| Show TH AD I 1 JL IK J lAllY lallye 4 jal 1 y MARY illustrations BY RP ar vf 7 cAlR not iwo my 1 misfits ca f SYNOPSIS miss innes spinster and guardian of 0 gertrude and halsey estable established s bed summer headquarters at amidst nu berous biffi difficulties u aties the servants deserted As miss inne innes s locked up for the night bl ol e was as startled by a dark figure on the veranda she passed a terr ble night which was filled with unseemly noises in the morning miss innes found a strange link cuff button in a clothes hamper hamp e r gertrude and halsey arrived with jack ack bailey dailey the house was awak ened by a revolver shot A strange man vas as found foun d shot to death in the hall it proved to be the body ot of arnold arm strong whose banker father owned the co antry house miss innes found hal s revolver on the lawn he ile and jack mil bailey ey lad 1 ad disappeared CHAPTER IV continued especially what especially since jack bailey dailey and arnold armstrong were notoriously bad friends it was bailey dailey who got arnold into trouble last spring something about the bank and then too go on I 1 said if there Is any thing more I 1 ought to know there s nothing more he said evasively there s just one thing we may bank on miss innes any court in the country will acquit a man inan who kills an intruder in his house at night it if halsey why you dont don t think halsey did it I 1 exclaimed there was a queer feeling of physical nausea coming oi n er me no no not at all he said with forced cheerfulness come miss in nes you re a ghost of yourself and I 1 am going to help you upstairs and call your maid this has been too much for you about six clock gertrude came in she was fully dressed and I 1 sat up nervously poor aunty she said what a shocking night you have had she came over and sat down on the bed and I 1 saw she looked very tired and worn Is there anything new I 1 asked anxiously nothing the car is gone butlar but war ner he is the chauffeur warner is at the lodge and knows nothing about it well I 1 said if I 1 ever get my hands on halsey innes I 1 shall not let go until I 1 have told him a few things when we get this cleared up I 1 am going back to the city to be quiet one more night like the last two will end me the peace of the country fiddlesticks whereupon I 1 told gertrude of th the noises the night before and the figure on the veranda in the east wing As an afterthought I 1 brought 0 it the pearl cuff cufflink link I 1 have no doubt now I 1 said that it was nas arnold armstrong the night before last too he had a key hey no doubt but why he should steal into his father s house I 1 cannot imagine he ile could have come with my bermis sion easily enough anyhow whoever it was that night left this little sou venir gertrude took one look at the cuff link and went as white as the pearls in it she clutched at the foot of the bed and stood staring As for me I 1 v vias as q quite itte as aston sl ed as she NN was as where did aou ou find it if she asked finally with a desperate effort at calm and while I 1 told her she stood looking out of the window with a look I 1 could not fathom on her face it was a relief when mrs watson tapped at the door and bro me some tea and toast the cook N aas as in deamoral zed she re po ported ted and L addy brave with the day bigat was looking for footprints aro nd the house mrs watson herself was a wreck she was blue white around the lips and she had one hand t ed up she said she had fallen down stairs in her excitement it was batul al at of course that the thing would shock her having been the arm strongs housekeeper for several years and kno ving mr arnold well geatrude Gei trude had slipped out during my talk with mrs watson and I 1 dressed and went downstairs the billiard and card rooms were locked I 1 the coroner and the detects li es got there and the men from the club had gone back for more conventional clothing I 1 could hear thomas in the pantry altermat alternately 13 wailing walling for mr air arnold as he called him and citing the tokens token that had prec pree the murder the I 1 ouse seemed to choke me and s slipping lipping a shawl aro ind me I 1 a ent out on the drive at the cornel cornei by the east wing NN ing I 1 met liddi her bk arts were draggled with dew to her knees and her hair was still in crimps go right in and change your clothes I 1 said sharply you re a sight and at yo ir age she had a golf stick in her hand and she said she had found it on the ian lawn n there was wag nothing unusual abo it t but it occurred to me that a golf stick with a metal end might have been the object that had scratch ed the stairs near the n u T took it from her and sent her up tor for dry garments her daylight courage and self importance and her er sh d dering del in the mystery tery arx bated me beyond words after I 1 left her I 1 made q a circuit of the building nothing seemed to be d stubbed the house looked as calm and peaceful in he morning sun as it had the day I 1 atal kipen coerced into taking it there ili was as nothing to show that inside had been