6
THE CIRCULAR STAIRCASE
mnv
V ROBERTS
❖ MNE
ttuammm BY
itob or ao&»i -mmhu'c* T
ITin • ——
SYNOPSIS.
Miss Innes. spinster find guardian of
Gertrude anil Halsey, established summer
headquarters at Sunnyslde. Amidst nu
merous difficulties the servants deserted.
As Miss Innes locked uji for the night
she was startled by a dark tigure on the
veranda. Unseemly noises disturbed lier
during the night. In the morning Miss
Innes found a strange link cult-button In
a hamper. Gertrude and Halsey arrived
with .lack Bailey. The house was awak
ened by a revolver shot and Arnold Arm
strong was found shot to death in tha
hall. Miss Innes found Halsey's revolver
on the lawn. He and Jack Bailey had dis
appeared. The link euff-button mysteri
ously disappeared. Detective Jatuleson
arrived. Gertrude revealed she was en
gaged to Jack Bailey, with whom she
talked in the billiard room a few mo-
Sients before the murder. Jamieson ac
cused Miss tnries of holding back evi
dence. lie Imprisoned an intruder In an
empty room. The prisoner escaped down
a laundry chute. Gertrude was suspected.
A negro found the other half of what
proved to be Jack Bailey's cuff-button.
Ilalsey reappears and says he and Bailey
left in response to a telegram. Gertrude.
Raid she had given Bailey an unloaded,
revolver, fearing to give him a loaded
weapon. Cashier Bailey of Paul Arm
strong's bank, defunct, was arrested for
embezzlement. Halsey said Armstrong
wrecked his own bank and could clear
Bailey. Paul Armstrong's death was an
nounced. Halsey's fiancee, Louise Arm
strong. was found at the lodge. The
lodgekeepcr said Louisn and Arnold had
a long talk the night of the murder. Lou
ise was prostrated. Doul.se told Halsey,
that while she still loved him she was to
marry another, and that he would despise
her when he learned the whole story.
It developed that Dr. Walker and Louise
were to be married. A prowler was heard
In the house. Louise was found at the
bottom of the circular staircase. Loulsc
sald she had heard a knock at the door
nnd answered It. Something brushed past
her on the stairway and she fainted.
CHAPTER XVll.—Continued.
"You heard no other sound?" the
coroner asked. "There was no one
with Mr. Armstrong when he en
tered?"
"It was perfectly dark. There were
no voices and I heard nothing. There
was just the opening of the door, the
shot, and the sound of somebody fall
ing "
"Then, while you went through the
drawing room and upstairs to alarm
the household, the criminal, whoever
it was, could have escaped by the east
door?"
"Yes."
"1 hank you. That will do."
I flatter myself that the coroner got
little enough out of me. I saw Mr.
Jamieson smiling to himself, and the
coroner gave me up, after a time. I
admitted I had found the body, said I
had not known who it was until Mr.
Jarvis told me, and ended by looking
up at Barbara Fitzhugh and saying
that in renting the house I had not
expected to be involved in any family
■candal. At which she turned purple.
The verdict was that Arnold Arm
strong had met his death at the hands
of a parson or persons unknown, and
we prepared to leave. Barbara Fitz
hugh flounced out without waiting to
speak to me, but Mr. Harton came up,
as I knew he would.
"You have decided to give up the
house. I hope, Miss Innes." he said.
"Mrs. Armstrong has wired me
again."
"I am not going to give it up," I
maintained, "until I understand some
thing-, that are puzzling me. The day
that the murderer Is discovered, 1 will
leave."
"Then, Judging by what I have
heard, you will be back in the city
Tory soon," he said. And I knew that
he subjected the discredited cashier
of the Traders' bank.
Mr. Jamieson came up to nie as I
was about to leave the coroner's of
■ re
"How is your patient?" he asked
with his odd little smile
"I have uo path nt," I replied,
•tart led
"I will 112. it It in a different way,
then How M \rm Hong?"
She ba ' Mn V' IV well," 1
stammered
"flood,'' the< rfiilly "And our ghost?
Is It laid?"
