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Show l ! ISABEL WAIT TV .ZLsiM needs something to occupy her mind," he said. "We found that the Head was still a pleasant place to come to," he went on hesitantly, one eye on his keeper. "Her nervousness nervous-ness was so much better, for one thing. The auction was fun, and here was a ready-made chance to get the makings of a gifte shoppe cheap." "I remember you said the old dump would make a good bonfire," Thaddeus Quincy chirped. "Didn't burn up the wrong building by mistake, mis-take, did you, Norcross? Judy and I saw you scouting around last night, remember." "Stop it, Quincy!" Victor said sharply. Hugh had risen. "Sit down, Norcross. Perfectly under-tandable. under-tandable. Vou wanted to allay any fears that you were anxious to get-" "What the devil are you insinuating?" insinuat-ing?" "Nothing. Just that you thought you'd get it cheaper the gifte shoppe for your sister if the others didn't see you were anxious." "That's right, Hughie. Just what you told me, remember?" Bessie backed Victor. "I kind of hoped I could get it for a studio," the artist spoke up. "But I couldn't go above the Gerrys. Hun-dred Hun-dred and fifty, didn't they bid, Judy?" Ju-dy?" I said I thought so. "And you. Miss Kendall?" "Me? Oh, uh, I didn't really want the old thing. Bid for the fun of it. Thought it would go cheap and I f, 'wry, 'lve M J t'ff.done.l church KUlled .. Rodd, 7 ,ew hol,r, I'ed Brown, who Is S 1, lived there. Tn. A "tUld'"fitd,Hurh , isb you'd fo back f rltk Jody'i I , PTER XI I squeeze on my arm, ' one of us he meant, Answering. "Not with- i you'U find I'll stand ) i how they lie about ' what they plant on I to find your blue i i'tyou?" j toed Lily obliquely, I trned good idea!" N h interrupted. "Blew Ibably. We're going r" Lut the auction. He's I' I bonnet it may have jo with all these out- s j go sit down some-are," some-are," Victor suggest- tre going to see the 1 i thii when we're i you don't I wasn't - f n't I play auctioneer jjestions? Nobody has anything he doesn't " ps stood up. My eyes customed to the dim after the basement, j ht "Just one min-Bid. min-Bid. "Did you find 1 want my door-gee door-gee you gave me last Iiicks halfway. I'm ap after lunch and I lyself in." the key I'd swiped s door really could ! Now, somewhat flus- "I'll get your key, I Don't worry." 3 leaned forward from here we were sitting :i exclaimed in my inds me! I haven't om, Miss Judy. If wble your uncle to 'i appreciate it, un-tances." un-tances." L" Anyway, I could It where the dickens M down on the edge Ie work to do on my :inister said. "Will Mr. Quade?" stay at all," Victor i with you, then, sir. be auction?" bid. Didn't every- Jonas De Witt had sique to match his - n-nat v,e c wrote the letter to Judy. I be-Deve be-Deve the person who wrote her that strange request is back of all this. leu them, Judy, as you recall the contents, about the mysterious letter let-ter asking you to buy the Quaker church." I did. I'm sure I knew it practical- word for word. They made me repeat it all over again. They appeared ap-peared entirely surprised. "And sent you the money!" Lily Piped. "How much, dearie?" But before I could say anything Victor retorted: "Enough, so that she bought the church, as you all know. Had some over. Quite sum." "If we could see that letter" Hugh began. Did he know it had been destroyed, that he dared ask for it? "Yes, the letter, though I don't see what that's got to do with killin' Roddy Lane. You keep the rest of that kale, honey," Lily ordered, catching her long string of tiny mixed beads on Albion Potter's coat button as she leaned across him and breaking it, as usual, in the undoing. "She's going to," Victor cut in quickly. "Put it away with the letter, let-ter, didn't you, Judy? The police will want to examine both of them." Victor was pretending the mystery mys-tery letter was still safely concealed in my bureau drawer. He didn't want them to know I'd discovered it was gone. But the person who'd taken it would know. I had to say something. "Near together," I said. "I-I put the money in my stocking at first, but after what's happened I wish-on, wish-on, I wish I could give it back. If one of you wanted me to do you the favor of buying the church, for goodness' good-ness' sake say so. Come out and admit it, so we won't connect it up with all these horrors." Nobody stirred. After a moment. Uncle Wylie asked in a strangled voice, "Judy, does Nella know about this?" "No," I answered. "But she's dying dy-ing to find out She couldn't understand under-stand how I had $300 to plank down at an auction when she had to advance ad-vance me my fare to the Head, and I don't blame her. I wanted to tell her, only the letter impressed silence si-lence upon me." "So you put the money with the letter?" "Well, it's in the other-" I stopped. He couldn't want me to tell them exactly where it was, of course. Just to hint to the thief who'd swiped the letter that he'd overlooked the money, and that I'd overlooked his taking the letter. "Wherever you mean," Victor added pointedly, "I hope it's in a safe place. If the police can identify identi-fy those bills it will help." Lily whispered: "Tell him, Judy, a&d the police won't never see 'em. I think he sent the letter himself. So there!" Uncle Wylie hurried out of the door, without a word to anybody. The rest of us were all talking at once. They asked me so