Show what tine gray THE STORY nilton hanby ha purchased country place the gray house near pine plains mist former tenant warn him that the bouse I 1 under a curse further alarming details are im pressed upon adolf anby secretary by a man who allme to have been chauffeur or sir stanford seymour former oo 00 cupani of the place th uan by laugh oer the warnings but they are shocked when they hear the caretaker of the gray bobae a man named kerr has been mysteriously murdered hanby consults his friend pel barn the family betarte tor the new borne appleton a clerk of domiela Do tiela and smith the agent whom hanby bought the gray house explains to Pel harn that dangerous pond nar tn houe in which several children have been drowned ha since beba failed n but he urges pel barn to dissuade hanby from occupying the gray house hanby and junior learn that the care taker was known to the police ai red chapin and had a bad record hanby considers askler lebelle barron long an admirer of cella to join the house party mrs hanby declares she likes the bouse pelham becomes a mem oer of the household with the official title of house detective over the telephone hanby s warned by a woman not to sub led his family to the dangers of the gray house leslie barren arrives making four able bodied members of the hanby bouse bold A phone call from a man who declares be Is an old acquaintance of hanby s and interested te in ornithology but whom hanby annot identity urges him to preserve a part of the grounds as a bird sanctuary the idea appeals to hanby and be makes the promise the hanby take possession of the gray house CHAPTER V continued bill she said you must be fond of the ilanay clan to do this poor old bill she murmured softly why poor he demanded 1 I know she said wisely you cant fool me not poor be retorted im rich I 1 have a family without the labor of supporting it im much more sensible than you imagine I 1 adore your mother she married the man she loved three things might have happened to me I 1 have married another woman and made her unhappy I 1 might have become one of those sour cynical old deella who poison this earth I 1 might have droak myself to death I 1 thought of doing all three at various times I 1 did try drinking for a year but atoa made me feel like a d d coward I 1 am cow going to nse some of your modern terms I 1 sublimated my love into affection tor everything that was dear to your mother wb I 1 bear your superior airs with cheer falness ful ness why I 1 talk baseball cores with tim ton love baseball said cella 1 I love yon retorted pelham about tour years ago the summer e bad a jouse at allenhurst Allen hurst I 1 cherished a hopeless passion tor you tella confided it began when you ased to do those fancy back dives at the pool and was tanned to enry when you rescued that man from the surf did you ever sus hect not a bit he said mine Is an open modest nature shrinking end simple you interest me strangely cella why did you drop me 1 I went back to school she said and there was an adorable being who taught us music 1 wanted to practice beethoven ten hours a day why did you drop him he was sent away or kissing a teach eror rather for being caught ang a teacher after that les aher amused me I 1 was then an emotionally old woman of seventeen are you really fond of Les asked Pel hara 1 I wish 1 knew I 1 1 I thought one always knew ot in these times said cella we meets so many boys les Is on probation this summer what about before breakfast there s a Eorge high dive into twenty feet t water I 1 want to beat junior at ick diving please bill give me a lesson 1 have to make it right with a he said tin hoe man in and I 1 want to keep my job dina and dad will be there before 0 o it you don t make haste hat taking advantage of me e that be in my bathing suit we you are 1 the two raced toward the bouse the log party was not ready breakfast until half past nine meal was hardly begun when a of mall was brought in going to send a postboy on orae balk for it when things are in ing order ilanay commented ling 0 out Trades mens inalta wa mainly cleres one from a undertaker with most illustrations of the latest w caskets t he held up a large square en pe lavender colored and adorned 1 a black coat of arms salterton Sal he read 1 I t ten you dina that I 1 wrote to seymour weeks ago asking if be 0 o a chauffeur like the one ascribed scribed bed canby frowned a little odd that his reply should come oui first breakfast berel what does he say dina asked anby gut the envelope a abe center Is a crest be corn ted underneath la a mystery of a haunted mansion ay wyndham martyn W N U service copyright by wyndham maitya english address listen I 1 seymour manor cojei tracey ottery st mary audleigh budleigh Bud leigh salterton Sal devon shire that makes the gray house fade into on the top left hand corner it says telegraph of on the top right hand corner nines it bays great gestern 7 estern st alon tour tilly was the missive that canby read aloud HILTON HANBY ESQ my dear sir owing to fashing trip in norway my answer to your letter hae teen unavoidably delayed during my atay in your country my chauffeur was the one now in my ervice richard betterton he I 1 alve feet nine in height weighs dred one nun and forty pounds ie dark pale of face