Show 1 A milk CO N EZ hawa E 5 1 N SYNOPSIS mary avery ary a widow who bivs in tile the harbor town own of mass masi with t two wo negro nearo maldi sarah darbe and basie wil liams writes a manuscript describing tile the famous second head murder mu which occurred on her estate nent neat to mary live mr and mrs mn mettr stow who every year give a summer guin nier masquerade party one of 0 tile the guests of this thi unction function Is I 1 murdered nearby bearb live dr and mrs mn geary and their married daughter edith and her husband alfred alray doctor myron marden and lila a tep granddaughter caro prentiss a young girl giri who wa I 1 born la in arance next live paul and lora eames and their the ir dau 9 liter molly molly h olly was wa en an to thi murdered man ace blankle Bla ilde slit she had previously been engaged to walter treadwell who had been secre secret t balry ary but the engagement was wai suddenly broken andee nd he had hift town other neighbor bois are the fairweather sisters listen flora a hopeless invalid and margaret all but the latter two attend the masquerade maique rade marys maryi eight year old niece sylvia sard Is 1 visiting her for the he summer umi nr the wooded part of marys maryi estate I 1 Is called the spinney in it li Is ft at tiny tog log cabin called the little home on toe the day of the masquerade excitement la Is high mary decided to take sylvia who li Is an aa unusually observant child caro pran pr a and molly earnes drop la in during the tha afternoon molly mo ily seems aeta pre oc cuple d soon i a car arrives arrive and blaikle D doctor tor marden and bruce alexion II exson a friend of ac allgen molly Is impatient t to 0 leave and they all excuse themselves at the party sylvia idea tidies tach 0 of I 1 the he masked gu gueitz ests as ai hey bey arrive Ace comes garbed as julius caezar cats 1 r molly olly eames appears as ai a snow queen s accompanied a compa compan nied led hy by a man in armor whom sylvia identifies an aa walter treadway cadway Tr they dance together continuously caro prentiss and nd barden arrive dressed la its revolutionary costumes coi tin the doctor wearing jeweled shoe oboe buckles buc klei when the guests unmask ace walter and Molly have aye disappeared disappear cd I 1 SAT continued it was one OJE of the contradictions in ace Dal klos contradictory character a that he preferred little girls to little boys ile he had an enchanting way with little girls and this enchanting way had no relation whatever to the fascinating way he had bad with older women for ace had always been attractive to women always im sorry sorby doctor ace come back and take his mask oft off sylvia silvia repeated afterwards I 1 was to recall ithac sylvia had said twice that ace blankle had gone away twice that thai she was sorry he hid had not come back at it that lit moment of course jt it made no impression impression it did make an impression however when sho she said walter come back cither elther t I 1 said sylvia you will not sa say y anything to anybody about walters being there 1 I wont aunt mary she promised me you u see its a secret now skip along dar darlings lingi im going to dress sarah barba came in lusylvia US as sylvia went out fresh linen tor for my bed over her aim arm ivo ive drawn your bath water mrs avery she said handing me my kimono when I 1 came out of the bath my room had been put to rights la there anything further I 1 can do komrs mrs i i avery sarah barah asked nothing thank boit you sarah I 1 answered an invariable lable ritual of entertainment nc nt lof borths the maids of second head the sunday after the stow masquerade they all come to a picnic in the house on my plade place A little perfunctorily isaid I 1 said 1 I suppose the girls are getting ready for the picnic tomorrow olyes oh yes mrs averyl sarah answered all pretty excited they always are we ve miss bur picnic ford for anything are all the usual crowd going I 1 oskco yes mrs airs avery sarah answered about b h dozen of us I 1 sat down at my dressing table to comb my hair sarah lingered sha moved over to my table and inada som komu a casual rearrangement of the objects there I 1 knew something was brewing lif in mind mrs mr avery sarah began lit in a low voice yes sarah I 1 answered sarah appeared to forget targe t that sh she a had spoken or was it that she regretted ond and pretended she sho she took up my tray then put pul it down again lingered doing nothing what is it sarah I 1 asked oh nothing I 1 guess afro irs ayery avery she eho answered I 1 oh come now sarah I 1 demanded m anaed tell met mel it really important I 1 guess mrs avery and yet I 1 think rd id feel more comfortable if I 1 told you about it its iff about the little house licousi 11 yes oyes 1 I encouraged her well I 1 went down there thu this mom morning ing while you were sleeping the way I 1 always do the day before the picnic I 1 always sweep it out and dustus dustup dust up a little ind and see it if everything Is all right and everything all right lucre this morning k everything was IQ in order but well wel I 1 have a feeling mrs avery that somebody slept there last night what makes you think so well for one thing when I 1 was doing the floor something clattered under un der the mop I 1 hunted bunted a ion long 9 while before I 1 could find