lay ready in the little room next, but. Gortrude was not there. She had not. undressed. 1 don't, know what terrible (noughts came to 1110 in the minute I stood thore. Through the door T could hear Jiddy grumbling, with a squeal now and then when the pain stabbed harder. Then, automatically. 1 got the laudanum aud wont back to her. It was full-' a half-hour before Liddy Lid-dy 's gronas subsided. At intervals I went to the door into the hall and looked look-ed out, but I saw and heard nothing suspicious. Finally, when Liddy had dropped into a doze, I even ventured as far as the head of the eireular staircase, stair-case, but- there floated up to me only the even breathing of Winters, the night detective, sleeping just inside the entry. And then, far off. 1 heard the rapping noise that had lured Louise down the staircase that other nighl. two weeks before. It was over my head, and verv faint three or four short muffled tans, a pause, and then again, stealthily repeated. Tho sound of Mr. Winters' breathing was comforting; with the thought that there wns help within call, something kept mo from waking him. did not move for a moment; ridiculous things Liddy had said about, a ghost I am not at all superstitions, except, perhaps, in the middle of the night, with everything dark thinks like that came back to me. Almost beside mo was the clothes chute. T could feel it. but I could sec nJlhiug. As I stood, listening intently, I" heard a sound near inc. It was vague, indefinite. Then it censed; there was an uneasy move inn nt and a grunt from the- foot of the eireular staircase, and silence again. 1 stood perfectly still, hardly daring to breathe. Then 1 knew I had been right. Some one wns stealthily parsing the head of the staircase and coming toward me in the dark. I leaned against the wall for support my knees were giving way. The steps were close now, and suddenly t thought of Gertrude. Of course It was Gertrude, I put out one hand in front of me. but touched nothing. My voice almost refused me, but 1 managed to gasp out, "Gert rude!" "Good Lord!" a man's voice exclaimed, ex-claimed, just beside me. Anil then T collapsed. I felt myself going, felt some one catch me. a horrible nausea that was all i remembered. When I came to it was dawn. I was lying on the bed in Louise's room, with the cherub on the celing staring down at me, and there was a blanket from my own bed thrown over me. I felt weak and dizzy, but I managed to get up and totter to the door. At the foot of the circular stnirense Mr. Winters was still asleep. Hardly able to stand. I crept back to my room. The door into Gertrude's room was no longer locked: she was sleeping like a tired child, And in ihv dressing room Jjiddy hugged n coljl hot-water bottle, and mu m bled in hor sleep. "There's some things you can't hold with hand-cuffs," fhe was mutteriug thickly. (To be continued.) |