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Show m'nez-kaynes-irwin w.n.u, service Patrick stroked the back of his head, then he clasped his hands there and let his head rest against them. What did Ace do with the check?" ' "He took off his helmet and put the check inside-in the sweat-band." sweat-band." "Was there anything else?" "Nothing so far as Ace was concerned." con-cerned." "Did you see Tony Torriano go off into the bushes?" "No." "You say, -Nothing-as far as Ace was concerned.' " Patrick's voice held an interrogative note. "As I went back ovar the path, I thought I heard a stir in the bushes." "Not loud then?" "No, a mere stirl A cat might have made it." "You saw nothing?" "Nothing. In fact I did not quite realize that I had heard i; until I got home. Then I heard it in memory. mem-ory. It may have been only a cat-but cat-but I heard something stir." Patrick's Irish gray eyes had turned brilliant. He sUll rested his head against his clasped hands. For a moment he did not speak, but his eyes never left Margaret She did not speak either. "Margaret," Patrick began, "you and I are old friends and we've known each other for forty years and perhaps longer. You know that I've always been fond of you and Flora, that I respect you and that I trust you. But I'm the police chief here in this town. And it doesn't maxe any difference what I think, or believe. My business is to prove. I believe your story of course. But Margaret, I must ask you some questions. Maybe you won't find them pleasant I've got to do it though." "Ask any questions you want Patrick," Margaret said. "Well, if I were a jury, the first thing I'd want to knew would be why you were willing to lend Ace Blaikie so much money, especially when you hated him." "I did it to prolong my sister's life. I made up my mind that Ace should not enter our house again. The last time he came, he said that if I couldn't lend him the money, perhaps Flora would. I knew if he made up his mind to Patrick drew a long sigh." By its depth, I gauged the extent of his relief. "Is there something I can do for you, Margaret?" Margaret looked at him hard. "I must talk to someone, she said. "I have a strange story to tell you. You may find it on the surface sur-face unbelievable. I can only say that I am telling you the exact truth." Patrick remained silent "About a week ago, Ace Blaikie called at the house and asked me if I would lend him some money. For many reasons, I did not want to lend Ace any money. I did not like him in the first place. In fact" Suddenly her dead eyes blazed. "In fact I hated him. I did not trust him either. When he told me how much he wanted to borrow, I was appalled." . Patrick said, "How much was it?" "Ten thousand dollars," Margaret Marga-ret answered. Patrick whistled. I said nothing. noth-ing. I could not speak. "What did Ace want that ten thousand dollars for?" Patrick asked. "1 don't know," Margaret answered. an-swered. "Perhaps I could guess, but I'd rather not" She looked pleadingly at Patrick. "You're right Margaret!" Patrick Pat-rick approved. "Let's confine ourselves our-selves to the facts. Did you lend him this money?" "ires but not at once. I told him I would have to think it over. I knew that I would have to take that ten thousand out of my principal" prin-cipal" ' He called more than once?" Patrick Pat-rick Interrupted. "Yes, four times. I have the days In my diary. Ace stipulated requested re-quested I mean," she corrected herself with the careful honesty typical of her, "that I give him a certified check. It all took time, but he kept hurrying me. He wanted want-ed the money, I felt for something special." "When was the last time he had been in your house before that?" Patrick asked. "Ace Blaikie had not been In my house for tweDty-five years," Margaret Mar-garet repliea. "Did you give him the money?" Patrick asked. "Yes." "When?" "The night of the masquerade." "Where?" "In Mary's Spinney." Patrick sighed again. "About what time was It?" he asked. "A little after ten thirty." "How were you dressed?" Mrs. Thelford told me that he was so sick with a bad cold that he wouldn't be able to enter Ace's will for probate before Saturday. I saw both Doctor Marden and Caro. "I wish you hadn't felt obliged to go to this funeral, Aunt Mary," HopesUll greeted me, when I returned. re-turned. "I didn't feel obliged," I an-swered. an-swered. "but I wanted to go. Ace was one of my oldest and dearest friends." "Was Caro there?" "Yes," I answered. "She wasn't intending to go," Hopestill explained. "We were planning to go places and do things together this afternoon, to get this horror out of our minds. But after luncheon, she telephoned me that her grandfather insisted on her attending the funeral" "They sat together," I said. "Doctor Marden looked