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Show 0 D. A,nlton CnUiry Co., Inc. CTS WNU Sorvio. "" I VPS. I'll hrt ml,.l,t i...j yes 1 11 bo mighty triad to lie down again, too. That wasn't a fair proposition," prop-osition," he amplified. HiiU) laughed that off. The two lay down in perfect communion of spirit, while Mrs, Spencer Forbes prattled on, mid Miss Hosanna offered of-fered more brandy. "Asinine of me to set that pace " Craig muttered. He seemed really concerned. Halo found himself rather rath-er liking the man. It had been a fine race. Mrs. Wilbur Nash strolled up, looking tlamboyant in a scarlet bathing suit and cap. The Nash cub, in the background, revealed his meager frame in a one-piece garment gar-ment of somber black. Joan appeared ap-peared from the water and congratulated con-gratulated the swimmers. Ainsworth and Herbert added themselves to the little group, which began to take on the character of an assemblage. Craig ordered Hale to lie still a bit longer. He himself also sprawled contentedly on the sand, making no effort to contribute to the brisk conversation con-versation of the spectators. "I'll back Hale to best you In the same match within two weeks," Ainsworth told Craig. Hale shook Peopled; with'W yU wit.!n0w."eryrnUChtlle persn on'wiuf m!' But yU cant ca"y Srm0bens37mda0wiMrsy '"ds for hi, mother's conduct" hours3?" h iSCandal Started to 18 nouis? Hale was amused. ,,''" U had' ' wouldn't be any- Scko"- P'emthislonefy neck of the woods haven't much to interest them. They're talking theS heads off about Halcyon Camp." "What are they saying?" "You're asking me?" Mrs. Nash smiled. "Well, they're saying for one thing that everyone in the house hates everyone else. I suppose we must except Hosanna. She's a good old soul, and of course she's fond of her brother and her nephew and niece. But as for the others I've watched these people ever since they came here the first of May. I'm in and out all the time.. There's something queer about them. I don't know yet what it is, but I don't like 1 CHAPTER III At the house Miss Hosanna soothed him with hot oyster stew and womanly sympathy. He had done a foolish thing, she told him. She sat beside him before the Are in the living-room and watched him enjoy the stew. Hale gulped down tha stew, kissed Miss Hosanna'g plump hand, which wriggled in surprise sur-prise under such attention, and went up to his room. Rose had been there. It was in perfect order. But as he approached the davenport between be-tween the windows, to stretch himself him-self out and take the recommended nap, something caught his eye. It was something white, tucked partly under the davenport'a silk-covered pillow. He drew it out. It was a square white card. He looked at it frown-ingly. frown-ingly. This time there was no writing writ-ing on it, but it held its message nevertheless. In the center of the card, drawn with pen and ink, was an elaborate skull with cross-bones. It was a more literate offering than the one of the night before. . The t , J, on CUV Knf -VW PHe'iflU Hle of i ,v"1'"mu insane, invites V-'":1 , U1. d promises .r.S. as his secretary N rS 'es hU with ' ! " Questions about the 1 & Xnces a disturbing " . TpmoiHlon is barely Hi J?mlortale hospitality of I'll '' elderly sitf. mld "Swwii- Kale flnds a ERIAL ' ' 0 rest of the ! Lor CralJ. psychiati 1st Kw-eeland. nervous young 'S beautiful but moody -5 nle of the house. Alns- :''Z .1 his room, questions 5? t"te tions and tells him of - S-: tV love for his heiress k iut Mrs. Forbes Is down ii VSol group seem to get It F Atom. Later. Hale sees $ vmeetlns a shabby man 5: Zi The maid tells of the ; 0f j cat and dog. Ml " " -iprEK II-Continued um -a stare of Craig, Joan jJT then spoke quickly, as ; i!t a verbal life-line. Tic 0 Mr. Hale a race :;"'she said. 'My not ".j? From here to the EZEK ."referee-" .i:" Craig spoke without 3ftisi .',-;;(, but he took in the i'wi'i one of his X-ray J'p:- a Hale mentally classed s?' Si men rose and stood r rie start i -ta I say go," Joan di-s-U.s 'Siim any way you like foj a -:u reach the shore." Sud--2 ,-vsice was full of vitality irjerance of youth. "One, it -g!" asici li Craig went into the sea Co,, Jtiord. A second later they l :-:i through the water IQL :i. Hale had not expected ritery. Now he was dis- rSi" !osee ra'S's dark head Si. fa -strife in advance of his 'com : reierve m e doc'or's Ibto i Se was plainly putting Eforts from the take-off, :ton the shortness of the ti (,( "j them to the finish. 