Show LOOK 0 M lQiS r wal t cc aligo lligo 7 mr 0 me e ode xa th faffa ss S ca s SYNOPSIS Tt trudolph udolph van vechten a young man of 11 ir asure sure la in to see a man enter no 1313 a house home across the street fruen ruin the powhatan club clab 1 long unoccupied find and spoken ot of an the arouse ot of mystery Mya tery several beveral sons ill at regular intervals enter no 1313 dersons Ier 13 van vechten expresses concern to tn ills his friend torn phinney regarding tile the whereabouts of 0 lil aln cousin and 11 ilk carew A man Is in forcibly ejected from roin the house hoime van vechten anil and torn tom follow the ilia man and find him lead dead in the street van vechten la in attracted by the alti fata face or of ft a girl in the crowd of onlookers err the th body later he discovers the th girl gazing at him with a look ot of corn from the windows of the mystery OUs oua housa detective mint flint calls on van vechten to get hla his vernion of the tra trait ed edy y tom phinney goes foe alone on an a bachl yacht in ani trip lie ile recognizes anions among some perona ona in a motor boat two men whom he had s een been enter tle tho house houam ot of mystery Myat pry ile IT a cecii x one of t them lem a mr br cal I 1 HB la on shore hira later find follows follow him toni tom I 1 in n seized bellied blindfolded and taken to a fro aoun u me ile he honra a girl named jessle debile evidently the dau liter of the man in autho authority r 91 bf hla captors A iween voiced fht later against tire the rough nemi of MB him captors captor van vechten calls on his unde uncle theodore Theo Tho ilore odore vin van vechten Vec liten big man in NV wall I 1 orr et anil and known an the man alan of 0 iron in bearch lear cli of information regarding th alio llio of palan carew detec cinc snowa van a koia if mesh e a h purse puma found in the house of mya alys for ory y van recognizes it as i belonging to gahwe carew the sweet voiced girl holp torn tom 11 hinney escape detective flint 1 lint I 1 iolli alln van bechlen ho be hns brim ft a theor theory v that 1 inlo in g e linn has bedri are tent sent to bum europa e in an erfort to trace kalwo to tom nr tells tella vp ann 0 w vech vechten an he ts Is in love ond relates his adventure A message baafi from roni 1 I 1 ondon reports that hint two ladles denem 1 elmr ing allas ml carew and her companion mra mr Devere deveresux Reveren sailed balled for now new york so torno me time lima previously A reward of 0 2500 1 offered iff ered it develops that tire the ladles visited the home hoine of 0 temple ponner honner owner or of tho the homo of mystery Mya tery flint hog has a theory that ahr they are connected with the lie mystery or no 0 1313 BOOK 11 II CHAPTER vill VIII the ghost of romance van Vech tens admission was no cepter by mr air flint quite BB as pl fi matter ot of courso course as aa tf it ho he would have been exceedingly surprised it the young man had bad identified the tha lady of the taxicab with tome different person poi eon said lie he 1 I 1 shall sketch briefly as much of tho the schuyler donner history as I 1 have learned arnod lo then mr air van vechten you will see BOO what I 1 want to know in tho the seventies and early eighties C Cor opton schuyler was waa a prominent ligure figure a man of affairs in the new york commercial world and ns as fortunes went in dao dab a wealthy man Dos dovideo ideo helas he was or of the old dutch lits ills homo home was a center of the fashionable life of tho the city two beautiful charming daughters greatly enhanced this attraction so BO that tho the memo was waa really bettor better known socially than in a business way at that period his bla homo home haq looked upon an aa a mansion and that young man who stood in the he fam faint ilys lys good graces counted himself fortunato fortunate indeed it was only an all inevitable consequence that the two schuyler sisters carried a long string of suitors in their train they social favorites and enjoyed the supremacy which for several beveral years discouraged all idea of matrimony then conditions began to change 0 one no misfortune followed another so that in a remarkably short time the the athe door swung open at his touch family sank bank into comparative obscurity and in tho the cruel way has ot of giving her favorites the cold shoulder speedily forgotten first through a series of bad in roat r meata tg schuylor schuyler lost the tha bulk of hta his for doriua fo riua une A few months previously josephine had bad married against her fathers consent and her husband percy devereaux showed the tha sort of specimen be was by promptly desert ing her when the loss lose became known next mm airs schuyler huyter Sc died suddenly hope of the tha family and of recouping its dwindling for unes was waa now all centered in tho the re alfter Ill lle orletta earletta among her utora wa ono one young man inan who was not only her social equal but heir to of the tha largest fur furtune tunes in the world orld every in now new york tf daughter to say bay i i nothing ot of many abroad especially la in england had marked this young man for her legitimate prey but he loved henrietta schuyler and was so BO do voted and open in his preference that tho the matrimonial schemers were one and all discouraged but with all hla hill