frightfully frightful-ly exhausted. This terrible thing has worn on him as much as anybody." any-body." "I don't see why he made Caro go," Hcpestill grumbled. "She says she hates funerals. She knew Ace, of course, but not awfully welL" "Well, I suppose he has the French point of view," I explained. "He's lived many years in France. There they make so much of death. Funerals and burials are extremely extreme-ly important events." The telephone rang and Hopestill answered It "Yes, she's here. Yes. Yes. Come right down!" Still holding the transmitter, he looked over at me: "Caro Prentiss is coming here." "That's nice. She'll bs Just In time for tea." It seemed to me that there was an air of suppressed excitement about her; for as we drank our tea, her foot tapped the floor. Once I intercepted an interrogative look In Hopestill's direcUon. The instant I put my cup down, Caro and Hopestill put their cups down. HopesUll arose and came toward me. As though unconsciously unconscious-ly drawn, Caro arose too, walked to Hopestill's side, stood with him looking down at me. "Aunt Mary," HopesUll said, "Caro and I want to take you Now don't get weepy . and don't say no we want to take you down into the Spinney. We want to show you something." Caro's lovely voice reinforced him. "Please, Mrs. Avery, please, please come! It's something lovely." love-ly." "I'll go, children," I agreed. And then, "May Sylvia come too?" "Yes," they chorused, "we want Sylvia to come." "Caro and I will go first" Hopestill Hope-still declared. "And you and Sylvia Syl-via walk behind us." I followed those two about the piazza, down the steps at the side,' over the path into the shade of the Spinney. Uncontrollably I began to tremble. trem-ble. I fixed my eyes on the two beautiful beau-tiful young creatures ahead. Light and shade poured a checkered stream upon them. That stream flowed over their figures and poured Into the earth. My trembling trem-bling grew. Suddenly they stood aside from each other, stationed themselves one on either side of the path. Between their sentinel figures, I glimpsed What a transformation! My path had ceased to take its regular turning; it curved into a great loop to the left And on the spot where Ace's body had lain was "Did you two children dj this?" I asked. They nodded. I think I shall never forget the look on Hopestill's face; its anxious wistfulness. But Caro, more confident smiled. "I picked up two bravas to help with the rocks," HopesUll added. "And Caro went around to all your friends and begged flowers from their gardens. She did all the planting." Some tensity within me loosened and slid off, like a monster mental landslide, Into oblivion. To the right of the new path and opening directly on it was a rock garden. Field stones the round, lichen-covered stones of. New Englandmade Eng-landmade the four watts, made at the back a triangular rock garden gar-den whose top surface slanted towards to-wards the entrance. Tiny grassy paths of new-laid sod divided the rest of the walled space into tiny flower plots. And those plots were filled, crowded with petunias, deep purple, pale rose and white; snapdragons, snap-dragons, wine colored, pink and tawny; phlox, flame-colored, pink and white; zinnias of every zinnia zin-nia color; the star-like Pride of Oxford; borders everywhere of ageratum. "It's beautiful!" I gasped. "It's exquisite. How on earth did you do it?" I took a swift mental foray backwards. "Why that's what you've been up to these two days!" I added: "Children, you have done a wonderful thing. It wipes out the terrible memory of" (TO BE CONTINUED) ;SDAY-nU,,oed s Xvery? Bessie said t doesn't surprise me. ! 1 suggested, "would go say for a week or ink a change would do steely mask flared with fnof Mrs. Avery!" she ed in a frightened voice, don't want to go away I can't go away from n'tI can't!" tt-t have to go, Bessie, if you don't want to Dmehow, I thought you'd 5' flared in Bessie. n going to ask Doctor call today," I promised He'll give you something lake you sleep." that Mrs. Avery," Bes-d Bes-d almost inaudibly. i arcely finished telephon-ary telephon-ary house when the po-rved po-rved into the drive, ne where we can talk y," Patrick said. I led piazza which looked to-Ipinney. to-Ipinney. "By God, Mary, am!" Patrick said as he jself in the broad Glou-nmock. Glou-nmock. "I might have Margaret Fairweather. ay, I've got to put a her house." " burst from me involve invol-ve way I feel about itl" immented grimly. Id kill Flora if Margaret fthe way I feel about It" repeated, more grimly 1 1 never thought of her b told me about the tall dark clothes. You thought We, didn't you?" I did not reply. Then I jw did you know that?" ie later,- when I thought self, I could remember , I realized that you'd it Not that either of us ' ling." tied for a moment "Per-Jd "Per-Jd fix it to let Margaret r own home for a while. :ta0 a car to saunter up I the cliff without rais-tion, rais-tion, I guess." jjra haven't any real evl-Margaret" evl-Margaret" I remonstrat- t Me negative, I'll adhere ad-here you are. No woman iasquerade until long aft-r aft-r p-with the exception of jmef-Molly Trcadway I Dy left with Walter. No nan came over to the t night There was no an tt home that night on -cept Flora and Mar-irweather Mar-irweather and Hannah, men called with his wife kst night He called, because I sent him, but sn't know that Natur-, Natur-, italked about nothing but p. He established that t Pent the whole evening i i. Margaret slept as she j( ioes, downstairs on the ' r030 WW that Margaret U ear'y because she was Hannah sleeps on the I d. Flora's chamber. a Hannah was asleep I I Margaret have slipped I from the piazza to meet 8 the Spinney?" S would she want" J or" I cueried me- -I did not answer me. But J me . I made no com- looked at him. Un- El , ga.n t0 whirl k the If1 . thea 1 hed ih Je crunching up the I btlbe here' M"-f M"-f w ee you 0nd Mr. an to sPin-1 1 ptV0 say nothin Falrwther ap- fk kl. stranM gray klrl aS3ume under PXfl 80ne "4n5tbeenfw k WDSlty of the bar- ' K .U- 6 'its ick'" h o- J s,ffi:n1deac, g you were "I wore a black dress, a black scarf over my head, a big black lace shawl of my mother's." "How did you go to the Spinney?" "1 walked up the road toward the Park, turned off at Mary's path, walked past the Little House and met Ace" She paused bleakly. Patrick waited. "At the exact spot where they found his body," Margaret concluded. conclud-ed. A pause, pregnant with awful possibilities, whirled between us three. "Did your interview take long?" Patrick asked genUy. "No, it took scarcely a moment." "Could you reproduce it for me?" "Easily. I said, 'Here is the check, Ace.' He said, "Thanl: you! Here's my note for it!' I handed him the check and he handed me the note. I have it with me. Would you like to see it?" "Yes thank you, Margaret for thinking of that" Margaret took a folded piece of paper from her hand-bag and handed hand-ed it to Patrick. He examined it on both sides, held It up to the light "Will you trust this with me for a while?" "Certainly. Patrick," Margaret replied. , "By the way, Margaret who'd you make it out to? Oh yes, you'd have to make it out to Ace." "Yes." .. Patrick whistled.' "That complicates compli-cates things. Perhaps there's somebody boob enough to think he could murder Ace and tnen forge Ace's endorsement on the check. Has the check been cashed, Margaret?" Mar-garet?" "No. The day I heard of Ace's death, I went over to the bank to stop payment They said I couldn't do that without a court order. They told me it hadn't been c & shed "Well, we'll watch that point anyhow." any-how." Patrick assured er. "Was that all you said?" Patrick went on. "No. I said one other thing and it was the only other thing I d say. I said. 'Ace Blaikie. 1 hope you die the death you deserve! I Thought I Heard Stir in the Bushes. see Flora, nothing on earth could prevent him from getting to her. And I was sure a meeUng with him v;ould kill her. I was in agony every ev-ery time he was there for fear Flora would hear his voice" Again silence. Margaret saved Tatrick from asking the question that hung almost visibly on his lips. She went on. "Ace Blaikie made love to Flora when she was a slip of a girl. She fell in love with him. She loved him with her whole heart and mind and souL And when he transferred his affections af-fections to a mere light-of-love in Marshbanks, it nearly killed her. She was never the same girl afterwards. after-wards. She never recovered from that She has loved Ace Blaikie all her life. She loves him sUlL She can't help loving him. But she hates him too. Of course I hate him. I always have hated him. He met the deatft that I hoped for him-a violent one." "No check was found on Ace s body," Patrick informed her. "I know." Margaret arose to her feet. "I realize perfectly, Patrick, that I am now under suspicion. I hone you won't have to arrest me f0 P a while. It would kill Flora. She doesn't know Ace is dead yet I shan't arrest you for the present pres-ent Margaret" Patrick assured her. I will ask you not to leave Satiiit not even for a day." It seemed to me that the entire town turned out to Ace Blaikie s uTraL It was held in the white vtae-covered church, the most spa-Ss spa-Ss in town. The service was brie? When the pall-bearers bore toe flower-wreathed coffin out of !u h,,iirfine a sound of weeping. rdSiind, ran through the TdMnot want to go to the grave hl t , did. Somehow, most deeply f desired not to see what had been toto the earth .tVw A large AeCl rf'his friends accompanied irBtci Heon was not there. |
