Show A IF r BY 0 rJ r MJ c f SYNOPSIS mill bliss innes opt nater anil and guardian of bertrude per Xer truda trude and halsey established babl hed ummer ad at ann aj ide the ervan bebert sert gertrude and halsey arrive w with I 1 ith jach ack dailey ally the house hour was awalt awakened ened by a revolver shot and arnold armstro ng or TM as found shot hot to death in the hull hall M ali I 1 inna anex found Hal halsey revolver on the lawn ile II 11 and jack halley dailey had disappeared gertrude revealed revala that she nhe was bribed mcanea to jack dalley dailey w with th whom she ha balked A ed in th the bih till fillhard Hard ard room shortly before the murde detective jamieson Jam lon a caud used wes annex of 0 holding back vi dence lie ile an n intruder in an TI empty too room m che prisoner aped escaped gertrude was a us u ra e ete d became of 0 an injured toot foot halley y r appears gp a Pears ind and says lay he h and nd wiry were h ard called tied away by a telegram fl cashier valley bailey or of paul Armstrom Arm ss i bank defunct u no was arrested rented ar for paul death wr was announced itally loui loule At atla lg told haly that whir she he till loved lared ill him she he was ra to mirry another it developed that or dr walter walkr wa as I 1 th he nian man loule louise VAN w found aund at t the bottom or of the th air circular cular tar stair IBI as ring consciousness he h sald lt mad had brushed brUB hed by hr her on the and she he fain fainted ted daller bailey Is I 1 us n pecked beetty of armar m murder arder after a ghost hot bead thomas Tl ioma the th or r was wai found dead with A slip up in hl his ket belf the name nam of wallace ac dr walker A iker asked k d mas ml innes inn to vacate in favor ot of mrs armstrong Arn itron she refused A note no e from dailey bailey to gertrude arjang n a ine meeting eting at was found A ladd laadt r out of place deepens the mystery ry the he stables were burned during tie le excitement a man stol tol into the house hou A search earch failed to reveal hirn miss ml innes shot hot an intruder A man limping was wa been n en an the th road CHAPTER continued did they go BO toward the club gertrude asked suddenly ud denly leaning for ward no miss I 1 think they ther came into the village I 1 get et a look at their faces face but I 1 know every chick and chilli child in the place and everybody knows m me when they shout at raa me in my uniform you know I 1 took it they were strangers so all we had bad for our afternoons afternoon work was wa this some one had been shot hot by the bullet that went through the door he had not left the village and he be had bad not called in a physician phyl cian also dr walker know who lucien wallace was and his very denial made me confident that in that one direction at least we were on the right track gertrude gort rude I 1 said 1 I have been a very tery selfish elfish old woman you are goice to leave this miserable house tonight annie morton la Is going coing to scotland next week and you shall go right with her to my Bur surprise prise she flushed pain ully fully 1 I dont want to go aunt ray she ibe abald aad dont make me leave now you are losing your health and your good looks I 1 said decidedly you should have a change I 1 hant stir a foot she was equally decided then more lightly why you and liddy need me to arbitrate between you every day in the week perhaps I 1 was wai growing suspicious of wary we one but it seemed to me that gertrudes er trudea gayety gaiety was forced and artificial tift elal I 1 watched her covertly during the rest reit of the drive and nd I 1 did not like the two spots of crimson in her pate pale cheeks cheek but I 1 said nothing more about sending ending her to scotland I 1 knew she would not go 50 CHAPTER A visit from louise that day was wall destined to be an eventful one for when I 1 entered the house and found ellza eliza ensconced in the upper hall on a chair with mary anne doing her best to stifle her with household ammonia ammon fa and liddy rubbing her wrists whatever good that Is supposed to do I 1 knew that the ghost had been walking again and this time in daylight ellia eliza was wag in a frenzy of fear she clutched at my sleeve when I 1 we went 11 it doge clone to her and refused to let go 90 until she ahe had told her story coming just after the fire the bo household was demoralized and it was wae no surprise to me to find alex and the struggling downstairs with it a heavy trunk between them 1 I want to do it miss bliss innes alex stid dut but she was so excited I 1 was wag afraid she would do as aa she said drag it down herself and scratch the staircase I 1 was trying to get my bonnet oft off and to keep the maids quiet at the same time now ellia eliza when you have washed your face and stopped bawling bawl lne F r said come comae late into my sitting room bud and tell me what has haa happened liddy put away my things without speaking the very set of her shoulders expressed disapproval well 1 I said when the silence became c a me uncomfortable things seem to be warming up silence from liddy and a long sigh it if ellin eliza goes I 1 dont know where to look tor for another cook more silence I 1 roste t to probably a good cook sniff lidda I 1 said at last dont dare to deny that you are ara having the time of your