UNC
SYNOPSIS
Lella Beton, young and beautiful, and
an expert on paintings, is commissioned
to go over the collection of paintings
in the home of the wealthy Kellers in
New York, where a party is In progress.
¥rom her window she witnesses a man
in another room strike a woman. Short.
ly after Mrs, Keller sends up word, ask-
ing her to join the party at dinner.
Leila hastily dresses and goes down.
Bhe Is seated between Mr. Deck, a critie,
and Monty Mitchell, a noted lawyer,
Introductions follow, There are Mr.
Harriden, Miss Letty Van Alstyn, Mrs.
Crane, Mrs, Watkins and Prince and
Princess Rancini, guests. Lella finds
she is taking the place of Nora Harri
den, Dan Harriden leaves the table,
and Mitchell explains he has gone up
to see how his wife's headache is, He
returns shortly, Deck, saying he must
put in a call, leaves. Upon his return,
he begs Leila to secretly fake a mes-
sage to Nora “tc take no steps until
[ see you” Leila consents. Leila finds
the Harriden rooms empty and so in-
forms Deck. Coming out she passes
Letty, Harriden asks Princess Rancini
to run up and sees his wife. The prin.
ceas reports the absence of Nora. Har-
riden admits that he had a row, and
believes she is spitefully hiding. Letty
tells of seeing Leila come from the
room. Leila accuses Harriden of having
struck his wife, This Harriden denies.
From the Harridens' window Lella sees
what proves to be Nora's lifeless body.
A ghastly head wound caused death.
Dan says she was lying on her bed
when he went to dinner, and when he
ran up later the room was dark. Think-
ing she was asleep, he left without see-
ing her. Mrs. Keller comes upon a pool
of blood in the closet, A diamond chain
Is missing. Donahey, police inspector,
questions the guests. Harriden brands
Leila's story of seeing a man strike a
woman a lie. Anson, a maid, tells of
seeing Deck outside the Harriden door,
Desk says he passed by in seeking a
lost handkerchief, Elkins, a servant,
tells of overhearing Deck threaten Mrs,
Harriden earlier in the day. Deck ex-
plains he was Intoxicated and does not
remember. That night Leila awakes
with the Impression of some one being
in her room and then hears steps in
the hall, Believing she was mistaken,
she does not report It
CHAPTER V—Continued
ene
To make conversation I asked him
If he had known Mrs. Harriden well.
I knew that he had landed only a day
or 80 ago, but I thought they had
probably met abroad,
Instantly his eyes changed. He
looked at me narrowly as if question-
Ing what I meant. “One has met-—but
who knows anybody?" he sald, with
his shrug.
I sald, “Who, Indeed?” In his own
Italian, and at that he changed back
to smiles and began to spout Italian
at me. I felt so eager for some one
human to talk.te that I told him why
I was there, and he declared that he
must see that famous gallery, he must
learn something of the ways of detect.
ing frauds. He would go with me to
that gallery, he sald.
It was when I was saying, “But
when could we go?” that his wife glid.
ed to my side. I hadn't heard her
come up nor had he, and his face was
a comical study in boyish-looking guilt.
Aloofly, the Princess Rancin! mur.
mured, “I think you are wanted by
the police. They asked me to tell you
“I Think You Are Wanted by the
Police.”
to come,” and began to talk In wear
led tones to her husband as if I was
dismissed,
I thought, furiously, that she was
one of the most hateful women I had
ever met,
I didn't take time to wonder what
Donahey wanted now: I Just went
straight to the table where he was
standing, with a little group about
him. There was a man In uniform, 1
noticed, and the Kellers with Dan Har.
riden and Monty Mitchell, In the
midst of my “Good mornings,” my
eyes fell on a dress lying over a chair,
its folds trailing—my frock, the fee
blue satin frock I had worn the night
before,
I didn’t have time for anything but
astonishment when Donahey spoke,
measuredly. “You recognize this dress,
Miss Seton?”
“Of course. It's mine” For no
reason that I could name or help my
voice sounded defiant,
He went forward and lifted a fold
of blue satin, disclosing the underside
of the skirt. There, pinned by a safe.
ty pin, hung a little sort of bag, like
a tied-up handkerchief,
“And you recognize this?"
“Why no——what is It?” I stammered,
With slow deliberation he undid the
pin, and let the cloth drop in one of
a
Copyright by D. Appleton
Century Co, Ing,
WNU Service
his palms. From the opening folds
his thick fingers picked up a chain
strung with glittering stones. He
stared at It, then dangled It before us
all. It was a chain of dlamonds—
yellow diamonds.
