Show tiie desert 3 A moon loon mystery lory by KAY CLEAVER STRAHAN 0 by doubleday doran co ina CHAPTER XIII continued 14 Ilio nothing thing the burned papers were completely burned as they usually are of course the complete vuin absence of cleft le a should be made into a val vai cable clew but I 1 lavent quite worked it t out for instance though you in slat that she ahe was BBS a vain conceited person if ever there was one vain women usually have photo grap graphs ha of themselves about I 1 found not one to in here she used to have one in a silver frame I 1 said bald I 1 looked around and saw the frame lying face ace down on the mantel I 1 picked it up tit an ali old faded picture of sam and margarita in their wedding togs confronted me when I 1 had bad shown it to aliss macdonald she took it and carried it to the window the glass has been washed care fully she said since the picture was put to in here she pressed on tile the purple velvet back and took the picture from the frame across tile the bottom hit tini of the pic ture lure where the wide silver frame had hidden it written in gabys bold hand writing were these words aly one deadly enemy my word 1 said miss bliss macdonald maedonald Mat Donald are you certain she questioned next that the girls mother Is not living dont ask me to be certain of any thing I 1 said and looked for a chair to sit down in she came and put one oil of her capable hands bands on my shoulders you yon let this trouble you she said aid it Is more than likely that gabrielle Canne zinno had nothing to do with it I 1 must verify the hand writing 11 in the next instant she certainly gave me a one fine turn ller eyes went big and round her cheeks blazeq blamed with blu blushes and she clapped her bonds hands to them and stood storing at nie me us as if 11 I 1 were the original human horror 1 I she gasped out 1 I have hae mode made a mistake I 1 felt like rising and giving her a good shaking lands Land sl 1 I 1 snipped who 1 I 1 would discharge one ot of my as Bl sI stants like that site she snapped tier her fingers for such a mistake crime analyst confounded aggi conceited amat amateur eurl 1 oft ohl I 1 she went running out of the room leaving me sitting there to do what I 1 liked with that talk of hers she was back in two minutes she had gabys late note to 0 o nanny danny in her hit hands rids 1 I 1 have been assuming slie site said cald and her cheeks named flamed up again that gabrielle Gabr lelle wrote this note I 1 have had a pleasant little its as now I 1 will got get some taits facts I 1 dinst find a sample of her hand writing she began to search through gabys desk I 1 helped tier her gaby hit had made a thorough job of her burning there was not a scratch of her writing to be found danny will have something I 1 said ill see bee whether she Is in her room danny was in her room sitting at her own desk writing out cheeks checks and addressing envelopes I 1 told her I 1 bad come to ask her for a sample of bf clabes handwriting 1 I am sorry mary site she said as she finished addressing an envelope sealed it and looked for P a stamp in n the stamp boxi box but I 1 anything except of course the last note she wrote to me and miss Is keeping that eliat she addressed another envelope and added it to the pile beside tier her it she said noticing my reluctance to leave that I 1 urn am not inter ested al mary a ry it Is only that I 1 know that Ih I 1 Livent a scrap of her writing I 1 turned to go I 1 had reached the door when she called to me and asked roe me to take her letters downstairs lor for the mall malubag bag when I 1 went downstairs I 1 returned to miss bliss Al Mn cDonald acDonald with walh my information dear met she said it if only they would work with memary me alary instead of by themselves or against me at any rate she put aside the photo graph a ruler like thing and her magnifying glass the note to danielle Dan lelle Canne zinno and the writing on the photograph were done by the same person what are the letters you have there in your hand band mrs magla I 1 told ter they were some that danny had bad asked me to take down stairs she held out ter her band tor for them thein I 1 had to illow her to have them but first I 1 read the addresses they were the names of mall mail order stores in portland ore and in san francisco calif miss Mu MacU cDonald onald looked at them closely then site she took up a flat paper knife from gabys desk and dellb irately opened the enve envelope lopp by lifting the flap abe surely does docs not seal her letters carefully she said and took out a check nothing else from the en delope it ts Is dated today the thirteenth of july she said t of course it Is I 1 answered tartly nut liking any of this she was wa i writ ing them just now while I 1 was in there did you see her writing them she asked 1 I 1 certainly did she sighed and moved her head with an impatient gesture rather like johns worried gestures then that Is that she said and returned the check to tile envelope sealed the en and gine gave it iab the others back jo 0 o me now tor for thy rhe code letter she said and sat down dona don a to in front rent of tile the type writer I 1 left her there ant went to look tor for sum sa in CHAPTER XIV danielles Dani ellea secret I 1 found him in the living room mom playing solitaire