Show g I IThe The House of Whispers I I T By WILLI WILLIAM A f JOHNSTON I b Bron Co A SECRET PASSAGE Synopsis Synopsis Spalding Nelson It Is occupying occupying oc oc- oc- oc the apartments of ot hU hi uncle great Rufus Gaston Outon The Gaston Gastons lea leaving on A trip tell him about mysterious noises and whispers whispers whis pers that have scared the them He becomes acquainted with Barbara Bradford who lives In the same big bis building He Instinctively dislikes die dis likes Ilke and distrusts the superintend superintend- superintendent ent Wick The mysteries In his apartments apartment be begin n with Ith the disappearance disappearance of ot the Q Gaston as ton pearls from the wall safe ufe Ho He decides not to call can In the p police but to do his own Investigating It Is soon evident that someone has hu access to his rooms Becoming friendly with Barbara he learns that her apartments apartments apartments apart apart- ments a are e equally equall mysterious She tells him that sever several years years' before her sister Claire who lives Ilves with her had made a run away marriage marriage marriage mar mar- with an adventurer from whom she was soon parted and th the marriage had be been on annulled Claire is en engaged a td to be m married and someone someone someone some some- one has stolen documents concerning concerning concern concern- ing Ine the affair from the Bradford apartment and Is s attempting to blackmail the Brad fords Nelson takes Miss Kelly the telephone girl to dinner with the Idea of ot pumping her Gorman a a. hotel detective detective de de- recognizes her as the wife of or Left Lefty Moore a noted burglar Nelson tells his story to Gorman Gorman- CHAPTER VII VII VU Continued 9 9 And the number she called up up- up the private number number did did you rou find out I about that Sure that was easy Its It's one of the apartments in the Henry K Kents Who's he I never heard of ot him Ill I'll try to find out though I uI would but be careful how bow you go asking questions a around the place The Moore woman may have hare a pal They generally work in pairs The ease and celerity with which Gorman had learned all these things about the girl Impressed me greatly end and I 1 said as much He received my y compliments with a deprecating wave of the hand Nothing to it boy wh when n you know the ropes But last night you told me you had taken the girl out to try to pump something out of ot her What 1 eras uras ras it In What's doing From beginning to end I 1 told him the whole story in all of ot its perplex- perplex big details starting with the day that I had received my uncle great-uncle Rufus Rufus' note cote that had led to the chance meetIng meetIng meeting meet- meet Ing Ing with Miss His Bradford bringing in my discharge and the disappearance e of ot the Gaston pearls and explaining what made me think these facts were In some way Involved with the attempt attempt at at- teI tempt pt to blackmail the f r r What U do you make of t it I I asked as I ended my narrative Who do you think Is at he be bottom of ot it I dont don't think he retorted In UIn our business It does not pay to think too quick Youre You're apt to convict the wrong party party But t you must think something I protested I think he said slowly and meditatively meditatively medi med that theres there's a lot of crooked work going on Ill on-I'll Ill I'll say that much And you and Miss Bradford's pretty close to being the center of ot it What can can we do about It Theres a way I learned from from a lawyer that aint bad Hed He'd take his bs client and put him In the center of ot a R abig abig big circle with lines running In all dIrections directions di dI- alibi alibi insanity mistaken Identity no proof of ot guilt lack of ot Jurisdiction escape on legal technicality technical technical- hed he'd ity hed he'd mark out every possible e de de- de tense Then hed he'd follow each elch line out out- and see where It led and what plan the opposing lawyers would be likely to spring on him Gen Generally rally he be got his man oft off I uI dont don't quite see how that applies You dont don't eh l TI IT T ced Ced an Imaginary circle with his forefinger on the tab table in the little back roo room where we were sitting Heres Beres you and Miss Mss Bradford in inthe inthe I the the center surrounded by a lot of mysterious mysterious mys mys- deviltry Well We'll make two cir cIr- cles This Inside one is the things that have happened to both of ot you you you- the wall safes opened the papers stolen the pearls gone tone the anonymous notes the blackmail threats the loss of ot your Job the voices youve you've heard Now on this outer circle well we'll mark markdown markdown markdown down all the people who might be mixed up In these things things mInd mind ye I IBay Isay say Bay only might be First theres there's Lefty Moores Moore's woman woman woman-we we know she's a 8 crook Then Ihen who do we we know that knows her Theres There's at least two- two Mr Wick the superintendent that hired bared her and this Mr Henry Kent whose apartment she telephoned to o Then theres there's all aU the rest of the help in the house Any Anyone one of ot them might be her pal Pill Then theres there's the flighty Bradford girl You dont don't suspect her do you I cried at the prospect