Show M MEDUSAS YN amr r S A S HEAD H E CHAPTER I 1 A slender blender dark young man skipped nimbly out of the very luxurious french motor in which he had been carried from new york city to southampton long island and preceded illy his luggage up tho the marble steps of that type of 0 american palace called a summer cottage into tho the vestibule this vestibule was constructed very simply of mottled old ivory marble with ith bronze urns holding venetian glass lights and bronze doors carved in tho the simplest possible greek key design the hall into which it opened might well have belonged to one of tile the simple old italian merchants mer chanta of the fifteenth century much of it had in fact vor for this cottage was the summer homo home of aaron Gla glaenzer onzer jeweler extraordinary and gem cutter plenipotentiary to the royal families of london paris and new york tork it was three full generations since aaron family had left vienna and lie ho might perfectly well have been named james or henry if he had find liked but lie liked ills wonderful brow his deep lidded eyes and ills his unmistakably modeled nose had not noi altered by a centimeter in those three generations and ho he was very glad they tor for he was very proud of them this made him like any other aristocrat very easy to deal with and everybody liked and admired him among the rest ills his young guest whom one one of the cottage helpers introduced in a pronounced english accent as mister motherwell mothers ell athla la Is very good of you motherwell said bald the older ninn man shaking hands warmly wo we could have met in town of course but I 1 had my reasons for dragging you out here it was a very pleasant drug drag sir the young man replied id bo be glad to walk out jut just to see this room ill the cottager smiled tho the quick flush flash I 1 ins mg smile simile of his race evidently pleased ns as all of ills his sort are likely to be with the appreciation of ills his little shelter against the elements after their meal which was perfectly digestible an and calculated to sustain them till morning they went back to the library for their coffee when there was no one ona in the room but themselves mr air glaenzer Gln enzer lit a pale and very fragrant cigar and moved to the fireplace where since it was vas late into october a dull fire hurled burped and how Is your young friend hir mr that married old miss bliss niece was it reid held he asked k yos yes douglas reid held she was only her ber goddaughter I 1 believe sir OB na happy as possible lies iles working like ille it a horse going to have a baby very tory soon again mr glaenzer smiled his flashing smile simile nice now that nice lie ho said warmly biow illow happy bet bo I 1 ive collected about everything there la Is to collect motherwell but theres nothing like the tha babies I 1 it if only stay sc BO like ilke the other things one collects 1 motherwell thought of tile the only two of mr sons he be had ever in met et and said nothing ah yes said ills his host ah yos yes they both smoked tell me motherwell the older man asked abruptly do you consider yourself if a member of the police force certainly not sir came the quick answer i you have a regular business then 1 I have been a member of oly iny grandfathers publishing firm for e ight eight years I 1 am one of the managers of tile the new york branch all ah I 1 see hut but you have sufficient leisure to follow your various er hobbles eyes twinkled quite lie he said the arrangement was made with both my uncles its f fully illy understood very velry interesting very interesting sal sali said I mr air glaenzer eying him thoughtfully 1 I used to know klow your uncle sears rather well they tell me you have it a real alft gifta a sort of finar mr air moth erwell for putting your finger on things for jumping at the right conclusion clu cl lie he branched off abruptly the chief thinks ive done it once or twice motherwell answered simply but im bound to tell you flir air maelzer Gla Ma enier enzer that they liae have mostly suspected something and asked me to follow it up they had the case real really 17 not in my case said tile the jeweler ohl motherwell waved ills hla hand deprecatingly ca that was different sar that was an occident accident when a pair of queer people move into the house next but one to a great jewelers lew filers and take great pains to get everybody out of both houses and keep them under their eye and even to remove on an interesting party across the street and when they spend most of their time in the cellar knocking and hammering and when their alleged business turns out to be an utter bluff why it take any vast amount of flair na as you put it walt a moment glaenzer Gln enzer inter d gently wait a moment I 1 quite agree with iou hut bilut the point Is that everything was so cleverly managed and so apparently open and aboveboard that the average and unsuspecting persons concerned were completely hoodwinked inked in fact your friend mr reid held appears to me to be distinctly above the average by josephine daskam bacon copyright by D appleton and 90 company service cut but lie he suspected sopi something ething nil all along mr glaenzer GIa enzer no lie felt that they were fishy from the start that was why lie he told mo me about them ali ah yes glaenzer GIa enzer replied quickly but what did he suspect my young friend just the point ile he suspected the wrong entirely etwas it was your quick action that saved us ns 1 I think you lay too muth much stress on it sir mr well said ilie he jeweler slowly we shall see what I 1 want to find out ilave alave you ever done anything entirely by yourself mr motherwell the young mans eyes lighted up no lie could not restrain a slight flush not since I 1 left college sir he answered 1 I worked out a few odd things hut but ot of course I 1 never nayer had bad any authority you can have some now said mr glaenzer GIa enzer and you iou are the only that Is 1 mrs crandall white person I 1 know Alot motherwell berwell to whom