CHAPTER VI
I was too astonished to speak; I
stood staring at the dress, then a
recollection of the last time I had
seen It, lying over a chair In my room
near the door, swept my mind back, In
a flash, to those noises In the night,
I blurted, “Why, there was some one
then—there was some one there!”
Hurriedly I tried to tell them about
it, about my waking and my fright,
and my conclusion that it was Just the
steps of a policeman moving about
outside, and as I stammered out the
story I saw disbellef in thelr faces
and could hardly blame them for fit.
Oh, the idiot that I had been not to
have phoned some one at once!
It seemed too mad to put Into words.
Carefully I controlled my volce which
was shaking with excitement and sald
stiffly, “But you must see what this
means—that the one who stole those
diamonds was in this house last night
~—that he must be still hiding about—"
“We've combed this house with =a
fine tooth comb, young lady,” sald
Donahey, “and there's no one in It
except those whose names we know.
Nobody has got out of here during
the night or this morning. It's been
surrounded.”
“Then he's here now.” I sald.
“He's here, all right” Donahey
echoed with ominous finality, “And he
isn't going to get away."
Monty Mitchell said thoughtfully, “A
pity you have let this find be known.
The thief, whoever he was, might
have meant to hide the stones only tili
the first flurry of searching died
down. He could feel reasonably sure
that Miss Seton wouldn't be wearing
that dress tonight, too light and gay
and all that, so he thought he had a
good temporary hiding place.”
I was passionately grateful for his
words and for his coming and stand-
ing by me, as if casually.
“Why do you Imagine he chose that
dress for a hiding place?’ asked Don-
ahey very slowly as If picking his way.
“The position of the room, for one
thing,” said Mitchell. “It was near
the art gallery, and its door was vis
ible from the gallery door—later on
the gallery would have been a good
lurking place till he saw his chance
to nip in and retrieve the jewels. 1
rather think he meant to retrieve
them,” he went on thoughtfully, screw-
ing up his black eyebrows, “for they
are too valuable to Ignore, . You
sald the dress was right by the door.
didn't you?" he asked of me,
“On a chair by the door” I
peated.
Donahey glanced up and sald, “Does
it strike you as feasible, Mr. Mitchell,
that any one who committed murder
for those diamonds would take a
chance on losing them afterwards?”
“Very feasible,” sald Mitchell, “if
he found the trail getting too hot. . . .
But you don't know that the one who
hid them was the one who did the
murder.”
“No? sald Donahey.
“No,” sald Mitchell, very firmly.
“Some one may vezy well have found
them afterwards and Just not men.
tioned it. And then he got cold feet
for fear of being suspected of the mur-
der and so got rid of them in this
hiding place.”
“Sounds far-fetched,” was Donahey's
comment. “What's the matter with
this girl's hiding them herself?”
It was out in the open at last, the
accusation,
“Well, there are lots of matters
against that” sald Mitchell In a very
reasonable tone. “One is that Miss
Seton isn't the sort of person who
goes about hiding diamonds”
The Inspector grunted. “Somebody
hid ‘em. Somebody got ‘em off Mrs.
Harriden's neck. And you can't deny
that this girl had the opportunity
when she went upstairs. after din
ner—-"
“The room was empty when 1 en.
tered it,” I flashed at him.
“That's what you say.”
“Anson must know that she made
the room before I came up.” 1 sald.
“The Princess Rancini was up Just
after me, and she found the room
ready for the night. There wasn't
time, between our visits"
I couldn't go on.
Donahey’s thoughts were following
mine. “No-no, there wasn't time,” he
conceded equably. “Not for the kill
ing. . . . But there'd have been time
enough for you to pick up the shin.
ers,” he added. “You might have
found them iying sbout”
I stared back at him and hardiness
came to me, “Youn are very wrong"
I said curtly, "and you are wasting
time you ought to spend In finding
the real criminal”
“Anybody might pick up diamonds,”
sald Donahey, loking me over with his
experienced eyes.
“But why would they be left there?”
I went on, trying desperately to be In.
cid. "Why would any one who killed
Mra. Harriden for her jewels go away
and leave them behind?”
