6
THE CIRCULAR STAIRCASE
V MAUY *t*
ROBERTS
MNtHART
ILLUSTRATIONS BY K*/W4/ r *~*S'
CtPYRJWT /*)» «v oaaei-niMU.I'CO. T
SYNOPSIS.
M!as Innes. spinster and guardian of
Gertrude and Halsey. established summer
headquarters at Sunnj'side. Amidst nu
ni toiis difficulties tin servants deserted.
As Miss 1 lines locked up for the night,
she was startled by a dark figure on the
veranda. She passed a terrible night,
which was filled with unseemly noises.
In the morning Miss Innea found a
strange link ruff button in a clothes
hamper. Gertrude and Halsey arrived
with Jaek Bailey. The house was awak
ened by a revolver shot. A strange man
was found shot to death In the hall.
Jt proved to be the body of Arnold Arm-
Strong. whose banker father owned Uie
country house. Miss Innes found Hal
eey's revolver on the lawn. He and Jaek
Bailey had disappeared. The link cutT
button mysteriously disappeared. De
tective .T;;mies'>n and the coroner arrived.
Gertrude revealed that she was engaged
to Jack Bailey, with whom she had
talked in the billiard room a few mo
ments before the murder. Jamieson told
iflss Innes that she was hiding evidence
from him. He imprisoned an Intruder in
an empty room. The prisoner escaped
down a laundry chute. It developed that
the Intruder was probably a woman. Ger
trude was suspected, for the intruder
left a print of a bare foot. Gertrude re
turned homo with her right ankle
sprained. A negro found the other half
of what proved to be Jack Bailey's cuff
button.
CHAPTER VIII-—Continued.
"Undoubtedly. Why, what could It
be but flight? Miss limes, let me re
construct that evening, as I see it.
Bailey and Armstrong had quarreled
at the club. I learned this to-day.
Your nephew brought Bailey over.
Prompted by jealous, insane fury,
Armstrong followed, coming across by
the path. He entered the billiard
room wing—perhaps rapping, and be
ing admitted by your nephew. Just
inside he was shot, by some one on
the circular staircase. The shot fired,
your nephew and Bailey left the house
at once, going toward the automobile
house. They left by the lower road,
which prevented them being heard,
and when you and Miss Gertrude got
downstairs everything was quiet."
"But —Gertrude's story," I stam
mered.
"Miss Gertrude only brought for
ward her explanation the following
morning. I do not believe it, Miss
Innes. It is the story of a loving and
ingenious woman."
| "And —this thing to-night?"
"May upset my whole view of the
case. We must give the benefit of
every doubt after all. We may, for
Instance, come back to the figure on
the porch; if it was a woman you saw
that night through the window, we
might start with other premises. Or
Mr. Innes' explanation may turn us
in a new direction. It is possible that
he shot Arnold Armstrong as a burg
lar and then fled, frightened at what
he had done. In any case, however,
I feel confident that the body was
here when he left. Mr. Armstrong
lleft the club ostensibly for a moon
light saunter, about half after eleven
o'clock. It was three when the shot
was fired."
I leaned back bewildered. It seemed
to me that the evening had been full
of significant happenings, had I only
held the key. Had Gertrude been the in
in the clothes chute? Who
.was the man on the drive near the
lodge, and whose gold-mounted dress-
Ing-bag had I seen in the lodge sitting
room ?
It was late when Mr. Jamiesou
finally got up to go. I went with him
to the door, and together we stood
looking out over the valley. Below
lay the village of Casanova, with its
Old World houses, its blossoming
trees and its peace. Above on the hill
across the valley were the lights of
the Greenwood club. It was even pos
sible to see the curving row of paral
lel lights that marked the carriage
road. Rumors that I had heard about
the club came back —of drinking, of
high play, and once, a year ago, of a
tiuicide under those very lights.