I 1 feel justified la in appealing I 1 may bo be wrong but you are the only person ue ile moved over to the wonderful refectory table and took up a large photograph framed in florentine Florenti nii leather do you know this lady he asked very few faces could b be 0 said to add to it room as beautiful as mr library but this one did it was perfectly familiar to motherwell but he could not to save his life put a name to it 1 I know her of course mr glaenzer 11 he said after a moment but im afraid have to tell me who she lestr Is ls sir str ive certainly seen her picture often enough that to la mrs crandall white said mr glaenzer GIa enzer and motherwell mothers ell nodded a quick assent of course he said of course it Is by it a curious chance mr glaenzer GIa enzer went on here Is another photograph just published today and he lifted a magazine from the table opened it and handed it to the young man the frontispiece was a reproduction in color colo of f a famous portrait of the lady and you saw what no ordinary photographer could show you the marvelous coloring of the original from the unusual yellowish pink of the flesh up through the tha pale rose 0 of f the lips and the strange greenish hazel of the deep lashed wide spaced eyes the color rose to the extraordinary golden red of her unmatchable hair it framed her face in profound irregular waves as different Terent dH from the commonplace mon place results of the process which embalms the memory of the great al marcel as from the god given grace of the lucky curly head it was planted in the famous seven points of beauty around her low lov forehead and it folded back graciously with a vague reminiscence of the classic just showing allowing the tips of her small smal ears cars too red to be golden but tar far too golden to be merely red now mr motherwell said the jeweler mrs white left her house hous 0 day before yesterday at about eleven eleve a in the morning and has not been seen since except that she went out on some perfectly ordinary errand fully intending to return to her lunch for which she had given orders nobody knows anything about her since that hour one message from her or pur par porting pg to c come f from be her ha beav received by her husband but it I 1 a not nol of a nature to allay his anxiety quite the contrary in fact it wat wa received late at night on the day sho sh left wednesday here it Is lie ile handed the young roan man a sheet of smooth violet wrapping paper of the sort used in the higher class shops that cater to rich women on it way wa written in a heavy soft pencil in very irregular lines quite obviously blistered and rubbed with drops of somo some liquid dearest cran 1 I must leave you for a little the last word had been scratched out replaced by some time replaced again by the original phrasing and I 1 cannot tell you why but I 1 cannot have you frightened to death though I 1 am but you need not be I 1 will try to come back bach as soon no as I 1 can nobody Is hurting me C iran cran you must not think so I 1 ought not to take even this time you are not to send to the police or anything of that sort I 1 am going of my own accord if you try to find out by the police I 1 swear that I 1 will never come back remember that I 1 mean it I 1 will try to let you hear bear again pack up some clothes and send them somewhere you will know what to say I 1 shant need any I 1 am quite well no one Is hurting me I 1 told him that I 1 tell you know I 1 love you I 1 hope to come back iby 11 CHAPTER II 11 motherwell read this through very rapidly and did not read it again holding it in hla his hand he ad addressed drosse a question lely her name Is s cleffa said mr air glaenzer gloenzer Gln enzer Is that her writing 1 I should say so beyond a doubt nere to Is a note I 1 had from her a few days daya ago and he handed motherwell a small pale gray sheet dear glen it read be sure to come in about four on friday wont you I 1 want to talk over crannis Cr annys birthday present I 1 have thought of 8 something om ething but I 1 dont know what you will say nastily 0 L W 11 you were good friends friend s I 1 judge crandall white and I 1 have been associated r for twenty five years said sir mr glaenzer there are not two men iq the world closer to me I 1 knew the first mrs white well and her children were as tree free in my house as their own this second marriage la Is but seven years old and the tha present mrs white can hardly be much older than my second daughter even now oh h hi I 1 then there Is quite a difference P white Is fifty four said sir mr glaenzer clella cannot be over thirty and sometimes she looks nearer awen ty five frankly I 1 dont know her age precisely I 1 have heard my daughter tease her about it frances says she Is thirty and I 1 suppose she knows they are great friends she may be your daughters friend but she Is not yours thought mr motherwell that astute young man your daughter does not krow know the she thinks clella Is 13 taking a cu cure re somewhere about something connected with reducing her weight you yon know the women today P 1 I know said motherwell briefly was Is mrs white quite well 1 I have never seen her when she was not in perfect health said mr glaenzer and happy 1 contented it if she was not so I 1 have never known any human being conceal it better said mr glaenzer instantly she has a remarkably even disposition ai pondered a moment of course mr glaenzer he said looking squarely at his host there Is no use my going into this unless I 1 have at least all the help you can give me people dont do odd things unless they are insane without reason reasons are less complicated I 1 mean they fill a more limited field than mens were mr and mrs white happy together 71 mrs birs white the jeweler answered instantly but choosing his words carefully has been beeh ever since I 1 met her always taking inking into consideration her exceptional beauty and the fact that she Is young enough to be her husbands daughter a devoted and loving wife and and mr white TO bel BE CONTINUED |