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Show BEX IX HERE TODAY What horrlblo power was forcing tho throe Lrako brother. HOBAKT, tho Wall Street broker. HuUEH, tho scientist, and ANDREW, recently returned from Australia to place themselves In ridiculous situations? Sedate, middle-aged and wealthy, tho thren were now terror Stricken. Some power forced Hobart to deliver a mock speech In a public squao, Roger Rog-er to burlcsquo a sclontlflc paper, nnd Andrew to ait on tho parlor floor and play with toys. They were sane, and unknown to ihem PATHIL'IA DllAKK, daughter of Hobart, Ho-bart, scoured OWtJN MILKH, detective sergeant, and hit colleague, SCOTT1L BdcCRBADY, to investigate. investi-gate. Miles Is employed as a houseman and Scottie is to report an gnrdoner on his tlrst night there, Miles discovers Andrew preventing Roger from committing commit-ting suicide Tho following morning morn-ing a letter throws Hobart Into a passion, Ifiles finds that the letter let-ter did not ko through the mall. Bcottls Investigates the family at the COUntrj -'lu0 and reports to Miles CiO ON WITH STORY. ' General history of the rainil and the way the neignbors regard tlicm.' Scottle grunted. I've come eBpvclal-l eBpvclal-l to warn you of u rumor m some strange aotiona oi Hobari Draft i In Wall Strewt today. He s home, the night?" . inn. and calm and more Mlf-con talnadl' Miles sxolaldtad in surprlss ' That 'I t. '-cause his mind In made up," r. turned Scuttle. "Uhlees the humor I unfounded our irtend Ho- barl la planning to retire or mate his fttaWay HO has .-.tarted to wind up his business affairs, uverhoard anything?" "Nothing." Hrlcfly Mil'- toold hi colleague of the events which had occurred since his Installation as tho pscudo hous servant. 'Andrew is the only one who Mama to be unaffected, but there Is a forced and unnatural not In nil boisterous cheerfulness. I don't .. i a1 n.illnr with Know iit-ui'i i 7 bunch of lunatics or but that they lare the victims ol some obscure form j or villainy that is nprecedented In the annals ol the department, ana i am on tho point of developing nerves over tho problem myself: I'll be Iglad when you tackle your Job here." Miles watehed unlll Mi- bulkv form 'had vanished. Then he entered th- , kltehen dOOl and fastened It behind him. , . , He had started for the servant- Utalrcase when a flickering glow from the front of hc house made him pause with every -sense alert. Noiselessly hi crept toward It and Sin thai it smanated irom the draw-lng-rooro. As he advanced the sputter sput-ter of flames and hissinc thud of a falling log came to his ears and then the dull dank of metal. I Carefully ho drew aside a fold or the heavy curtains which draped the doorway and peered In. There was no light save that from the tiny blaze burning Itself out in the fireplace fire-place but against its plow he saw outlined a huddled shapeless figure In a loose robe kneeling before the hoarth and while he eazed a narrow tonnue of flame leaped up. glistening: OB S heavy coll of silvery hair WhlCll I bung to the floor. It was Miss i Jerusha Drake' I Holding his breath and moving sllentlv inch by inch Miles slippod through tne curtains and into the : shadow behind n tall cnblnet from l.irouad the fnrth-r side of v.hl n i he could gain a more direct view lof the crouching form It was sway-ling sway-ling back and rorth and now a low. Indistinguishable mutter not unlike jsome weird incantation issued from 1 her lips. The name died and Miss Jerusha drew a deep breath "Gone"' The utter resolved Itself It-self Into dull monotnnoush Intoned I speech at last. ' Ashes, every one! If onty the first had neer been eon-Icelvcd eon-Icelvcd this horror would not have, ' deseended upon us. They aro destroyed, de-stroyed, but their very fumes breathe ; poison ' " Her hands clutched at her throat ' as though She wefts Indeed choking and for a mOmc nt the woman seemed on the verge of collapse. Then catching catch-ing up a small object which had laid Ion tho rug by her side she rose and I turned A tiny pin-point ot light shot lout before her and Miles saw that tho object aho carried was an electric porch, its every gleam distorting nor face with the wisps of pray hair falling fall-ing about it Into the semblance of i the veriest witch Ho shrank hack fearful leSl BM discover his presence, but Miss Jer-I Jer-I usha stare d Straight before her with I tho wild blank gase of one who looks lupon the hideous visions of a mind distraught and slowly, gropingly She passed rrom tho room. C HA 1T 101 1 VII. A soft rain was lalllng when Miles awakened the next mornliv; and in the- clear( gray liRht the scene which ho had Witnessed In the drawing-room seemed vague and unreal. That creature crea-ture with disnev.ll. 1 hair and crazed eyes could not have been the lignl-tled, lignl-tled, self-contained Miss Drake, nor rould that cryptiL speech have Issued from her lips' Hastening out into the hall he I opened the door of the closet under 1 the stairs l hr mail baK was hanK-. hanK-. lng In Its ac customed place and the handy man's flrt task of the morn-ling morn-ling was to take It to the postofflce There was no sign of life about Ithe house and Miles soon had a ket-'tlo ket-'tlo boiling and expertly liteamed open two of th envelopes The flr.st felt so bulky that he was not surprised to take from it u I folded Inner envelope Inscribed Mr Richard