it you see it was just the color ot of the floor door but finally I 1 got it IL it was one of those wooden collar buttons which chic it come from the laundry tn in mens men I 1 shirts yes I 1 said interrogatively that all sarah continued outside in the bushes I 1 found one of those sheets of still stiff cardboard the laundries put in mens shirts to keep them from getting wrinkled somebody might have used the little house to dress for the masquerade qu clu erade I 1 said slowly although I 1 cant imagine anybody doing that without asking my permission of course wo we never think of locking it somebody slept there mrs avery sarah said with decision I 1 the couch had been used you know ws we keep some comforters folded up in the closet nobody touches those comforters but me and I 1 always fold them a particular way the way I 1 fold everything the way you taught me whoever used them folded them too but VL very try carelessly 1 I say anything about it to any of the girls who are coming to the picnic I 1 advised it important really so long as no harm was done of course I 1 don dont it like ilka to think of strangers tramps or whatever sleeping in the little house it frighten me though but some of the girls might feel a little frightened about going there oh i I 1 say a word about it to any anybody bodyl 1 sarah declared giving me a reproachful look you can 4 trust me for that 1 I know I 1 can I 1 sat said d div giving 1 ng her an affectionate look lock icamen I 1 came downstairs and dawdled for about an hour the day was languorously beautiful the afternoon was unnaturally tranquil garden scents drifted onto my piazza and into my house I 1 do not remember that my telephone usually so busy jangled once bev everybody ery cry body I 1 remembered reflecting is sleeping it oft off I 1 remembered too wondering how many people stayed until sunrise at the stow party about three sylvia came trudging up the driveway her face was flushed from two hours of play inthe in the sun dorinda bollo bolle looked a little the worse tor for wear did nancy come I 1 asked no aunt mary sylvia answered she come at all and dorinda belle been crowned yet she laid her tare carefully down on the chair beside her how dorinda belle glitter fl I 1 ercla exclaimed aimed that youve tied around her waist it beautiful I 1 found it on the path brang it t over to me honey sylvia trotted to my side bear ing ng dorinda belle oh its a buc bucknell buckl klell sl I 1 exclaimed and its a very beautiful old one it looks ulce spanish paste somebody must havo have dropped it c oming coming to the party im afraid ill have to twe take it away from you dear well have to und out who lost it I 1 remember that I 1 started to examine the buckle buckla closely but at that exact moment the tel telephone ephon rang before 4 I 1 took up the receiver quite mechanically I 1 slipped the glittering thing into a little dresden box on the table nearest me from that precise instant I 1 did not think of that thai buckle again until but I 1 must not antici pato pata my own story it vasa sam chess ace negro man anan on the wire I 1 had known sam for twenty five years Is that you mrs avery sam asked yes sam what la 13 lit ill mrs avery doctor blankle aint got home yet from the party and some come of his bis pat patients lentil keeps calling I 1 jess wondered if you knew where he basor was or when I 1 I 1 could expect him I 1 sort of feel kind ot of worried mrs avery s 1 I 1 the remotest idea sam where he Is I 1 replied he left the party before the unmasking I 1 left it about two and he had not come back by then and I 1 fancy he come back at all but you know doctor i Blai klel you ought to know him well enough by this time not to wor ry and not to expect him until you see him 1 desm I 1 reckon I 1 know that about doctor blankle Bl aUsle mra avery but he even come back here toi to change his clothes and you know how he was dressel dressed 1 I 1 worry aboud about doctor blaikle if I 1 were you I 1 reassured sam tile the punch was very delicious and there was plenty of it sam laughed too yeam and doctor blaikle ho he certainly likes punch did he come coma over in his own car sam I 1 asked no mrs lane took him over mrs lane said shen mr lane came home alone they find doctor blackie when they started home its likely sam that youl get a telephone call any moment now from doctor blackie bhawe asking you to bring some clothes to him wherever he spent the night iles hes probably still asleep desm I 1 guess right thank you mrs avery I 1 had hardly put the telephone down when sarah darbe appeared 1 I brought some things down to the little house this morning mrs avery she explained 1 I have always done that the day before 0 our ur picnic but I 1 feel a little wo worried aried about leaving them there thera but I 1 think be all right sarah I 1 said sarah cast me a meaning look id feel better mrs avery if they were safe in the house I 1 remember mem ber I 1 took the silver pie knife I 1 was wondering if sylvia w would I 1 like to walk down to the lt little le house with me 1 I think shed better stay here I 1 sarah I 1 said 1 I think ashes beginning to foel feel tired how many times since I 1 have thanked all my gods that I 1 did not let sylvia go with sarah the ten minutes or more which it took sarah to go to the little