| Show W AU V 0 W M U SER vac SYNOPSIS on a certain momentous nomen tous monday morning aless its constance puller cataloguer and seller of rare books nt at darrows new and secondhand second hand Dooks bookshop bop new york notices notice that the first customer jo la a dignified white bearded old gentleman who saunters into the alcove pla carded medical works peter burton one of the employees amazes constance by telling her he paid at auction for ar an old law boak containing a colfax bookplate suddenly a girls girl shriek of Mu roert rings out in the store the elderly customer Is on the floor unconscious with hla his right wrist slashed just before the shrieking girl falls in a faint she calls calli out to peter whom she seems to lecog recognize n ISO as the man who bought the rare book in richmond va a few days before keep itt keep it for me mel peters petera sister nancy began that morning working at darrows nancy tells C constance tance of her elo elopement piment with crandon brandon tower a shorthand teacher an elopement which was cut short when tower attempted to make off with nancys suitcase As nancy and peter have left home because their father has just married it a hateful woman they rent the third floor apartment has vacant above his restaurant constance explains darrows Dar rowa card index system to captain ashland of england a nephew of mr darrows CHAPTER IV continued it was a most inte esting bookplate skillfully drawn of harming charming design full of tantalizing clews to whet ones curiosity as to who had been the long departed owner want the story of a life that in sorno borno way nay had bad combined science with ad adventure ventre a century or more ago yet ten seconds after my eyes ekes had rested on oil it I 1 was filled with conster consternation I 1 felt my face fare turning cold was it from the chill of regretful disappointment that began to emanate from captain ashland as he be too gazed at the bookplate hook plate in silence lence il finally I 1 stole one glance nt at him praying mat my judgment might have made on an error however awful after all rut but he ne shook his hend head slowly yet decidedly and then confirmed ny my fears with the au authoritative thorl tatt re verdict its n forgery I 1 I 1 knew it it every sign pointed to it and cling chagrin ln overwhelmed me the captain wh while ie disappointed was was philosophical its sad to have high hopes dashed he be remarked but this papers modern its colors wrong the designs not really of colfax coitus style and I 1 bayl say I 1 this really Is a drawing not an impression from p plate by jove though its clever I 1 I 1 hardly wonder the buyer was deceived especially as hes just beginning to have enough experience for such work said li 1 quickly and one way nt at least no harm has been done ur mr burton haedt said anything official al about his bis find im the only person here to whom tie he mentioned it ile he knew id be interested on account of my special work quite so assented the captain with discreet understanding but wont the poor chap be no end surprised when you tell fell him the til I 1 was plunged into gloom by the prospect A moment of silence was shuttered shattered by the clatter of the descending sc elevator Ie wherein as it hung a moment above tho the alcoves we could see aee mr roberts and a stranger dar rows was full of strangers and strange things today I 1 sighed involuntarily unta rily and the captain said with very pleasant warmth its most kind of you to take so much trouble over me ine today I 1 expect ill bp be bothering you every day while im here 1 gave him permission to bother me time find and as he be walked up the aisle mr roberts huberts and his bis companion come came down it 11 had halted baited ot at my desk miss fuller dulier announced mr rab erts with burh gravity tilts this Is mr almy from the detective bureau lie ile would like a few minutes talk with you I 1 benjamin almy took a chair and proceeded forthwith th to business with noticeable zest 1 I understand you were sitting heru here all morning miss bliss fuller and thus saw nil all the customers mine come in and go out now could you von say any eboni what time that old gentleman entered yes anif nine exactly I 1 looked to see the time for he was the first customer yes now that young lady who gave the alarm nt at what time did she come in about fl a quarter ot of ten lint tile the low ina student you yno mentioned in tile the emall rl 1 1 l sox him go into the law section opposite the abe medical directly after he entered about live five minutes of ten I 1 think those were all the customers tills this morning were they all except professor harrington ue he stopped here as he entered and we chatted some gome time before he went to make his chass very good now did you see any hody body else enter tile the shop before half post past ten no other customer mr burton barton our traveler came in a few minutes before professor probes or harrington and went directly in the elevator and did you see the old gentleman again after you yon finally saw him being carried into the aisle yes res said 1 three times I 1 saw him cross the aisle and enter the alcove which Is right opposite tile the medical alcove you see then I 1 saw him come out again at once