| Show IV vo by MARY N HASTINGS I 1 BRADLEY copyright by D appleton century co inc service SYNOPSIS leila scion young and beautiful and I 1 expert on oil paintings Is commis commissioned sinned go oer the collection of OC paintings s the homo home of 0 the wealthy kellers lit in fw aw y york ork where a party Is in progress 1 born beom her window she witnesses a rinn man another not h e r aiom m astrike a noman oman short after mrs keller tends ends up tip word ask g her r to 10 join the parly aly jt at dinner aa bea lla it hastily nrc es and goes down 1 ii e I 1 ls seated e a te d b between e ii w e e amr mr deck a critic id d monty on 1 ell a 11 note noted d lawyer laer tr tons follo follow there ale aie ml e n I 1 miss letty van antyn mrs wane ane mrs mra watkins and prince anil and ancess kuest leila finda io ic Is taking tile the place of nora alanl n dan Ilar riden leave the table 1 ld id mitchell matchell Ml explains he has gone up see sec how his cifes headache it III IT he urns shortly deck saying he anu anul 1 t in a asil c all leaves upon his return t begs lelia leila to secretly take a mes to nora to take no until see you leila consents leila finds find e Ilar riden roon i empty and so in arms deck coining out she passes pases eltty asks princess francini run up and his wife the pran ss as reports the absence of not nora a search fruitless fru itle Ilar riden admits that lie he III d a row and believes she Is lly hiding letty tells of seeing leila me from the room leila accuses harden aen of having struck his wife tills this r iden denies flora the Har tr andow ow leila sees what proves to lie be ras lifeless body A ghastly liend head und iund caused death dan says she was ing on her bed when lie went to din jr and when he ran up later the om was dark thinking she was beep he left without seeing her mrs tier ller comes upon a pool of blood in je r cholet A diamond chain Is miss 6 donahey police inspector ques ns na the guests Ilar harreden Harrl riden den falls fails to re rt the row he had with ith nora ile he ands lelias leilas story dory of seeing a man rike a woman a lie anson a n maid a I 1 d alls ila of seeing deck outside outride tile hie haren harlien lien door says lie ito passed by seeking a lost handkerchief CHAPTER IV continued 5 1 1 ai I dont kno abat time I 1 came up jt lt I 1 was loafing g till I 1 lial bail j hustle to dross dress mitchell liell reported lid id keller kf her stated that lie had gone j before the time in question anil and lid id been talking through tile hie open often ors with ills life I 1 donabed Don alip r turned truid alan neck deck jlou rou sir mr deck deck ans cled 1 I 1 nent cut ill up fairly irly to my room though I 1 haien t I 1 ly IY wife to louch uch for it ills his tone jis s kightly mocking docking after I 1 chang changed ged went vent to the picture gallery on the rd henr by the south stairs lie at boned my lly presence pie sence there miss ton aon can certify to tn we encountered ch other there the inspectors gaze moved back to i appointment accident I 1 told him we hall bad ver met each other oilier before P what were ivere iou doing mete I 1 reminded him that tile the pictures re ire my business in the house alan jck ack said scald merely bilue on oil my hands iohd things g s to think out like a big ace ee to 0 t tramp ramp about tn in dona donahey lie y made more of his little ites then as usual lie he asked for e exact time of this encounter and felled xe pearlly arlly to our uncertainties at finally decided it had been it a lit t before eight when I 1 lost y handkerchief sat said deck now let me inc get this straight said your rooms are in the ith iving ing second floor before din I 1 jr iri you cut up to the gallery on the ae ond floor using tile the stairs on your ie of the house you met miss seton scion I 1 effe ere accidentally you lost your during dinner you went I 1 to call your paper then you re that you had lost your probably in the gallery E you started out to find it you int t along the hall ball that goes across ap e length of the house aliouse passing the bior jor of mrs Ilar room lA tuong others interpolated deck was that when the maid saw you deck eck reflected no hen I 1 was ts nang ing back from the gallery she 3 coming from the south along the 11 toward me OK the maid saw you and aught you might have been coming t of the room it it it bald deck tn in his non lant ilant voice 1 I night might just have aped wondering it it was ivas worth ille I ie to try that call again I 1 1 t it the first time 11 donahey hey finished ills his notes without ame ment me then concentrated again up IN kow ow then about this thing at the aindow ad now cant you forget that harraden Har riden jm m a n d c d why do you want to bostc te your time enow now now cow mr harraden Har riden it may d to something it may have been ne outside fellow somebody who ne here to see tier her on the alie QT jerriden lan Jar riden made a burge forward and bought tile veins on liia ills congested pi e would burst ile he looked almost juthe t ie limit of 0 his self control f are you suggesting that my wife IM a clandestine visitor not the way you all the th jelal clad ills his unmoved ur liv tach ment she might ight haie haic owed him money moncy gambling or something or lie he might have been blackmailing