"Mr JamhHon." I said suddenly, "I
wish you would come tor! irinyside
ghost 'is not laid Iv nt you to -p. ml
one night at Inast watching the cir
rular stalrca •• The murder of Arnold
Armstrong •>., a beginning, not an
end."
11.- looked I l iOUH
"I'erhai i I can do It."he said "1
daw* bet ii doing oil . Hung else, but
We were very silent during the
trip Ink k to Huauy 4« I wat. lied
O- rtr up. < I) .ud uiu. what i cll>
To me then one glaring (law In
h-i stoty, and it »< ■ iued to stand out
for even on.to s. • Arnold Arm
•ir.ua had had no key and yet sh>
said Hie had k-d the east door lit
Ui. hou o ovi i umt ia< r1 n pea ted II
to inysell
tkro.gh » ' bout l«t«i mpttoH It v,
11-tng front her t >pi> - ion I bail
knew how to account for it. To ino
Mr. Jamieson was far less formidable
under my eyes, where I knew what he
was doing, than he was off in the city,
twisting circumstances and motives to
suit himself and learning what he
wished to know about events at Sun
nyside in some occult way. I was
glad enough to have him there, when
excitements began to come thick and
fast.
A new element was about to enter
into affairs; Monday, or Tuesday at
the latest, would find Dr. Walker back
in his green and white house in the
village, and Louise's attitude to him
in the immediate future would signi
fy Halsey's happiness or wretched
ness, as it might turn out. Then, too,
the return of her mother would mean,
of course, that she would have to
leave us, and 1 had become greatly at
tached to her.
From the day Mr Jamieson came
to Surinyside, there was a subtle
change in Gertrude's manner to me.
It was elusive, difficult to analyze, but
It was there. She was no longer frank
t
There Was Something Baffling in the Girl's Eyes.
with me, although I think her affec
tion never wavered. At the time I laid
the change to the fact that I had for
bidden all communication with John
Bailey, and had refused to acknowl
edge any engagement between the
two. Gertrude spent much of her
time wandering through the grounds,
or taking long cross-country walks.
Halsey played golf at the Country
club day after day, and after Louise
left, as she did the following week,
Mr. Jamieson and I were much to
gether. He played a fair game of crib
hage, but he cheated at solitaire.
The night the detective arrived,
Saturday, I had a talk with him. I
told him of the experiences
Armstrong had had the night before
on the circular staircase, and about
the man who had so frightened Kosle
on the drive. I saw that he thought
the information was Important, and to
luy suggestion that we put an addi
tional lock on the east wing door he
opposed a strong negative.
"I think It probable," he said, "that
our visitor will be back again, and
the thing to do is to leave things ex
actly as they are, to avoid rousing
u.-picion. Then I can watch for at
!■ a t a part of otteh night and prob
ably Mr. Inn< will help us out. I
Mould say as little to Thomas as pos-
Ibie. The old man knows more than
he iH willing to admit."
I -ut i.il that Alex, the gardener,
would probably be willing to help, and
Mr. lamb on undertook to make the
urrang< m« nt. Fur one night, bow
\er, Mr Jautb -on preferred to watch
alone Apparently nothing occurred.
The detective »ai In absolute dark
le - on He lower step of the stairs,
doxiug, he said afterwards, uow and
ihen. Nothing could pa * him lu
it tier direction, and the door lu the
morning remained as securely fust*
- Med us It had been the night before.
\li 11 yet uUe of th« most Inexplicable
•ii.lit tici 4 of the whole affair took
ii|a« •> that v« ry night.
I.idd • t aim? to my room on Sunday
uoral law She laid out my things as
i.ual, but I nit wit 10-r customary
■ rruloti -usss I was not n-galed with
ie m * took's exirsiagauce as to
t-'ga, au-i ii, * men forbore tu mentlou
that laiui) son ' on wh - arrival »he
What* the matter, Liddy ?" I a»k< d
t last Lldb t fOU sleelJ i.ist utahi*"
So, I, . 41M," she - aid Ullly
I -*t an and nlmust up* **t my hot
. I*Ml a e.ie i.i b Ig. t
I . nty 4it* M," I said, 'stop cuutbing
CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1910.
Liddy heaved a sigh.