house and return it happened that she came back by the path which led up to the side entrance at the left of the house were the last happy moments I 1 was to know for many a day suddenly I 1 heard swift footsteps pounding around the farther corner of the piazza rugs deafened them but on the hard wood they boomed like quick drums even before sar M I 1 4 IN t e that bat coolness rapidly became beca the frigidity of horror ah darbes hoarse horror strained voice carefully muted called mrs avery mrs averyl I 1 knew that those footsteps were loaded with panic stay here sylviaa Syl vial viall I 1 ordered I 1 leaped from the hammock ran around mccorner my corner of 0 the piazza to meet sarah brown face ace had turned her brown eyes were starting out of her head oh my god mrs avery she whispered doctor blankle is lying dead in the spinney I 1 think hes been murdered horror terroll and horror terror confusion all woven tog etherl 4 fortunately I 1 kept my head fortunately tuna tely sarah kept hers I 1 leaped e to the telephone got the geary house houie immediately luckily joe geary was atheme at home then I 1 called the police station luckily patrick obrien was in joe geary arrived a a minute or two before patrick them the instant I 1 dropped the receiver I 1 called there must have been some strident terror in my voice for bessie ca came me running from the kitchen be bessie bessle S 1 I ordered take sylvia over to textile pie stows mr and jamrs stow ara arnout put motoring I 1 saw them on the tho causeway a little while mahile a ago go buffell caddie and jes jessie afie that an accident has occurred over herp here and to keep sylvia there tell telf them to ask mrs stow to call me ma up the instant sho she gets in tell one of them to call up all the girls who were coming here tomorrow and tell them that the picnic must be postponed then come back here at once sarah will tell you what has haa happened I 1 never saw bessiea Bes sies dimples iron out of her face so swiftly or so completely she gave gava one look at stricken aspect and went immediately out onto tho the piazza corns come honeil I 1 heard her say in her softest end and gentlest tones you and mes going to take a nice little walk by this time joe geary had arrived soon patrick approached and I 1 could see that there was a policeman beside him on the seat two on the running board three on metor motorcycles tor cycles following the motor the motor board dropped of off where the road from the village ran into second head on guard I 1 guessed at once patricks car came into my drive the three motorcycles tor cycles followed with one of his swift leaps patrick was out of the car and across the piazza stay here until I 1 whis alel he called over his shoulder to the four policemen lucky you were at home joe he commented sarah and I 1 accompanied them to the farthest end of the piazza there we women faltered mary patrick begged if you can bear to stand it it I 1 wish come with us F for or the first time I 1 saw that patricks irish gray eyes were filled with tears I 1 began to sob helplessly yes ill come I 1 agreed you come too sarahl sarah joe ordered briefly we had scarcely stopped for this brief dialogue all the time we were hurrying forward over the short path presently we were at the entrance of the spinney As I 1 have said only this one gravel path joining the grassy path which leads from the side door of my glassed in piazza passes through it that path curves out of it runs part way up the head to the little house and then up the head beyond it curves backward and ends at my back door the spinney is a tangle I 1 let things grow there as they will and they will turn to jungle entering the spinney on that transcendent day was to come abruptly from sunshine stinging hot to shade velvety cool cool I 1 say that coolness rapidly became the frigidity of horror for our cavi alcade proceeding swiftly doctor geary first thea patrick then myself then sarah sarahi I 1 caught sight presently over the mens shoulders of a splotch of white humanly shaped on the gravel path suddenly the a atmosphere of the spinner blackened and whirled I 1 you go ahead I 1 ordered faintly ill follow in a minute but what happened was that after sarah passed me I 1 recovered myself instantly followed at once and passed her in a second or two wo we all stopped hes dead all right 11 joe pronounced grimly iles hes been dead since rigor mortis has set in yes hes dead the poor fel bowl patrick echoed sarah and I 1 stationed ourselves one on either side of patrick ace looked strangely beautiful and strangely dignified in death as though his body had been carefully laid out as indeed ultimately we learned that it had his tunic lay straight and close about his figure his helmet lay a at t his side his tiny black velvet mask lay beside it suddenly I 1 seemed to see for the first t time ime the slit I 1 in n that tunic a slit surrounded by a rust colored stain over the heart Stab bedl edill patrick dropped tersely he too knelt yes joe assented there it it was the weapon that had ki killed ailed ace it was his own sword the short sword of the roman officer which had stuck upright on the left of his belt the blade was unstained smooth and chinin shinin shining 9 wave of faintness came over iver me As I 1 went into it it I 1 heard patrick |