| Show murder masquerade BY inez haynes irwin copyright inez haynel irwin service MONDAY continued 12 IU ill promise to do that I 1 agreed and what have you been doing Hop estill oh tennis swimming he answered adding a little evasively 40 a lot of things caro prentiss is a swell kid she yes I 1 like her better than any other young girl chos come to she has a quality and what a face Hop estill added figure personality charm ashes got everything and such vitality and strength im glad youre enjoying her so much I 1 commented after luncheon the telephone rang its mrs thelford mrs avery sarah darbe informed me I 1 had never liked brenda thelford aces cousin but I 1 knew that of course I 1 must call upon her I 1 felt elt a little mortified that she was asking help of me before I 1 volunteered i it t how do you do mrs thelford I 1 began 1 I feel frightfully to think that you have had to telephone me I 1 had every intention of calling you as soon as I 1 came back to normal ive just crawled to the point where I 1 could take a little walk this morning quite came brenda Thel fords frigid correct voice 1 I perfectly understand I 1 wonder you are not a raving maniac and of course ive been very busy myself it must be a dreadful business for you I 1 murmured it is fortunately with so many deaths in my own family ive had tome some experience in this sort of thing but ive called you up mrs avery to ask a great favor of you it until yesterday afternoon that it occurred to sam chess that we ought to notify bruce bexson of aces death I 1 told sam to call him up on the telephone he tried to get him at intervals all day then we gave it up sam felt that he knew what had happened bruce bexson often takes his two servants ive forgotten their names name adah and berry I 1 informed her yes he often takes them up the river to aces island camp for the weekend week end theres no telephone there sam thought come back this morning they did but not until fifteen minutes ago got to break the news of aces death to bruce bexson ill be up to my ears in work getting ready for the funeral I 1 cannot very well spare the time to drive over to the camp and I 1 simply p ly cannot bring myself to tell him over the telephone I 1 wondered if you my heart sank of course I 1 will mrs thelford I 1 answered ill go at once oh thank you thank you she answered the stress of a great relief in her voice I 1 had s said aid yes quickly enough for there was nothing else to do but the moment I 1 put the receiver back cowardice enveloped me it seemed a task too terrific for my overwrought over wrought nerves I 1 said nothing to Hop estill about my errand to bruce bexson for I 1 knew if I 1 told him where 1 was going he would insist on accompanying me and for fer bruce Hex sons sake I 1 did not want any onlookers at the scene what I 1 did say was Hop estill I 1 think ill take a little drive alone I 1 think it will do me good 1 I think it will be good medicine aunt mary he to my great relief approved I 1 was glad that the road to camp did not go through the village I 1 did not feel like seeing people at the crossroads cross roads I 1 turned to the left and followed bradford street A few cars carrying friends passed a few pedestrians were sauntering along the earth sidewalks familiar faces swift as were the nods and glances we gave one another showed me more definitely than anything yet what a pall lay over the town I 1 was glad when the road pulling away from the town pulling away from froin the houses pulling a way away even from the wineglass wine glass elms which guarded it became more and more rustic more and more solitary after a few miles of this I 1 turned into a road little more than a lane which wound in a rutty curve off to the left and toward the ocean it ended presently in a cleared space I 1 stopped the car and got out aces camp lay fully revealed as I 1 crossed the expanse of shorn meadow which surrounded it ace had always known instinctively what beauty was he had hired a pair of maine guides to make the two story log cabin log hoille I 1 should call it which we called the camp it la Is one ol of the most beautifully constructed log houses I 1 have ever seen it consists of a big living room bedrooms and a kitchen an ell at one side in which lived adah and berry As I 1 came around to the broad front piazza I 1 saw that bruce brace was sitting out in front reading his bible bruce sat at a big broad bare table he wore one of the tow colored smocks with the brown corduroy trousers in which he always dressed at camp his folded arms were ere resting on the table and over them his absorbed eyes were reading from his big worn brown calf covered bible that bible accompanied bruce wherever he went once I 1 took it up and examined it it had I 1 think the most beautiful print I 1 had ever seen I 1 stopped for an instant watching bruce As though there was something hypnotic in my gaze suddenly he lifted his eyes from the book turned them in my direction I 1 shall always remember what a pang went through me when his gaze encompassing me grew soft with affection well vell mary he exclaimed rising how glad I 1 am to see youl my heart began to nutter flutter I 1 did not like the job before me what have you been reading bruce I 1 asked the psalms they are my comfort always let me read youl you thereupon he read the twenty third psalm of course I 1 know the twenty third psalm I 1 know it by heart I 1 have read it numberless times I 1 had heard it read numberless times but that day sitting on the N ar ai i how glad I 1 am to see you little rough porch of aces log cabin and looking off at the tranquil sea I 1 really heard it for the first time because it was the first time I 1 ever saw it braces voice always deep dee p what with emphasis and stress grows sonorous when it touches holy writ somehow with that roll of the incoming waves below as a steady underlying accompaniment the biblical words seemed to take on a stupendous impressiveness perhaps all words are empty vessels we fill anem with whatever essence