| Show murder masquerade BY inez haynes irwin copyright inez haynes irwin irma service WEDNESDAY continued IS I 1 wondered why patrick w was as asking questions so far from the mark but I 1 knew he had his own circuitous way of approaching the thing he wanted most to know I 1 waited did you see molly yes I 1 had two reasons for coming one was to see molly and I 1 did see her when did you see molly she met me at the marshland station she came over on the nine mine train we drove the whole morning long and had I lunch anch together then she went back on the train she came back to alone 1 I with her where did you go then well I 1 told you that I 1 had two objects in coming to the first was to see molly and the second was to see ace blaikle blaikie when I 1 put molly on the train for I 1 went back there myself in my car did you see ace yes I 1 had an appointment with him how had you made that appointment by mau mail can you remember what you said in the letter not exactly it was brief only a few sentences in effect I 1 wrote that there were some things I 1 must discuss with him and that I 1 would meet him in some quiet place where we could talk privately I 1 asked him not to tell my people that I 1 was coming that was all 1 I think where did you meet ace in locust lane and what time half past three in the afternoon you twomey were alone As far as I 1 know molly did not join you walter gave a swift dissenting nod of his head was your talk with ace amicable A sardonic smile brought strange havoc to walters pleasant look quite the contrary how would you yourself describe your interview walter considered the matter with an appearance of great conscientiousness 1 I would say that in psychology it was characterized by all the emotions and in diction by all the phrases of two men who were ready to beat each others laces faces off 1 I get you perfectly patrick commented in other words you had an argument yes patrick let silence seep into the room for a considerable interval then he said ive got to do something now that I 1 dont any more ejoy doing than enjoy having me do I 1 hate to ask the questions ive got to ask of course you know as well as I 1 do what my first question is going to be I 1 want to ask you what you and ace were quarreling over something apparently leaped suddenly into his mind for he turned like a shot to molly molly he said caid 1 I must remind you that as walters wife you would not be compelled by any court of law to give testimony that concerned him of but I 1 want to tell everything molly replied with her splendid candid fearlessness if theres any detail which walter cant remember and I 1 can I 1 shall be very glad to supply it to you ace and I 1 walter said were talking about mouy molly you had quarreled and were quarreling iuar about molly patrick suggested yes we hadl had we walter stopped short and looked at molly she looked at him for a perceptible interval the glances from those two pairs of young eyes interlocked never in any human gaze had I 1 seen such a passion ol of adoration and assurance as was in walters look never such a worship and faith as was in hollys Mol lys patrick and I 1 watched that beautiful phenomenon silent I 1 felt the tears pricking behind my eyeballs patricks look grew as I 1 knew it i always did when he was touched definitely more noncommittal committal non 1 I think pat walter started that the time has come for me to tc tell you about my whole relation with ace blaikle blaikie it concerns mol ly of course go onto patrick said you will remember walt er zaid said and strangely enough he ad dressed himself to me that I 1 act ed as aces secretary for two tw years you will perhaps kemem ber aunt mary it if you remember dates that molly and I 1 became en ea while I 1 was aces secretary that six months later molly broke the engagement and that six months later she became engaged to ace 1 I remember all that I 1 said 1 I understand walter went on that has rocked with rumors about that broken engagement almost every theory has been advanced to account for it and almost everything that could be said has been said none of them is true oh I 1 do think that one or two people conjectured that ace blaikie deliberately set himself to the work of breaking our engagement that was true but how it was done nobody but molly and I 1 have the remotest idea walter paused and his look hardened I 1 was astonished at the change that came over him suddenly he looked not so much ten years older as ten years wiser more knowledgeable I 1 would put it his air became hard and unrelenting I 1 had the feeling that if ace blaikie had not been dead there would have been hatred in it bitter biting hatred tilie the exact truth of the matter is that ace tell fell desperately in love with molly I 1 blame him for that here walters smile came back 1 I have never blamed any man for falling failing in love with molly the wonder to me is that every man in the world is not at her feet I 1 am not naturally a jealous person and I 1 and never have been the least bit jealous of ace I 1 have known from the moment that we became engaged that molly loved me and would always love me but after a while I 1 could see that ace was making a genuine me play for molly I 1 realized that I 1 10 A X 0 xa 41 J 4 4 J ace fell desperately in love with molly the first thing I 1 had to do was to resign as aces secretary then I 1 thought id have a talk with him and warn him to lay off molly I 1 go much further than that in my mind but I 1 had a dim suspicion that it if he keep off despite the disparity in our ages I 1 was going to beat the face off him ro was ace conscious ot of the f hange change in your attitude patrick asked ill say he was I 1 did my work but we never exchanged a word which did not concern business now I 1 have to go back and tell you something about myself my sell it happens that I 1 have a faculty for imitating signatures when I 1 worked for ace I 1 signed two thirds of his letters and nobody ever noticed the difference several times when ace needed money he had asked me to make out the check and sign