Show TH I 1 flirl C STA alj BY AnVA JUI rf ut f fast T SYNOPSIS innes spinster and Ku ardlan of 0 ger ru rud dis and If almey established summer glimmer headquarters ituarte ro nt at Sunny sunnyside side amidst nu nit merna mern a difficulties tho the str f n anta vanta deserted As miss Itin inara sis locked up for or the night lilt fht she ehe wait startled by a dark figure on the veranda V anda aih alic tied it terrible fa ah wh felt w was a fill l with unseemly 11 ealr a noises in the he morning miss innes found a strange branne link tuff cuff button in tt a clotho a giampi r aertrude Cler ler trudo trude and arri arrived vei with jack flach nalley y the house was wa awakened by a revo revolver I 1 shot A strange man was found mile eiliot to death in the HIP I 1 it proved to be the body of arnold arm ann arong chome banker father owned the country house athis innes inneo found hal ac agy ogy eyb a revolver on file lawn lie he and IJ jack I 1 bailey aa ley hail had disappeared the link cult cuff in button t ton mysteriously disappeared de teethe calve jamieson and the file coroner arrived oertrude gertrude revealed that site blie was waa engaged to jack dalley with whom she had talk talked d in the billiard room a trw ft w before the murder murt ler Jitni leson told jlii innes anes that she was hiding evidence from him film Us lie imprison leoneil ed an intrude r ili li in an empty room the prisoner pr lioner pumped smeared down a laundry chuta it developed t that at the intruder was probably a w woman 0 oer er lder t ruile wits for t tho h 0 clinin In trudor i left a pr print at of a bare toot foot gertrudo Oer truda trudo ri returned lioma home with tier right ankle sprained A negro found the other halt half of what to his br jack anck stalley I 1 till ie v cuff button in halsey ouId suddenly tily mapp arvd iia e said ald lie he and bal ley hat had left the they had received a telegram gertrude paid a that hat she had given dailey on nit uni r oudeh revolver eri fearing to give him ilal hal ri neya y a loaded weapon cn atler r nalley balley of paul hink was nr reste rented d chorded iced with eniti elal ley ey said bald Arms armsttong tiong lind hail wrt eamil his own bank and ani nn ithie amu to clear 1 nilley 1 A ai ati telegram tel eKram contained nav that hint 1 anul 1 i 1 was dead lial ticy aire watt watton watson on the lie housekeeper while she blip w wan a tealler teall nr from the house at th alie I 1 locito dro miss allas innis innes and halsey found Ir aleys s flanc danbee e lou I be armstrong sister lter of tho flefil d man she bho was believed to lie 1 0 in california ff r ni ft the lodge koeper keeper told tol 1 miss innes that I 1 aulse an and arnold find had a long ion of talk the night of the minder ni louise was wan prostrated CHAPTER XIII continued alie alie gardener mentioned by halsey came out about two 0 clock in the aft ernson and walked up tip from the station I 1 was favorably impressed by film falm ilia hill references were good ho had bad been employed by the brays until they went to europe and lie ho looked young and vigorous ile he naked asked for tint one assistant and I 1 was glad enough to got get off so BO easily lie ile was a pleasant faced young fellow with black lair and blue eyes and hla his name was alexander graham I 1 have been particular about alex because as I 1 said before he played nn an important part later that afternoon I 1 had a new insight into the character of the dead banker I 1 had my arst conversation with louise she sent tor for me and against my better judgment I 1 went she held out her hand and I 1 took it between both of mine what can I 1 say aay to you miss 1 nes she said slowly to have come like this I 1 thought sho she was going to break down but she did not you are not to think of anything but of getting well I 1 said patting her hand when you are better I 1 am going to scold you for not coining here hare at once this la Is your home my dear and of all people in the world Hal halseys old aunt ought to make you welcome she smiled a little sadly I 1 thought 1 I ought not to see halsey she said bald miss bliss innes inies there are anro a great many things you will never understand I 1 am afraid I 1 am an imposter on your sympathy because 1 I 1 I stay here and let you lavish care on me and all the time I 1 know you are going to despise roe me nonsense 1 I 1 said briskly why what would halsey in do to me ine it I 1 even ventured such a thing lie ile Is so big and masterful that it I 1 dared to be U N i 0 i I 1 t v y B gi he looked young and vigorous anything but rat rapturous Aurous over you lie he would throw me file out of a window in deed he would be quite capable of it she seemed scarcely to hear my fa celious tons tone she had eloquent brown eyes the are fair find and to a grayish green optic that Is better for use than appearance and they seemed now to be clouded with trouble poor Hal halsey serl she said sad softly miss innes I 1 cannot marry him and I 1 am aar afraid a id to tell him I 1 am a cow ard a coward 1 I 1 sat beside the hed bed and stared at tier ber she was nas too III to argue with and besides sick people take queer fancies we will talk about that when you jou art are stronger I 1 said gently but there are nomo things I 1 must tell lell you she insisted