Show ial I 1 I 1 III murder masquerade BY inez haynes irivin copyright inez haynes irwin service SYNOPSIS mary avery a widow who lives in the harbor ho town of 0 mass blass with two negro maids maid sarah darbe and besie williams writes write a manuscript describing the famous second head murder which occurred on her estate next to lo mary blary live mr and mrs birs peter stow who every year give a summer mas qu r ade de party one of the guests of this function is ii murdered nearby live dr atut and mrs geary and their married daughter edith and her bus band alfred bray doctor myron marden and his hii step granddaughter caro prentiss a beautiful young girl who was born bom in france next live paul and lora eames and their daughter molly molly folly was engaged to the murdered man act ace blaikie Pla ikic she had been engaged to walter treadway cadway Tr who had been the murdered mini man a secretary but the hie engagement was suddenly broken and he had bad left town other neighbors are the fairweather sisters listers flora a hopeless invalid and nd margaret all but the latter two attended the masquerade mary eights eight year old niece sylvia sard is visiting lier her fo for r the summer bummer the wooded part of marya eat estate ate is called the spinney in it is a tiny log cabin near a stone wall is a tiny circular pond called the merry mere this is ii the day of the masquerade and excitement is high mary decides to take sylvia who is an unusually observant child caro prentiss and molly eames drop in during the afternoon molly seems pre mccu pied soon Pla blaikie ikie doctor marden and bruce hixson a friend of acet aces arrive molly is fin impatient to leave and they nil all excuse themselves at the party sivia silvia identifies each of the masked guests as they arrive ace comes garbed as julius caesar FRIDAY continued they danced when the music stopped ace brought her back to my side he bowed low before he left thank you senorita senor ital he said did you enjoy the dance lamb I 1 asked sylvia oh aunt mary sh sh sh I 1 hushed her with a conscious touch of melodrama dont speak my name oh I 1 wont do it again sylvia whispered looking hastily about her her eyes dancing with importance he tried and lie he tried and he tried to find out who I 1 was she went on importantly but I 1 would not tell him he asked me it if I 1 was mrs broome sylvias sparkles burst through the importance which had quieted her look nina broome was the tallest woman in a little over six feet 1 I told him I 1 sylvia went on and at first he believe me then he asked me here sylvia burst into a series of silve silvery r y giggles if I 1 was ellie dent i ile ellie dent was the fattest woman in three hundred pounds the conservative among amon us had guessed 1 I told him I 1 ellie daentl and at first he believe me and then he asked me again she burst into giggles if I 1 was tom boylan tom boylan was the town drunk an old man of an exaggerated tallness and thinness entrance music interrupted this conversation there appeared in the frame of the doorway the loveliest figure that had yet entered the room A tall lithe creature young yes with that aliveness she must have been young dressed as mentally I 1 dubbed her snow queen she wore a gown of a frail silvery lace trimmed with broad bands of white fur quick as a flash came sylvias identifying whisper molly eames and there she was at once revealed to me my precious molly she looks like a snow queena I 1 said almost immediately on hollys entrance appeared another noticeable figure a man in armor obviously young obviously athletic he was in his medieval way almost as striking as ace in his roman boman way I 1 am no authority on armor although I 1 suppose I 1 have seen hundreds of specimens in the galleries of europe I 1 the remotest idea who he was he was superb thought yet the combination of black mail and black mask made him a little sinister even sylvia did not at first identify him he fascinated her however as he fascinated me we both watched him and then suddenly with a little ecstatic start of recognition sylvia whispered oh I 1 know now who it its walter Tread wayll 1 my ly first sensation was of thrill ro romantic m antic thrill delighted thrill but when I 1 saw him making at once in the direction of the snow queen swing off into dance with her I 1 became conscious I 1 dont even now know why exactly of a sense of unease molly and walter had not I 1 believed spoken had not seen each othni since they broke their engagement did they recognize each other now 1 I whispered close to sylvias ear remember darling that you are not to tell anybody but me who these people are oh of coursel sylvia declared with emphasis 1 I wont tell anybody lod I 1 like anybody to tell who I 1 was I 1 dont believe anybody will guess who I 1 am I 1 reassured her on this point I 1 continued to watch molly eames and walter treadway how beautifully they danced tog together etherl and what a contrast they made molly sparkle a and almost a melt in her silvery lace and crystals walter as one carved out of jet in his black cape and his shining chain mail walter danced continuously with molly except for two dances she gave ace blaikie I 1 continued to watch them and with varying emotions molly eames with all her golden gayety gaiety was not a person of whom you asked personal questions there was one question that all would have liked to ask her why had she thrown walter over they had seemed to be passionately in love they had seemed to be perfectly matched and yet suddenly and apparently for no reason she had broken with him and walter had immediately left town A few months later she announced her engagement to ace blaikie ace blaikle blaikie who was my contemporary who was in age more than twice her twenty two years I 1 ace blaikie who had started before she was born flirting ja i 4 1 PA aa X 17 A w afia s it 4 4 1 A ie I e 13 N 12 0 k W a C 1 nancy and I 1 are going to play down at the merry mere alere with all the pretty women in the county and who had never except for his absence during durina the world war ceased to flirt with them walter had never entered t since his departure a year before I 1 had not known that he had returned there was one more notable entrance before the unmasking this time a pair man and woman they wore costumes of the revolutionary period the woman in a full skirted gown of the palest