Show what wh the gray lur lay r house hid the T of CL daunted mansion adham ar W 9 ICo fiM 1414 by W wow I jk ft f THE STORY hiilton hanby prosperous new tork merchant has haa purchased a country place alace the gray house near pine plains alias Se lenos a ormer tenant of the gray house bouse calls at his and warns him that the bouee te Is un der a curse further alarming details are impressed upon adolf Sm ucher hanbys secretary by a man who claims to have been chauffeur for sir stanford seymour former occupant of the place the hanaya laugh oft off the warnings they have received both from was and from ers acquaintance as aa some form farm of practical joke but they are shocked when they hear that the caretaker whom they have put in charge of the gray house a man named kerr has been mysteriously murdered hanba consults his bis friend pelham 3 CHAPTER III tf 5 at the real estate ot of doug f ins smith pelham was wasI referred by douglas 11 whom tie be knew to a mr air i AVill appleton eten K appleton will tell you everything said douglas dougans ns he has on an amazing memory for details and a great greal ai faction for the gray house come to in to my office when youre through frederick appleton was a small plump man of sixty he fie had a dis dip conservatism tn in dress a florid complexion and blue eyes which looked more than usually large owing to the thickness and power of the lenses he wore after a little preliminary talk kelliam judged him to he be one of abo those e men in relatively unimportant offices who to their tasks a certain not un picking s ing pompousness nesa ness 1 I have in tills this book said mr air ap pointing to a ledger a complete record of the tenants and tile the expenses of tile the gray bouse for foral almost thirty flye five years here you yon will find th the e cost of dr tile the upkeep of house grounds and stables in roy my head I 1 have many facts fach i concerning the people who have resided there which would be out of place in tile books of a strictly business orm 11 1 I take it then said that you have an unusual interest I 1 in mankind mr air Apple tons shrewd but kindly face beatred beat Aed we ue see a great deal more in this line itne J f work than you would suppose oh dp apar ir me yest yeal do I 1 understand that tir air hanby onnby desires information tate place yes and mr douglas said that you could tell rat en everything lie he ts Is a close personal friend of mr hanby 1 mr air Apple tons eyes grew a little harder linn ler so I 1 inferred from the enci that the sale was not made through me I 1 knew that thai mr hanby was interested in the gray house hot sebut but I 1 admit beins being be ins staggered when mr air douglas made the hie announcement that it was sold it was clear to pelham that the other oilier man was waa chagrined no doubt it was the alio allowable wable annoyance ot of tin nn old and trusted employee alo who libring been consulted for so long 1 suddenly left out of the firms arms conf fence dome in the sale of a property not that I 1 am all criticizing air the other went on oh ob deur dear me not no I 1 ella bis manner w was is brisk and rid cheerful again what can I 1 do for you mr air pelham did you ever know a mis q set sel enos et ios she occupied the fhe gray house bouse for three years yeam I 1 lier her well ioor lady she loathed and despised desal ed men particularly your humble ant we had to evict her for non payment of rent she had bad ample warning but we had to call tile the sheriff in may AIRY I 1 ask how bow you know her she called on mr bantly and threatened him falm with nil all sorts of wild ances it if he be did no not sell the place to her there was no doubt about mr ap protons plo tons interest now 1 I can quite believe it 1 tie he said 1 remember that when we put her out sald that J should be lend dead within the ahe year I 1 may say that int my timid wife was very much relieved when tile the twelvemonth had passed I 1 hilar that hut she bus bos at last inherited the great fortune they were 1111 poor imor for man many y years you think ashes not normal insanity tn in the 00 sald air appleton hemly the things she said it t tile ie were nere most and could only be explained by of a type the sp eaker hosl basi tiit cl for a moment 1 I 1 suppose she lift not mention my iny dama think not I 1 suppose you kemem her mr air seymour sir stanford seymour tob oh dear aie sea besl I 1 ventured to call uron ill ham m chenin E england n gle rid two y years ja 0 gotlie o tragedy had bad left its mark j ou on sir stanford but lie he was always a reserved type what tragedy ills two sons were drowned in lake inks who was the previous tenant mr air min john throckmorton ou ills WIN wife died ut the gray house A iovele lovel woman I 1 I 1 went to tile the funeral very cry sud sad indeed the lake inke again it seems to have been a house or of death commented tie he rim lid not relish tile the idea of the he hanby fain lly fly inhabiting it as much is as he hild done wio came after sir stanford he sublet it subject to out our tip op of course to air crosby norton mr air norton lost his four children la in that same d d lake 1 I regret to say yes air appleton looker looked shrewdly at his visitor llave have you much influence with mr air ll thi anby tiby 1 11 I noi am his closest friend do you suppose that you could influence him to reconsider tits his purchase mr appleton was consider JI I I 1 mr appleton Apple tons eyes eye carew brewa a little harder ate and sympathetic 1 I on am not knot a believer in haunted houses I 1 try to be skeptical in such matters wit but there seems to be a strange fate about the