his name to it then I 1 would beat it down to the bank and cash it for him the checks all went through naturally I 1 gave ace the money anyway one saturday night I 1 gave ace notice that I 1 was quitting my job he said he was glad that id come to that conclusion because he had several weeks before come to the same conclusion and then to my astonishment ish ment he said that id got to leave town if I 1 wanted to keep out of jail naturally I 1 asked what he ment meint me int by bv that he said that because e he re respected my father and mother so much he would lodge no complaint against me if I 1 left but if I 1 stayed he would have me arrested for forgery on the score of those checks he said he had a whole sheet of paper on which I 1 had practiced writing his name that was most likely true he said that he had taken the checks I 1 had signed to a handwriting expert all shuffled up with checks which bore his genuine signature and that the expert had picked out the forgeries I 1 said but you know ery well I 1 gave you the money he said yes but prove wood walter paused I 1 looked from the expression which was wiping out all the young contours of his face to molly mol lys hues had turned steely what happened well pat im telling you about the epoch in my life of which im most ashamed walter admitted 1 I have to admit to you that that that walter choked back the epithet and began again 1 I have to admit to you that ace blaikle blaikie put it over on me I 1 was frightened not on my own account but for or my father and mother did you tell molly at once she know what to do we were like the babes in the wood we clung to each other but we did not know what to do and because we were so inexperienced we lay down to the situation molly and I 1 pretended to break our engagement in reality it was never broken I 1 left and went to new york where I 1 got a job and a good one ive given that up I 1 can always get a job in the meantime ace was devilling molly I 1 did not know how much of course after a while she realized that in order to protect me she mus get engaged engL ged to ace she wrote me that but she said ill die before 1 marry him have you those leaters lel all of them then one day I 1 waked up with the realization that in spite of my feeding fee ing foi m mother and father I 1 would rather go to pr prison ison and work out my sentence than submit to what I 1 was submitting to I 1 wrote that to molly and ste she wrote back that she agreed with me absolu absolutely tel she said in effect lots lets get married if ace blaikie chooses to act in this horrible way let him di dc it if you are arrested and tried and sen cedIll ten stand by and when you come ou out of jail well take up our life just where we left it and go all the way together so I 1 made up my mind to that first of all I 1 came back in may to have another fight with ace do you remember what you said to him when you met him in locust lane not all of course nobody ever remembers the whole of a long conversation but I 1 remember telling him that id kill him before id let molly marry him I 1 drew a long assing breath of warning all ah three looked into my direction and smiled patrick in a grim amusement walter with a detached humor molly in a soothing tenderness 1 I returned to new york however molly and I 1 made our plans we agreed that as soon as I 1 could wind up my job id slip back then wed walk off and get married how did you h apen to choose the time of the stow party just because it came at the right time I 1 had the money I 1 needed then I 1 knew everybody in would be thinking of the masquerade besides molly and I 1 had had so many at the stow masquerades that we wanted to go so as I 1 told you the other day I 1 came on secretly and stayed in aunt marys adrys little house 1 and you had no contact with ace at all patrick inquired none you did not see him au all day friday not until the masquerade do and did you speak to him at th the e masquerade for the first time there was a little asperity in walters tone 1 I think I 1 told you before that I 1 did not then I 1 am to understand patrick summed it up both from you and molly that you saw ace blaikie only once between the time you left and the night of the masquerade and that one time was in locust lane on decoration day correct walter said patrick looked inquiringly at molly that is correct molly said patrick bent forward until his elbows rested on his knees he contemplated tem plated wish wih a steady down shot gaze his neat and well polished shoes well he said after a while go home childre childrens nl but ill oil have to repeat walter stick around I 1 dont know eiten when ill need you THURSDAY again I 1 spent a troubled night it was not so much that I 1 did not sleep I 1 slept fitfully for now exhausted nature was demanding her toll it was more that dreams bothered me broken dreams dream s without logic or continuity great looming shadowy scenes which glided with an incredible ease and rapidity one into the other oiher blended for an interval and then by some inconceivable magic separated and changed again worries Worrie sl and all major worries worrie sl walter and molly 1 margaret Fair fairweather and my thoughts always broke here and melted into a kind of dim troubled confusion however I 1 was up and dressed as soon as I 1 had finished my breakfast when I 1 came downstairs I 1 found sylvia occupying herself with dorinda belle on the piazza how does li it happen that youre not down at the merry mere I 1 demanded nancy coming over today sylvia informed me and I 1 thought id stay up here I 1 think ill make a new dress for dorinda belle she was sitting on a little footstool beside one of the gloucester hammocks beside her was her little workbasket work basket over the cushions lay bits of dress material which I 1 had given her from time to time patches of silk and chiffon snippets snippety snip pets of ribbon tags of lace she was threading an enormous darning needle I 1 took it that dorinda belles sorry wardrobe much the worse for play near the water was about to be replenished TO 70 BE CONTINUED |