airs ticker was in the c hair by the window totting tatting lands sam I 1 said sitting silting down across the hie table from hiro him when dlo dia you take to sitting adoun antoune and wast ing good time like this 1 I am helping miss Mo cDonald he said making it easy tor for her to watch me and convincing tier that im more or less of if it 11 nut of nl the some same time two birds still lah one stone afo urle she ihna watching y you mrs airs ricker shohe jp ip 1 slie Is watching anti hang hubert and me if I 1 ln amit i leave here soon astill 1 shall have it ii ue token ta kento to nn an insane asylum I 1 tell you ion I 1 cant stand it ili I 1 she jumped up from her chair and went rustling out of the flip room through the front floor door on the porch site she droppo into it cleir and hid her race face in tier her huldg As aa I 1 looked at her silting there J remembered that it was site she who had found the body ilet hoi story had straight enough but before site hot and told it she had had plenty of time to ninke make it a one perhaps Ier haps she had had help in making it a straight one hibert mind lie had by tits bis own 11 admission served a term in prison fur for forgery tie lie luj had loies coles from gully guhy and had dest destroy eo them was it pos sible that he might have written the farewell note to gaby ail and the tion on the photograph sam could not cot swear that hubert linthol had been in ii tile the barn the entire hour between fim be and sl six 0 clock would it have hae bein been possible tor for hubert land hand to have slipped into the lie house houge through the front door during that cicur without dannys having seen him possible alint vas nas all mrs airs kicker of course would have seen hubert iland hand puss pass through the room hut but mrs sticker could keep a secret again what had find tie he thought that I 1 had oer overheard heard that day in tile the cabin what motive could he auve had for killing gaby suppose Sup that gaby had bad lied to dunny danny about tile the entire contents of the code letter and that utter offer nil fill the money had been hidden on the place that would be nn an ex es plan atlon for cabanez anos coming to the ranch kut but that hubert land hand find found it or had known that gaby had found it come home hogue milry alary sams voice speaking extra low cut in on my reverie 11 1 want to know what you think about this 1 I 1 set Canne to mending the south clover fence this morning I 1 told him I 1 was going tv tu north clover on my way there I 1 passed the house bouse I 1 happened to remember how stick slick miss bliss macdonald Mac Donnld hart had cle cleaned aried theattle the little it seemed a shattie shame nut not to use it so I 1 went up taking my field glasses with me for luck id watched about five minutes out 0 of the window when I 1 saw Conne ziano leave the fence and make up toward the cabin I 1 came down jumped on robbie bobble burns and circled around the ohp hill bark of the cabin just as I 1 got my glasses trained I 1 saw danny walking to beat time coming away from the cabin I 1 dont know whether she hot bud been in it or not I 1 see her come out ol of it I 1 rode straight down before I 1 had quite reached the cabin canne alono came out of it ue tie was carrying a fishing rod and he went right down to the stream with it what im wondering Is had he ond and danny met at the cabin and had it a talk 1 I know exactly what urs airs ricker nicker means meads I 1 said about losing her mind on this place it hns has tome come to the pass that no one can do filly simple thing without being spied on and suspected danny always takes tier bulbs in the direction of the cabin we nil all do it Is tile the prettiest coolest walk on oc the place sani sam rubbed the duk back of his head bead by joel I 1 thought of that think about it now for 11 minute I 1 advised when you get through try to think whether you know of any place where we could get hold of it a scrap ut r two of gaby a handwriting we have the last note she wrote to danny but we want something more more youve come to the right place for once he said and took a long en elope out oui of his pocket 1 I 1 guess I 1 never happened to men tion to you did L 1 that I 1 foxed up a small checking account for the girls in ili the telko bank their bank statements and canceled checks came in a few days ago nere here they are do you want me to take them up to bliss mac bloc donald ill take them I 1 offered and save gave you the trip I 1 longed to see how much of sams money the girls had find spent in one mouth month and what they diey had spent it for or I 1 dont know yet n whether nether it was cunning contrariness or courtesy that propelled sam up those with the envelope tight in his hand nud and without having allowed nie me us its much as a peek at its contents I 1 went into tile the kitchen and put through a fairly good batch of baking that id got a late start at it I 1 wa all through arid and rusala rust frost lag la the cakes when miss bliss macdonald onald telephoned doar to the kllc len and asked me to go BO for a walk with her I 1 told tier that id like nothing better than a breath of the clean sage seasoned air anti and that td id be rendy ready to in W 4 0 unfolded the papers she had given to me and read t ten n minutes I 1 gave