you mus wonder how boa I 1 came here and why I 1 tuv 11 dav AAA nt t the lodge dear old 4 V f ILI r ft t 1 I am very sorry you have made this decision he said thomas lias has been almost crazy atlas innes anea I 1 did not know that was rented I 1 knew my mother wished to rent it without telling my stepfather but the news must have reached her after I 1 left when I 1 started stalled east I 1 had only one idea to be alone with my thoughts for a time to bury myself here then I 1 must have taken a cold on the train you came east in clothing sul suitable fable tor for california I 1 sail said and like all young girls nowadays I 1 dont suppose you wear flan flannels aels but she was not listening miss innes she said has my stepbrother arnold gone away what do you moan mean I 1 asked startled dut but louise was literal jie dlan dhont t conic come back that night she said and it was so important that I 1 should see him 1 I believe he has gone away I 1 replied uncertainty uncertainly it something that we could attend to instead hut but she shook her head I 1 must do it myself she said dully halsey came to the door at that moment and I 1 could hear him coaxing liddy for admission to the sick room shall I 1 bring him in I 1 asked boulse uncertain what to do the girl spurned to shrink back among tier pillows at the sound of hla his voice I 1 was vaguely irritated with tier her there are few young fellows like hal sey stra straightforward agh t forward honest and will ing to sacrifice everything for the one woman I 1 know knew one once more than 30 years ago who was like that he died a long time ago and sometimes I 1 take taka out his picture with its cane and its queer silk hat and look at it hut but of late years it has grown too painful he Is always a boy and I 1 am an old woman I 1 would riot not bring litin him back bach if I 1 could perhaps Perli aps it was some such niam ory that made me call out shat chattily tily como in halsey alsey II and then I 1 took my mv senile and wint went into the bot idlor beyond to play propriety I 1 did tit not try to hear what they sad but every even word void came through the open door will curious distinctness blasey hall had va bently gone ovo over to 0 o the bod and I 1 suppose lie he kissed her there was el at lence lenca for a wor moment nent rill ns if words were things 1 I have len been wild sweet bicart lint s voice why you trust ine and send for me before it wits mif lic become canse I 1 trust my iny self file said raid in a low tone 1 I am ain too weik weak to struggle today oh ob hal sey scy auw I 1 have wanted to see you tl TI r something I 1 did riot not hear then halsey again we could go away lie he was say ins fig what doia does it matter about any one in the world but just the two ot us its to lie be always together like this hand in land hand louise dont tell me it inn 1 going to be I 1 wont believe you ou you lon t know you dont know loillie ItOi ilse repeated dully halsey I 1 care you know that but not enough to marry you that Is not true louise lie he said sternly you cannot look at me with your conr honest eyes and say that 1 I cannot marry you site she repeated miserably wa its bad enough it dont make it worse some day before fol e long you will be glad then it Is because you have never loved me there were depths of hurt pride in his voice you tou saw how much I 1 loved you and you let me think you cared for a while no that like you ou boulse Loi ilae there Is something you told me Is it because there Is some one else yes almost inaudibly louise oh I 1 dont believe it it la is true she said sadly badly halsey Hal aey you must not try to see me ma again As soon na as I 1 can I 1 am going away from rom here where you are all so BO much kind hind er than I 1 deserve and whatever you hear about me try to think as well of me as aa you can I 1 am going to marry another man how you must hate uie hate me file I 1 could hear halsey cross the room to tho the window then after a pause ho be went back to her again I 1 could hardly sit alt still I 1 wanted to go I 1 in a and give her good slinking shaking then its nit all over he was saying with a long breath the plans we roade made together tho the hopes the all of it over well ill nit at be a baby and ill give you up tip the minute you say 1 I dont love you iou and I 1 do love some one else 1 I can riot not say eay that she breathed but very soon I 1 shall marry the other man I 1 could licar Hal halseys low triumphant laugh lai igli 1 I defy him he said sweetheart as long as you care for me I 1 am not afraid the wind slammed the door between the two rooms anat list then and I 1 could hear nothing more although I 1 moved my iny chair quite chae alter after a discreet crept interval I 1 went into the other room loom and found ihulse alone site she was staring blaring with sad eyes at the cherub scrub liatti ted on the ceiling over the bed and because site she looked tired I 1 did not disturb her CHAPTER XIV an eggnog and a telegram we had discovered louise at the lodge tuesday night it was wednesday I 1 had my interview with her aday und find friday wore ewort uneventful save as they marked improvement I 1 in our patient gertrude Gei trude spent a almost fill all the little with her bet and the two had grown to 0 o be great friends lendi fr tint flat