Show n MAE 0 F I 1 by MARY ROBERTS RINEHART copyright 1913 by the bobbs boblis me nil company continued from last week CHAPTER IV T w tas as after four wien wl en mr had finished going alel 01 ei the loom 1 offered to mika mii both the gentlemen bome u tea for mr ur I 1 ionian had been an I 1 an 1 1 had got into the h tibb b t of bal ing a cupful n abe after loon 11 alith fill i L ricker oi 01 ati 1 t pf bread but they infused utilised mr lr honeil llonel said aid s he lie r r h b d I 1 bioni sed bed to meet a lady and to brine brin her tier through the flooded d k iu in d boat lie ile shook hands with inith me i a i d at mr air bolcombe Iol combe I 1 ou N 1 M I 1 lae ale to restrain his en ell thusia sni sul mrs airs P aman he be said lie is a bloodhound on the scent if his laying gets on your dour nemes just send lor for me we ile ment down the stills stalls aid d estelled ste 1 ed into the boat kemem br b r be lie called ei aery ery N steil ell constituted guider has two things i 1 matil I 1 and a corl ae iou lou baell hat en t ither i mass of p details if waited until he lie saw flames flamed ln in of lelling on the letl I 1 mony mody of the mr air sn ii i I 1 cd ft hat fl the fare tire loss be J mr air dionell how ell his boat to the i front door and sitting down prepared pre paled to row out I 1 you lie warned mrs pitman he called to me if he lie d asu t find a I 1 ody to fit the clew s he 8 quite capable of making 0 ie le to fill the demand said ml A bolcombe 1101 combe look ing dt the slip ag fig u 11 the till of tilia thi n la Is torn 0 a 77 evidently only part of a 11 mord H ord hornet If ornIng florner II orner mrs pitman will you ou go with me to the police station I 1 wis more than anxious to go in fact I 1 coull COUI I 1 not bear the idea of stay ill ing alone in the house with heaven ast conceded conce conc eted jn ln the depths of that muddy flood I 1 got on my wraps again and mr mir holcombe towed lowed me out peter plunged into the w wiler iler to follow and bad to be sell sent back he ile sat on the lower step and whined mr air 61 threw him an other piece of livy livor but put he did not toi tot ct ell it N e i towed ON ed to the corner of robinson street nd federal it was before veu ved eral street was wa raided above the flood leel jenel and left the boat in charge of a boy there and we walked to the po lice station on the way mr holcombe questioned me closely about the events of the coining and I 1 recalled the in aident of the burned burned pillow slip lie ile mide made a note of it at once and grew very thoughtful lie ile left me however at the police station I 1 d rathel not appear in this airs mrs pitman be he said apologetically and I 1 think better along my own t lines not thit I 1 have anything agali st the police they ve done some splendid v work orl but this case takes tion lion and the police department deals with ith facts we have no facts yet IN what hat R we e need of course is to have the man detained until we are sure of our case he ile lifted hia his hat and turned away and I 1 went slowly up the steps to the police station living as I 1 had bad in a neighborhood where the police I 1 ke le the poor are always with us and where the visits of the patrol wagon ire one of those familiar sights that no amount of repetition enabled any of ua us to treat w th contempt I 1 was until I 1 le ie that my grandea ther had been one of the first mayors of the city and that if the patrol had been at my house more than once the entire nelga boyhood would testify that py boarders mete usually ordella at the door bome one touched me on the he arm it was mr holcombe again I 1 have been think ng it oi n er he said wild and I 1 belle believe e you d better not mention Ment loik the piece of paper thit that you found behind the washstand the they y t say the w m hole thing la is a hoax I 1 ery cry w N eu ell I 1 agreed and went in the pol ce sergeant in charge knew kne v me at once having stopped 11 at it my house more than once in flood time for a cup of hot coffee sit down mrs airs pitman be he said I 1 suppose jou ou aie ale still making the best coffee and doughnuts in the city of al leg heny heuy well ell the trouble in coir district anant ant an injunction against the ilver ther for trespass the river has brought bi ought me a