zinnia a few tite lons ious and went upstairs to change my abos sho s As I 1 came caine down tic the front stairs into the living room I 1 saw mrs kicker coming up op the steps to the porch she was toting a big old shovel carrying it out in front of 0 tier her and carefully right side up like it was a pancake turner anti and she had bad a pancake on it IL she stopped to turn sidewise and open the screen door with her out and then she came st inight along into the living room poking the thing toward miss bliss macdonald 1 I 1 want you to look at Ws this she sa said I 1 d miss bliss macdonald all crisp in white linen bucked away a mite but she looked its as dire directed eted I 1 came hurrying to look too 1 dont don t know what I 1 expected to see nothing less than a dead scorpion but certainly something more than 1 I did see an old iron shovel shoel with dirt on it well miss bliss macdonald cDonald Ua goes anes honed 1 I was going to marthas grove grave when the shower came up I 1 stopped in the cabin this shovel and another one were inside the door there look at that earth it la Is fresh earth now I 1 tell you two people have wen neen dig ang around this place and they were tit at it not lunger longer ago than yesterday more likely this morning uv my said miss bliss macdonald it seemed ined to me there was more an boyance in her voice than there was interest ir r astonishment but surely around a farm a ranch that Is iso around a place of alts C Is sort there must be a great deal of 0 digging going on hardens gardens vegetables yu you know that ts bisone isone one tiling thing and another she turn fum bled it like that we dont don t make garden here in july I 1 told her be vegetable gar dens and greenhouses are about three miles away from where mrs ricker found the shovels to be sure she puckered her brows danny had bad come downstairs I 1 gucas g we must have liobel funny the three of us its standing there and star log ing at the shovel which mrs ricker was still holding as lf it were a pan lake eake turner but what Is it danny inquired IR it Is a shovel sall said mrs ricker kicker yes yea I 1 know cut but what ft bat about ill it has fresh earth on lt it mrs kicker explained it means that one la Is still hunting for something on this ranch 1 I dont don t understand danni dann faltered you yon do it if anyone does mrs kicker said trying to make it sound olt off candish handl sh but it did not tu to my surprise miss macdonald Mac Donali answered 1 I 1 think that lint you are nils taken mrs ticker kicker miss alias Canne zinno knows I 1 fancy no mire about the shovel than ou on do mrs airs kicker s taie I 1 isi id I d she car tied the thing out and throw threw into the yard with a deture ot of furious auger when miss macdonald und and I 1 passed tier on the hie porch site she turned tier her head away and illi did not look at us oil if we hurry I 1 said well have time to volk milk to the cabin and see gee the other nt her 11 bother file other shovel I 1 we dont don t woof want to hurry cant calif we get down cova to the stream st niini somewhere close here and find a place where we can be alone to talk inight down this path 1 I 1 answered unit und started down it il she followed me roi for fifty yards or more neither of us sold an id a word I 1 was too put about to fuel feel like talking I 1 must have haie made il a sound that WILS of my disgusted annoyance for miss stepped up to walk wal 1 beside tile aue on the hie narrow path 1 I nin am sorry site she sald that I 1 have seemed so stupid but bill I 1 know that hint those shovels are of no fail artance understand all it later inter please dmit be vexed I 1 lime have some really ewul il nes levs first tile lie handwriting ou on tile checks the lie photograph and the note all tally ac curatelo cuni cura tely that must mean that gabrielle Canne ziano wrote all of if them theiu next net I 1 have worked out the key kev to the flie ode letter londs lands alinell I 1 sold my astonish ment und and admiration getting tile the bt best of my illy bad huntor in this short time talk about wonders not h bit of it it the hiie ode code Is so ao simple that I 1 urn am surprised that peo pie who have wits enough to use a rode code ht at till all would use it it the hie key on oil typewriters with a standard arp arranged you know for tile touch toch system ot of writing a d 1 g so sn on all this code atu amounts amo to Is taking the letters ht os as the come adlung tt ft b c e d slid an i so on irona from the enter center line of letters they skip to the upper line making mailing W q he be a J and from file upper line down don to the lower line making the W 2 a t they use only the let on the keyboard and the atlon marks mark s us as they would rightly be used generally they ut a hyphen after the letter to be capitalized though occasionally they use the cap ital letter it la Is ro 10 childish that I 1 fancy it Is I 1 only a friendship code and that it Is not used for matters of tiny any real importance then this letter Is of no DO imbor tance I 1 asked not to the writer of vast importance to us I 1 believe it explains why the original letter was stolen among other things here Is one of the copies that I 1 mide of it we had come to the stream and to the shade of the aspen trees I 1 sit sat down on oneff one |