find and beckon to miss james to turn the light on for him when he reentered entered re 1 saw him finally being curried into the aisle you any idea about what time the light was turned on for him I 1 rejected for an instant the exact time I 1 could not say but it was very shortly before professor harrington left if t that tact fact Is of any use almost immediately after the light went on I 1 remember bowing fo 0 o him as he passed out at the door miss aliza fuller do you yon think anyone besides the persons persona you have mentioned could have been in the shop tills morning 1 I 1 know no other customer passed me of course and you remember almy aimy 11 interrupted sir mr roberts that riggs said he was ans alone in the shipping office all morning why how was that I 1 demanded when mr roberts spoke I 1 was just going to mention that applicant for the shipping clerks job came in here a little after ten thirty what applicant cried both men why the one who came in this front entrance by mistake peter burton was here at the time and sent him back through the shop to mr riggs certainly riggs never beard of him or we should have too said mr roberts 1 I might look into that now then observed mr almy carelessly rising youre sure that no one else was in the shop tills this morning miss fuller I 1 was positive mr almy thanked me with a bow nodded to mr roberts and strode off in the direction of the shipping office turning toward mr roberts I 1 was astonished to perceive that on that cool afternoon with the wind fisl rising I 1 ng and the steam heat bent doing nothing ol of the sort he was vigorously wiping a moist brow tell rue me what you think of tills insane story of burkons burtons Bur tons he be said so he told you about his romantic adventures in richmond dont say he actually did something sensible 1 ne he came to io me with tile story just before he went out this afternoon between mr air darrows hearing the news and his fits conference with alay and myself which was scheduled to take place while you were instructing ashland some afternoon P I 1 observed severely in older to P show sympathy how continued mr roberts is even mure more severely this story of Bur bartons burtons tons Is going to help either the girl or himself I 1 dont see it was solely for her sake on nn a perfectly wild impulse that lie he bought the book and she follows ilam here youve heard beard of courso course that tha ashes telles still unconscious yes yea and the old loan hi i dead nobody tina has an aa idea who either ol of ti iem Is and that gin la Is the only person who was in the shop this morning whose actions ve have gt attempted to investigate Invest lente without any result theres not a clew so for far to the mystery of the attach 1 uns una mr almy too no theories ue he looks experienced said L lie ile has advanced none yet no he seemed very keen been about this case I 1 remarked thoughtfully lias has lie any idea I 1 wonder as io to how the attack on the old man was made I 1 mean with what sort port of iven weapon pon whatever the weapon was it has disappeared said eald mr me roberts well that shipping office applicant did get uway away 11 what almy really wants to know fir first s t however saldor bald sald mr roberts roberti la is what was that girl doing here nil fill vint that hur h aur ur and a half I 1 pondered having abandoned con of the bookplate as aa fin an object of chase the book occurred to me again and lr IP stronger light between you and me mr roberts it might seem as if she had traced that bool book from the richmond auction room to this shop through press notices of the sale you see bee she said to peter keep it for we me she must have meant the book must she bhe mr roberts shook his hend head you saw of course as did the lie other witnesses that the young lady clutched t the lie book table suddenly as burton rushed toward tier her yes 1 I mentioned that the weapon used in the attack roust must have been very mall therefore the police are won J A V I 1 A zak A I 1 il why what applicant cried both aoth men dering did the young lady thy lay anything on that table tabe among the books and rely on burton to pick it up and conceal it for her do they know he saw her in richmond I 1 demanded uneasily not yet at least and be denies of course that he saw her put any thing on the table much less picked it up op but what did happen to that old man did she know him if not why should she have been so utterly overcome by ills his condition why did she demand burtons bartons Bur tons help these are uie the first questions to be answered and you think theres no clew here I 1 inquired standing ing Clarl hews bews notes on tile the desk you know there was a ri rival val bid for it and the girl was so BO frightened at the auction and peter did see her examining the book and he thought 11 im glad you said nothing so vague and conjectural to mr almy interrupted mr roberts Robe its sharply A typical wrangle between two buyers the examination of a book put up for public auction the effect of a pretty girl on the emotions of a headlong young fool do you think such things would be of interest in a police hinves of a murder let tile me assure you that facts and concrete information are much more likely to be appreciated prec precia ted than