Mr. Jamieson left, taking a short
cut to the village, and I still stood
there. It must have been after 11,
and the monotonous tick of the big
clock on the stairs behind me was the
only sound. Then I was conscious
that some one was running up the
drive. In a minute a woman darted
into the area of light made by the
open door, arid caught me by the arm.
y. was Rosie—Rosie in a state of col
lapse from terror, and, not th? least
Important, clutching one of my Coal
port plates and a silver spoon.
She stood staring into the darkness
behind, still holding the plate. I got
her into the house and secured the
plate; then I stood and looked down
at her where she crouched trembliug
ly against the doorway.
"Well," I asked, "didn't your young
man enjoy his meal?"
She couldn't speak. She looked at
the spoon she still held—l wasn't so
anxious about it; thank Heaven, it
wouldn't chip—and then she stared at
me.
"I appreciate your desire to have
everything nice for him," 1 went on,
"but the next time, you might take
the Limoges china. It's more easily
duplicated and lea i expensive."
"I haven't a young man—not here."
She had got her breath now, as I had
fuessed she would. "I—l have he on
•based by a thief, Miss Inties."
"Did he chase you out of the house
and back again?" I asked.
Then Itosie 1» uan to cry not si
lently, but noisily. hysterically. I
stopped her by glvlug her u good
■bakw
"What in the world is the matter I
with you?" I snapped. "Has the day ;
of good common sense gone by! Sit
up and tell me the whole thing."
Rosie sat up then, and sniffled.
"I was coming up the drive—" she
began.
"You must start with when you
went down the drive, with my dishes
and my silver," I interrupted, but,
seeing more signs of hysteria, I gave
in. "Very well. You were coming up
the drive—"
"I had a basket of—of silver and
dishes on my arm, and I was carrying
the plate, because—because I was
afraid I'd break it. Part-way up the
road a man stepped out of the bushes,
and held his arm like this, spread out,
so I couldn't get past. Ho said—he
said—'Not so fast, young lady; I
want you to let mo see what's in that
basket.'"
She got up in her excitement and
took hold of my arm.
"It was like this, Miss Innes," she
said, "and say you was the man.
When he said that, I screamed and
ducked under his arm like this. He
caught at the basket and I dropped it.
Iran as fast as I could, and he came
after as far as the trees. Then he
stopped. Oh, Miss Innes, it must have
been the man that killed that Mr.
Armstrong!"
"Don't be foolish," I said. "Who
ever killed Mr. Armstrong would put
as much space between himself and
this house as he could. Go up to bed
now; and mind, if I bear of this story
being repeated to the other maids, I
shall deduct from your wages for
every broken dish I find in the drive."
I could fancy Liddy's face when she
missed the extra pieces of china—she
had opposed Rosie from the start. If
Llddy once finds a prophecy fulfilled,
especially an unpleasant one, she
never allows me to forget it. It
seemed to me that it was absurd to
leave that china dotted along the road
for her to spy the next morning; so
with a sudden resolution, I opened the
door again and stepped out into the
darkness. As the door closed behind
me I half regretted my impulse; then
I shut my teeth and went on.
I have never been a nervous wom
an, as I said before. Moreover, a min
ute or two in the darkness enabled
me to see things fairly well. Beulah
gave me rather a start by rubbing un
expectedly against my feet; then we
two, side by side, went down the
drive.
There were no fragments of china,
but where the grove began I picked
up a silver spoon. So far Rosie's
story was borne out; I began to won
der if it were not indiscreet, to say
the least, this midnight prowling in
a neighborhood with such a deserved
ly bad reputation. Then I saw some
thing gleaming, which proved to be
the handle of a cup, and a step or
two farther on I found a V-shaped bit
of plate. But the most surprising
thing of all was to find the basket sit
ting comfortably beside the road, with
the rest of the broken crockery piled
neatly within, and a handful of small
silver, spoons, forks and the like, on
top! I could only stand and stare.
Then Rosie's story was true. But
where had Rosie carried her basket?