many questions ques-tions I was afraid I'd mix up Victor's Vic-tor's plans and I did so desperately desperate-ly want to help him. He saw the position I was in and drew me aside as the group broke up and started outdoors again. "Any place I could watch your bedroom door, Judy?" "There's the storeroom." "Fat chance, anyway. Don't think he'll fall for the trap. Those bills weren't from all over the United States by chance and without sequence." se-quence." "Another thing. Lily Kendall did bid a lot. She was in almost at the finish. She's got it in for-" But I didn't have a chance to tell him what she'd hinted about the Pirate's Moutb just then, for the minister boomed, linking his arm with Victor's Vic-tor's and dragging him out of the church: "Well, back I go to the inn. Got to get that sermon done some time. And after the police come" I pounced on Victor as he disengaged disen-gaged himself. "Please, Mr. Quade. I've got to find my bag. That confounded con-founded key is in it." "Well, m be trotting along after the others," De Witt said. "Where did you leave it?" Victor sounded impatient. "I think it's important, im-portant, Just now, to see who makes a dive for your room. I'd hoped that storeroom" "But it's in the basement Only take minute. I'm I'm afraid to jo down there again by myself." "Oh, all right Only let's hurry, you're sure you left it there?" I was sure. But I was extremely doubtful if it was there now. I told Victor how I'd left it near the chest when I tried to fiddle open the lock. He told me to stay on the stair and let him hunt around. Certainly the bag wasn't in sight He opened h rhMt looked behind it, and then ") stood up, a portly, gma, and held up his I he wasn't going to er. (now that we are r in this house of ) ministerially . . . devil would be more fed the invalid, wheel-no wheel-no attention to him. r. Quade all we can. ink." He threw back pulpit gesture, fold-ihind fold-ihind him, and start-'ront start-'ront of the pews, d you want to own u old" town, my friend. 1 itand another hun- Quakers built for Because I was ex-one ex-one happy sum-;st sum-;st time of my life or my trouble over 1 used of taking, e- Later, after I'd M1 Put out of my onerated and re- 1 e records in New whatever to do a. one huge paw Pew post. "One ,riaiii t0 sPeak e se God. Nothing from the Almighty, !Karall. knows all." Jh i monkeys." tit- J- My didn't mean itL sure- She nd nervous. &Wt of murder C to lot of ex-J ex-J wari, burst. I j ' morey out of Fp connected with ai down "for- t'lPely senti-; senti-; Juki Victor grab tm' He would J 1 6 admit that they'd - had bid 2 But they were j Z come ., be Present ,aU1 n'ght-Jt n'ght-Jt about itLw. j My ister 7 1 "I'm afraid to go down there again by myself." could watch the sunsets and play I was on a ship without gettin' seasick. sea-sick. I hate boats. But I didn't really consider buying it Of course, if it went for a bargain never could resist a bargain. Thought maybe my little niece, Gloria Lovelace, might like" "Gloria Lovelace," the movie star!" scoffed Bessie. "What would she do with a church?" "Mighty sweet reformers," Lily said, proudly. "New publicity angle. an-gle. Remember me tellin' you I have a lovely picture of her I wanted want-ed you to see? Remind me to show it when we get back. Gloria's my favorite niece, and a sweeter, lovelier love-lier little darl-" "I'm sure she is," Victor interrupted. inter-rupted. "You must show us that picture by and by. But right now I want to ask you to listen carefully, please. Mr. De Witt had sentimental sentimen-tal reasons. Potter wanted a studio. Miss Kendall, a sea place to watch sunsets. The Gerrys', a bungalow. The Norcrosses, a gifte shoppe. And you, Mr. Quincy?" "Oh, I was there in the doorway. door-way. Called in a bid, but stopped when I saw Judy Jason was determined deter-mined to get the church. Didn't want to bid down Judy." "That was kind of you, Quincy. Was it because you knew she'd buy it, anyway, for you?" "For me?" Mr. Q. appeared to be nonplused. "See here, Quade, why should a cripple like me want an ark like this? I can see the sunsets from the inn or the rocks." "Explain yourself, Quade," cried several voices. A man was entering the church. We all looked around to see Uncle Wylie, who slunk into one of the rear pews. "Just covered it up with some good tarpaulin." be said. "Havin a prayer meetin' or another auction?' We ail shuddered, recalling the poor, charred body under its rough cover. My aunt wanted me, I was Informed, but I didn't budge. "This isn't an auction or meeting, either," the minister said. "Mr. Quade seems to think our bidding had something to do with the mysterious mys-terious bridge bombings and and the dead man down there. I believe, at last, the papers can describe everything ev-erything that's happened to the diseased dis-eased brain of a maniac-and ltu be the truth." . Victor shook his head. "No mani- into a rickety closet, where a few old hymn books were piled on some shelves. Nothing doing. I knew he was impatient about the old key. and so was L "Never mind. It'll turn up." "How does it happen the 500 wasn't in it if you left it right after the auction?" he asked. "Because I took it out after the sale Rigbt down here, too. Put It in my-my bote. I "ever make a practice." I said with some hauteur, "of carrying large sums to my handbag. hand-bag. A sneak thief-good heavens! what was that?" (TO BE CONTINUED) |