assumptions 1 I should hope sol I 1 concurred sweetly arid and speaking of facts was thre there really some one in the shop this morning that I 1 dont know about there was miss burtons bartons Bur tons ec replied mr roberts with such anch promptness that he be women momentarily tartly sidetracked ins what 11 I 1 lie ile entered in the middle of the excitement when you were attending the young ladym lady M then he fie was after that book I 1 I 1 cried in consternation ile he was after the girl I 1 19 not nt at all I 1 goolt nancy hurlon burton to lunch today and ami she told nie me all about what she pleases for some obscure reason to term terin her elop elopement emen with a 0 mr brandon tower peter told you something of that thal too I 1 see well mr tower learned from her prattle of the purchase of f this book it seems to have had a curious interest for him three times in tile the course of the said elopement he tried to get possession of it I 1 I 1 gave cave tins tile details and hod had the pleasure of seeing mr roberts sit elt gaping with amazement through the narrative mr roberts departed with the law book I 1 hastened toward the rear of the shop for some vo volumes lutnes I 1 needed ulysseas was polishing the el elevator elevazo evalo cage finally he hb said 1 I done tell you the this mornin miss fuller 1 I 1 knowel soman powerful bad was ion gon happen and it done happen and mist case call we me ole foell mr case called you 1 finish the sentence for amazement M taze mr case perhaps the most truly polite person on earth and sometimes it was to be feared the only polite one in darrows to call ulysses names I 1 well its true something did li happen tippen I 1 finally managed to admit discreetly 1 said ulysses complacently does they know who that poor old bemman was yet no I 1 sighed ulysses drew himself tip to ills his full six feet and stood motionless his brass polish can in lila his left hand a billich banch of waste in his right ills his face was expressionless ile he announced in a sepulchral whisper 1 I knows 1 I 1 was certainly startled but confident in ulysses abysmal private knowledge of anything that might concern darrows Darro wB who was he be then I 1 demanded mist charles grosvenor announced a ulysses how do you know 1 I knows but how ulysses please toll tell met mel looking very important he produced from his sweater pocket a ragged newspaper clipping at the head of the article ars was an excellent likeness of the very old gentleman whose identity was in question and beneath it the caption NEW YORKER BORN IN MANHATTAN ATTAN lives 70 years in same house charles grosvenor GroB venor eminent retired merchant reaches 3 score and 10 at hla his birthplace in normandy terrace mr grosvenor very distinguish 1 as ernesto had observed three hours before I 1 so in my zeal to old aid providence I 1 had put nancy in the way of snatching up that scarce article a nice downtown flat thus arranging that peter should live in the same house which had been the home of the old gentleman who had just for a c fleeting moment of coursel course I 1 seemed mysteriously connected with the bookplate which that kirt girl had certainly but away with assumptions I 1 why you say before it if you knew who the old gentleman was I 1 inquired severely hes been dead several hours now I 1 knows that thal observed ulysses sulkily T 1 hardly see him when hes bes found mist hustle roe me to watch shipping office then mist case call me ole foell the reply was not exactly direct but I 1 knew it was all I 1 could get however I 1 ventured did odid you cut this clipping out because seen hini him here in the shoal 1 I cuts out pieces bout folks I 1 knows returned ulysses primly at this polut point mr case stepped out of ills his office I 1 ran toward him with ith the clipping look at 1 A cried do you recognize him good lord I 1 he be gasped its the old gentleman I 1 wheres whores almy night here answered mr almy allay appearing in the door of the shipping office I 1 firmly took tile the clipping away from mr case and hadded it to mr air alroy almy a aa 2 an earnest of what he could expect from my iny co operation cooperation the old gentleman i announce announcer do Is identified 1 CHAPTER V the yellow note I 1 took tho train irto into new york fork next nest morning not only obly ready us as usual with me for whatever might befall but much interested in anticipating it for darrows had bad within the lost last twenty four hours become more different than ever I 1 had bad not long to wait for a sc sensation when I 1 unfolded my newspaper n staid hut informing sheet containing without resort to excess of ink 0 or r allu illustrations S tr a lian a all 11 the n bevra ew 8 considered suitable sol sul table for refined minds I 1 found the following article honored ahil front rage position the victim of a mysterious attack made in ili darrows Darrow 8 bookshop in n fourth avenue yesterday morning was didenti fled bed ns as charles grosvenor of 14 normandy terrace shortly after his death yesterday at I 1 p m in mercy hospital lie ile died dlud without recovering con as the result of a violent slashing of his fits right wrist by bv nn an unknown assailant no ir arnce a e e CM 01 w whom 0 M can yet ji et lip bp found TO KB DS CONTINUA DI |