good bit of trouble I 1 said I 1 m I 1 in wor ried mr sergeant I 1 think a woman from my house has been murdered mui dered but I 1 don t I 1 now he said and drew up his chair tell me about it I 1 told h b in everything while he be sat back with his eyes half closed and his blaz s beating a tattoo on th the e arm of aia his chalfin when hen I 1 finished he be got up and went into an inner room he ile cadue back in a moment I 1 wint you to come in and tell that to the cl cef be he said and led the v ay all told I 1 repeated my story three times that afternoon to the sergeant to the chief of police and the third time to to both the others and two de tec tives the second time the chief mide notes of what u hat I 1 said know now this man I 1 ladley adley be he asked the others none of them did but they all knew of jennie brice and some of them had seen her in ill the theater acet the theater tom the chief bai I 1 to one of the detects es luckily bucl lly what he be learned oi 0 er the telephone from the theater corio conoboy bor abed my stoby jennie bi ce was wal not in the cast that week but should hate have reported thit morning mo monday u day to 1 ie e beaise heal se the next weeks A eek s piece io no mes sq sine e had been received from her and a substitute had been put in her place the chief hung up the receiver and tun ed to me lou I 1 ou are su e about the clock mis pitman he be asked it there when they moved to the rooms I 1 es sir iou aie ale cert certion ain will not find it on the parlor when the water goes down fhe rhe mantels are uncovered now it Is not IOU alink tl ink ladley has gone for gooda les sir lied ile d be a fool to try to run away unless Glares aoud oud bettel feet hold if if the fellow and keep him until either the wom dmn in is found or the bo boly ay he ile liver Is in a couple of days ne e will nill biow in ov if bhe bile Is the prea pren ses I 1 afore I 1 left I 1 described dewri bed jenn e bilee 1 or them carefully caie cille fully ARI ed what she p wore NN ore if she had gone away as clr it said I 1 had no idea ai ht had bad a lot of clothes and dressed a iboa tit lit B t I 1 refilled recil led that I 1 had bad been lying on the bed bcd the bl blick ick and white dress with the led colln and they took that down donn as well as the blown valise the chief rose robe and opened the door tor for me himself if she actually left town at the time jou mention he slid she ought not to be hard to find there ire not many trilus be fore 7 in the morning and of them are locals bild nd and if she did not if he do you think she is in the house bouse or or he the celair not unless lidley didley is mole of a fool thin I 1 think he lie Is he said smiling personally ally I 1 believe she has boie got e away is he says ale did but it she hasu t lie he probably pro bibly took the body I 1 with him when he lie said he be w m as gettin alid cropped lt it ln in the current I 1 si somewhere but we must go slow with all this there s no use shouting wolf yet but the towel he ile may have cut himself shai shading ing it his has been done and a the knife he ile shrugged bis his shoulders good na ti tiredly I 1 ve seen a perfectly good knife spoiled opening a bottle of p ckles ekle S but the slipper and the clock my aly good momin enough shoes and slippers ire forgotten in the bottoms of cupboards year after year in bood time and are found floating around the streets to make all the old clothes men in town happy I 1 have seen almost everything floating about during one of these annual floods I 1 dire say you never saw an onyx clock floating around I 1 replied a little sharply I 1 had no sense of humor that day he ile stopped smiling at once and stood tugging at his mustache no he admitted an onyx clock sinks that a true that s a ery nery nice little point that onyx clock lie ile may be trying to sell it or perhaps he ile d d not finish I 1 went back immediately only stop ping at the macket to get meat tor for mr nir I 1 eynolds supper it was after half past 5 and dusk was coming on I 1 got a boat and was rowed directly home peter w as not at tl e foot of the steps I 1 bild the boatman and let him go and turned to go up the stairs some one was speaking in the hall above I 1 have read somewhere that no two voices are exactly alike just as no t vo violins