Show ama ou elal te AGNES MILLER L service 0 by via century C CHAPTER XII continued 20 1 I 1 1 speak peter however voiced my thought that goes with the theaory that thai the attack was made by some tine one in the tha rear of the new book alcove yes it Is further sustained by lie he fact that la in the dust on that fourth fount shelf between the front and real rear r ranks of books ue e found fresh streams oltis such as would fie be I 1 made on de by figgers thrust in from tile the rear and professor barrington says saya he be ronde milde them thein lie he admits be was iras there 11 1 1 I gasped 1 candidly says pays lie he r nto eliat shelf f fanni rom athe the rehr rear to search for books yet he absolutely denies hoying haying seen mr air grosvenor then or tit nt any other time that morning or having any knowledge knowlt de whatever of file spring lancet after a long silence mr air almy added tile the whole story will have to come out tomorrow after one final check up chos tile the witness demanded peter come out too it wont be long to ia wait walt wait I 1 echoed peter in a tone of frenzy walt wait what aorl for to tell that girl whose grandfather and cousin were thieves and liars that I 1 her uncle Is a murderer you take it down seems to met mel there a man can do mr air almy looked him up and down in rather a manner he hc an quietly there might be do you want to conic along and find out and so s as we reached leached fourteenth street with washington and lafayette exchanging raptures across a sen sea of pitr iced abraha al tn in a spirit of rainbow hope strangely at variance vir labov with that afternoon of gloom the two arjen men disappeared into the subway maring leaving me to tn pursue pin sue my solitary way buck back to tn harrows darrows thinking of nf how dinst monday professor harrington had looked sharply down tile the nisle fram hist his position ml my desk dealt plucked they theo vellow rellow note from the basket and hounded bounded away CHAPTER XIII 1 1 daylight the shadows to fall in the silent deserted shop I 1 attempted quite unsuccessfully to feel delight dell rit over the met that I 1 had now driven a wedge into info the weeks work and resolved at least to find solace lr irk that reign fl ainest tile the blues a particularly inner dinner 1 I within half nn nil hour suddenly y the front door wnm ans flung open and in marched mr air I 1 almy at ina at the head of a procession peter burton Bi irton ehret men inen unknown to me mei and in tall tail hi brond ond shouldered invoking young tn ili a 0 gray sweater and a soft uray hot hilt we fared each other anther openmouthed open mouthed abe pr procession and 1 ij are you doing herel here inquired mr air almy my corli work said eald 1 I but I 1 am going directly finish if you mint ito said gild he be we shall he be in the nick hick of the shop only ard off filed the file procession exa excepting epting peter whom fv n frantic gi glance anve front from me detained that ninn man in the gray sweaters the he one nah h mine tn in for the office position int monday Mond ny I 1 in his hi a vir ear sure lies thy the witness alio ahn saw MW professor harrington and mr grosve nor tn in tile the al alcoves corps I 1 where did find alt him iv ake employment agency nt nry traced hlin blin almyr been him hill nil all week ills ilia names innoes friml ancker wanta 4 ills his story I 1 demand demanded pd well yip iu he cifone tn in end and walked down tho lie all alle ae past us its oh mahout ut ten forty thul that HP fie naver att ot in 0 o the shipping ortice then mr riggs ni wi right P absolutely something akpu arpard ted his curiosity when he lind rot got part way down tile hie he fie went w through the 1 last alcove nit awe on the reghl hid behind a bookcase in thi the narrow right hand aisle and watched tie he saw plenty what aroused nis curiosity curlo sity the spring jancef what I 1 in tip railed called it n little bross brass box it was in mr air orosa nor P hand he fie wits was comparing it with w iab books from the shelf thata Tt ints what charles Cb arle macivor blac Ivor sug bested I 1 and laying it fit at his right on a vh ant on oil the shelf when not using it ILI cut but why did all ali tills MIS interest tucker f greab scott constance said ve pe ter testily and I 1 could see he fie was very net nor cortous tous ous youve youre seen tucker I 1 hes fies pretty tow low grade just jint one of thou sau la 19 of people stop anything ti tl fyre doing to stare at anything Q of the common au am even I 1 will say any that an old man in f r book alcove comparing a brass box bos with books Is out of the common besides in a minute or two tucker beard this hox box glee give a loud click 1 I e 1 l ff f the rhe ten forty click the first we it hoard oa rd I 1 and before he timid a veince to get cuine cable down the aisle and stood look tonkins inglat at books there ind and then disappeared