life you positively gloat in this excitement you never looked ketter better its ray opinion all ail this running around and ana getting jolted out of a rut has ham stirred up that torpid liver of yours its ita not mot myself im thinking about she he said aia goaded into speech maybe my liver was torpid and maybe it but I 1 adow this ive got some aroe feelings left and to seo ee you n standing at the foot of that stair staircase 11 1 bootin through the door ill never 1 bo be the same woman again well im glad 0 of that anything tor for a change I 1 said and in came ellza eliza hacked flanked by and mary anne her story broken with mobs and corrections ions from the other two was waa this at two roste insisted she had kone gone upstairs to get a picture from her room to show mary anne A picture 0 of a lady mary anne anna interposed she sha went up the servants staircase anil and along the corridor to her room which lay between the tha trunk room and the unfinished ballroom she heard a sound bound as the she went down the corridor like some borao one one moving furniture but she WAS not noi nervous ner vou she thought it might be men the house bouie alter after the fire the night before but the ehe looked la in the trun kroom and saw nobody sho went into her room quietly the noise had bad ceased and everything every thine was quiet then she ahe sat down on the side of 0 her bed and kellne feeling faint abe was waa subject to spells CI 1 I told you that Y W ia a struggling down with a heavy trunk when I 1 cane came I 1 11 losle yfem indeed she ehe did she abe put tor her head down on her pillow and took a nap all right I 1 said ald go on when I 1 came cama to miss alias innes auro aura an aa im here I 1 thought id die so methin hit bit me jn in the face and I 1 set up sudden and then I 1 seen the plaster drop drippin dropp drop pin ln from a little hole in the wall and the first thing I 1 knew an iron bar that long fully two yards by her measure shot hot through that bole and tumbled on the bed it id been still sleeping Ble painting fainting corrected id a been hit on the head bead and killed kil ledl 1 I wisht wacht hoard heard her scream put in mary anne and her face as white as a pillow slip when she tumbled dawn afie stairs no doubt there is some natural explanation for it ellza eliza I 1 said you yon may have dreamed it in your faint ing attack tr true the metal rod and the hole in the wall will show it eliza looked a little bit sheepish the holes there all right miss innes she said bald but the bar wall gone when mary anne anna and roste went up to pack my grufik that all liddye voice came funereally from a corner ellza eliza said that from the hole in the wall a burning eye looked down at her ber the wall must be at beasi least six inches thick 1 I said eald with asperity unless the person who drilled the hole carried his eyes on the ends of it a stick eliza possibly have bave seen them but the fact remained and all d it visit to elinav room proved it I 1 might jeer nil all I 1 wished some gome one bad drilled a hole in the unfinished wall of the ballroom passing between the bricks of 0 the partition and shooting through though the plaster of alizas room with such force as to send the rod flying on to her led bed I 1 had gone upstairs alone and I 1 confess the thing puzzled roe me in two or three places in tho the wall vail small apertures aper tures bad been made none of them of any depth not the least mysterious thine was waa the disappearance disappear a ce 0 of the iron implement th had bad been used mary alary anne and ellza eliza left that afternoon but decided to stay it was about five when the hack came from the station to get them and to lo my amazement it had an occupant matthew gelat the driver asked for me sad and explained his errand with pride ive brought you a cook miss alaa in be maid when the message c came aall e t to 0 c ome come up for two girls and t their h I 1 trunks I 1 la ks I 1 supposed there wl was something doing and as this athla her here woman bad been looking for work in the village I 1 thought id bring her along already I 1 had bad acquired the true suburbanite ability to take servants on faith I 1 no longer demanded writ ten and unimpeachable references I 1 rachel innes have learned not dot to mind it the cook alto down comfortably la in my sitting bitting room when she he Is taking the orders order for the day and I 1 am grateful it if the allver ell ver Is not cleaned with scouring scour lne soap and so BO that day I 1 merely told liddy to send bond the now new applicant in when she came however ho I 1 could hardly restrain a gasp of surprise it was the woman with the pitted face she stood somewhat awkwardly jut just inside the door and she had an air of self confidence that was inspiring yes she ehe could cook was wa not a fancy cook but could make mak good elgood soups and desserts if there was any one to take charge of the salads salada and so in the end I 1 took her As hilmar said when we told him it matter much about the ati cooks fact face if it ft was waa c lean clean I 1 hive have spoken of halsema halseys Hal seya restless ness on that day it seemed to be more than ever a resistless impulse that kept him biro out nut until after luncheon I 1 think he hoped bored constantly that he might meet