Show F 5 E rw ue loring jog EMIGRE service CHAPTER VII continued 13 he crept to a window and peered in dark as pitch except for a white bite blur that must be the cover of aunt mary amandas old limousine why was the unused car directly opposite the door he remembered now jed had told him that lie he had 0 k d an offer henri jacques had reported for the out of date machine probably the butler had planned to drive it off in the morning the man who had just made his getaway get away had bad stopped here why had he hidden loot the silver but the silver had been in the storeroom only a few hours ago A few hours much could happen in a few hours while the occupants of the other house had been at supper at the Rey burns hed better investigate lucky he still carried the key to his aunts garage on his ring in the days when they had been friendly frie P adly she had insisted upon his having a key to the house as well soundlessly he slid back the door squeezed ins in closed and locked it with the light in his torch dimmed he tiptoed carefully between the automobiles brookes long sleek town car sams convertible coupe the white cloth cover of the old limousine was awry as if it had been hastily adjusted part of it lay on the floor what was that mark A footprint A footprint faint but bloody with a childish impulse to clutch their coats and keep the men with her brooke reyburn had listened to the closing of the door behind mark trent and jed stewart they had pleaded an early morning start for the city but she was sure that they had gone because they resented jerry fields sulky silence she would have been glad to get away from his gloomy presence herself she glanced at him as he stood before the fire from the back of the house came the crash of dishes a shout of laughter brooke sprang to her feet 1 I wonder what went then I 1 suspect that lucette and sam started roughhousing rough housing and that daphne was drawn into the scuffle I 1 should have known better than to let them wash the dishes come on jerry lets investigate id rather know the worst at once field straightened and thrust his hands hard into his pockets same here brooke I 1 want to know what you were doing in mark trents arents house while we were at atre re hearsay hear sal why should you think I 1 had been in his house stewart find a gardenia outside his front door so what I 1 suppose there be another woman in the world who might call on mr trent wearing a flower or did you corner the gardenia market today jerry jerret Jer fields expression changed from gloom to cheer theres something in that trent certainly is a wow with the ladies I 1 heir hear thai tha he could dine out three times an evening if hed accept the invitations heaped on him it gets ine e why he settled down in this burg vig dont be sore at me sweet thing it natural for me to think the flower yours when stewart produced the gardenia that he found at trents arents front door when you wearing any before she could answer she heard someone approaching she drew a breath of relief as S sam ani and the two girls entered what smashed in the kitchen sam I 1 thought the chimney had fallen in nothing but a stack of those warranted ranted unbreakable plates clotilde keeps things on in the icebox ice box and did they crack up the floor looked as if been a snowstorm the sound brought henri down the back stairs in i 1 hurry harry ever seen en him in his robe de nuit brooke af what s k giggler you are lucette 0 oi f course I 1 64 youve missed the laugh of your life ife he was something straight out of a cruikshank edition of dickens night cap with tassel night shirt I 1 believe it was called back in n the dark ages thin bow legs and flapping slippers was he embarrassed me ile was not lie ile behaved more as if he were afraid wed miss the appeal of his costume he ran around aund like this she trotted across the floor lucette frowned at field cant bell you vou smile for the lady jerry ill tela you one thing id rather be a giggler g than han a gob of gloom goodnight she 0 dashed from the room daphne ran into the hall lucette dont forget that mark trent is is giving us a party tomorrow night at that swell new supper club lucette hung over the mahogany rail forget not a chance think ill forget a night off of from rehearsing nothing short of an act of god will keep me away sam the old tyrant is is giving us a break ill be seeing you jerry field picked up his sisters coat come on lets leto go if id known that we were to have a night off I 1 would have taken you dining and dancing brooke nice of you but I 1 think that a party will be heaps more fun you would think that I 1 dont know why but this whole evening has gone haywire come or on daphne field snuggled her hand in m sam Rey burns goodnight good night sammy dont love me much do you darling sam shook off her hand ill love you when you learn your lines and more if you dont learn em be tossed off the lot you mean that ill be fired daphne opened her eyes at their tx A X 7 ell 1 an V aia 9 Is A her heart mounted to her throat and stuck there widest 1 I fired after ive had gowns made to wear that will simply stop the show come on jerry nobody liles likes us here from the threshold she threw a kiss to sam he grinned sam do you like daphne asked brooke ashes good fun swell looker she in the room she had made her boudoir brooke slipped out of the lace frock if only she could shed with it the haunting sense of having said the wrong thing she had been bitterly unkind when she had reminded mark trent of his divorce if she could apologize to him and get it off her mind it would help well she perhaps if she wore the hair shirt of remorse for a while it would teach her to guard her tongue in a heavily embroidered chinese housecoat house coat of vivid green she pulled forward the chair at her desk and began writing a letter to her mother suddenly she looked up at the mirror and her heart mounted to her thoa th oa ard stuck there beating beating reflected in the lookingglass the silver shot hanging between bedroom and boudoir filled and s wung swung like the sail of a boat what had set it in motion had a window been opened she was too far from th bell to ring suppose would answer she rang who henri and clotilde were locked in their room TOOM probably what should she do she stared at the mirror how could a person get in from the balcony under the bathroom bath room window that meant that he had come troug through h h mark ark trents arents 1 house was it the h b black 1 ck g gloved 1 ove d man who had been in n t the he attic attic t this h i s evenia evening rig ed her h heart eart sh she she sw swallowed a ilow t sit here forever she must move how still the room wasl was the silence of fear enveloped her like a cold mist and turned her fingertips to ice perhaps she was in a nightmare rod could waken herself glorious thought shed scream her mouth remained open as a hatless man in blue denim slipped past the swaying hanging his head was