"Girl and woman," she said, "I've
been with you 25 years, Miss Itachel,
through good temper and bad —" the
idea! and what I have taken from
her in the way of sulks!—"but I guess
I can't stand it any longer. My trunk's
packed."
"Who packed it?" I asked, expecting
from her tone to be told she had
wakened to find it done by some
ghostly hand.
"I did; Miss Rachel, you won't be
lieve me when I tell you this house
is haunted. Who was it fell down the
clothes chute? Who was It scared
Miss Louise almost into her grave?"
"I'm doing my best to find out," I
said. "What in the world are you
driving at?" She drew a long breath.
"There is a hole in the trunkroom
wall, dug out since last night. It's big
enough to put your head in, and the
plaster's all over the place."
"Nonsense!" I said. "Piaster is al
ways falling."
But Liddy clenched that.
"Just ask Alex," she said. "When
he put the new cook's trunk there last
night the wall was as smooth as this.
This morning it's dug out, and there's
plaster on the cook's trunk. Miss
Rachel, you can get a dozen detectives
and put one on every stair in the
house, and you'll never catch any
thing. There's some things you can't
handcuff."
Liddy was right. As soon as I could,
I went up to the trunkroom, which
was directly over my bedroom. The
plan of the upper story of the house
was like that of the second floor, In
the main. One end, however, over
the east wing, had been left only roug
ly finished, the Intention having been
to convert It into a ballroom at some
future time. The maids' rooms, trunk
room, and various storerooms, includ
Ing a large airy linen room, opened
from a long corridor, like that on the
second floor. And in the trunkroom,
as Liddy had said, was a fresh break
In the plaster.
Not only In the plaster, but through
the lathing, the aperture extended. I
reached into the opening, and three
feet away, perhaps, 1 could touch the
brltk of the partition wall, l-'or sonic
reason the architect in building the
house had hft a space there that
struck me, even In the surprise of the
discovery, as an excellent place for a
conflagration to gain headway.
You are sure the hole was not here
* y« terday'.'" I u-ked Liddy, whose ex
pr< -. ion was a mixture of satisfaction
ami alai m. In answer she pointed to
i tie new cook's trunk that necessary
adjunct of He migratory domestic The
top was covered with fine white plaster,
as was the floor But there were no
[ largo pieces of mortar lying around
no hits of lathing When I mentioned
' this to Liddy she merely raised her
| ■ yeb rows lie lag quite confident that
| He gap was of unholy origin, sh« did
i not i oarers herself with such ulrte*
as a hit of mortar aud lath. No doubt
j tiny wire even then heaped neatly
on a giav- tone la the
churchyard'
1 brought Mr Jamieson up tu see
I the hol« lu th« wall, directly after
I bi• skiast Hi* expression was very
j odd a hen he looked at It, and the first
| thing be aid was u< try to discover
i what uhjtft, If any, such a hole could
hate lie. got a piece of i *udle, and
Iby enlarging th< apertuie n luii,, vt.i*
able to stamln* what lay beyund 'flu
m »ult was nil. Tha tiuukroom, si
I though 111 at- d bjr steam heal like ||»,
• I w#t Ui tllu bouse, boa M d of a #te
I i'lai« an-i mantel as mil Tlie open
I .n'""'
juu 11. mU#« r in a Mil ii#*;' i
MM hi) l|»4 HtmrtiUg Ttl*
from the floor, and inside were all the
mis: s? bits of plaster. It had been
a methodical ghbst.
It was very much of a disappoint
ment. I had expected a secret room,
at the very least, and I think even Mr.
Jamieson had fancied he might at last
have a clew to the mystery. There
was evidently nothing more to be dis
cgvered; Liddy reported that every
thing was serene among the servants,
and that none of them had been dis
turbed by the noise. The maddening
thing, however, was that the nightly
visitor had evidently more than one
way of gaining access to the house, and
we made arrangements to redouble
our vigilance as to windows and doors
that night.