And why had the thief, if he were a
thief, picked up the broken china out
of the road and left it, with his
booty?
It was with my nearest approach to
■■ * jaU 1,
I Wat Conscious That Soma On* Was Running Up (he Drive.
CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 1910.
a nervous collapse that I heard the fa-1
miliar throbbing of an automobile en
gine. As it came closer I recognized
the outline of the Dragon Fly, and
knew that Halsey had come back.
Strange enough it must have
seemed to Halsey, too, to come across
me In the middle of the night, with
the skirt of my gray silk gown over
my shoulders to keep off the dew,
holding a red and green basket under
one arm and a black cat under the
other. What with relief and joy, I be
gan to cry, right there, and very near
ly wiped my eyes on Beulah in the
excitement.
CHAPTER IX.
Just Like a Girl.
"Aunt Ray!" Halsey said from the
gloom behind the lamps. "What in
the world are you doing here?"
"Taking a "walk," I said, trying to
be composed. I don't think the an
swer struck either of us as being ri
diculous at the time. "Oh, Halsey,
where have you been?"
"Let me take you up to the house."
He was in the road, and had Beulah
and the basket out of my arms in a
moment. I could see the car plainly
now, and Warner was at the >vheel —
Warner in an ulster and a pair of
slippers, over heaven knows what.
Jack Bailey was not there. I got in,
and we went slowly and painfully up
to the house.
We did not talk. What we had to
say was too important to commence
there, and, besides, it took all kinds
of coaxing from both men to get the
Dragon Fly up the last grade. Only
when we had closed the front door
and stood facing each other in the
hall did Halsey say anything. He
slipped his strong young arm around
my shoulders and turned me so I
faced the light.
"Poor Aunt Ray!" he said gently.
And I nearly wept again. "I —I must
see Gertrude, too; we will have a
three-cornered talk."
And then Gertrude herself came down
the stairs. She had not been to bed
evidently; she still wore the white
negligee she had worn earlier in the
evening, and she limped somewhat.
During her slow progress down the
stairs I had time to notice one thing;
Mr. Jamieson had said the woman
who escaped from the cellar had
worn no shoe on her right foot. Ger
trude's right ankle was the one she
had sprained!
The meeting between brother and
sister was tense, but without tears.
Halsey kissed her tenderly, and I no*
ticed evidences of strain and anxiety
in both young faces.
"Is everything—right?" she asked.
"Right as can be," with forced
cheerfulness.
I lighted the living room and we
went in there. Only a half-hour be
fore I had sat with Mr. Jamieson in
that very room, listening while he
overtly accused both Gertrude and
Halsey of at least a knowledge of the
death of Arnold Armstrong. Now Hal
sey was here to speak for himself: I
should learn everything that had puz
zled me.
"I saw it in the paper to-night for
the first time," he was saying. "It
knocked me dumb. When I think of
this houseful of women, and a thing
like that occurring!"
Gertrude's face was still set and
white. "That isn't ali, Halsey," she
said. "You and —and Jack left almost
at the time it happened. The detective
here thinks that you—that we—know
something about it."
"The devil he does!" Halsey'a eyes
were fairly starting from his head. "I
beg your pardon, Aunt Ray, but —tb'
fellow's a lunatic."
"Tell me everything, won t you, Hal
sey?" I begged. "Tell me where you
went that night, or rather morning,
and why you went as you did. This
has been a terrible 48 hours for all
of xis."
He stood staring at me, and I could
see the horror of the situation dawn
ing in his face.
"I can't tell you where I went, Aunt
Ray," he said after a moment. "As to
why, you will learn that soon enough.
But Gertrude knows that Jack and I
left the house before this thing—thia
horrible murder —occurred."
"Mr. Jamieson does not believe,"
Gertrude said drearily. "Halsey, if
the worst comes, if they should arrest
you, you must —tell."