wet and sleek as a seals his face below his eyes bad eyes was so thickly plastered with white as to be unrecognizable he gave one furtive glance over his shoulder before he flitted flirted in ghostly silence from the room brooke pulled out the drawer of her desk it crashed to the floor spilling the contents maddening it would do that when she was in a hurry on her knees she scrambled after an electric torch which had rolled under a chair she dashed to the hall who was the man what was the stuff on his face shed never forget those wicked eyes above a smear of white the house was dark and still she ran toward sams room stopped better not start him on a man hunt he was so impetuous how did she know that the intruder a gun she must go scotland yard herself the hall clock told the hour ar the sound echoed through the house only twelve it seemed hours since she had said goodnight good night to sam in the living room and years since mark trent and jed stewart had gone home she tiptoed to the balustrade and listened A squeak she put her hand hard over her heart to stop its thumping was a window being opened cautiously if only the wind would stop for a minute had the squeak come from the next room which was being used for scenery it had a small iron balcony like the one which connected lookout house and mark trents arents Tren ts A person might easily slide down the trellis she tiptoed into the room and closed the door softly behind her this must be the window that had squeaked it was wide open it had been closed this afternoon when she had come in to scatter green paint on the flats and to give another splash of red to the peak of roof on the backdrop she flashed her light around the room then on the floor over which a sheet had been spread A can of red paint had been overturned it was sluggishly spreading tipped over recently slowly brookes light traveled A red footprint uncannily like a bloody one the man must have stepped into the thick paint another one beyond that under the window cautiously she followed the trail A smooch of red on the window sill he had gone that way was he on the balcony what would she see if she looked out she must look out she close her eyes tonight unless she knew that the man had gone where she care if he were gone she leaned out cautiously there was nothing human in sight only a one eyed moon was watching through a maze of branches cold winter moonlight turned a towering hemlock to purple shadows to amethyst and scattered a shimmering trail of golden topaz on the dark water of the harbor had one of the shadows moved down by the tree it had that meant that the man was out of the house she cautiously closed and locked the window pulled the hangings hannings hang ings across it that was that she curtained the other window turned to switch on the r wall light stopped the door was opening A glare of light had the man come back had he a pal had her heart parked in her throat forever she see but she could still hear well for the love of mike the wall light snapped on brookes blood which she had thought frozen surged through her veins sam was staring at her sam in pink and white pajamas which made him look for all the world like an animated stick of striped candy his copper colored hair was on end without his spectacles his eyes were big and dark and vague he shook her arm hey snap out of it brooke have you got that darn scenery so on your mind that youre walking in your sleep to sling paint in here brooke swallowed the lump in her throat 1 I asleep sam and I 1 slinging paint I 1 heard something her voice sounded hoarse to herself A window being opened what I 1 heard but how could you get here so soon breathlessly she told him of the man who had slipped through her room of following him into the hall youre kidding no then why you yell for me youre so reckless sam I 1 was afraid you might be hurt the funniest thing I 1 ever heard how about yourself beat it back to bed sam the boy sleuth is hot on the trail you go downstairs who says I 1 ill snoop around outside to be sure the gui gua has gone beat it if you go down I 1 go too oh all right all right I 1 I 1 know better than to argue with you when you use that tone brooke got a flash well creep down the back stairs follow me well get into the front of the house that way he switched out the wall light opened the door and stood motionless listening lets go brooke nodded in response to his whisper the hall seemed miles long as she tiptoed through the dark the back stairs endless in number as she stole down stopping at every creak holding her breath at every sound which echoed as if amplified in the elie walls sam stopped at the kitchen door to listen crept on to the front hall brooke controlled an hysterical urge to laugh as she stole after him the Rey burns go sleuthing she thought and chuckled she felt sams quick turn and glare though she see it the turn was catastrophic he lurched into a chair his muttered thunder was submerged in a hoarse command dont move ive got you covered CHAPTER VIII the ausk about mark in the garage went black A bloody footprint had the crime horror spread to this small point of land brooke brooka had anything happened to her the possibility stopped his heart he had been so intent upon finding jed upon identifying the prowler that he had not thought of danger to the occupants of lookout house sam was there nothing could happen to liis his sister with that boy near why was he letting his imagination loose would a man who stopped for a shave and a bath in the midst of house entering be guilty of a bloody crime but the footprint TO BE CONTINUED P Q not 1 T I Q called real basis of success by a university authority success depends upon a good P Q and not I 1 Q says mrs beatrice hunter cahill of boston department of student co counseling un mrs cahill says a P Q personality quotient is so important that without it the job huntor is lost writes a boston united press correspondent res pon dent future success can be assured only when personality for specific VOC vocations actions is commensurate with abilities cap capacities and aptitudes she says mrs mr s cahill believes a man must be master of himself before he can master others the teaching field in particular requires social balance because a highly neurotic teacher in the classroom is an incentive to lack of discipline the educator says A teacher should be emotionally well balanced and have a self confident personality many doctors devote their lives to research work because they do not have the ability to make the social contacts necessary in general practice she says personality problems start at birth and end at death mrs C cahill a says hys the first 0 i i is made when the pupil enters the public school system and adjustment continues eve even n after a satisfactory life vocation is found an important factor and cause of unhappiness pi i in this world is the inability to make vocational adjustments due to personality handicaps |