| Show Throbbing Sensational Mystery o of f an Exclusive New v York Apartment House 9 99 coo 0 Il Copyright 1918 1018 b by Little Brown rown Co Published March HilS THE STORY THUS FAR On his 1 way to keep an unexpected dinner engagement with his rich uncle Spalding Nelson elson has an nn unusual verbal encounter with a I belll belligerent erent stranger in the park Actual combat la hi IR prevented prevented pre pre- vented b by the appearance of ot a scar- scar faced man who mysteriously waves Spaldings Spalding's opponent awn awa away y Musing over or the affair Spalding is startled aa as asan an unknown young woman walks up to o him and blushingly says I am here It develops that the girl Barbara Barbara Bar Dar bara baro Bradford had come to tho the park for tor a n. secret meeting with the man who had quarreled with Spalding Thou Though h the thought of ot her mission seemed fe-emed Jo to flu fill her with terror j she hc she re refused refused re- re fused to disclose Its Us object Spalding II accompanied her to her home which strangely was the apartment across the hall han from his uncle I Ho fie then dines with hl his relatives who seem at nt ca ease e and reticent re regarding regarding re- re garding the motive o for tor hi hla hilS invitation Finally he in is asked to move into the apartment and look after It during their absence at nt a summer resort Valuable Valuable Valuable Val Val- Jewels are arc left lett In a I small safe sate to which he Is given the combination Both Doth his aunt and amt his uncle take lake ad advantage advantage ad- ad vantage of ot the tho others other's temporary absence ab- ab I ad-I sence nce from the room to hint of ot strange and ond mysterious happenings they want him to solve while the they are away awny CHAPTER I I Continued Her Iier husbands husband's shuffling In the passage passage pas pas- sage warned her of ot his return and she quickly dropped m my arm onn As ho entered she was 83 telling mo me In quite normal tones to be sure to remember r her to m my mother mo the next time I wrote rote Old Rufus handed me the keys key's explaining explaIning explaining ex ex- ex- ex which was which The laundress has haa a n. k key to the servants servants' entrance his wife added so you will not ha e to bother to ad admit admit admit ad- ad mit her And remember said m my great- great uncle as os he escorted me to the door you ou are not to como coma until Sunday morning at ten after wo we have gone And nd remember the combination of ot tho remember safe e remember The Insistent wa way in which he re repeated repeated repeated re- re the word conveyed to me forcefully forcefully force force- tun fully that what he most wanted me meto meto meto to remember was the strange e warning he had given me me and as ns I 1 clasped his hand In parting I tried b by the firmness firmness firm firm- ness of ot m my grip to let him know that I 1 un understood Remember repeated m my aunt too as she stood there In the door a little behind him at the same time giving n e a significant loo look Yet puzzling as had been the conduct conduct conduct con con- duct of ot both of oC them m my memories that night were not of ot their warnings s nor of or tho the combination of ot the s safe afo nor of ot the hour at which I was to arrive They were of ot the most beautiful eesI eyes ees I over ever had seen and of or the haunting terror written In them CHAPTER II U D. Y morning came at last lat S IJ SUNDAY It was hardly 8 when I set out for my new quarters taking with me only one small handbag and leaving my two trunks for the ex ex- ex pressman In the time Intervening since my visit to the Gaston Guton home I hud had done dono but little except speculate on tho the mysterious warnings that both bothof of ot the old people had hud surreptitiously surreptitious given me mc Time and again I had tried to persuade myself that the only logical logical logi logi- cal Coll explanation of ot their conduct was that they both were suffering from delusions due to senility Medical history history his his- tory I 1 recalled recall d had recorded frequent Instances where two persons closely ns associated suffered from a a. sort of ot sympathetic Insanity and had the same Bame vagaries It seemed so utterly Improbable and Impossible that there could be he any Inexplicable mystery ry about a Ii home in a n. modern up up to to-dato to apartment house In tho the center of or a a. civilized city And If Ie there was wu a a. mystery why did they IStO stay atay there Why didn't they move mo Y Yet U as an I pondered ponder d over o the matter I 1 was convinced that both m my great- great uncle and his wife were rational Save Swe for that moment alone with each of or them their conduct had been entirely conventional I d dismissed without he the tho theor theory that there could coull have been any supernatural happenIngs happenings happen happen- ings inga to affright them 1 I would have havo to sec tice a ghost or a disembodied spirit before I believed c there wore such uch things It was probable I decided that their fears tears might havo been played on by some ome conspiracy on the part of ot their servants to induce them to spend a season In Maine They Thoy perhaps had hal been annoyed b by a I series of ot odd sounds sounds or strange noises ex explicable explicable explicable ex- ex by by perfectly natural causes Some ome such circumstance preying on onI their aged nerves might have driven I them both to the verge cre of ot hysteria Perhaps too there was some spectre from m my uncles uncle's past now rising to confront him that ho he was WM seeking to hide from his wife wire It might t ho he o that sho she knew of ot It or had received d threats and was trying to conceal the matter from him There arc few tow men of ot millions without some somo secret shameful shameful shame shame- ful pa pages In their live lives As I remembered remembered that old Rufus Rutus Gastons Gaston's dollars had been marls mado In South America Amedea all that I had heard and read of ot plots and AmI counter plots below berow tho equator came buzzing Into my brain If Ie such should be bo tho C case Uge that some floma betrayed be betrayed be- be conspirator now was seeking vengeance more moro than ever er I welcomed tho the unexpected chance chanco that had 1 thrown this opportunity for tor adventure in m my prosaic path Yet maybe mabe their warnings were Jus jus- titled was Barbara Bradford who lived JI under tho the same amo roof on the very er floor with them Sho She st seemed cm d to be he caught In the web of ot some plot to bo be living In fear of somo some mysterious peril Only some very ery real al dan danger r threatening could have havo driven a timid girl Irl like her out alone Into th the park to keep a a. rendezvous with two evil c ruffians Wa Was a she I wondered In any an wa way connected with the mystery that overhung over over- over cr overhung hun hung l the Gaston home borne Did my great ireat- uncle an and his wife know her Her Hor mission to the park pork had been to g get t some Borne papers Could Coul they have havo been In nn any way Involved with what was menacing m my uncles uncle's peace of ot mind How I regretted now that I 1 had not asked ked tho Gastons If It they knew Miss Bradford How I welcomed tho opportunity I was now to have havo of ot living In tho the same sarno apartment house with her close at hand if It ever er I could servo her I was wa glad now that circumstances circumstances cir clr- cir cir- had prevented m my going oln- oln to Franco with an and Roller I I had come down on tho the west side In ht a n. Broadway way car as ns far tar as Fifty Fifty- I ninth street and I strolled leisurely back through tho park parle entering b bythe by bythe the artisans artisan's gate ate at nt tho the circle musIng musIng musing mus mus- ing over the tho sudden chan change e In my life lite It was barely 9 when hen I emerged to the avenue so 80 to kill time 1 walked five or six blocks down and back As 5 AsI I arrived at nt m my uncles great corner I saw aw Miss Bradford approaching from tho the opposite direction Sho She was In riding togs Her Iier cheeks cheek were flushed from exercise e and the wind had hid blown her hair In pretty disorder about her face I timed m mj my steps to reach the corner as she Rhe did Would she I wondered wondered won won- dered consider our stran strange e meeting a afew afew few evenings before sufficient Introduction Introduction introduction Intro Intro- to Justify her speaking to mo me Moro Ioro torn tomorrow |