speaking to miss toward tile the rear tucker stood gaping tit nt mr grosvenor a while longer unable to make biake his uc ile tlona but when suddenly tie he heird another click chck arid mr air grosvenor slumped to the bloor instantly he says the professor walked around from behind the lh reir rear alcove and up the aisle without looking to right reghl or left eft r 1 why tucker give tiny any alir rn tie he was scared shured you rou see while theres nu no great hurin in lilia he had just got out of the city prison on a disorderly conduct charge charf ce ue il e was hunting tits hta first job bince and naturally it occurred to him that thal with a record hed bo be suspected of the attack himself if he told about it and professor harrington corroborates all that part par of that story about himself 1 I 1 sighed peter said voth ing but looked very downcast but how I 1 puzzled did tucker get out of this shop without somebody seeing him there were five employees here easily ile he waited tits chanco chance which came when thea the alarm lorm was given and all of us dashed down the center aisle then he ran up the aisle and out at the front door unnoticed very simple I 1 agreed and now you all have come here to check up hta his story by r re enacting that scene cant hide much from roin you can avel we said peter but III bet you dont know I 1 why im t here era 11 well I 1 confess I 1 dont there are to be two men just the height of mr grosvenor ond and professor harrington respectively andl am the professors height exactly so almy drafted me I 1 looked nt at peter it was plain that sir mr almy though selecting him ostensibly because he filled physical re I 1 quire ments had also chosen some one who would give professor harrington every favo favorable rable chance that honesty could give film I 1 grasped peters peter a hand as he hei turned down the aisle and wished him good luck I 1 think of a few well chosen words all that occurred to medas me was that tt it was said to be darkest before down dawn which however presupposed a down dawn while I 1 was setting my desk to in final order there was no sound in the shop save steps and now and then ihen voices in the rear the voices it 1 beard eard dis ly however no traffic outside interrupted them that quiet saturday evening tucker came mr air alays voice did you ever see this before A rough deep voice mi answered yes sir I 1 saw that plech ol oj yellow paper when I 1 was here monday where did you see it in the old gent lemans hand in professor Harring tons I 1 hand handia dIw no sir he have it tt it was in mr Grosve nors band 11 go and stand when you were when you saw it tucker I 1 turned and glanced down the aisle hearing a movement far back I 1 saw lit 1 great scott said peter testily and I 1 could see he was very nervous tie te man in the gray gra sweater he disappeared into the rear alcove to tile right mr air almy then stepped into the aisle on tuckers beels and noting his bis position asked allow did air grosvenor Gros cenor come to show this paper lie ile picked it up oft od the be floor said setd tuckers voice tile the young lady wit tile the yellow hair had laid it down ou on the table on some books she had brought the professor it fell off when she swished round to go back up the aisle tt it flew ow over edge of hat alcove right near where youre las ing cow and then hen mi grosvenor picked it uri up yes ves sir tie ile had been feeling lit in tila its pockets 71 I 1 could see him film well beccue life light in that alcove wild was on and I 1 wu was in this shadow here end and as lie kept feeling tie happened to turn and caught sight ot of tile the paper which lind had been tying lying on the floor a little while then ue lie grabbed it and took it in his left hand and took that little i brass bos b in tits right rl lit and spread the piper paper over the box bos and pressed something then there was a click the first that was at ten forty said air almy then what tucker ile he tossed the inper away it blew bl c w up tile the aisle because the elevator came down just then ilien end and made a draft and where was professor harring ton all this time come and show us tucker emerged from the history nl at cove coe and walked a few feet up the aisle op the side of the tables toward the law low book alcove where he be halted facing toward the front door was the professor in that position demanded mr almy yes sir with tits his back to the law book alcove yes tes sir he wits was glancing over books on this table illow how did you see him from that place where you were standing inside that history alcove 1 I stay right there all the time said tucker came forward eh and looked around the shelves looked through em across the tops of those little books answered tucker pointing toward one of the shelves in the history alcove some one would have seen me if id come out for far enough to took look around the