| Show AN UJ D E AD 84 ISABEL WAITT I 1 TF U az E LEAS G THE STORY SO 50 PAR FAR judy jody jason who ito Is if telling the story recel receive v e am aa anonymous letter enclosing asoo I 1 and ads ask aik I 1 tec ng her to bid tor for an am abandoned church burels to be auctioned the next darth day tb D e body dy ofa of a mm man didenti identified fled as ai roddy L lane an to li totted lii in a chest in the basement pi of th the church but disappears disappear a few hou hours rs later A fish shed burns apparently killing an old man named brown who Is supposed to have lived there and untie uncle ivales pipe li Is found near the burned shed evil eel dence has hai also been found against betie ale norcross si her brother aluch albion potter and the reverend leverend Keve rend jonas dewitt when tb lie ae anonymous anonym oui letter mysterious ly disappears disappear now continue with judat story CHAPTER X victors hand was on the doorknob you keep close to me judy I 1 flushed again but I 1 dont see we could always get them to give us a sample of their penmanship I 1 remember the funny capital F in friend it had a flourish on it victor might have been speaking to a child the point is my dear that the comparison is no longer important with the original gone but it lets lane and brown out in a way and a possible third party killer in dont you see 1 I thought you believed that all the time the way you were questioning everybody mr quade let me handle this you keep mum maybe ill spring a trap bills are from all over the country brid none in sequence just as I 1 surmised smart boy this criminale cri minall he reached over and laid a hand on my shoulder be careful wont you ill stick like a burr I 1 smiled thinly following him out into the hall then I 1 hurried upstairs and stuck the cash in my bureau drawer and raced down chowder or no chowder I 1 was going with the bunch this time they could eat canned soup if auntie manage alone besides victor had whetted my curiosity almost as much as my fear by the warning hed given me I 1 had no intention of staying behind and being grabbed and searched by some come unknown assassin while the were down by the pirates mouth I 1 simply believe the murderer was one of our guests end and my own guess would have been that lane was responsible we found the gang gathered around albion potter who was dabbing at his little church picture your aunt gave me some kerosene he beamed aint it swell shrilled lily kendall fine I 1 said wondering who on earth would want it after what had happened there if you like it ill give it to you miss jason potter said shyly well id be delighted mr potter I 1 tried to sound sincere do one for me and ill pay you 25 lily said im ayin to have one to show my niece twenty five dollars dollar sl albion was overcome miss kendall IU ill begin it at once unless judy miss jason he corrected himself hurriedly will let me give you this one and do her another fact is I 1 could use that money for an easel sure sell every chance you get I 1 ran down the steps where mr quincy was thumping his cane and hollering well well what are we waiting for we were waiting for hugh norcross he fluttered an orange square of silk at his sister tie your hair up with this bess youre right that blue scarf has vanished what of it get another for half a dollar you could not I 1 paid two seven ty five for that scarf last christmas and it in any of my things because ive hunted well it matter hugh said crossly 1 I wish cheese it about that old scarf in the midst 0 of they started on ahead bessie although the morning was growing warmer every minute so that I 1 was comfortable in my sleeveless print still wore her be spotted white sports coat the ministers eyes kept gran glancing cing over his shoulder at mr quincy who worked his wheels while lily kendall guided the chair she kept up her incessant chatter with all of them but especially mr potter could he do a portrait of her in her pink lace with crystal beads no the crystals come to think of it were broken the jet would do he could she ehe offered him 50 and he said boyl boy would I 1 wait for my church picture till hed earned that gladly you or rather mrs gerry will get some of it Jt back iback if if I 1 get a few commissions ill stay longer at the head its so beautiful here I 1 glanced at him and smiled maybe some of the other boarders would follow suit and aunt nellas season be ruined after all but as we neared the cliff where you take treacherous the path down into the pirates mouth he held back shaking his head not for me ive that what ayou call it pho bia when youre afraid of high places I 1 go down there for even nor 1 I 11 bessie agreed drawing back why should anybody go down I 1 asked you can see it irto to the pirates mouth by coming over to this rock and leaning over you do it mr quade mr norcross or mr de witt will hold your legs like kissing the blarney stone ill look lemme I 1 dont don t get hydrophobia lily screamed we had to laugh and it rell relieved eved the tension victor quade lay down on the rock but lily grinned back at us oh go ahead and laugh high aint it of course I 1 know hydrophobia is really what they call it when people play sick all the time like my niece before she got in pictures what I 1 meant was cliff to tomania manla she flung her full bulk alongside victor till I 1 held my breath lest she shove him into the deep but in another moment victor rose shaking his dark head disappointedly 1 nobody down there on that shelf not a thing so far as I 1 could s see te with the fissure at the far end and the ocean below what a frightful place either way a thin person might roll off into the sea used to be called lovers nook bessie sighed she walked away rapidly toward the church steps with hugh following to console her as per usual I 1 wont somebody help miss kendall up I 1 asked but lily yelled dont touch mel I 1 I 1 can get up myself it took her quite a time the men turned away politely while the hot rr 4 P 4 V P f A U A 4 11 nh e do am 4 she flung her full bulk roistering land breeze played with her ballooning skirts but finally the behemoth came panting up to me So rotten in Den markl she hissed keep away from that quade fellers fel lerl keep away from victor