Show VT T ay T TT what the rain had the mystery of a haunted mansion copyright copyright W b by N wyndham U service fh martyn by It martyn larty A A A A A A A A A aaa AA A 1 I 1 A A L L A A A A CHAPTER X continued 19 who was it telephoned me all that stuff about keeping it a bird sancta ary did she answered 1 sug sua n it and got the data out of 0 a magazine rather clever it we were dreadfully upset when you bought it you wouldn I 1 have done so ro it if you known douglas person ally because everything as a rule went ment through freds freda hands we tried everything th threats rents of violence at tempts to prey on your superstition everything failed but the attempt to make you feel that you were doing a noble thing in protecting the birds she had bad a musical laugh you dunt don t mind my laughing do you she asked of canby it really was so qua quaint lall I 1 go ahead 11 I 1 he said grimly the laugh nas on me then but there theres s a useful old proverb about those who laugh last oh h you re ou top now she said and I 1 im in not even asking you to be generous or forgiving I 1 in asking you not to be silly and let a dreadful lot of notoriety your wife and laugh would hate it it ne e have lived here without your permission that was wrong but it can be adjusted As god Is my witness we saved sired vou you from that dreadful little anarchist a pretty good score store for us it the case comes to tr trial al the murder I 1 mean I 1 will testify to the fact that taunted professor burton and that the professor csOr killed him in self defense 1 I deny it absolutely I 1 cried bur ton this thing must be cleared up I 1 hae have my career to think of and a most useful one no doubt appleton App teton said politely 1 I shall be glad to testify that on the whole vou behaved well I 1 shall assure the court that had 1 L believed you were really the celebrated professor burton I 1 should not have detained you 0 up lie turned to hanby vie ile thought b the poor man merely believed himself f to be the learned professor I 1 lies lim liesl best burton 1 hae bae no mans man 8 blood on my hands I 1 demand that the police be called in immediately I 1 K hat for appleton asked to arrest A roe me for Lre trespass spass 5 1 I A an nt not thin thinking hing of trespass I 1 am thinking of murder hat murder appleton asked astei pleasantly in murder cases there Is always needed a corpus delicti a man where Is he in ili thess case can you produce him probes sor I 1 quite the best thing to do said the woman Is to let us go 0 o away aay I 1 have a good many things here but I 1 could leave I 1 say tout tonight ahl because we don dont t want to be seen these people the professor and that dilce lookin 0 boy have grievance against us I 1 admit but in both in stances it was their own fault the boy assaulted a friend and almost killed him did yon you I 1 les es I 1 junior demanded olt it nas as some fellow who bung around the tile house at night cells saw him and called liim him a wild faun naturally I 1 going to stand for that so to I 1 laid nip for him and started something I 1 1 I very cry jolly of you I 1 wilt the worn wom an smiling the yellow papers enjoy writing about it I 1 think you acted splendidly but the reporters they make most 6 fearful fun of youth and moonlight and romance im pin sure bliss glanb would enjoy it ft A e ell it promise to be gone before daybreak tomorrow you see we haven t done any damage da air mr hanby 1 what I hat Is it to he III ime have to talk this over in ili vate he decided we 01 await your decision ap said sin smiling fling but not here returned ilan allanby by 1 I ro in golnic to lock you up till I 1 know what Is to be the tile outcome I 1 UP tie entailed a little and looked nt at tue ike 11 1 ni a little afraid or of you 1 chink you may be the tile brains of 1111 w nole affair alfair lou ou shall occupy les lies cell for a while kahe the laughing a look died from he her faie fat e hanby had bi been bien en right in thinking her a dangerous person 1 I wont gol got she cried but in the tile end appleton persuaded her ills his attitude was perfect uc lip commended hanby on his decision del slon you are quite justified he sain benignly e are admitted trespassers and have no locus I 1 I 1 consider liler thai that you are well within your rights torne come belle doul don be b sill silly y I 1 it will only be for a little while belle belle who knew him and his moods better than anyone else was not cot de calved eel red as were mhd others the tile men nien watching thought they saw ap serene in the of having committed no heinous sins belle knew