Ilalsey was inclined to pooh-pooh
the whole affair. He said a break In
the plaster might have occurred
months ago and gone unnoticed, and
that the dust had probably been
stirred up the day before. After all,
we had to let it got at that, but we
putin an uncomfortable Sunday. Ger
trude went to church, and Halsey took
a long walk in the morning. Louise
was able to sit up, and she allowed
Halsey and Liddy to assist her down
stairs late In the afternoon. The east
veranda was shady, green with vines
and palms, cheerful with cushions and
lounging chairs. We put Louise in a
steamer chair, and she sat there
passively enough, her hands clasped
in her lap.
We were very silent. Halsey sat on
the rail with a pipe, openly watching
Louise, as she looked broodingly
across the valley to the hills. There
was something baffling in the girl's
eyes; and gradually Halsey's boyish
features lost their glow at seeing her
about again, and settled into grim
lines. He was like his father just
then.
We sat until late afternoon, Halsey
growing more and more moody. Short
ly before six he got up and went into
the house, and in a few minutes he
came out and called me to the tele
phone. It was Anna Whitcomb, In
town, and she kept me for 20 minutes,
telling me the children had had the
measles and how Mme. Sweeny had
botched her new gown.
When I finishetf, Liddy was behind
me, her rnouth a thin line.
"I wish you would try to look cheer
ful, Liddy," I groaned, "your face
would sour milk." But Liddy seldom
replied to my gibes. She folded her
lips a little tighter.
"He called her up," she said oracu
larly, "he called her up, and asked her
to keep you at the telephone, so he
could talk to Miss Louise. A thank
less child is sharper than a serpent's
tooth."
"Nonsense!" I said brusquely. "I
might have known enough to leave
them. It's a long time since you and
I wore in love, Liddy, and—we for
get."
Liddy sniffed.
"No man ever made a fool of me,"
she replied virtuously.
"Well, something did," I retorted.
CHAPTER XIX.
Concerning Thomas.
"Mr. Jamieson," I said, when wa
found ourselves alone after dinner
that night, "the inquest yesterday
seemed to me the merest recapitula
tion of things that were already
known It developed nothing new bo
yond that story of Dr. Stewart's, and
that was volunteered."
"An inquest Is only a necessary for
mality, Miss Innes," he replied. "Un
less a crime is committed in the open
the inquest does nothing In yond get
ting evidence from witnesses while
ev< nts are itlll In their minds. The
police shp in later. You ami I both
know how many Important things
never transpired. For Instance: The
dead mail had no key, and yet Miss
Gertrude t> tilled to a tumbling at
the look, and then the opening of the
door. The piece of evidence you men
tion, I>»" Stewart's story. Is one of
those iliiiiK* we have to lake cautioua
ly; the doetor has a patient who
w.-ait blink and does not raise her
veil Why. It is the typical mysteri
ous lud>' Then the good doctor
come* a« ro » Arnold Armstrong, who
was a graceless scamp de uiortuls—
what's the rest of If and he is quar
reling with a lady In black Behold,
-ays the doctor, they ui*«* one aud the
sauie."
(T«» UK RONTINI'KU, I
B.tmen»»».
"There Is a •« 11 uI it sa rustless about
car -i.il scenery," «.id the mail who
looks holed
"Ito )ou mean to ioiti|*aro n mug
i.ltti i lit mountain with the broad eg-
I au»e of li«w sea V
V. > Whennr you tlrnl a spot of
> ii > ptioual beauty auiuebody (a sure
to di ioiaiw It with sardine tin* and
Nut ta BsU,
Nervous I ad) Is,n't your , i|,«ri
i,-. ids lu.iii.ri > ou Uirihiy. piofes
or * I in ar that j'-ur s»»i <aiit i «t
>Hth a heillM. d< ll* by (siting
l*r i« > i "l> tg»i r*i",ii
swmou* I.ail) I 4«i!i|i>i4i>>i' It e!
I li > g't u, it h
titan iL&vsl t««i ibet he let*
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It has now become a household reme
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Different Sort of Hair.
"Deceiver!" she hissed. "I hate
you!"
"Hate me!" he gasped. "Why, it
was only yesterday you said you loved
every hair on my head."
"Yes, but not every hair on your
shoulder!" she retorted, as she
held up a bit of golden evidence.—
Stray Stories.