her funny things like that happen lie may have forced ills ay in I 1 and she want to give him away she may little hid him la in the closet and faked a headache so they could talk while you folks were eating and then lie he made a grab at tier her shiners and they got to struggling and lie stabbed tier her Ilar rIden cursed him for a fool ido do aou ou think my wife ife was over ever afraid of it a blackmailer he thundered cant you see this girl Is if just making this up tip to get herself some sensational limelight well now she any reason fur for making it up liis has site she lla Ilar daen gaio gac tile 1110 a sudden strange look illow how do I 1 know lie said earile 1 I dont know it 11 damned thin tiling about tier her except that sties Z slie site cooked bonke up tip this story to cover up tier her going into ruy my knifes room dunt dont iou think sir mr Don donahey alicy e pame arne mrs cranes practical voice olce from Orne where behind us its that this in lesti gillon lii hn gone far enough tonight ni lit it Is s at all on in into the worn morn lu donahey con concodia codI something in it lady theres guards around the lie ilice c and funds inside the nobody is to stir out till 1111 we ne get through fill we had iben to lu go out nhen one cf if the runic clinic in bringing a oung loan in the hie ahery or f ull 1111 under CHAPTER V lie ile it a lather it a beedy looking lining ddll knitli till a cada cadaverous erous face hoil bones lind and deep set evvs p irs lie fit looked excited and the po Ikc mii fill liim ns is excited as lie liim nied along to the lie inspector don flioy took the hie into liis ills hands my man sujit boue oue admitted knowing lit something ething now lour name line elkins sald said the hie man in a strained nervous voice olce you work here yes sir for three years and I 1 moan no disrespect to my employers in 1 speaking out about a guest I 1 understand der stand its toy my duty to tell anything that I 1 might know your duty said donahey grimly what do ou know elkins was breathing quickly people often forget that servants can hear he said they talk out while acre passing things its embarrassing barrns barr assing sIng I 1 was just behind that colln chinese sc screen in the lounge when nhen they were talking I 1 was taking glasses off a table it was tile lo i olence lence of what was eang being said that caught me elkins went on not like the ordinary run of talk of tile the cocktail hour donahey only nodded encouragingly but it was nas savage sounding sir the lady was mrs Dar Ilar riden she had been drinking with adith the gent gentleman leman talking together for some time and then lien hen I 1 was begino the screen I 1 heard him say in quite a terrible voice though very cry low it if you do be the bor sorriest riest woman on gods ca I 1 ill and what hat lid did she say 1 I catch that I 1 got the tone of her voice it was like she was mas laughing sort of sassy said elkins with willi a slip into the colloquial and the man said to what she said 1 I 1 warn aou ou and then he said something about lying lie he said id say you lied in your teeth and she said something again that I 1 hear iier her words nords nere all run to together ether like and then lie he said god if you do I 1 warn ou and an then somebody was vas asking for another shaker sli aker and I 1 had to hurry burry across the room I 1 and when I 1 heard she was lyng in dead downstairs down doNn stair well nell I 1 say this had anything to do with it but when the officer began asking me had I 1 heard anything of their goings on and was there tiny any bad blood about why id have done less than my duty sir sar it if I 1 had covered the facts fact S sure you had to tell it dona hey icy said evenly now about this fellow who was he you told us that yet there sir that gentleman there sir mr deck deck stood there and his white hite face with ith his dark bitter defiant eyes sent a queer terror through me he was like a man in a pillory tor for all the orld to gape at and then my eyes went on and found the figure of Ilar riden he had bad stood there back by the door during that time listening and now he looked at deck Pona Dona heys head bead was thrusting out on ills thick neck like ilke a turtles well mr deck ills his silence agonized me and then he said 1 I dont remember and his lips twitched in a mockery of 0 a smile you dont remember not a word I 1 was quite tight before dinner I 1 the faintest recollection of anything said downstairs donahey ground out yet you remember that you went up early to your room you said oh ob I 1 remember that deck said jauntily 1 I got to my room all right lie he went on and the cold water revived me hut but ever tiling that went on downstairs Is just a total loss do you happen to remember said the inspector with terrible sarcasm any reason why you could have said the words you have no recollection of saving to sirs mrs harraden Har Ilar riden deck was silent what was between you donahey shot out friendship said deck I 1 know that I 1 felt I 1 could not bear to in look at I and yet I 1 looked at hirn him and saw mm film liko like a man of stone lils ills grim blunt profile to toward vari that younger man the sheer beauty of 0 deck seemed somehow insolent and flaunting before that li hit bands haggard ees I 1 felt a sharp