'a '"iaa stroe' came i Craig, and held his NING n- To his deep disgust he j, :pass Ms rival Craig was Ktbt 'S001 time. He had te& ::5a a Bashing smile as Bun ::rm. The smile seemed a Hale sat up, and steadied his swimming head. It. That man Ainsworth, for example. ex-ample. He has some hold over them some power. It sounds melodramatic, melodra-matic, but it's true. They all hate him like poison, yet they let him stay on. Why? It worries me. I'm afraid of him. I'm afraid for Joan. She's awfully changed from what she was last year. She was the gayest gay-est young thing!" She turned toward him and laid her brown hand on his arm. Her face was very serious. "Mr. Hale, I'm hoping you will be a sort of guardian angel to her." Hale laughed. "That's a large order." A sudden memory shot into Hale's mind. "There's work for you," Kneeland had said. He hadn't said what work it would be. Hale had no chance to say more now. Miss Hosanna suddenly appeared with hospitable words and gestures. She insisted that it was time for him to go into the house and have a nap before luncheon. He must admit his recent exhaustion and take care of himself. Hale got up willingly, staged an impressive parting with his companion, and left for the bathhouse. bath-house. Mrs. Nash's conversation had been a trifle heady. . card was clean. The sketch was well done was, in fact, quite dashing. dash-ing. It could hardly have been made or left by the same hand that had written and conveyed the first message. Or could it? Hale didn't know. It Irritated him. It wasn't funny. It wasn't disturbing. It was merely annoyingly childish nonsense. non-sense. He wished whoever was back of it would let up. He tore it in two, dropped the pieces into the waste-basket, waste-basket, and simultaneously dropped the card from his mind. He slept till he was awakened by the luncheon gong. He brushed his hair, shook the sand out of his new tan shoes, and went down to the dining-room. To his relief no one asked him how he felt. They had some tact, then. He was not to be regarded as a semi-invalid. He found Miss Hosanna, Mrs. Spencer Forbes and Joan alone at the table. ta-ble. Craig, Miss Hosanna said, was in his laboratory a little room which had been fitted up for him at the top of the house. A tray had been sent to him there. He often worked in his laboratory from the bathing hour till tea time. (TO BE CONTINUED) ufe! '-:enoD. on that dark, -i (ace. It lingered, too, IUL .-sjain gained a few inches it Mi Hale could see it as he teeth and called on all ING 7i length. . rarently, was out to beat :i break all records from i The sleek dark head )r fj lew inches more. That :- It would not do at jut Kneeland looking on. "J iy Hale called on the fight- "tot wins victory when Jjj - The shore was close ., f a hundred feet of twenty. The two tisA -and Craig's were on a boor - He saw Miss Hosanna f? Speocer Forbes, motion- and 5 watching them. That 5eJn :id as still on a line ly emed to fill his chest ,11 . bursting. His eyes - from his head. For Bali1 - w nothing. in the it 4r I m sand of toe . 11 a few yards of wa. i'ST56" flat on the rtM , thless and gasping. , tii JJthing flopped i ' :i l!TQST Forbes hr- p? s Wo prone figures, iijpSeadfand hesi- Vt rrfee,bIy ed his 'bM?s eyes- BU t :i 6 ,slrpishiy- n a J cwh:avedaway oacheednwho again ten-;Kt ten-;Kt Hale ''' rr u ?:rds with ,rai8 brought 50 : Handed" yU ' lie if t in ;ilti "Oversaw one- , 4 Joined fl SPencer kL em at last.- "Vou tt SirS'" she tla Save U3 a real jici" :Jsat uD p d weBs were "oi- ibiteb51arhouses7 i-.IHe &t habit to d" anfld trib-16 trib-16 li ',riwed t he flask to 1S0 took one him- !beM heordered, on you. Oh, a languid head and advised Ainsworth Ains-worth not to waste his money. Then he forgot Ainsworth and all the rest of them. Joan had sat down beside him. I'm ashamed of myself," she confessed. "I forgot completely " "It was great fun. Did me no end of good." Hale sat up, and steadied his swimming head. With a strong effort ef-fort of will he grinned at the concerned con-cerned look in her vivid eyes. "He'll brighten our lives a little longer," Mrs. Spencer Forbes predicted. pre-dicted. I assume you weren't really real-ly trying to kill him off, Joan. One with a less trusting nature than mine would certainly think you were doing that. Has she anything to gain by your death, my lad?" she asked Hale. "Only the removal of an obstruction obstruc-tion from her path," Rex admitted. "I expect to be there a good deal." Miss Hosanna did not like such jokes and told her Ruth so. The party began to disintegrate. Joan returned to the water with Herbert and Craig. Ainsworth iind Mrs. Spencer Forbes watched them from the shore. Ainsworth, Rex suspected, suspect-ed, did not like water much more than the cat he resembled. Mrs. Spencer Forbes believed in keeping her blue bathing suit dry till the last possible moment. She strolled along the water's edge with Ainsworth, Ains-worth, looking remote. Ainsworth's unpopularity with every member of the family was increasingly noticeable. notice-able. Hale wondered why the devil the fellow continued to hang around. Miss Hosanna, with surprisingly white plump legs in ample view, was walking along the beach apparently appar-ently investigating seaweed. Out on the float the Nash cub flocked by himself, practicing dives. His mother moth-er joined Hale and sat down beside him. , ... "Well," she asked alertly, how do you like it?" "It's great and not too cold for one fresh from sunny climes." "I don't mean the water. I mean life at Halcyon Camp?" Before he could reply she added, "Everybody's "Every-body's wondering how you will nice it " '"Who's everybody?" Hale asked fcizily "My son and I. No one else counts," the lady added. v "I'm having a great time, Kex testified. "Look at me. Yesterday I was a lonely orphan. Today I m a guest at Halcyon Camp. There s contrast for you-and you ask me how I like itl" |