certain things hung over oer me constantly the lie coroners coto ners inquest on the death of arnold armstrong to be held saturday and the arrival of mrs arm hsiong and young pr dr walker bringing the body of the dead president of the traders bank we had riot not told louise of either r death then too I 1 was anxious about the children with their mothers ir lierl dative swept away in the wreck of the bunk bank and with their lovo love affairs jn in a condition things could scarcely bf be worse added to that the cook and liddy had bad a 0 flare up tip over the proper way to make beef ten tea lor for louise and of course the ook cook left mrs watson had been gad enough I 1 think to turn louese over to our care caie arid and thomas Tl iomia went upstairs up night flight und arid morning to greet his young oung tress front the lie doorway poor pool thomas ile he had the faculty found stilt still in some old nc groes Kroes who cling to the traditions ot of slavery days of making his employers interest his it was always we with ith thomas I 1 miss him sorely pirie pipe smoking obsequious not over ner reliable kindly old man on thursday mr harton II arton the akie armstrongs legal adviser called up tip front from town lie ile had been advised lie he said that mrs ira armstrong was waa coming first with her bubb husbands anda body anti would arrive monday lie he came with some hesitation at last to jie ho fact that he had been further instructed instruct eI to ask we to relinquish my lease on sunny side aide as it was mrs Armstron armstrongs Anna trones rs desire to come directly there I 1 was hero here I 1 s said sure surely I 1 y y you 0 it are mistaken mr harton I 1 should think after what happened here only a few days ngo ago she would never wish to come I nick inick nevertheless he ronaled sho she la is most anxious to como coma this la Is what she fillys use every possible means to have vacated must go there at once mr II arton I 1 said testily 1 I arn am riot not going to do anything of tho kind 11 I 1 and ad mine have suffered enough at the hands of this family I 1 rented the tha houe at an all exorbitant figure and I 1 it leive live a moved loved out here for the summer bummer my city biome la Is dismantled and in the hands of decorators I 1 have been here one week during which I 1 have had bad not a single night of uninterrupted sleep and I 1 intend to stay until I 1 have recuperated Alore moreover over it mr armstrong died insolvent as I 1 believe was the case his widow ought to be glad to be rid of so expensive a piece of property the lawyer cleared hla his throat 1 I am very sorry you have made this decision lie ho sold said miss innes mrs fitzhugh tells tella me louise arin armtrong armstrong is with you she Js Is has haq she been informed of this double bereavement not yet I 1 said she has been very III perhaps tonight to night she can be told jt it la Is very sad very sad lie he said 1 I have a telegram for her miss bliss innes snail shall I 1 send it out better open it and read it t t to 0 mp me I 1 suggested it it Is important that will hii save time there was a pause while tair mr ilar harton opened the telegram then he be read read it slowly judicially watch for nina carrington home monday IN signed F L W ilum hum I 1 said watch for nina carrington home blon monday day very well mr harton r will tell her but site she Is not in condition to watch for any one well miss ianca it if you decide to tc er relinquish the lease let roe me know the lawyer said bald 1 shall hall not relinquish it I 1 replied and I 1 imagined his irritation from the way he hung up the receiver 1 I wrote the telegram down word r tor or word afraid to trust my memory emory to and decided to ask dr stewart how soon louise might be told the truth the closing of the traders batik bank I 1 con soldered 8 unnecessary for tier her to know but the death of her stepfather and stepbrother must be broken to hei bet oon soon B or she might hear bear it in some soma unexpected une x p ec ted and shocking manner dr stewart came about four bringing his leather satchel into tha tb house bouso with a great deal of care and 0 porting opening it at the foot of the stairs stain to show me a dozen big yellow eggs egg nesting among the bottles real eggs he said proudly none of your anemic store eggs tut but the real thing some of them still warm feel them egg nog for miss iniss Loul louise sel ire ife was beaming with satisfaction and before he left lie insisted on go ing back to the pantry and making an eggnog egg nog with his own hands somehow all the time he was doing it I 1 had a vision of dr willoughby my nerve specialist in the city trying tc make an eggnog egg nog I 1 wondered it if h ht ever prescribed anything so plebeian and so delicious and while dr stewart whisked the eggs he talked 1 I sald said to mrs stewart he confided a little red in the face from th tin exertion after I 1 went home the day that yoi aca would think me an old 9 kosala 0 asil for saying baying what I 1 did about walker and miss bliss louise Loi ilio nothing of the sort I 1 protested pro the fact Is lie nept went on oil evidently evident justifying himself 1 I got that piece ol of information just as we get a lot ol of things through the kitchen end of the house bouse young walkers chauffeur |