that murder was to in his heart at that moment 4 now nov I 1 es and junior said ilan b by 1 when the doors had been shut on the captured pair go down and bring up the wild faun stick your guns in his ribs if be has any sense he bell 11 come quietly I 1 1 1 V 11 ll III go too said but pelham I tied those mota when they hod had gone burton turned to his hll he cried yon you dont think I 1 killed that man not for a minute but you might have a lot of trouble explaining things all tie tle same sanie I 1 im m relieved at his death III admit I 1 didat let dina or even bill till but warned arned me noe r that he bad stolen sto tan some money from his old father and had bad bought a gun tie he was seen at the tile gand central where he in quiren how to get to pine plains plain mr said he had made milde threats to kill me vie that ties up with story no matter what other reasons he had I 1 believe he did keep from trying to kill me I 1 IM DO you mean to let them go then it will depend on what we get from ahn thug that les and junior are ure bringing 0 0 jim delaney hid too much sense sells to try to escape from three armed men the fortunes of war bad had changed dunged and he was nas already conold ering the tile favorable position ot of one who turns states evidence he lie sit where directed direct td him lie tie could see that the 0 ner of the gray house was no to he trifled with it a enough for you to know vanhy began that appleton and bidle are stint shut abuy in those cells calls e know all about them I 1 in po ing to ask you some questions ue lie if you want to 11 1 I in no not going to lie ile boss re spondee tim jim eagerly that wouldn t do me no good now would it Is none one at all but I 1 dont don t want to influence you bill take down hl evidence please just explain who you are and why you and that luigi jiro jim volunteered lies a from sicily ulm and me are employed by appleton AN e eve re been storing the stuff and guarding it jim smiled ruefully 1 I don t know who ho give us anay but you certainly came when it did the most harm I 1 naturally ratu rally hanby commented wholly ignorant of what the other meant I 1 in giving you the orf telling me all about it itan tn your yov own wily it all began begani efm declared when kp bought seymours ho hobe we this seymour wag a rich man hii wife ife wis from a swell family in the south and he lie expected to live here all his life lie had the house on a lease with the option of purchase and he meant to buy see tee so be he sends home to england 12 for a stock of booze hofsly hf sly in barrels and port in wood and liqueurs lique urs and cham chain aagnes t and everything a man wants them guys in fridland Fri gland when they re well fixed buy huy wholesale and they all have cellars and butlers cutlers to look after them tills this seymour he put in enough so bed never neer have to bu bui anything else if he lived to be a hun bull j dred hen lien his kids lids was drowned and his w fe decd he nent vent and lind although be he was past fifty he sot got into hl old relli ref clment nent then his three brother anns as killed in the war anil haq he a lord or something mono 3 lislie to him he wanted to act M out of this place and te liked Apple applelona App lelon tou sri he took check for tin the effnar c flar what does appleton Applet nn do tait blut gel get luigi to build a wall across one end of it ulal g a nn son by trade appleton viscat ftak like me tie I 1 tho light was a joke jole hall I 1 it t conie conic in I 1 was tending a bat down on third aenne Apple applean tn hl had friends in and alier knew beye was out tot or keeps jim wis w 13 here permit permitted led to gitlit a clar ualle title bill put docu he the main incidents in this recital as ts jim went on ethels that give ghe appleton the adi ile aliew booze ans going to be sare so he lie sta stated ted to nial airle e a phie IH to cache tt it in till the price otiis its right and he could of 11 1 ill nil at one track rack he lie in ide tile new of thi houe nud and left jett out the celair othere bere the stuff was wag stored I 1 gued gue civit fooled you sir hanhy hanby 11 it ll lid hutsby admits 1 d I lilii jilt 11 fool tool antibody said jim im who atas as the st aroused v ellb spry III say he hes a the slackest slickest slick est st bird I 1 lie P conia coni neross he plans for the year after atit thata the bort of guy he Is he lie had the lal ial e pirt part p ly fl it led in then he had bad some soine dago laborer fix the stream build a tunnel in here and make ninke the place livable tiey dlan t know blat wl at they was do ing and dian