"I shall tell nothing," he said with
a new sternness in his voice. "Aunt
Ray, it was necessary for Jack and
me to leave that night. I cannot tell
you why—just yet. As to where we
went, if I have to depend on that as
an alibi, I shall not tell. The whole
thing is an absurdity, a trumped-up
charge that cannot possibly be seri
ous."
"Has Mr. Bailey gone back to the
city," I demanded, "or to the club?"
"Neither," defiantly; "at the present
moment I do not know where he is."
"Halsey," I asked gravely, leaning
forward,"have you the slightest sus
picion who killed Arnold Armstrong?
The police think he was admitted
from within, and that he was shot
down from above, by some one on the
circular staircase."
"I know nothing of it,"he main
tained; but I fancied I caught a sud
den glance at Gertrude, a flash of
something that died as it came.
As quietly, as calmly as I could, I
went over the whole story, from the
night Liddy and I had been alone up
to the strange experience of Rosie
and her pursuer. The basket still
stood on the table, a mute witness to
this last mysterious occurrence.
"There is something else," I said
hesitatingly, at the last. "Halsey, I
have never told this even to Gertrude,
but the morning after the crime I
found, in a tulip bed, a revolver. It —
it was yours, Halsey."
For an appreciable moment Halsey
stared at me. Then he turned to Ger
trude.
"My revolver, Trude!" he exclaimed.
"Why, Jack took my revolver with
him, didn't he?"
"Oh, for heaven's sake don't say
that," I implored. "The detective
thinks possibly Jack Bailey came back,
and—and the thing happened then."
"He didn't come back," Halsey said
sternly. "Gertrude, when you brought
down a revolver that night for Jack
to take with him, what one did you
bring? Mine?"
Gertrude was defiant now.
"No. Yours was loaded, and I was
afraid of what Jack—might do. I gave
him one I have had for a year or two.
It was empty."
Halsey threw up both hands de
spairingly.
"If that isn't like a girl!" he said.
"Why didn't you do what I asked you
to, Gertrude? You send Bailey off
with an empty gun, and throw mine
in a tulip bed, of all places on earth!
Mine was a 38 caliber. The inquest
will show, of course, that the bullet
that killed Armstrong was a 38. Then
where shall I be?"
"You forget," I broke in, "that I
have the revolver, and that no one
knows about it."
But Gertrude had risen angrily.
"I cannot stand it; it is always
with me," she cried. "Halsey, I did not
throw your revolver into the tulip
bed. I —think you did —it —your-
self!"
(TO RFC CONTINUED.)
A Burglar's Text Book.
The police of New York found upon
a burglar, arrested by them, a treatiso
on safe-cracking that is said to be the
most remarkable document that lias
! ever fallen into their hands. The con
| tents are so well compiled that the
' police unhesitatingly declare the au
j thor a p:\st grand ma-*er in his pro
: Cession, and, according to Popular
Mechanics, >\ro somewhat anxious to
tind out just how many copies are in
! circulation throughout the country.
For the most part tiie manuscript
| Is in the yegg code, a lingo freely used
jby thieves the country over. It de
' scribes the two kinds of safes recog
: nixed by the profession, namely, the
fireproof and the burglar proof, assert*
! ing, however, that there is no genuine
burglar-proof safe, and that kind that
are drill-proof are ouly called BO by
courtesy. Minute directions for
cracking a safe are given, together
with diagrams to illustrate the treat
ise.
Guilt Revealed.
"Johnny, do you smoke cigarettes?**
"I d d do a 1-1 little, sir," stnuituer«<d
Johnny, paling beneath the tan of the
baseball field.
The boss fixed hltn with >lls eagle
eye.
"Then gliume tne one," tin said. "I
! left uilue on the bureau"
60 Bushels of Wheat
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RKSINOL CHEMICAL COMPANY, BALTIMORE, MD. |
Resinol Ointment, Resinol Toilet Soap, Resinol Medicated
Shaving Stick are sold at Drug Stores.
Seeking Comfort.
