Show what the gray house hid y re mystery of a haunted mansion W N U service wyndham mertya THE STORY allton hanby prosperous new to k menhant men bant has purchased a country place the gray house gear pine plains miss t ormer tenant ot the gray bouse barrs him that the houe i under a curse further alarm tog details are impressed upon adolt secretary by a man who claims to have been chauffeur or sir stan oril seymour ormer occupant of the place the hanbys laugh off abe warnings as some form of practical loke but they are shocked when they hear that abe caretaker whom they have put ID charge of the gray house a man nanigi f rr has been mystery oar dered hanby consults lt pelham the family for the new home appleton a clerk of douglas and smith the agents from whom hanby bought abe gray bouse to pelham that a dan arous pond near the house in which several children have been ill owned has since been in but he to dissuade hanby rom occupying the gray house hanby and junior learn that the caretaker was known to the police as red and bad a bad record hanby consider asking leslie barren loo an admirer of cella and a bucky youth to join the house party urs hanby declares she like the house CHAPTER IV continued you are wanted on the long distance sir she told hanby hello saad hanby a few second later tes this Is he speaking the rolce that answered seemed tar ariy bat very distinct it was plain tj that of an educated woman 1 I saw yon at pine plains this after noon you are interested in the mur der 1 naturally he replied may 1 ask ta whom ini talking 1 I he name would convey nothing besl lea it would not be the true one why abir you 11 se presently are you still determined to live at the gray house why not I 1 bought the place or that purpose ft ben you bought it you had no idea of ita history you did not then know that it takes toll of every family inhabiting it nappy families have one there hot never a happy family left it 1 I am satisfied that with proper care ese accidents could have been what the real estate people mid when they wanted you to buy the hace they lied naturally all nt la their mr canby la your heart of hearts yon know there la some inexplicable but dreadful dread fui tarse on it 1 I am not weak minded enough to edit such nonsense ue spoke with unusual violence with common pre the accidents could have been who told you so A mr appleton hanby suddenly that he was an employee of the farm which eold the house ue replied how appleton had seemed to liter daring the interview in the be inning lie had seemed to believe that something beyond human explanation hovered about the gray house then had become brisk and businesslike d had spoken of carpenters estl mates of the orm of douglas robin a there was contempt in the Pea kera voke 1 seel merely one 0 their clerks may I 1 ask what pro tinion that he could suggest would nave saved me life of your anfor binate caretaker that was due to one of the ven ettas common to the underworld far away the musical laugh came M the wire 1 I dont gie anything amusing in y ilanay snapped cut you ft said the unknown strikes roe as very very funny y I 1 ask you if you ever saw hed lapan ur hanby 1 he returned 1 dont relish at sort ot thing in life or in death 1 I did ue six feet in helf clit a hair of reddish brown and tar I 1 d himself very erect this was a I 1 e U was pretending to be an ex k adler alta ansual habit was to slink cue furtively like the murderer he 1 a now mr hanhy you are ell tt in height and you walk as erect ag ever a west pointer did we d not know yoa had engaged a roan 10 watch the jray house ked chapan not killed because of a vendetta ue was mistaken for you 1 1 I dont bellegie a word of uan sald violently it would be safer for you and your f yu et time there I 1 ua be no mistake I 1 k are you threatening to kill mev again the musical laugh was beard that would be most unwise over the telephone alrea no we are warning you that it would b safer to take your family somewhere else buhy not a trip round the world or are wonderful places in long island lou will find pine plains cold in winter very it this Is a joke its a rotten gnep tranby cried angrily it Is more a loke to me than to you babil the unseen woman 1 I scarcely think your family nil con aider it a lode alien you are found dead but perhaps they may one never knows el this s your lasi warning at this point allanby was cut olt ue shouted for junior junior startled by the unusual visor of his fathers voice came running 1 I ve just had a long distance said his faglier it Is very important that 1 should trace from what station it was sent now I 1 ather do your stuff 1 you bet P replied junior eagerly it was a woman who spoke an educated joroan with a youngish alce continued hanhy I 1 m in the library walh mr pelham let me know what happens pelham looked up as his friend en there was something different about blui now the look of indetermination was kone rill you look as if yon were about to scrap with some cue and rather enjoyed lie prospect exactly bow 1 feel haab said mil it Is nothing new to a five doehr a day to hp ir that dads perfectly safe cella retorted his client has been