mystery and violence and sud den death in one of the tulip beds back of the house an early blackbird was pecking viciously at something that glittered in the light I 1 picked my way gingerly over through the dew and stooped down almost burled buried in the soft ground was a revolver I 1 scraped the earth off it with the up tip of my shoe and picking it up slipped it into my pocket bocket not until I 1 had got into my bedroom and double locked the door did I 1 venture to take it out and ex amme amine it one look was all I 1 needed it was halsey halseys s revolver I 1 had un packed it the day before and put it on his shaving stand and there could be no mistake his name was on a small silver plate on the handle I 1 seemed to see a network closing around my boy innocent as I 1 knew he was the revolver I 1 am afraid of them but anxiety gave me courage to look through the barrel the revolver had still two bullets in it I 1 could only breathe a prayer ol 01 thankfulness that I 1 had found the revolver before any sharpened sharp eyed detective had come around I 1 decided to keep what clues I 1 had the cufflink the golf stick and the re volver in a secure place until I 1 could see some reason for displaying them the cufflink had been dropped into a little filigree box on my toilet table I 1 opened the box and felt around for it the box was empty the cufflink had disappeared CHAPTER V gertrude s engagement at ten 0 clock the casanova hack brought up three men they intro deuced themselves as the coroner of the county and two detectives from his father fathers s house two nights in sue cession stealing in like a thief when he needed only to ask entrance to be admitted the coroner was a very silent man he took some notes after this but be seemed anxious to make the next train back to town ile set the in quest for the following saturday gave mr jamieson the younger of the two detectives and the more intelligent looking a few instructions and after gravely shaking hands with me and regretting the unfortunate affair took his departure accompanied by the other detective 1 I 1 was just beginning to breathe freely when mr jamieson who bad had been standing by the window came over to me the family consists ot of yourself alone miss innes my niece Is here I 1 said there is no one but yourself and your niece my nephew I 1 had to moisten my lips oh a nephew I 1 should like to see him if he is here he Is not here just now I 1 said as quietly as I 1 could I 1 expect him at any time he was here yesterday evening I 1 believe 9 no yes didn t he have a guest with him another man mana he brought a friend with him to stay over sunday a mr galley dailey mr john bailey the cashier of the traders bank I 1 believe and I 1 knew that some one at the greenwood club had told when did they leavea very early I 1 don dont t know at just what time mr jamieson turned suddenly and looked at me lip 00 0 0 01 el 1 0 qa aaa one look was all I 1 needed the city the coroner led the way at once to the locked wing and with the aid ot of one of the detectives examined the rooms and the body the other detective after a short scrutiny of the dead man busied himself with the outside of the ho se it was only aft er they had got a fair idea of things is AS they were that they sent for me I 1 received tl ti em in the living room and I 1 had made up my mind exactly what to tell I 1 had taken the house for the summer I 1 said while the arm strongs were mere in california calif ainia in spite of a rumor among the servants about strange noises I 1 cited thomas noth ing had occurred the first two nights on the thud night I 1 believed that some one had been in the house I 1 had heard a crashing sound but be ing alone with one lid maid had not in vesti gated the house had been lock locked e d in the morning and apparent ly undisturbed then as clearly as I 1 could I 1 related how the night before a shot had io 10 sed us that my niece and I 1 had investigated and found a body that I 1 did not know who the murdered man was until mr air jarvis from the club informed me and that I 1 knew of no reason why mr arnold armstrong should steal into his father fathers s house at n I 1 should I 1 ave been glad to al low him entree there at any time have you rea reabon on to believe miss innes the coroner asked that any men her ber of your household imagining mr armstrong was a burdair shot him in self defense 7 I 1 have no reason tor for thinking so I 1 said quietly your theory Is that mr armstrong waa 3 followed here by some enemy and shot as he entered the house I 1 don t think I 1 have a theory I 1 said the thing that has puzzled me Is ia why mr armstrong should enter 11 11 ll please try to be more he said you say your nephew and mr bailey were in the house last night and yet you and your niece with some women servants found the body where was your nephew I 1 was entirely desperate by that time I 1 do not know I 1 cried but be sure of this halsey knows nothing of this thing and no amount of cir cum evidence can make an in man guilty bit sit down he said pushing for ward a chair there