of ot his Investigation inking lakIng this turn Be De easy casy ne lie retorted Im not suspecting anyone Im I'm only putting them down There There's the Bradford Bradfor girl and her el ex Hes He's Besa a a big big- ig mist and that makes him a crook Those hose two men ro you saw in to the park park- one me ot tit them with a It scar on his face face face- well we 11 run them down You know a ao f o th the th scar car faced man goes goes' to so BO that's a n start There's Theres es e's the man who I shadowed d you you would would you know v him hima a again If tt you saw him I shook my head doubtfully Im Tm afraid not not I admitted you see see see- Dont bottler bother to explain You either would or r wouldn't and that's that all we need to know now Theres There's old Mr Gaston and his wife Its It's queer about their ducking out so suddenly and leaving no address but maybe they're only scared Lets Let's see who else Is there there the the Bradford servants and the theold theold theold I old mans man's the old ohl washerwoman washerwoman- and the families families who live In the house Weve We've got the circle pretty well covered covered covered cov cov- ered haven't we More and more I had begun to appreciate appreciate ap ap- predate how valuable the services of ot an nn experienced detective would be likely to be In helping to solve the mystery Look here Gorman I said why cant can't you take charge of this case for tor forus forus us ur In It IU he asked My Sly face fell and my enthusiasm died n a sudden death Once more I Iwas Iwas Iwas was was confronted by the specter of ot my poverty Of Ot what use my talking to a priced high Investigator like Gorman Gorman Gorman Gor Gor- man when all the money I 1 had In the world was less than two hundred dollars dollars dol dol- lars tars out of which I had bad to live until I 1 found employment Yet I must serve Barbara Bradford If you ou clear up this case I announced an announced an- an Ill give you every cent Ive I've got ot In the world He shook his head It aint enough If It I take this case It wont won't be for the money that's In It For that matter I can get all I want from old Gaston for tor getting his pearls back That'll be he enough Then you will take the case I cried Jubilantly On Ou one condition That you'll promIse promise promise prom prom- ise to keep everything away from the pollee police Ill promise that for tor myself and Miss Bradford too That was the theone theone theone one reason she advanced against my telling you about things She was afraid you'd call In the police pollee Never fear about that Theres There's nothing Id I'd like better than to put It over that bunch of ot young reformers they've got down In Center street This hotel work dont don't suit me anyhow Ive I've been thinking of ot opening up an office of my iny own The recovery of ot the Gaston Gaston Gaston Gas- Gas Gasi i ton pearls would be a nice feather In my cap to start with I see I 1 replied but you'll need money for expenses and that sort of ot thing wont won't you I have have have- Leave Leaie that part of ot It to me he retorted with a quizzical smile After nIl all the years ears I was on the police police police po po- po- po lice force I I. aint exactly broke by a along along along long shot All youve you've got to do Is to keep your eyes open and let me know all that goes on In the apartment house Ill I'll attend to the rest Dont Don't do anything though without consultIng consulting consulting consult consult- ing me first Ill gladly promise that Good enough Wed We'd better arrange then to meet here every day at three sharp Its It's as good a place as any Ill be here And look out youre you're not trailed They may try shadowing you again Who do you mean menn by they I asked eagerly Them that trailed you yesterday replied Gorman with a grin If ll you dont don't know I dont don't know either either yet From his Ills manner I was confident that he already had a shrewd suspIcIon suspicion suspicion cion as to the Identity of ot some of ot the miscreants The maze In the center of ot which he had placed Miss Bradford and m myself meant far more to him undoubtedly than It did to me More than likely his vast knowledge of ot the methods of criminals and his acquaintanceship acquaintanceship acquaintanceship acquaint acquaint- with others like Lefty Letty Moore had given him clues enough as to where to loo look for the plotters I realized realized real real- that It would be useless to question question ques ques- tion Uon him further He would admit suspecting no one until he was sure of their guilt a a quality I 1 admired greatly You can cann cou count t on me I repeated Ill be here at three tomorrow Yet how foolish It was for tor any of ot ofus ofus otus us to predict what we will be doing or where we will sill be twenty-four twenty hours from now Seldom do things happen In n the routine of ot our lives as we had anticipated I was not there the next day at the time appointed By no possibility possibility possibility pos pos- could I 1 have been there however however however how how- ever much I 1 might have wished to Many things had happe happened ed In quick succession How flow It came about that my promise to meet Gorman went unfulfilled can best be explained by narrating the events of the evening aft