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Show TIC CIRCULAR STAIRCASE was cheap at the price of a church carpet. I received less gratification and less gratitude when I presented the new silver communion set to St. Barnabas. 1 had a great many things to think about in those days. I made a list of questions and possible answers, but I seemed only to be working around in a circle. I always ended where I began. The list was something lik this: Who had entered the house the night before the murder? Thomas claimed It was Mr. Bailey, whom he had seen on the foot-patii, and who owned the pearl cuff-link. Why did Arnold Armstrong come back after he had left the house the night he was killed? No answer. "Was It on the mission Louise had mentioned? Who admitted him? Gertrude said she had locked the east entry. There was no key on the dead man or in the door. He must have been admitted from within. Who had been locked in the clothes chute? Some one unfamiliar with the house, evidently. Only two people missing from the household, Rosie and Gertrude. Rosie had been at the lodge. Therefore but was it Gertrude? Might It not have been the mysterious intruder again? Who had accosted Rosie on the drive? Again perhaps the nightly visitor. It seemed more likely some one who suspected sus-pected a secret at the lodge. Was Louise Lou-ise under surveillance? Who had passed Louise on the circular staircase? Could it have been Thomas? The key to the east entry made this a possibility. possibil-ity. But why was he there, if it were indeed he? Who had made the hole in the trunk-room trunk-room wall? It was not vandalism. It had been done quietly, and with deliberate purpose. If I had only known how to read the purpose pur-pose of that gaping aperture what I might have saved in anxiety and mental strain ! Why had Louise left her people and come home to hide at the lodge? There was no answer, as yet, to this, or to the next questions. of Thomas' funeral in the village, and Alex and were in the conservatory cutting flowers for the old man's casket. cas-ket. Liddy is never so happy as when i she is making herself wretched, and now her mouth drooped while her eyes 1 were triumphant. "I always said there were plemy of things going on here, right tinder our noses, that we couldn't see," she said, holding out her apron. "I don't see with my nose," I remarked. re-marked. "What have you got there?" j Liddy Hushed aside a half dozen geranium pots, and in the space thus cleared she dumped the contents of her apron a handful of tiny bits of paper. Alex had stepped back, but I saw him watching her curiously. "Wait a moment, Liddy," I said. "You have been going through the library paper-basket again!" Liddy was arranging her bits of paper pa-per with the skill of long practice and paid no attention. "Did it ever occur to you," I went on, putting my hand over the scraps, "that when people tear up their correspondence cor-respondence it is for the express purpose pur-pose of keeping it from being read?" "If they wasn't ashamed of it they wouldn't take so much trouble, Miss Rachel," Liddy said oracularly. "More than that, with things happening every day, I consider it my duty. If you don't read and act on this, I shall give it to that Jamieson, and I'll venture he'll not go back to the city to-day." That decided me. If the scraps had anything to do with the mystery ordinary or-dinary conventions had no value. So Liddy arranged the' scraps, like working work-ing out one of the puzzle-pictures children chil-dren play with, and she did it with much the same eagerness. When it was finished she stepped aside while. I read it. "Wednesday night, nine o'clock. r l i i i m il in. t i...t-". )"U V,,")'-',"1! Iqd'$i8 anything tangible that we have had yet." Warner took us to Richfield in the car. It was about 25 miles by railroad, rail-road, hut by taking a series of atrociously atro-ciously rough short cuts we got there very uuiclcly. It was a pretty little town, on the river, and back on the hill I could see the Morton big country coun-try house, where Halsey and Gertrude Ger-trude had been staying until the night of the murder. Elm street was almost the only street, and number 14 was easily found. It was a small white house., dilapidated without having gained anything picturesque, with a low window win-dow and a porch only a foot or so above the bit of a lawn. There was a baby-carriage in the path, and from a swing at the side came the sound of conflict. Three small children were disputing vociferously, and a faded young woman with a kindly face was trying to hush the clamor. When 8he saw us she untied her gingham apron and came around to the porch. "Good afternoon," I said. Jamieson lifted his hat, without speaking. "I came to inquire about a child named Lucien Wallace." "I am glad you have come," she said. "In spile of the other children, I think the little fellow is lonely. We thought perhaps his mother would be here to-day." Mr. Jamieson stepped forward. "You are Mrs. Tate?" I wondered how the detective knew. "Yes, sir." "Mrs. Tate, we want to make some inquiries. Perhaps in the house " "Come right in," she said hospitably. And soon we were in the little shabby parlor, exactly like a thousand of its prototypes. Mrs. Tate sat uneasily, her hands folded in her lap. "How long has Lucien been here?'" Mr. Jamieson asked. "Since a week ago last Friday. His mother paid one week's hoard in ad vance, the other has not been paid." : "Was he ill when be came?" "No, sir, not what you'd call sick. He was getting better of typhoid, she said, and he's picking up fine." "Will you tell me his mother's name and address?" "That's the trouble," the young woman said, knitting her brows. "She gave her name as Mrs. Wallace, and