shelves now tell amedid me did the professor do anything while you were watching except look at those books positively not answered tucker ile ha was wrapped up in em he turn tits head when the young lady brought the books and the yellow paper he even seem to notice the click lie he just a stood t there ret reading wing until lie he turned to go down the aisle behind that last shelf very well said mr almy go back now will you tucker to vie the position you were lu in in tile the history a alcove burton I 1 1 yes sir said peters voice voce step behind tho the law book alcove right in front of that thai large book ou on tile the fourth shelf which the professor says he was waa examining 1111 history story of roman law I 1 peter move and hastened my preparations to leave tuckers story me more every minute 7 now farrell sold said mr almy hearing another movement I 1 glanced glinc ed down tile the aisle again and saw one of the strangers a nan man several inches shorter than peter stepping into the law book alcove heres Ll eres your book parrell farrell went on mr air almy acts and laws of the virginia legislature also on the fourth shelf on I 1 ibis his side you see and here at your right hand as it was at mr Grosve nors well put the spring lancet ive set IL Is that position right tucker A little farther arthar forward said bald tucker it was wao right on the edge of the shelf the little lever lerer held field it there and that long black thing was toward me ile he means the hammer said far relf therel there hows that RI right glit sold said tucker 1 I 1 see the file trigger Is just hanging banging over the etl edge e of tile the shelf said air almy now then farrell you ou and burton draw your two books off tile the shelf what happened next Tuck crl mr grosvenor stooped down and looked hard card into the open apen space on ue shelf like he be wu was looking for something bend down farrell Far relt until you can see eee into the lie gap directed mr air almy Is that tile the way it ns as tucker I 1 you see lies hes just mr Grosve Gros norB nors height 11 1 yes sir but he ought to have tits hla book in ills left hund build nod his right sort of strat stretched ched out tile the shelf on tile the empty spit sance tide na its if he was going to 6 take something on off it 0 there it now furrell farrell said bald mr almy what do you see seel theres Th etes a gap eup clear across the shelf aholt from ruin front to buck bade answered 1 farrell airell 1 I see kee hurton burton plainly nothing else all right hold your position burton to do you ou see the spring lancet there was a very brief pause then peter answered yes sir air then reach through tho the gap and alel it up that was the last I 1 heard I 1 fled out of darrows as before fire or god flood I 1 was useless there as us useless e it ft seemed to t nip as ev everybody e else was before that devastating story of tucker who biad been unearthed from ills his obscurity to save julia it was true but only thereupon to involve volve tier her distinguished uncle our old friend my superb dinner simmered down into a glass class of hot milk to make mo me steep sleep which desirable end it accomplished complis hed at three sunday morning and at seven the telephone fione ran rang 9 anro arousing using every one in the house except myself for whom the message w was as it was frons from mr almy and he asked me to come into town on the A II 11 S you think I 1 get blar married ried he queried coquettis coquettishly aly arst arat train rain I 1 could get and come straight to normandy terrace tills this was all he said he sounded very tt tired red I 1 could not ask for details in fa fact e J did noi not wish to hear them until 1 1 bod bad to so merely obeying orders I 1 reached norman normandy dy oter terrace ruce soon and in a state of ex extreme anxiety and who should come dashing tor for ward out of the restaurant ranU but ernesto yes ernesto and us I 1 knew I 1 him 0 of f old before we find mysteries and midnight alarms I 1 tie he was vas in n agni gala a array his blade black sunday suit a daze daz illda collar ft fk purple boutonniere A ah h h h I 1 this morning I 1 go to church 1 cried ernesto Ernes tn rubbing hla his hands not much I 1 dont go there its too long in n church taut but this moro ing yes besl I 1 brought up with a shock what tor for I 1 deman demanded dedas ah mu duchat chat sea as aa a regular heathen creases bordered ernestos eyes and nose and lips ills you think I 1 get married marr ledl lie he alie ried not ill inel e I 1 but arher people maybe 4 notta ile he glanced up the stair well and reproduced ids his chessle time softened hv by rewind 1 I gf KT burn a candle for them this morning any wayll ohl oil I 1 I 1 the banister you dont mean has something something nii e hap pene bened 01 you dont kno o bow owa cried ernesto crescendo sly my godl god I 1 abu go upstairs r I 1 TO DE BE CONTINUED |