I 1 care so ions as was paid good tien be he put luigi in as caretaker you sa se the cot op were ere after laia and he tie stand a challe with that build of lifa lifs am any dick could a him any time I 1 luggi likes to drink an on 1 sleep and this was men to him IC I C what did you do asked 11 1 I used to t i oot ill stuff down donn te tife stream I 1 used to get it of file lie t oats from friends drive up to the ciper rond road and put the casca cases under the he culvert BO go drift down down here luigi could pile em ern up so that when the day come he could dump em to the stream and they d drift down town to boyle a tam arm 1 guels were we re out ut of luck To tonight nIghts 8 the al night lit and everyone Is fixed and now you hustus bust up the bartyl now how were ere you going to have taken it away it if there s so much of it the road Is going to be put un let repair after dark and all traffic will detour that leaves us its uninterrupted weve got forty tenton ten ton trucks all ready get busy bugy at the right tine time and take out the stuff which will be down at that lake by boyle 9 barn there won wont it be a hitch this Is a great fixing game and I 1 know how to fix the guys that might be in the way this Is big business said jim proudly appleton expected to have two hundred thousand bucks to night jim was a gambler he tie shrugged his he ue had lost before 11 mio ho killed gariby de dc banded suddenly I 1 1 I ulal served him right he ile was t trying to croak him the dirty little catl rat I 1 it was justifiable homi homicide clae all right don dont t you waste no tears about Si lie ile come here to bump you off I 1 found him trying to set fire to the th thicket lelet that night when we had tint thit big gale and the wind ind was blow ing on to your house lets get this straight said han ilan by when he had bud listened to other othe T particulars you and I 1 ulal were RO go ing to put these case goods in the stream where they would float dolp to boyle boyles s place unseen at boileau the same trucks that are working on the new road would be waiting these would take late the stuff and dispose of it it Is that right I 1 positively boss everything wat wa fixed but your pang gang show me where it Is hidden han by said 1 I wouldn t try to escape estape if it I 1 were you those boys will shoot at the tile edge of the large clearing carefully stacked in plies the search ore ers found thousands of cases of whisky brandy and old wines jim explained that there had bad been e ex x haust lve lye experiments as to the length of time they would take to floit down stream under the road and come to rest in boyle boyles s like ille it s a straightaway trip but tor for one place I 1 jim volunteered we found they jammed there sometimes so we ne greaud the boards and now they ride pretty I 1 hat about the S seymour seymou r stull stua rinder the lumber in ill the e big a cellar hanby ast ed that mint t to go yet I 1 think appleton wai wat going tp nako nale a deal nith jou direct when lian the ohe time came ame he ile wouldn t have no difficulty in sell bell ing tint tivit you can get any tiny price for stuff that hat Is absolutely old and ine there lots of people afraid of getting wood yet jim pointed to tho the cases all ready tor for the journey tills this Is ril honest to goodness stuff he went on but it aln I 1 old like it used to be and it dont don t do a guy any good to lap it up when 11 II a only omy two years old I 1 know I 1 ve bin NO in the biloon business appleton trust ed me because I 1 in off the stuff f keeps luggi I 1 ulal he the cheapest sort of wine III e they used to make every morning li it the red ink joints in the ity city I 1 it say appleton wig wis a good pit pl I 1 er I 1 don I 1 yet ge get lust just how yon you in hanby did lid not satisfy the tile fellow s beil 70 it for knowledge whit followed puzzled jim very vory much but bill be zeniade heni made ade no remarks he ile labored under the delusion ili hit it I 1 esble wa anxious to shoot nor ir did lull understand but he too thought that his salvation lu lav r in to obey mahout pause le lie jim Pil cohnn limi and junior dumped the cases into the Dirl Diri nes neso nis n is cointe coi on nhen they ed jim lind lold told thein th ill it hy by the entire mass would be onlea proper property tv chere liere pule ard ill h iw nit would help to loid them on tile tru ru ks 1 I 1 can cant I 1 I 1 beep the stull I 1 if had explained to alm ilm tin and arid I 1 ia int it belted on some one neels ion ou can bet appleton mil keep bis his mouth clofed cl oed I 1 I 1 I 1 TO DB BE CONTINUED |