after I returned to the It wt w nearly the when I left the detective I strolled leisurely down town and had ad dinner In Inthe Inthe inthe the cafe where on one o aslon I had seen the tho scar-faced scar man maIL I lingered there for a lon long time over my coffee corree hoping In vain that he be might appear appear I I even ventured to cautiously question the waiter walter and head waiter water describing t the e man as ns best I could but both of ot them Insisted that they never had seen nn any such person As I walked home I kept a wary eye out to make sure I 1 was not bel being g followed but apparently apparently no was one now shadow shadowing dow r. r me It was thirty nine-thirty when I reached home It had been arranged that Barbara Barbara Bar Bar- bara hurs about ten would signal me that we might have a chat from our respective respective respective re re- re- re windows As I sat Bat In my room waiting for or the time to come I Iwas Iwas I Iwas was reviewing the caso In all Its as as- I peets Indeed there was hardly n a wakIng waking waking wak wak- ing moment that I was not thinking of the many mysteries about us I 1 was wondering If It when the case was cleared up tip the mysterious whispers that we all had heard would also be explained I recalled Claire Bradford's Bradford's Brad Brad- fords ford's unexpected visit to my apartment apartment apartment apart apart- ment the evening before and her confusion confusion con con- fusion when I had captured her I wondered If t the e explanations she had offered had bad been the truth Was she really trying to locate the source of ot the whispers I looked Interestedly up at t the section of the wall that I had found her Inspecting What had she hoped to d discover scover there I decided to make a close Inspection Inspection inspection tion of ot both sides of ot the wall As AsI I lighted up the sitting room and hall for this purpose something unusual came to my notice that had hitherto escaped me THE I INNER WALL OF MY ROOM the the one running along the hall haIr of ot the apartment HAD apartment HAD THE APPEARANCE APPEARANCE APPEAR APPEAR- ANCE OF Ol BEING AT LEAST FOUR FEET THICK It seemed so absurd that I refused to believe the evidence my eyes eves had given me mc In these modern days of ot steel construction there was no reason for a wall being of ot medieval I 1 sprang to my great aunts work work workbasket basket and began rummaging to see It If I 1 could find a n tape measure and luckily my search was quickly re re- re- re warded I sketched a 11 rough diagram of at the rear rooms and began measuring them off carefully checking my figures as I went along I found myself growIng growing growing grow grow- ing wildly excited as the tape measure measure measure meas meas- ure confirmed what my eyes already had told me The Inner wall was at least four tour feet thick With thrills at the thought of ot the possibility of ot a secret passage there I climbed up on a a. chair Just as Claire Bradford had done and began Inspecting Inspecting Inspecting In In- the wall Inch b by inch Even Evena a fl i I Iw r w 1 yr I iI i I td- td r I 14 v As I Trembling 9 All Over at the Thought of the Peril She Had Been seen In Put My Arms About Her and Helped Her InasI In ns as asI I did so I could not help laughing at myself The Idea that a modern apartment building might contain a secret passage was utterly ridiculous yet et as ns I pounded lightly on the wall It gave forth a hollow sound vastly different from any other part of ot the tine room I was wa convinced that between lily rny room and the hall there was space enough at least for foi a passageway In which a man might walk I surveyed with growing Interest the wooden paneling that In my room ran clear up to the ceiling In the other rooms there was no paneling Mounting Mount Mount- MountIng In Ing the chair again I pressed sharply n against the wood at the point from which the sound had seemed to come It seemed to me it gave a little to m mj touch l I I struck one of ot the sections a sharp blow It dropped back a full Inch half-Inch leaving what looked like a 1 doorway doorway-a a space three feet wide by five feet teet high The bottom of ot the toe opening was hardly two feet from the floor If It there was a passageway here this panel certainly would explain explain explain ex ex- ex- ex plain how my rooms had been surreptitiously surreptitiously surreptitiously visited l Feverishly I worked at nt the panel tryIng trying try- try Ing ng to push It further back If It there was a passa passageway there In the wall I Iwas Iwas Iwas was determined to see Bee whither It led My efforts to move the panel further seemed hopeless As I worked at It I heard a tapping on my window sill It must be he Barbara In my excitement excitement excitement excite- excite ment over oyer the fi find d I had forgotten all about the time I 1 sprang from the chair hair and rushed to the window I 1 found her peering out trying to ascertain ascer ascer- ascertain tain why I had net answered her sig sig- nal Oh she breathed with relief as my head hend appeared you were there Did you see the detective Yes Tes I replied speaking as a low as asu u my y excited state would permit me but Just now I discovered vastly more Important t. t What Is It IU IUA A secret secret passageway |