ever produce the same bound I 1 think it Is what nhat they call the timbre that Is different I 1 have for instance never headd a voice like mr pitmann although mr harry lauders in a phonograph resembles it and voices have always done for me ine what odors do tor for some people revived forgotten scenes and old mem ones ories but the memory that the voice at the head of the stairs brought back was as not very old although I 1 had for gotten it I 1 seemed to hear again all it once the lapping of the water sun day morning as it began to come in over the doorsill the sound of terry lipping up the parlor carpet and mrs ladley calling me a she devil la in the next loom in reply to this very voice but when I 1 got to the top of the stalls it was only mr howell who had brought his visitor to the flood district and on getting her splashed with the muddy water ater had taken her to my house for a towel and a cake ot of soap I 1 lighted the lamp in the hall ball and mr howell introduced the girl she was a pretty girl slim ind young and she had taken her wetting good natu nature adly I 1 know we are intruders mrs pit man she said holding out her band hand especially now when you are in trouble I 1 have told miss harvey a little mr NI r howell said and I 1 promised to show her peter but he Is not here I 1 think I 1 had knon known n it was wils my sis child from the moment I 1 lighted the lamp there was something of vima in her not alma s hardness or haughtiness but almas alma s dark blue eyes with black lashes and alma s i ose alma was always the beauty of the family what with the days day s ex ellement cit elt ement and seeing alma almas s child like this in ra house I 1 felt things coln going bound and clutched at the stair rail mr nir how INell ell caught me why mrs Pit pitman maill he said what 8 the matter I 1 got myself in ill hand in a moment and smiled at the girl nothing Iso thing at all I 1 said indigestion most likely too much tea the last day or two and dot enough solid food I 1 ve been too anxious anious to eat cat lidi lada for she was that to me at once although I 1 had never seen her before lida was all sympathy and sweeta sweetness less she actually asked me to go with her to a restaurant and have a real dinner I 1 could imagine alma had she bbown cut but I 1 excused myself I 1 have to cook something for mr air reynolds I 1 said and I 1 m better now anyhow thank you mr air biowell may I 1 speak to you for a moment lie ile followed me along the back hall mil which was dusl dusk I 1 have remembered something that I 1 bad had forgotten mr howell I 1 said bald on sunday morning the bad had a visitor yes they had very few visitors I 1 see I 1 d 1 d I not dot see him but I 1 heard tris his i loice olce sir lr ilon biowell ell did not move but I 1 fancied he be diew his breith in quick ly it sounded it was not by any chance you 19 A newspaper paper man who goes to bed at 3 a in m on sunday morning up and about at 10 I 1 didn dian t say what time it was I 1 said sharply but at that moment lida called from the front ball hall I 1 think I 1 heir peter she sh e sa id he ile Is shut in somewhere bome where whining we ve went forward it once she me was wag right was scratching ing it at the door of mr ir lidley s room alchi although ugh 1 had bad left the door closed ind peter in the hall I 1 let him out and he crawl e I 1 to me on three legs leg whimpering mr air howell bent over him and felt the fourth poor I 1 atle beast he said ills HIS leg Is broken brol en he ile made a splint for the sos dog and nith lida helping they put mm to bed in a clothes basket in my upstairs kitchen it was visy to see how things lay with mr howell he ile was all eyes for ir or he ile made excuses to touch her hand baud or her arm arril little ca lebbing touches that made her color heighten and with it all there was a sort of hopelessness in bis his manner as if he knew how far the girl was out of his reach knowing hn owing gunoa al ma and her t t 1 A sai pride I 1 knew better than they bow hopeless it was I 1 was not so sure about uda I 1 wondered if she was in love with the boi or only in love with love she was very joung as I 1 had lieen been god kielp her if I 1 le me she sacrificed ev to discover too late that she I 1 was only in love with love to be continued next week |