NO HEALTHY SKIN LEFT
"My little son, a boy of five, broke
out with an itching rash. Three doc
tors prescribed for him, but he kept
getting worse until we could not dress
him any more. They finally advised
me to try a certain medical college,
but Its treatment did no good. At
the time I was Induced to try Cutl
cura he was so bad that I had to cut
his hair off and put the Cuticura Oint
ment on him on bandages, as It was
Impossible to touch him with the bare
hand. There was not one square inch
of skin on his whole body that was
not affected. He was one mass of
sores. The bandages used to stick to
his skin and In removing them it used
to take the skin off with them, and
the screams from the poor child were
heartbreaking. I began to think that
he would never get well, but after the
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applications the sores commenced to
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is to-day, twelve years or more since
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Oct. 9. 1909."
The Part of It.
"I wonder If that sour Miss Oidglrl
ever had any salad days?"
"I am sure she had the vinegar and
peppery part of them."
The S'lver Question.
When you see silverware scratched
and tarnished with black stains and
streaks in the Interstices <>f the orna
mental patterns, that is dirt, left there
by common, cheap rosin soaps. It Is
better to use a soap that Is antiseptic
na well as a perfect cleansing agent.
"Easy Task Soap," the hard, white
laundry soap, will dean your silver
ware surely and quickly. It will get
out the dirt the other soaps have left.
Your grocer w ill sell you two cakes for
ten cents, and If it doesn't satisfy you
the makers will give buck your dime.
Submarines' Toll of Live*.
in the last live > .-ars about llfty
lives have been lo.it In l-'rum u In sub
murine bout dlseasters.
Important to Mothers
Examine carefully every bottle of
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The Kind You Have Always liougbl
Oastha In Public Institutions.
Ncurl) i n tilth ill th< a deaths la Kug
laud occur it* public institution*.
M*ti|lV> I»t -1 IMI'MI it IU sill
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I'l \ h M'l, I'M I Itk- no ■>•4 k im
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•sr. . 11.. ...ii .1. i. .u-l 'l' 4 dml. iat>«t
AM » - I ILIUSAI 1 >OI UEI I> *> >• > «MMI
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UK t 51...; a. IKWMM, IM.I> „ LUJ
Truth I» I limahM r«ar>4 wit the
battleH< Id of Louundlbg fwt «.•«•» l>r
It Veur Kyes Huihar YIIU
g> I • I ■ » ..I I*l I 111 ■ ►.%'! » tl V K, "I I
. i'l. l >S t»i llga '«ttlug
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SUFFERING
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Constipation
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I Prompt Relief--Permaaent Core
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Purely vefet. JV
the liver. jgg&gk? «ITTIC
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MEN S 00 *2 SO. *3.00. *3 50, M 00, »0 '*>
WOMEN S t3.50.*a,*3.»0,H
IOYS »aoo. rj.to& *tou > i\
THE stanoard 112 ».
FOR SO YEARS _ 1 W'
They lit abaolutely the
mail population beet*hoe» I"* ' JU
fur the in America. Py
They are the lea-iet* every- r
where becauee they h>>l4 - 7
then ekjpe, lit battel, I
luuk better enU wear laa
get Uaa other ntanee.
They are poeitlrely the ■■r
must etunuiaicai eboea M you tu buy W L.
Dimi(Uiiim< aa4 the retail |»n. e ale »tauij>««|
uu lie hxttuna value |u«r«ateeJ.
T4HI NO SUSSTIVUTSI tt >mui i.4|||
•aaaut >ut>fcly yvu wut» I<ji Mill tkulei
W. L. MIIU AV ftewAlwa, Mm.
No Matter
what I ivor ur H..w«| uwJuiua yaw
are nam* »i.v U MOW/. (»«i « l»w
bo* Hoek'i UMMUI- vl HAS*
t VKKIS itaiei lro« yuur Ji ugv'*
»wl Warn hue* t aeilv, naturally auj
Jeli^tiiiull» m«f k««( cau be uta<i«
lu uurk, awU »t«tr im>«« mxiv
J»v. I !<*>■*'» mw kim mi » k-i
♦ A*: \MIfPI a.y
> i»u will e«« IA« Jtltmnm.*t m>
HIASf '