threatened with death so you won t be shocked to learn the sad news what the del 11 do you mean this a woman with a charming voice juniors trying to find where she talked sald that lied was killed because the mistook him for me my turn it ap pears Is next on the list all will be forgiven it 1 take the family to eu rope or buy something on long island squared bis aboul ders the old subconscious mind was 1 am in danger but now that 1 know it consciously the feeling of depression has gone bill your salary Is now the dollars and twenty five cents a day you can use the extra quarter for an insurance policy you probably won t need any more clothes not a word I 1 dinas coin ang the two men stood up as airs allanby came into the room 1 I ve never been so thrilled in mi lafel she cried the of the creature in assuming that your death would be a lokel canby groaned roa ned he saw it all alna bad picked up the telephone up stairs in her bedroom and and als bened to the whole conversation which Is it to be be asked around the world or long island its loang to be alne bc declared hil you recognize the volie did you beer beard it before 1 could only recognize that it was the voice of an educated woman youngish and perfectly at ease it was an a voice alna asserted inflection might 1 I in nut sure the have been put on to decele moreover lots of our actresses get into that way of talking surely contralto ot casle think that throaty was it you enow that she waa born to manhat tan this woman was english ilna aad and III prove it she say as we do around the world she said round the world the ling elsh always do that an american woman would say on long island if you recall it she said in long island that s like the english they say in the street when we siy on the street im certain it wa an englishwoman mrs hanby paused as junior came in wearing an air of importance the tall came from a booth at grand central he reported its impossible to trace it any more than that it long distance at all ilanay rang ha hell for enry sloan hy did you say I 1 was wanted on the long distance he inquired when the maid appeared the jadv said tills ts long als tame 1 want mr lillton hanby hen mary had gone allanby turned to his wife the woman hae spoken some distance from the instrument it sounded tike a long als tance very carefully donel alna do you still want to go through with U of course I 1 do I 1 do you suppose I 1 II 11 have any other woman threatening my miri dinas ees flashed looked at her closely it was a new alna to him it was a woman who would ight like a tigress to save the ann ft ho was dear to her belham knew hint no word of til would sav the llan bys standing together as they invariably did they were not to be deterred As the house detective he aalde 1 realize that my clients have stam ceded I 1 only recommend that no member of tills household should KC up there alone safety in numbers I 1 all expeditions are to be accompanied by the house detective pr he resigns all traveling expenses incurred by lie said detec the must be paid for by his principals tella and I 1 esble barron interrupted tham ella at nineteen was one of those lovely vital children of the age incapable of fatigue eager for fun with much wisdom where men were concerned and intolerant of nn age where chaperonage chap cronage flourished and young people went to bed early leslie birron was a silent youth through family influence he might some day occupy a distinguished alon in his father s bunk new haven had just lost him but be liked col lege so well that he was returning tor postgraduate work which he thought would he less tedious than work in the elder barrens hank it was his aim in life to marry cella but of her consent he was not yet sure ell olna darling said cella putting her arm about her mother hy this high color and the sparkling eyes his dad found out that you love blell 1 I m fighting mad because i Us bened in and found your father talk ing to an englishwoman with a lovely voice dads perfectly safe cella retorted sometimes I 1 think were not modern enough I 1 don t know a sin gle household where the father and mother are like you two wandering parents all of them sometimes I 1 think mother Is a sort of In growing vamp she Is laughed when ever I 1 try to escape she practices her wiles on me do you think you can stand les or a whole sum mer 1 want him up at alne plains you must dilute him with other boys she retorted I 1 coulden couldn t stand having nothing but les all that time cella looked at him laughing see how eagerly be snaps at your inalta tlona 1 I accepted last week said les as soon as junior knew about this new house ive made plans for a golf course already who was the lady with the lovely voice cella asked she knew that she had interrupted an unusual conversation 1 I m not going to give away before your mother and all these wit nesses go away and dance we will oln you presently when she had gone elaney arned to dina and 1 dont want cella and the others to know junior Is dlf ferent we shant be going for a month and things may have explained themselves by then 1 hope not said dill pelham 1 want to earn my money TO BE CONTINUED |