said she had no address. She was. looking for a boarding house in town... She said she worked in a department store, and couldn't take care of the child properly, and he needed fresh air and milk. I had three children of my own, and one more didn't make much difference in the work, but I wish she would pay this week's board." "Did she say what store it. was?.'" "No, sir, but all the boy's clothes came from King's. He has far too fine clothes for the country." There was a chorus of shouts and shrill yells from the front door, followed fol-lowed by the loud stamping of children's chil-dren's feet and a throaty "whoa,, whoa!" Into the room came a tandem tan-dem team of two chubby youngsters, a boy and a girl, harnessed with a clothes-line, and driven by a laughing : boy of about seven, in tan overalls ' and brass buttons. The small driver caught my attention at once; he was a beautiful child, and, although he -showed traces of recent severe illness, -his skin had now the clear transparency transpar-ency of health. "Whoa, Flinders," he shouted. "You're going to smash the trap." Mr. Jamieson coaxed him over by " holding out a lead pencil, striped blue and yellow. "Now, then," he said, when the bo;-' had taken (lie lead pencil and was ' testing its use-fulness on the detect- ' illli J20BZ&TJ 2UNZNAJ2T ILLUSTRATIONS BY nW SYNOPSIS. M:-s Tnnf-s. spinster and guardian of Geilrude and Halsey, establisned summer. hea.iuart--rs lit Sunnyside. Amidst numerous nu-merous dirtieullies the servants deserted. As Miss iiiii.s locked up for the night she was Startled hv a dark llgnre on llie vi-riinila. t'lise.-mly noises disturbed her I during the night. In the morning M.ss lams found a rlrange link ..-iift'-button in a hamuer. (P-rtrude and Halsey arrived with Jack B'-.i'ieY. The house was awakened awak-ened by a r.vniviT shot and Arnold Armstrong Arm-strong was found shot to death in the hall. Miss limes found Halsey's revolver on the lawrj. lie and Jack IJ alley had disappeared. dis-appeared. The link cuff-button mysteriously mysteri-ously disappeared, lieiertive Jamieson arrived. Gertrude revealed she was engaged en-gaged to Jaek Hailey, with whom site talked in the billiard room a few moments mo-ments before the murder. Jamieson accused ac-cused Miss Irmes of holding buck, evidence. evi-dence. He imprisoned an intruder in an empty room. The prisoner escaped down a laundry chute. Gertrude was suspected. A negro found the other half of what proved to be Jack Bailey's cuff-button. Halsey reappears and says he and Bailey left in response to a telegram. Gertrude said she had given Bailey an unloaded revolver, fearing to give him a loaded weapon. Cashier Bailey of Paul Armstrong's Arm-strong's bank, defunct, was arrested for embezzlement. Halsey said Armstrong wrecked his own bank and could clear Bailey. Paul Armstrong's death was announced. an-nounced. Halsey's fiancee, Louise Armstrong, Arm-strong, was found at the lodge. The lodgekeeper said Louise and Arnold had a long talk the night of the murder. Louise Lou-ise was prostrated. Louise told Halsey, that while she still loved him she was to marry another, and that he would despise her when he learned the whole story. It developed that Dr. Walker and Louise were to be married. A prowler was heard In the house. Louise was found at the bottom of the circular staircase. Louise said she had heard a knock at the door and answered it. Something brushed past her on the stairway and she fainted. Bailey Bai-ley is suspected of Armstrong's murder. After "seeing a ghost," Thomas, the lodgekeeper, was found dead. A slip was found in his pocket bearing the name "Lucien Wallace, 14 Elm street, Richfield." Rich-field." CHAPTER XX. Continued. "Certain." "In what part?" "In the east wing." . "Can you tell me when these intrusions intru-sions occurred, and what the purpose seemed to be? Was it robbery?" "No," I said decidedly. "As to time, once on Friday night a week ago, again the following night, when Arnold Arn-old Armstrong was murdered, and again last Friday night." The doctor looked serious. He seemed to "be debating some question in his mind, and to reach a decision. "Miss Innes," he said, "I am in a peculiar position; I understand your attitude, of course; but do you think you are wise? Ever since you have have come here there have been hostile hos-tile demonstrations against you and your family. I'm not a croaker, but take a warning. Leave before anything any-thing occurs that will cause you a lifelong life-long regret." "I am willing to tike the responsibility." responsi-bility." I said coldly. I think he gave me tip then as a poor proposition. He asked to be shown where Arnold Armstrong's body had been found, and I took him there. He scrutinized the whole place carefully, care-fully, examining the stairs and. the lock. When he had taken a formal farewell I was confident of one thing. Dr. Walker would do anything he could to get me away from Sunnyside. CHAPTER XXI. Fourteen Elm Street. It was Monday evening when we found the body of poor Thomas. Monday Mon-day night, had been uneventful; things were quiet at the house and the peculiar pe-culiar circumstances of the old man's death had been carefully kept from the servants. Rosie took charge of the dining room and pantry, in the absence ab-sence of a butler, and, except for the warning of the Casanova doctor, everything every-thing breathed of peace. Affairs at the Traders' bank were progressing slowly. The failure had hit small stock-holders very hard, the minister of the little Methodist chapel in Casanova among them. He had received as a legacy from an uncle a few shares of stock in the Traders' bank, and now his joy was turned to bitterness; he had to sacrifice everything every-thing he