"I've got a long way togo and I'm
not used to travel," said the applicant
at the railway ticket office. "I want
to be just as comfortable as I can,
regardless of expense."
"Parlor car?"
"No. I don't care for parlor fix
in's."
"Sleeper?"
"No. I want to stay awake an'
watch the scenery."
"Then what do you want?"
"Well, if it wouldn't be too much
trouble, I wish you'd put me up In
one of these refrigerator cars I've
read so much about."
Casey at the Bat.
This famous poem is contained ia th«
Coca-Cola Baseball Record Book for
1910, together with records, schedules
for both leagues and other valuable
baseball information compiled by au
thorities. This interesting book sent
by the Coca-Cola Co., of Atlanta, Ga.,
on receipt of 2c stamp for postage.
Also copy of their booklet "The Truth
About Coca-Cola" which tells all about
this delicious beverage and why it is
so pure, wholesome and refreshing.
Are you ever hot —tired—thirsty?
Drink Coca-Cola—lt Is cooling, re
lieves fatigue and quenches the
thirst. At soda fountains and »;ar
bonated in bottles —5c everywhor?".
Only One Cobb.
The morning after Judge Andrew
Cobb, a one-time justice of the su
preme court of Georgia, tendered his
resignation, an Atlanta lawyer and a
shoe drummer sat in the same seat in
an outgoing train.
The lawyer bought a newspaper and
looked over the headlines. Then he
turned to the drummer and said:
"Well, I see Cobb has resigned."
"Gee!" said the drummer. "What
will Detroit do now?" —Philadelphia
Saturday Evening Post.
His Soft Answer.
And this is the sort of excuse you
put up for coming home two hours
late for dinner and in such a condi
tion —that you and that disreputable
Augustus Jones were out hunting
mushrooms, you wretch? And where,
pray, are the mushrooms?"
"Eere zay are.m' dear, in m' ves'
pocket; and w'ile zay ain' so many of
'em, m' dear, we had lots of fun —
Gus au' I —huntin' 'em."
Reformation.
"You say you are a reformer?"
"Yep," replied the local boss; "of
the deepest dye."
"But you were not always so."
"No. The reformers reformed our
town last year and I want to reform
it back again."
Life is two-thirds bluff, law is three
fourths tyranny, pity is nine-tenths
pretense. Be genuine and poor if you
would die respected.
r v
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History Cleared Up.
The third grade was "having his
tory." Forty youngsters were ma
king guesses about the life and char
acter of the Father of His Country,
when the teacher propounded a ques
tion that stumped them all.
"Why did Washington cross the
Delaware?"
Why, indeed? Not a child could
think of anything but the answer to
the famous chicken problem: "To get
on the other side," and, of course,
that wouldn't do. Then little Annie's
hand shot into the air. Little Annie
crosses the Delaware every summer
herself, hence the bright idea,
"Well, Annie?"
"Because he wanted to get to Atlan
tic City."—Philadelphia Times.
She Burned the House.
A woman in Montana sat down the
other day and thought about house
cleaning—about the carpets and rugs
to clean, the woodwork to wash, the
bedding to wash, the curtains to wash,
the portieres to wash, the stairways
and the railings and the floors and the
steps and the windows and every
thing else to be washed and cleaned
—and she got so worried over the
prospect that she set Are to the house.
Do you blame her? If she had only
known as you do that Easy Task soap
will do half the work of washing and
cleaning, she would have felt more
cheerful. It's a nickel a cake and one
woman said she would pay a dollar a
cake for It If she could get it no other
way.
Fine School.
"Your daughter should attend my
school of education."
"She shan't! She's attended one,
and she's positively—"
"Ah, but I teach a new system.
When my pupils are asked to recite
they are trained to refuse."
Cleaned Out.
"I can't pay this taxicab bill."
"Then I'll take you to a police sta
tion."
"I'll pay it. But take me to the
poorhouse and leave me there."—
Louisville Courier-Journal.
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