what could she mean I 1 was dying to make her be more explicit but she shook her rigid marcel at me forbiddingly bid not bowl now I 1 this time the hiss whispered so that I 1 dont see how anybody could have failed to overhear it was a command its only a few steps from the top of 0 the cliff overhanging the vicious pirates mouth to the site of the quaker church the inn guests were making toward bessie and hugh seated on the steps victor came back beside lily kendall who immediately switched to the other side of me great bootleggers cache that big shelf of rock judy yes uncle wylie said the coast guard found some stuff hidden do down w n there during prohibition the bootleggers leg gers fear fearing ing a raid he had d tried the pirates mouth but somebody must have tipped them off victor looking at me I 1 noticed he was watching lily kendall why she was marching eyes an and d bosom front like a grenadier well even the police find anything today he sighed giving her a side glance she only pressed her ups lips tighter together what did you expect to find roddy lane I 1 asked or old man brown mr quincy spoke up he was looking at his watch why its only five minutes of 9 never saw a morning last so long or fly so fast either im practically starved bessie called hugh wants a look at the golf club mr quade says he s saw aw L in n the basement then were going back to the inn ive got to have an aspirin why dont you go along back victor asked im sure er it now ow miss kendall will be glad to go with you sorry miss kendall stays this V was as the first time id heard lily snap out of her kittenish r role ole with the gang she added her lower up lip P protruding ro till she looked positively menacing wise lady victor shrugged ill wait for my brother bessie said with finality are we all to go down to that horrible cellar why of course not better it nobody went victor explained there la is a club there may be your brothers maybe not doe s nt prove a thing either way what I 1 thought was blood may be rust perhaps though I 1 dont think so the police will be ripping it if we mess mesa around too much this is certain none of us wants to leave fresh prints on anything down there 1 I wish I 1 could got gol thaddeus quincy regretted plaintively take the same committee you had before and have another look quade and you men do what he tells you iles hes up in this murder stuff and the rest of us arent thanks for that double edger victor quinn accepts the compliment victor quade has his doubts I 1 gave victor the key and the crowd piled into the little old musty church goodness I 1 how dark it west wasl the cobwebby windows with their darkly stained glass showed scarcely any light at oil all the ve vestibule stipule was light enough where the sun streamed through but save for that bright patch of searchlight sun down the main aisle the pews were almost in a tomb till your eyes got did I 1 say tomb tomb is right lily astonishingly took command why should the men have all the fun come on judy jason wo aint murderers we dont play golf lets us take a peek why give the real killer a to take his hanky and give the stick a swipe good idea several conceded victor like it lie he was afraid wed disturb the position of things but lily was already waddling down the main aisle the rev de witt surprised us by announcing he was going outside with his glasses to take a squint at the bridge the milkman might be early picnickers might be arriving at the head was it likely everybody was sleeping late after the night before celebration and look hed seen boats in the harbor not close of course but we signal build a fire 7 ile he stopped remembering last nights I 1 suppose and the the uselessness of such procedure on the fourth of july go along out and shoot off a cou afe of rockets the artist added facetiously shall we help him mr quade why not youve no call to stay here its occurred to me that the auction all I 1 heard lily and I 1 took the narrow crooked basement stairs she had to turn sidewise once but she made iti it I 1 was glad victor had given me back my flashlight even by bayli daylight that dank rocky floored hole is spooky lily stood quaking on the bottom bottom stair while I 1 tiptoed to the sea chest closed now and as innocent looking as when id knelt in front of it and tried to wheedle the lock with a bobby pin only now the lock hung open I 1 played my torch down the space between the chest and the wall sure enough there was the golf club I 1 1 I want to touch it the blood was unmistakable it gave me the jitters come here miss kendall look at this she came quivering and leaned down to pick it up wait I 1 handed her my hand kerchief use this just see if there are initials on the end and put it right back plain as dayl lily gasped but I 1 dont believe that nice mr norcross did any killin not after what I 1 saw in hurry up you girls we both whirled at the sound of victors voice neither of us had heard him come down the stairs but there he stood I 1 could hear the babble of voices above and the lashing of the sea outside coming I 1 said but lily stood glaring at him going to reenact re enact the auction victor whispered added caution to me you keep mum about the letter let me coming miss kendall ile he started to stand aside on the stair to let her pass then seeing the futility he be went along up 0 K 11 lily said im right behind you but you cant tell me that nice hugh norcross bessie cut in chillingly so it was hughs cluba she was leaning down at the head of the stairs the way id seen her that night she told me about the missing turpentine whenever I 1 think of bessie nor cross I 1 see her brooding white face leaning over stairs listening and it prove a thing victor said comfortingly sure it dont honey lily panted proves hes innocent if you ask me the feller that done it left it on purpose your brother would a his into the sea to wash oft off the blood it if bothin more then quade was right mr quincy been wheeled into the main aisle worked his way nearer there was blood on it he asked br r r r r rl no doubt about it done you dirt hugh norcross hugh grabbed my arm while bessle bessie clung to the other one of his dear I 1 wish go back to the I 1 inn nn 11 he be said TO BE CONTINUED |