gray bouse it always alway takes toll of the young and happy those seymour children for exam pie highbred high bred strong happy toys hoys who could swim excellently yet they are dead and at sir Stan fords his title goes to a distant couin cou in ln then tile the norton children three girls arl and ii a boy the lake got them too I 1 tell myself it was it a coincidence perhaps Pei perhaps blips I 1 his fits milliner manner grew more confidential tell roe me mr air pel pelham ham did you ever hear bear anch a ell chain aln of coincidences es as that its most disturbing news at admit ted Pe pelline kelliam lliam nm it seems to me salo the that if these unhappy facts werl duty duly brought to mr air dannys notice he ha could not disregard hem no doubt miss Se selonia Selo Jenos noa manner m inner annoyed him and he disregarded her story on that account yet appleton topped tapped tile the big ledger led gerthe abe fails facts are all down here in n my iny own band writ trig im afraid whatever I 1 said would make film all the more determined to io go ile he Is a skeptic and opposition makes him ready to tight fight I 1 dont think anything would nale make min him give it up 1 I 1 me have done my duty then sald appleton briskly no doubt tie he la Is right and these thesa I 1 deaths were due to lack of care I 1 have bove here a letter with estimate from a alie carpenter who agreed to put the rustic bridge la in order that t 1 M 1 bridge air pelham c crossed ros sed the take nt at KB its deepest port tilt tho seymour boys were fishing from it when tt it gave way I 1 rather think the norton children were found near there too appleton turned to the see mr air Il elham these tang tra g edles might hilve teen been averted it if the owner hod aein lit fit to expend six sixty ty four dollars and eighteen coots cents it was owing to my influence chilt tilt the lake wils completely filled in ant find the stream feeding it was diverted to the tower lower inke instead of five alve acres of water filled with stumps which romle made fishing mr air henby hns no diw a divinity nere acre lake with rood good basa bas 9 find trout in it t arid not a pickerel to do it dannage da inage I 1 have fished there every year and I 1 know I 1 rander if air would extend the courtesy to roe rne ill answer for mm him sold said pelham im a 0 fishe myself thank you for what youve told roe me wall douchis asked a little lat er get what want you wonted and more said pelham the ray house hns has fit a dismal atmosphere about it to my mv way of if thinking ap seems to think that for less tinn than five dolln irp nil all those civils might have been saved 1 I 1 thenh hes right said the oth er the 0 old id lake was vhf within a few yards of the house and very deep it t ans too milah ot afa n to children the banks were steep too ps ns I 1 recall them than J dpn you yon dont believe in the curse douglas doll lighted it a gerore an scoring question in my mv office during bustness business hours the he idea seems silly buts but sometimes when I 1 cant steep sleep at night im not so sure pre ive highland blood in my reins remember find and race memories of houses and ours jursca that th nt descend from to genera tion dont ask me bill 11 you give me the acme sort eort of comfort that appleton dors does ho tells me what my blond ant and then explains it ill all away by a estimate that tant massed mt serl the 0 0 0 0 0 0 it t was not a B very comfortable mo tor trip tri P for the Unil bys when junior drove I 1 his father god that his will was ande and tits his affairs were in order when hanby was nt at tile the wheel his son struggled between a feeling of pride that his progeny tor still had his nerve left and a fear that never again would he trend tread the campus nt ai new haven corking romill junior commented when pine plains wits was in sight was vaa it fl a rond his fits father de banded im relieved to know that I 1 thought it was a racetrack race track wheres the gray house passed on the top lap you might have pointed it oot to rop me remarked young untidy why I 1 thought aa n we went by that neither of us would ever ver have the opportunity to 16 inhabit habit it IL junior laughed this pid old bus bug can certainly clip off the milestones milestone sl 1 I 1 dont boast you yon 0 only aly scratched the one you hit 11 it bents me ine hla fits son d philosophically why cows dont know their own minds I 1 dearo anam that beast was going to 0 o give us a race down junior 1 his sire benm banded weve got to stand well in this hilton hanby stopped stepped from the cur to be greeted greet edby by the local police chief and an from kingston this Is my son She Clabor lau tranby he be said Is the inquest over yes said the local man mam 1 I wish been bare before ip any clow clew to the asked not a one bone junior onil smiled led I 1 be e knew exactly how it would be hut but theres a mighty interesting development this fellow kerr kerr at all he had a whole string of aliases we finger fingerprinted printed him film and fitted tile the right name to to him jour our mr air flancy llan hv was lied led for most everything eveaj up to murder hanby I 1 a n by exclaimed A murderer murdered murdy red il I 1 ile he was not net Il leased to thuinli that such a man had been in bla bis employ although engaged by an agent ills nt references was stolen from some spanish war rP reran kerr well tind find out our all admit about it ft soon also lie fie hart had kerra papers ant and a medal want to loon ionic tit at him sir not on your alre ill said hanby who detested morbid snort ild things id like to tn junior suggested TO BE 80 CONTINUED |