had in. the world, and his feeling against Paul Armstrong, dead, as he was, must have been bitter in the extreme. He was asked to officiate of-ficiate at the simple services when the dead banker's body was interred in Casanova churchyard, but the good man providentially took cold, and a substitute was called in. A few days after the services he called to see me, a kind-laced iittle man, in a very bad frock-coat and laundered tie. 1 think he was uncertain uncer-tain as to my connection with the Armstrong family, and dubious whether wheth-er 1 considered Mr. Armstrong's taking tak-ing away a matter for condolence or congratulation. He was not long in doubt. I liked the little man. He had known Thomas well, and had promised to officiate of-ficiate at the services in the rickety African Zion church. He told me more of himself than he knew, and before he left I astonished him and myself, 1 admit by promising a new carpet for his church. He was much affected, and I gathered that he had yearned over his ragged chapel as a mother over a half-clothed child. "You are laying up treasures, Miss Innes,'' he said brokenly, "wheie neither moth nor rust corrupt, not thieves break through and steal." I sent him home in the car, with a bunch of hothouse roses for his wife, and he was quite overwhelmed. As for me. 1 oad a generous glow that He Scrutinized the Whole Place Carefully. I -CW ( W5a- Why did bf.Ui she and Dr. Walker warn us away from the house? Who waR Lucien Wallace? What did Thomas see in the shadows the night he died? What was the meaning of the subtle change in Gertrude? "Was .'lack Bailey an accomplice or a victim in the looting of the Traders' bank ? What all-powerful reason made Louise determine to -marry Ilr. Walker? The examiners were still - working on the books of the Traders' bank, and it was probable that several weeks would elapse before everything was cleared up. The firm of expert accountants ac-countants who had examined the books some two months before testified that every bond, every piece of valuab'e paper, was there at that time. It had been shortly after their examination examina-tion that the president, who ht'd been in bad health, had gone to California. .Mr. Bailey was still ill at the. Knickerbocker, Knicker-bocker, and in this, as in other ways, Gertrude's conduct puzzled me. She seemed indifferent, refused to discuss matters pertaining to the bank, and never, to my knowledge, either wrote to him or went to see him. Gradually Gradual-ly 1 came to the conclusion that Gertrude, Ger-trude, with the rest of the world, believed be-lieved her lover guilty, and although I believed it myself, for that matter I was irritated by her indifference. Girls in my day did not meekly accept the public's verdict as to the man they loved. But presently something occurred that made me think that under Gertrude's Ger-trude's surface calm there was a seething seeth-ing Hood of emotions. Tuesday morning the detective made a careful search of the grounds, but he found nothing. In the afternoon after-noon he disappeared, and it was late lhat night when he came home. He said he would have to go back to the city the following day, and arranged with Halsey and Alex to guard the house. Liddy came to me on Wednesday morning with her black silk apron held up like a bag and her eyes big with virtuous wrath, it was the day Bridge," I read aloud. Then, aware of Alex's stare, I turned on Liddy. "Some one is to play bridge tonight to-night at nine o'clock," I said. "Is that your business, or mine?" Liddy w-as aggrieved. She was about to reply when I scooped up the pieces and left the conservatory. "Now then," I said, when we got outside, "will you tell me why you choose to take Alex into your confidence? con-fidence? He's no fool. Do you suppose sup-pose he thinks any one in this house is going to play bridge to-night at nine o'clock, by appointment! I suppose sup-pose you have shown it in the kitchen, and instead of my being able to slip down to the bridge to-night quietly, and see who is there, the whole household house-hold will be going in a prof ession." "Nobody knows it," Liddy said humbly. hum-bly. "I found it in the basket in .Miss Gertrude's dressing room. Look at the back of the sheet." I turned over some of the scraps, and, sure enough, it was a blank deposit slip from the Traders' bank. So Gertrude was going to meet Jack Bailey that night by the bridge! And I had thought be was ill! It hardly seemed like the action of an innocent man this avoidance of daylight, and of his fiancee's people. I decided to make certain, however, by going to the bridge that night. After luncheon Mr. Jamieson suggested sug-gested that I go with him to Richfield, and I consented. "I am inclined to place more faith in Dr. Stewart's story," he said, "since I found that scrap in old Thomas' pocket. It bears out the statement that the woman with the child, and the woman who quarreled with Armstrong, Arm-strong, are the same. It looks as if Thomas had stumbled on to some affair af-fair which was more or less discreditable discred-itable to the dead man, and, with a certain loyalty to the family, had kept it to himself. Then, you see, your story about the woman at the card-room card-room window begins to mean something. some-thing. It is the nearest approach to I Could See the Mortons' Big Country House. ive's cuff, "now then, I'll bet you don't know what your name is!" "I do," said the boy. "Lucien Wallace." Wal-lace." "Great! And what's your mother's name?" "Mother, of course. What's your mother's name?" And he pointed to me! am going v to stop wearing black; it doubles a woman's age. "And where did you live before you came here?" The detective was polite -enough not to smile. to ti.; t.oWTi.ri:ii., |