wealth and superior perlor eu position the course of true love did not run smooth for temple donner tho the facts facto would make a plot for a novel there was yet another young man among those who came a courting nt at the old brownstone mansion but one vastly different in many respects from donner this mans name was waa willard max alax willard Wll lard ive heard the name muttered van vechten ten it was an irony of fate pursued mr flint that donner and willard Is should hould not only be friends lende fr but the closest sort of intimacy existed between them a genuine damon and pythias attachment willard Wll lard lacked about every ad vantage pos possessed ossed by his bis rival he be was poor unattractive in appearance and had many peculiar traits which made enemies where templer donner bonner won friends ile he was ana regarded as a visionary a crank a man who would never make ills his mark however Ilo wever he be must havo possessed some unusual quality because temple bonner had bad implicit faith in him believed that he ha was WAR a genius of 0 sort but it was charac characteristic tL of willard that he would accept no assistance from hla his more fortunate rival donner bonner it would seem beem felt his own position keenly lie he realized that his bis friend was almost overwhelmingly handicapped and as well as I 1 can piece out front from what actually happened he withdrew drow temporarily from the field and gave gava max willard every opportunity to advance his suit I 1 suppose the idea was waa that it willard was successful cess ful bonner would abide by the consequences it not then willard was to stand aside and give bonner lila his chance chanco much of this la Is guesswork it Is hard to arrive at the truth at this late day but certain circumstances exist which indicate that what I 1 am telling you la Is what actually happened it would appear from the sequel that max alex willard had been the favored one all along temple donner conner went abroad within two months willard and was alias henrietta had eloped and were married within ten minutes after lie he received news newa ot of the runaway wedding compton schuyler bad blown out his brains thero them are the naked facts temple bonner never returned to td america Ar and max willard Wll lard instead of justifying his friends rl ends confidence in lila ills talon talents ta whatever their bent might have been had dropped entirely from sight ills ilia wito wife you tell me has been dealt dead a long time but were there no children Is max willard still alive where la Is he has he any family what Is its his occupation those are the things I 1 want you ou to find out 1 I fancy the runaway match with nil all its attendant circumstances created something of a stir at the time some of your older friends should be able and willing to supply you with the fa facts acta oh I 1 have no doubt that I 1 can learn all you want to know agreed van vechten Vech teu most moat of what you have jut just told me its Is not exactly news but I 1 had forgotten it it all happened before my time you know josephine Joaeph lne la Is generally regarded sy by her friends as a woman who has haa suffered much one deserving pity and sympathy but heavens and earth she Is no martyr to tribulation ashes the Joll joil lest sort imaginable but how will this help hell you to solve your murder problem or what more nearly concerns me find and some trace of my cousin cousant for some come mr air flint sat silent gazing gailing meditatively through the window number dingy front loomed dingier than ever in the late afternoon sunshine but mr flint had bad no BO eyes for the old house just at present after a bit he ha turned to van vechten voc h on before answering your question mr van vechten I 1 am going to lay another matter before you said he gravely bravely it mayre may ern impertinently personal but there are occasions occa alona when tho ordinary civilities and amenities must be ba laid aside and disregarded I 1 know that you and alias carew Caro ware are engaged to bo married I 1 do not mention the tha sentiment that usually oleo such euch a conventionality for perhaps I 1 shall pain you hut but there a that she ehe has become interested tere te in another more recent love aff affair T flint was wa the prompt response you are ara not trespassing tres passing upon roy my feelings in the least and I 1 am going to be rank frank with you the engagement you speak of has always been moro or less lean of a tacit understanding la in our family paige la in only a coasin you mow but no iso are b w clannish set act we van Vech tens and she eho and I 1 have nl al ways boon been awfully fond of each other but as for love ai another matter in strict strictest ast ne I 1 have an idea that we shall never marry simply I 1 am convinced he bo cause causa I 1 could not insist without foro fore ing myself upon her no no I 1 am much too fond of her for that and as for another lovo love affair what earthly reason la 16 there for her making a a secret of it sho she to la not a girl given to romantic fancies or schoolgirl school girl sentimentality she bho Is of age her ber own mistress and were she to learn as an I 1 have that it 1 Is possible for either of us to care tor for somebody tome body else in a way different from our present