we have of mind of heart of soul bruce filled the words of the awen ty third psalm until they brimmed he closed the book its too early for tea mary can adah bring you a cool drink a temperance drink he reminded me I 1 was not conscious of being thirsty but I 1 had a cowardly desire to put off the fatal moment yes I 1 answered id like some of your delicious root beer bruce reached up toward the roof of the piazza tugged at a hanging rope inside somewhere a bell rang presently adah appeared bruce gave his order adah vanished and reappeared with a foaming wedgewood pitcher moving with her noiseless speed she filled a glass for me and one for bruce presently bruce put his glass down he looked at me a little questioningly I 1 thought bruce I 1 said in a trembling voice ive come with bad news ive got something dreadful and something heartbreakingly sad to tell you my dear friend he abjured me gently tell me bruce oh dear dear bruce its ace ace is dead it is more awful than that he was murdered he was murdered the night of mattie stows masquerade he wore a costume of a roman soldier and he was found dead stabbed to death by his own short sword in my spinney I 1 could not look at bruce bexson I 1 closed my eyes for an instant for that interval there was complete silence then a strange sound pulled my eyelids up I 1 hope I 1 never hear that sound again I 1 hope I 1 never see that sight again bruce bexson had turned to the table had dropped his head on his folded arms was sobbing the great hoarse racking sobs of uncontrolled male agony TUESDAY I 1 slept a little that night 1 got up at the regular hour ate my breakfast with Hop estill and sylvia soon after breakfast Hop estill left for this morning game ot of tennis with caro prentiss with that sixth sense we all possess and which in that strange interval of my life seemed to have doubled on itself I 1 became aware presently of sounds from the spinney presently sarah darbe came into the room I 1 said theres somebody in the spinney sarah who do you suppose it is its mr Hop estill and miss prentiss mrs avery sarah answered there all the time I 1 suppose still hunting tor for clues hows bessie this morning I 1 asked sarah 1 I dont think she slept very well last night mrs avery ill go out and see her now I 1 said decisively bessie was busy with breakfast dishes shocking as had her appearance pe arance seemed to me the day before it was doubly shocking today had that gray ironed face ever shown a sparkle a dimple a smile bessie I 1 began at once you look tired to death and then as though sarah had had said said nothing to me do you sleep well not so very well mrs avery bessie answered its the shock bessie I 1 explained it to her 1 I feel better but I 1 am by no means myself yet so dont be surprised that you are so broken no mrs avery bessie said stonily it surprise me bessie I 1 suggested would you like to go away tor for a week or two I 1 think a change would do you good bessiea Bes sies steely mask flared dared with panic oh no mrs averyl she remonstrated in a frightened voice oh no I 1 dont want to go away from here I 1 cant go away from here I 1 cant I 1 canal you dont have to go bessie I 1 soothed if you dont want to go but somehow I 1 thought like a chan change chane e again pan panic lc flared in bessie but im going to ask doctor geary to call today I 1 promised hastily hell give you something that will make you sleep id like that mrs avery bessie declared almost inaudibly I 1 had scarcely finished telephoning the geary house when the police car curved into the drive take me where we can talk alone mary patrick said I 1 led him to the piazza which looked toward the spinney by god mary im in a jam patrick said as he seated himself in the broad gloucester hammock 1 I might have to arrest margaret fairweather and and anyway ive got to put a watch on her house oh nol burst from me involuntarily unta rily the way I 1 feel about itt ill patrick commented grimly it would kill flor Flo florain acif raif margaret was arrested the way I 1 feel about it patrick repeated more grimly still queer I 1 never thought of her when tony told me about the tall woman in dark clothes you thought of her at once you at first I 1 did not reply then I 1 said how did you know that because later when I 1 thought of it myself I 1 could remember your face I 1 realized that thou thought of it not that either of us said anything he paused for a moment perhaps I 1 could fix it to let margaret stay in her own home for a while I 1 could detail a car to saunter up and down the clial without raising suspicion I 1 guess but you any real evidence on margaret I 1 remonstrated it is a little negative ill admit but here you are no woman left the masquerade until long after midnight with the exception of molly eames molly treadway I 1 mean molly left with walter no other woman came over to the head that night there was no other woman at home that night on the head except flora angmar and margaret fairweather and hannah one of my men called with his wife on hannah last night lie he called of course because I 1 sent him bu but hannah know that naturally they talked about nothing but the murder he established that hannah spent the whole evening with flora margaret slept as she frequently does downstairs on the porch hannah said that margaret went to bed early because she was so tired hannah sleeps on the porch outside floras chamber now as soon as hannah was asleep why margaret have slipped out quietly from the piazza to meet ace blaizis in the spinney but what would she want to meet ace for I 1 queried mechanically chani cally patrick did not answer me but he looked at me I 1 made no comment but I 1 looked at him unsaid things began to whirl in the air about us and then I 1 heard an automobile crunching up the tha drive miss fairweather is here mrs avery sarah darbe announced from the doorway she says she would like to see you and mr obrien my thoughts began to spin I 1 made up my mind to say not nothing liing about hannahs nap TO BE CONTINUED |