are some things I 1 have to tell you and in return please tell me all you know believe me things always come out in the first place mr armstrong was shot from above the bullet was fired at close range entered belo belov v the der and came out after passing through the heart well mell down the back in other words I 1 believe the murderer stood on the stairs and fired down in the second place I 1 found on the edge of the billiard table a charred cigar which had burned itself partly out and a cigarette which had consumed itself to the cork tip belth er one had been more than lighted then put down and forgotten have you any idea what m hat it was that made your nephew and mr bailey leave their c gars and their game take out the automobile without calling the chauffeur and all that at let me see certainly before three 0 clock in the morning I 1 don t know I 1 said but depend on it mr jamieson halsey will be back himself to explain everything I 1 sincerely hope so he said miss innes has it occurred to you that mr bailey dailey might know something of thise gertrude had come downstairs and lust just as he spoke she came in I 1 saw al 2 her stop suddenly as if it she had been struck lie ile does not she said in a tone that was not her own mr bailey and my brother know nothing of this the murder was co committed at three they left the house at a quarter be 14 fore three how do you know thap that mr jam leson asked oddly do you know at t what time they left I 1 do gertrude answered firmly at a quarter before three my brother and mr bailey left the house by the main entrance I 1 was there gerti gertbude ude I 1 said excitedly you are dreaming why at a quarter to three listen she said at half past two the downstairs telephone rang I 1 had not gone to sleep and I 1 heard it then I 1 heard halsey answer it and in a few minutes he came upstairs and knocked at my door we we talked for a minute then I 1 put on my dress ing gown and slippers and went down aa 4 stairs with him mr bailey was in the billiard room we we all talked together for perhaps ten minutes then it was decided that that they should both go away cant can t you be more explicit mr jamieson Jam leson asked why did they go awaya I 1 am only telling you what happened not why it happened she said 4 evenly halsey went for the car and instead of bringing it to the house and rousing people he went by the lower road from the stable air mr bailey was to meet him at the foot of the lawn mr bailey dailey left y which waya mr jamieson asked sharply sharply 7 idy by the main entrance he ile left it was a quarter to three I 1 know exactly the clock in the hall Is stopped miss innes said jamieson Jam leson nothing seemed to escape him he ile looked at his watch she re piled plied and I 1 could see mr jamieson Jam leson a eyes snap as it if he had made a dis covery As for myself during the whole recital I 1 had been plunged into the deepest amazement will you pardon me tor for a personal question 9 the detective was a youngish man and I 1 thought he was somewhat embarrassed what are your your relations with mr bailey dailey gertrude hesitated then she came over and put her hand lovingly in mine 1 I am engaged to marry him she said simply I 1 had grown so accustomed to sur pries es that I 1 could only gasp again and as tor for gertrude the hand that lay in mine was burning with fever and after that mr jamieson Jam leson went on you went directly to beda gertrude hesitated no she said finally I 1 I 1 am not nervous and after I 1 had extinguished the light I 1 remembered something I 1 had left in the billiard room and I 1 felt my way bach back there through the dankness dai kness will you tell me what it was you had forgotten 7 9 I 1 cannot tell you she said slowly I 1 I 1 did not leave the billiard room at once why the detective detectives s tone was imperative this la Is very important im miss innes I 1 was crying gertrude said in a low tone when the french clock in the drawing room room struck three I 1 got up and then I 1 heard a step on the t east porch just outside the some one with a key was working with the latch and I 1 thought ot of course of halsey when we took the house he called that his entrance and he had carried a key for it ever since the door opened and I 1 was about to ask what he had forgotten when i there was a flash and a report some heavy body dropped and halt half crazed with terror and shock I 1 ran through the drawing room and got upstairs I 1 scarcely remember how she dropped dr into a chair and I 1 thought mr air jamieson Jam leson must have fin dished but he was not through you certainly clear your brother and mr bailey dailey admirably he said the testimony Is invaluable especial ly in view of the fact that your broth er and mr armstrong had I 1 believe quarreled rather seriously some atme ago nonsense I 1 broke in things are baa bau enough mr jamieson without in venting bad feeling where it doesn doean t f exist gertrude I 1 don t think halsey knew the the murdered man did he but mr air jamieson Jam leson was sure of his ground TO BE CONTINUED |