cleavage of sympathy terror for deck and anguish for or that bereft mans pain it was the easing casing of a physical strain when Ilar riden turned and walked out of the room I 1 remember a dull surprise at finding it was only half past two when I 1 was in my room I 1 was so spent emotionally that I 1 was conscious of nothing but a crushing depression there was no denying the reality of elkins high strung words and I 1 had my own corroboration of decks desperate message mesi age take no steps for all my exhaustion I 1 could not sleep toy my kept milling about in confused conjecturing had deck been tile the man at the window had he be followed tier her up to finish tile quarrel there it ill might lit have been deck I 1 thought lie ile might hae sli slipped plied away when lie he heard Ilar riden come in tile the next room site she might have hane promised promise to meet fillo as soon a as 8 pa possible I 1 sible in the gal lery kry then n slie site did not come per 11 haps aps tier her husband had stayed too long to ng in the room what was their quarrel about I 1 wondered ond cred my temples throbbing heavily agal against rist the lie pillow was slie she threatening to leave him was vas lie he mad with jealousy the sori sonless fest woman on gods goas earth had lie gone up tip from dinner to carry out his wild threat oh 01 no no no I 1 I 1 only to see her to plead till her for he had sent me up later to try to get word to tier her ti t urge tier lier to take no steps 01 fool that I 1 had been not to speak out before then my story might have carried conviction but now it would seem a lame invention of mine to save him or had its ills sending me on that errand been merely a luse illse on oil ills part I 1 to make it appear that lie he still be her in her room when all tile time lime he be knew that clial room was unten anted and tier her poor body shrouded in fr the shrubbery below I 1 did not know what to belleve believe am MI mind went round find and round in the mazes of its doubt ue he hall had been so long away front from that table but that had been because he was trying to reach tier lier my defensive heart instantly declared ile he had told me that tier lier room phone did not answer awer of course lie he hid had gone to her door and knocked perhaps even tried it I 1 wondered if lie ho had peeped in and found darkness and ghostly curtains blowing in tile the wind or if be hat had found the door locked locked by an unknown assassin who illo was wa s still inside I 1 determined to try to make deck confide in me since I 1 already knew so much since I 1 had proved stanch surely lie would tell me the truth but it if his sending me had been a ruse my mind wearied from all this wondering at last I 1 slept I 1 woke very suddenly I 1 woke to the instant impression that some one was wa s in my room I 1 lay there with my it MI NI I 1 N I 1 I 1 r I 1 10 P 4 q I 1 oil 0 X 8 N 16 14 j I 1 V 1 ra 1 1 I 1 S I 1 ys people often forget that servants can hear eyes shut not dating to open them trying to feign steel sleep feeling in every nerve that something was there something just within thin the door there had been some sound some indefinable sound that had waked mp me every instant the alie feeling grew more terrible I 1 knew then that fear could be paralyzing for I 1 lay there literally unable to move or speak simply helpless and terrified waiting for something thin horrible to happen then there was a croak creak at the door and soft muffled steps down the hall I 1 knew I 1 was not imagining those steps I 1 heard thera them though my own thumping heart beats sounded louder to me I 1 suppose it wits was only a moment or two really that I 1 lay lit in the grip of that helplessness then motion and sense came back to me and I 1 reached out and managed to flail on the night light with lingers fingers that fumbled frantically for tile the tiny chain as it if each instant of darkness was a danger then I 1 jumped up till and ras ran for the door I 1 forced myself to look out down tile the blackness of that hall I 1 saw nothing I 1 heard nothing I 1 did not go out and look down don the stairs I 1 dodged back and shut and locked my door should I 1 call some one on the house bouse phone I 1 moved toward it but best besl caught back by the fear orsome thing ihlow hysterical and panicky it was easy for oer overwrought wrought nerves to P play y codilon diton tricks and in my half balf asleep co condition I 1 might liae hae imagined those sounds nathin my door the steps though had bad been real cut but the steps cohl easily bo be accounted for donahey haj said the house was guarded and very likely one of 0 the polle policemen cruca was pa trolling the hall ball and finding my door ajar bai bad paused to make sure m mi room was occupied I 1 persuaded myself that this was so what else could it be bel confidence haj revived with the lighted room and I 1 told myself the rustling had bad been only the night wind playing with the folds of my satin frock left lying on the chair by the door my very excess of past terror and my ashamed reaction against it swept me now too far in the other direction for I 1 did not phone it if was not easy to get to sleep again but I 1 did ultimately and it was bright day when I 1 waked at ed with ith the sun streaming acro across s the |