louise driving over the hills in her runabout possibly he ha did meet hr her occasionally but from his bis continued gloom doom I 1 felt sure the situation between them was unchanged part of the afternoon I 1 believe he 1 read gertrude and I 1 wre wore out as a I 1 have said maid and at dinner we both noticed that something had occurred to distract him lie he was vas disagreeable which is in unlike him nervous nerv oua looking at his him watch every few minutes and he ate almost nothing he asked twice during the meal on what train mr jamieson Jam leson and the other detective were coming and had long periods of abstraction str action during which he dug his bis fork into my damask cloth and did not hear bear when he was spoken t to ile he refused dessert and left the table I 1 early excusing himself on the ground that he be wanted to see alex alex however was not to be found it was va after eight ahn halsey ordered the car and started down the hill at a pace that even for him was unusually reckless shortly after alex reported that he wits ready to go over the house preparatory to closing it for the night sara sam bohannon Do hannon came at a quarter before nine and began his patrol of the grounds sandwith and with the arrival of the two detectives to look forward to I 1 was not especially apprehensive hen sive at half hak past nine I 1 heard the sound bound 0 of f a horse borso driven furiously up the drive it came to a stop in front of the tha house and immediately after there were hurried steps on the veranda our nerves were not what they should have bare been and gertrude always apprehensive lately was at the door almost instantly A moment later louise had burst into the room and stood there bareheaded an and breathing hard where Is halsey she demanded above her plain black gown eown her eyes looked big and somber and the rapid drive had brought no color to her face I 1 got up and drew forward a chair ile he has not corne come back I 1 said eald quietly nui etly sit down child you are not strong enough for this kind of at thins thing I 1 dont think she even heard beard me lie ile has baa not come back she asked looking front from me to gertrude do you know where he bo went where can I 1 find him for heavens sake alce louise louisa oer get I 1 trude burst out tell us what to 1 wrong halsey Is not hero here ile he has gone go n to the station for mr bit jamieson Jam leaon 6 W what b at has haa happened happen edT to the station gertrude you ate are sure yes I 1 said bald listen there li Is tte the whistle of 0 the train now she relaxed a little at our matter matter of fact tone cone and allowed herself to sink into a chair perhaps I 1 was waa wrong sho she a gald 1 id heavily ile he will be here la in a few moments if everything lie la right we sat bat there the three of us with out attempt at conversation doth both gertruda and I 1 recognized tho the utility ity of 0 asking louise any questions lone her reticence was waa a part ol of a role mile she had bad assumed our ears were attained tor for tho the first throb of at the motor as it turned into the drive and commenced the climb to the house home ten minutes passed 15 16 20 1 I saw louises hands grow rigid as they clutched the arms ot of her chair I 1 watched gertrudes bright color slowly ebbing away and around my own heart I 1 seemed to feel the grasp of a giant hand twenty five minutes and then a sound but it was not the chug of the motor it was the unmistakable rumble of the casanova Caa anova back gertrude drew aside aalde the curtain and peered into the darkness its the hack I 1 am ure sure she said evidently relieved something has gone wrong with the car and n no 0 w wonder 0 n the way halsey wont down dow n t th be hill I 1 crIt it seemed a long loag time before the creaking es king vehicle came to ft a top stop at the door louise rose and stood watching aching her hand to her throat and then gertrude opened the door admitting mr jamieson Jam leson and a stocky middle aged man halsey was not with them when the door had closed and louise louisa realized that halsey bad not come com her expression changed chanced from tense watchfulness to relief and now again to absolute despair her face was waa an open page halsey II altey I 1 asked unceremoniously ignoring the stranger did he not meet you no mr jamieson Jam leson looked slightly surprised 1 I rather expected the car but we got up all right you tee see him at all I 1 louler demanded breathlessly mr jamieson Jam leson know knew her at once although he had not seen her before she had kept kepi to her rooms until the morning she left no miss armstrong he said 1 I saw nothing of 0 him what Is then we shall havo have to find him she asserted auer ted every instant is precious mr jamieson aleson Jar I 1 have reason for believing that ho he Is in danger dang er but I 1 dont know what it Is 1 only b be mut must bo be found the stocky man had uld said nothing now however he h went quickly to ward the door ill catch ta the hack down the road and hold it ho he said 1 in the gentle man ma down in th the town mr jamieson Jam lon louise said ald ively savely 1 I can use the hack back take my horse and trap outside and drive like mad try to find the dragon fly it ought to be easy to trace I 1 can think of no other way only dont lose a |