yellow satin trimmed with lace a wig of high piled yellow hair from which fell onto her neck two long curls the man wore lilac satin being something of a connoisseur both of old lace and old paste past I 1 noticed the fineness of the chantilly ruffles which trimmed her gown and the old rose point which fell from his neck and wrists the antique preciousness of their paste her necklace and earrings his ruffle pin and shoe buckles I 1 should have guessed at one once e I 1 should have recognized a certain trained quality in the movement of the woman a certain courtliness in the bearing of the man yet it was not doctor dector marden and carol caro that I 1 knew the party went on I 1 noticed with a resigned amusement how gradually as is inevitable at all parties I 1 have watched the process a hundred times in my own place matties house lost its look of freshness and orderliness sylvia complained that she was thirsty and I 1 sent her out into the kitchen for a drink she did not come back until the unmasking I 1 did not bother her I 1 knew she was having a good time with the maids the unmasking came some time after eleven three of the people for whom I 1 looked particularly had apparently left the house molly eames walter treadway cadway Tr ace blaikle blaikie we knew the next day that ace blaikie left it to walk to his death when the clock struck twelve I 1 sent sylvia home with bessie at midnight the stows put on one of the delightful which are always a feature of their annual party this time it was a modernistic quadrille danced by four couples dressed in cubistic cubi black and white presently came the delicious supper and dancing had begun again sarah and I 1 left a little after two molly and walter had not returned to the party neither of course had ace blaikie SATURDAY I 1 have often recalled how hard long and dreamlessly I 1 slept that night not much more than a stones throw from my house a horrible tragedy had enacted itself but my psychology untouched couched by the horror in the atmo atmosphere sphere stayed static A rest as thick as soft as soundless as a vast white cloud enveloped me I 1 waked about noon I 1 lay for a moment struggling with that cloud of sleep half trying to pull out of it presently I 1 heard sylvias voice oh I 1 do wish aunt maryd get up and I 1 bounced wide awake sylvia I 1 called come in here dearl sylvia very slim in her little blue gingham dress her blue bowed pig tails snapping upwards at the end perched herself on my bed and contemplated me in her most friendly manner of course she was carrying dorinda belle bella have you had your breakfast sylvia I 1 asked sleepily yes aunt mary did you sleep well 1 I did but dorinda belle A terrible thing happened aunt mary I 1 feel perfectly dreadful about it you see I 1 left dorinda sarah darbe interrupted entering with my breakfast tray we let her sleep as long as she could mrs avery she took up the conversation she must have waked up about eleven she had her breakfast a little over a half hour 09 ago sylvia watched me pour my coffee how I 1 wish I 1 could have some aunt mary she exclaimed wistfully ill be glad when you can I 1 temporized because then you and I 1 can have our coffees coffee together but have to be a big girl before that happens what are you going to do this afternoon I 1 changed the subject nancy and I 1 are going to play down at the merry mere we are making a little village theres my doll house and that birdhouse been in the garage so long and a lot of boxes that sort of look like houses nancy and I 1 made up our minds that there was going to be king and queen in the village and so dorinda belle is going to be queen and nancys boy dolls going to be king to be crowned today oh why dorinda belle is wearing that gorgeous dress I 1 said yes aunt mary I 1 made it myself sylvia held dorinda belle up so that I 1 could get the entire effect of lanky draperies wrapped around her beautiful I 1 fibbed bibbed tactfully sylvia chattered on adding other opulent details of the days plans but I 1 was not listening which of the ladies did you think looked the prettiest last night I 1 asked oh the snow queen sylvia answered promptly and with enthusiasm thusia sm 1 I thought she was per wonderful molly is the most beautiful lady I 1 ever saw which of the men did you like most I 1 asked doctor ace sylvias small freckled nose wrinkled with her elfin mirth she distilled her tinkling laughter oh doctor ace was so funny asking me if I 1 was mrs broome and euie ellie dent and tom boylan you have thought aunt mary that hed have known I 1 any of them he did not take his mask off he went away before that oh im so sorry he went away you love doctor ace sylvia yes he gives me nice medicines I 1 dont like doctor spellman doctor spellman gives me horrid medicine doctor ace tells me stories too I 1 love him it was one of the contradictions in ace blames Blai kies contradictory character that he preferred little girls to little boys he had an enchanting 4 way with little girls and this enchanting way had no relation whatever to the fascinating way he had with older women for ace blaikie had always been attractive to women always im sorry doctor ace come back and take his mask off sylvia repeated afterwards I 1 was to recall that sylvia had said twice that ace blame blaikie had gone away twice that she was sorry he had not come back at that moment of course it made no impression it did make an impression how ever when she said walter did nt come back either I 1 said sylvia you will not say anything to anybody about walters 1 being there 1 I wont aunt mary she promised me you see its a secret now skip along darling im going to dress sarah darbe came in as sylvia went out fresh linen for my bed over her arm 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 Is there anything further I 1 can do mrs avery 7 sarah asked nothing thank you sarah I 1 answered an invariable ritual of entertainment tor for the maids of second head marks the sunday after the stow masquerade they all come to a picnic in the little house on my place A little perfunctorily I 1 said 1 I suppose the girls ore are getting ready for the picnic tomorrow oh yes mrs averyl avery 1 sarah answered all pretty excited they always are we miss our picnic for anything 10 are all the usual crowd going I 1 asked yes mrs avery sarah answered about a dozen of U us S TO BE CONTIN LIEDO |