feelings toward each other why sho she let roe me know it last fast enough abata paige if anybody roust must be hurt havo have it over and nd done with as aa soon as aa pos po elble e 11 1 I am beginning to form a pretty fair idea of your cousin observed mr flint her intelligence courage and independent character make it all the more necessary that I 1 learn everything possible about max willard Wll lard I 1 suppose that she eho and mrs airs devereaux are ye very r y much attached to each other flaige alge and josephine I 1 cant may aay they are like mother and daughter josephides Jose phines heart to Is much too young tor for that chums would be more nearly accurate yet mrs devereaux has been a mother to paige and the very strongest ties of affection and conn coati dence bind them together mr flint slowly nodded his head bead as aa it these disclosures were right in harmony with whatever theory he was evolving one thing more said he it Is strange that it has never occurred to you with your intimate understanding of your cousin that nothing at all has hall happened to her that her prolonged absence without communicating with relatives or friends to la an act of her own tree free will but it did occur to me van vech ton ten contradicted and it Is my knowledge of paige that renders such a hypothesis wholly absurd again mr air r flint nodded understanding angly now said eald he ill answer your question as to why I 1 attach so much importance to finding max willard Wll lard although what I 1 have already told you 8 should hould supply the explanation I 1 want to discover the motive that influenced temple donner bonner to disregard his own ironbound iron bound system of doing business and establish a precedent by interposing personally in the case of the house across the street it Is remarkable that ho he should do such a thing for anybody it max willard to Is alive the old friendship would supply that motive then it would be high time to get in touch with willard and learn what hes up to perhaps van vechten reflectively offered temple conners bonners sentiment about tho the house extended to preserving everything just as it was when he be was attentive to miss If henrietta enrietta dut but he has never come coma back to it that was waa precisely prec leely ively tho the impression I 1 gathered aside from the gold purse I 1 found nothing whatever of any interest to my investigation van vechten asked carelessly it ono were minded to could one get in int the detective smiled are you thinking of attempting it maybe I 1 shall it the obstacles in the way are not insurmountable you see flint I 1 may stumble upon something ng of value as a clue something that was meaningless to you with your scant knowledge of family traditions the detective passed a flat key across the table saying merely the back door you reach it through through the alley van vechten pocketed pocket edthe tho key turning to tom mr air flint had just asked him to recount his rocky cove experience when the arrival of another messenger boy with a fresh bundle of cablegrams cable grams interrupted him these messages were the remaining replica to those sent by van vechten in the morning and tn in addition a notification from the telegraph company of failure to deliver tho the cablegram to paige at parts paris they proved to be similar in tenor to those received earlier in the day one and all they declared antl entire re ignorance of balge carels whereabouts CHAPTER IX un enfant perdu whether mr air flint attached any par nicular importance to anything in tom phinneys Phin recital van lochten was wal unable to determine either from the th detectives fixed expression or ab sence expression of ot or the few questions he be asked when tom had bad finished these interrogations wore wera aligned solely at aiding tom to remember the mo towboats tor boata boats occupants but excepting the tha suppositious servant and the sandy candy complexioned man inan now identified as john callis toms description was waa vague before leaving mr air flint iati eald to van vechten vicken 1 I am liable to be looking you up almost any minute of the day or night I 1 expect to be ba pretty busy but it la is impossible to foretell precisely in what way my efforts will bo be directed may I 1 count on you spending as much of oc your time here as you can the young man nodded it if I 1 am not here I 1 shall leave word so BO you may know where to find me tom after the detective was gone reverted to a topic which he had broached earlier in the day aro are you going to use the motor for a while ruddy I 1 want to take a run down to malden maiden lane it if youre not the other roused sufficiently from his puzzling reflections to give the speaker a questioning look Al maiden tilden lane he repeated tom amplified chap down there wealthy diamond importer was wanting a skipper for his steam yacht brownlowe Brown lowa lows hla his name met him at the tha payne frenc franchs frenchs h hs a last week lie was asking me about it suppose ho he heard beard that I 1 was interested in yachting I 1 havo have a masters certificate you know one job I 1 can hold down tom was moody and tor for the time being van vechten laid aside his own perplexities so he said you are still determined to go to work tom nodded most of the time you c haps |