with an aquiline hosein tact as you see in every respect differing om the lin who claimed to adv held this position J am my dear sir faithfully yours ST AMOnO SEYMOUR 1 I resign as hoe man bill ael ham said 1 I am now the bouse detective I 1 report for work here and now I 1 guessed wrong gnout the big hearted chauffeur who blew to a feed I 1 hanby was worried he had al most the affair from his mind biow everything came back to him vividly particularly the woman who threatened him with death well were dug in here now he observed and it will take something more than vague threats to turn us out CHAPTER VI there was a letter for mrs danby in the package of mall who s been writing to you dina her husband inquired the parkers been want i ins to come here but I 1 told them we asking any one till we bad got used to the place it would spoil it to have any outsiders yet I 1 shall be finding new wonders every min ante for a month besides we have no saddle horses yet and julia Is mad about riding that reminds me that I 1 must order a habit and a side saddle was etui thinking of the mysterious warnings its tunny he remarked present ly that any one should take the trouble to feed for nothing there must be something behind it junior and I 1 will find out said its beneath the dignity of the lord of the manor to sleuth the first letter I 1 opened contin ned pursuing his train of thought was from an undertaker noted for the simplicity and dignity of his funerals HP includes flowers thoughtful t the next was from seymour perhaps I 1 shall now be called 0 o flie telephone to talk with another unknown conversationalist mv motto Is eternal vigilance bald pel ham carry on your bust ness ae usual your faithful hawk show slumbers ant nor eleeca HI toll you 1 will do hit he BUS ge sted 1 I it heat you three seta out of four whenever yon are I 1 ve been reading a hook on tennis tactics and after it to memory ave burned it you cant read it you faient a chancel mood was more cheerful 1 I wrote tant book he declared warn to bet go and pet into flannels pelham told him worried he added to oina when bad left toe room I 1 never saw him so before try and make him laugh at it bill mood of depression passed varr quickly new interests so crowded one apon the other that there was no room for bloom or ID the parkers did not come corkers porkers Por kers stomach after many unheeded warn ings had finally rebelled its owners bahit of aking three meat meals a day lulla parke wrote that her husband nhoun to be operated upon one day walking docu the drive hanhy met a small i florid neatly dressed man approaching the house the sort of man to inspire conn dence even among the most clous if he a salesman hanby reflect ed 1 I m gone A roan like that could sell me the stranger bowed politely mr hanav 1 believe yes replied wondering what it was be was about to buy my name Is appelton Ap peton frederick appleton you are probably unaware of my existence on the contrary you are expected when the bass season opens you were kind enough to ave my friend mr pelham some information about this hause As I 1 was in the neighborhood 11 took the liberty of coming to see your improvements I 1 have always been much interested in the gray house 1 I shall be atad to show you over it and ask your advice I 1 find every day hat there are a lot of things about country estates that they don teach boya on farms these improve mants for instance mr appleton s manner was almost eager may 1 ask what they are A big swimming pool between the tennis courts and the house a new garage for six cars a japanese tea house and a dozen smaller lobs nothing pleases the new owner more than the opportunity to exhibit his property mr appleton was bored by nothing he begged to be shown everything he had no ariti cismas congratulated nilton by warmly you will make this he declared one of the stately homes of america you have a genius or this sort of thing only in one matter was his view opposed to that of the owner he thought that the ground given over to the bird sanctuary would do ad for ornamental glass houses my wife and I 1 think of such a thing hanby asserted firmly we are tor the conservation of bird life yon may not know it hut our rarer species of songsters song are in serious danger of extermination that bird sanctuary Is a hobby of ours and it will not be disturbed while we live mr appleton wrung his hosts hand was surprised at he emotion written on this cheery un lined face it does you credit sir he ex claimed in my ignorance I 1 have given no thought to such matters it was criminal negligence I 1 did not know As a matter of fact hanby con fessel 1 I was just as heedless as you a month ago mr bayliss whom I 1 met at the metropolitan club told me all about it I 1 rather think he Is president of the ornithological society the name seems familiar said appleton one of our national au thorit les if I 1 mistake not I 1 think have rend a notice of one of his books on he subject appleton was sightseeing anali luji cheon would not let him refuse to stay to the meal despite the fact that he had a neat package of sandwiches and fruit the interior of the house charmed him greatly was filled with ad mi at the rules of the sancta ary club the critical family circle approved of fliri TO CONTINUED |