Kemp." it was unaddressed I but the accompanying letter was ex- , plu natory I Millie, dearest: "I am going to ask a most tre-I tre-I mendous iavor. I am not allowed to sow or oven w rite to Dickie nn more it isn't that lie has done anything, any-thing, ho U the darlingest boy alive, but both our families have decided de-cided to break up our happiness and ' unt Jerusha watched me like e lynx' Will you put th- enclosed let-Iter let-Iter in one of your own cnvelope and address it to Dickie for mo'i K or heavon s sake, don't fall me foi 1 am simply heartbroken' "Hastily but with f"n.l--t love. "PAT." Miles smiled to himself as he resettled the lettei with lis enclosure, but his gravity returned when he opened the final envelope: "My dr. Broth;, he i euc. "I take my pen in hand to let you know that i am well and hope you and all arc the same but 1 can't say as much for the folks. The house has not been the same since Andrew came back from foreign parts more noisy and fresh like than when he was a boy only different but up to his old tricks He played a joke on the houseman Monday and scalrt him so he left. Hobart has took to I liquor and made a holy show of himself In the town Kokct hits got himself In a mess too over a speech he made in the schoolhouse last week. I am commencing to think they are all getting queer again like they was years ago when they flr.-it came into the money. Do you recollect what i told you about their aetlons" Seems like It was yeeter-' yeeter-' day. Miss Jerusha has not beef jherself lately and no wonder with the gossip and all and she has put a stop to Pat KOlng out with that nice : l oung man I wrote you about but f guess It will come out all right. "Y'r aff't sister Hltty. ' Slowly Miles replaced tho letter and gummed the flap of tho en-i en-i velope together onco more. He I had heretofore regarded the lugubrious lugu-brious Mehltabel as negligible, but j he rpallred now that she might be j well worth cultivating. She thought I "they were all getting queer ni,Mln" (like rhey wore when their Inheritance Inheri-tance came That was the out-ft.mdlnR out-ft.mdlnR phrase in her lettri ivhich struck him with the greatest force. Miss Jerusha was her calmly reserved re-served self at breakfast, and Miles could perceive no trace of the emotion emo-tion which had possessed her at midnight. "I wonder If you will go on an errand er-rand for me. William"' asked Tensor "I know It S ralninp. but I have an Important letter which must go In tho next mall " "I'll gro at onco, sir." Absorbed in his thoughts the de-tectlVi de-tectlVi had plodded mechanically alonp the path and it was with a start of surprise that ho saw the raincoat and bedraggled. broad-brimmed broad-brimmed hat of Andrew Drake Just ahead. He was walking rapidly bo-sido bo-sido a taller, more distinguished figure Mlbs recognized him as the visiter n the night of his arrival, tho next door neighbor. Ensleo Grayle. Vlmt could these two. so widely dissimilar in character and proclivities, proclivi-ties, have In common' Miles hastened has-tened his footsteps ;mfl was nlmost at thHr heels when h-y turned .ibruptly off at the head of a lane between two tall hedges Ho was about to continue to the village when he turned to find a v. omnn he-side he-side him. She wus dressed in a tailored tail-ored suit of brown which displayed ih- buxom lines of her flguro with rather startling frankness. a face that was undeniably pretty although of a coarse type, and bold hazel eyes gaed Into his from beneath a fringe of all-too- cllow hair "I sye, 'oo Is that man?" she demanded de-manded with an Imperative nod toward to-ward tho pair w ho had struck off down the lane. Friends o yours?" "Th'- man In tho raincoat Is Mr. Andr- '.v 1 iraki and the. older oin- Is his neighbor, th" owner of the house from which you say they came. His name Is Mr Fnsbv Grayle " ' 'Ow, Is It?" Her eyes shifted from his to rest contemplatively upon the two figures already mlaty In the slanting rain. "Strike mo pink it I didn't fancy one o' 'em nos an old pal o' mine' I sye. 'ow far Is It to the station? My car broke down a mile back :mfl I've k'ot to be at the studtp Id New York at twelve " "The station Is half a mile further on, but here comes a Jitney and it appears to be empty." Miles gestured ges-tured toward a ramshackle taxi "Wot luck'" She waved to tho uhlch was rattllnK down the road driver of the approaching vehicle and then once more her eyes sought the lime. "Andrew Drake, you said, and the w'ltc-headed old toff Is Knslce Qrayle? My mlwlykc' Well, cheerio! If you've a cinema In this idddy metropolis watch for little Maine. To the station. my man and look sharp!" II API rat V7TJ. Miles hastened to the village, mailed Roger's letter and lost no time in returning re-turning to the house. The dreary' day drew to a close and the evening passed uneventfully. The family were finishing breaks-fast breaks-fast tho next morning when tho rumble of a wen-known voice sounded from the kitchen. "Ze now gardenalro. ho ees arrive," ar-rive," announcod Pierre ' Hello. Jack!" Miles grlnnd as he advanced for the absence of the grlzzUd, sandy beard had wrought a vast change "I'll take you to Miss Drake " Miles im the way to the hall. "8tudy her, Soottle, for ;,he'3 in on this too! Whatever It may be tHft 1 Af fecting tho men of the family, sho Ls sharing it'" (Continued In Oar Next Issue) |