“He might not have killed her for
her Jewels,” Donahey pointed out
“Then you came along and did the
finding"
Harriden's volee overtook his. Har.
riden had been standing thers, wateh-
Ing, his eyes as hard as flints now,
re-
suddenly, he intervened. “She was
Deck's confederate,” he sald, “The
thing's clear enough. He did the kill-
Ing. It may have been for—for rea-
sons of his own—" the harsh volce
grated over the words then went In-
domitably on, “but certainly cupidity
played a part afterwards. He took
that chain. Stuffed it Into his pocket
and went down to diner. Passed it
to Miss Seton at the table. She went
upstairs to hide them In her gown.”
“But why, then, would she go Into
your wife's room?" Mitchell wanted
to know,
“There's a diamond missing,” sald
Harriden grimly. “The big one. He
sent her up to look for It. She made
up this cock - and - bull story of a
slapped cheek as an excuse”
There was a dreadful silence, Har-
riden went on, “She may have found
it, and she may not. Deck may have
the diamond on him. He may have
been holding out on her.”
I sald In a low volce, “This would
all be funny If It wasn't so terrible,”
and Mr, Keller murmured undhsily,
“You're going pretty far in your ac-
cusations, Dan. . , .»
“You were meeting Mr. Deck In the
gallery just before dinner,” Donahey
reminded me. “Now how about that?"
“I told you that was sheer accident.”
Mitchell created a brisk diversion.
“Mr. Harriden's feelings are really not
evidence. Now that cloth those dia-
monds were tied up in Is evidence.
May I see it?”
Donahey handed It over. It was a
plece of linen, a fine hemstitched hand-
kerchlef, with one corner torn out as
if to remove a monogram. The cloth
was crumpled and faintly stained.
Mitchell examihed it, then passed It
to me. “What de you make of fit,
Miss Seton?"
“It's been washed,” I sald, trying
hard to speak normally. “Washed and
dried. Those brown marks look like
radiator marks.”
“Washed, by Jimmy !™ Mitchell was
alert as a terrier. “Now what do you
think was washed out, Mr. Inspector
We all knew the answer to that—
blood.
“Your man going over the hand.
kerchiefs in this house?” Mitchell
rather sharply asked of Donahey, and
Donahey passed on his disrelish at the
rebuke in the bruskness of his tone to
his subordinate, as he gave the order.
Harriden sald, belligerently, that prob-
ably the man hadn't used his ow n.
“Then why tear out the monogram?”
Mitchell retorted. His keen eyes, be.
hind their glasses, studied Harriden
almost banteringly. “Trying to dis
credit the clue, In case the hankies
don't match?
Harriden reddened. “I'm not mak.
ing a secret of what I think.” he said
harshly. “Deck threatened my wife,
and be carried out his threats And,
by God, I'll bring It home to him! As
for this girl, who was his accom
plice—"
“Don’t let your feelings got the bet.
ter of your judgment.” the lawyer ad.
vised drily. “You've every reason to
be sore as hell, but don't get a com.
plex, and try to fit the facts to 11"
He swung around to Donahey. “Let
me know when you have that banky
report, and I'll be back for It. Both
of us will," and his arm on my arm
turned me about with him and headed
me toward the door. “Let's go and
talk this over,” he sald to me
His tone was so friendly, so inti.
mate, that T was touched to the quick:
I had never needed a friend more in
my life.
Together we went out into the hall
and he led the way to a deep cush-
loned couch and proceeded to light
cigarettes for us both. “Now this is
very loteresting.” he sald cheerfully.
“1 wonder if you have any chemicals
with you that could test those spots
on that handkerchief? Find out If
they are rust or blood?
At my assent he sald, “Good !™
heartily and then, “I'll get Donahey to
give you the handkerchief, He'll prob
ably send a guard with it. It's pretty
important evidence—ahout all we have
so far"
“Harriden's down on Deck like hell”
I ventured, “Was Deck--was Mrs
Harriden—1"
“Oh, her infatuation was notorious.
I don't know the Ins and outs—I
wasn't one of their Intimates. 1 pey-
er liked her.”
“1 don’t see how you could resist
her,” 1 sald honestly and thought of
her dark, amazing eyes, het slim, se-
ductive loveliness,
“Oh, a man could lose his head over
her—Deck did, apparentiy—but I don't
lose my head,” the young lawyer in
formed me. “She wasn't likable”
And | thought of Nora Harriden's
dead mouth, with its sharp, cruel
edges, ,
“Whatever they were quarreling
about,” Mitchell went on, “I don't see
the motive for killing her. He may
have been cooling to her and going
after some other girl, and she was
threating to tell the girl—but that's
not motive enough for murder.
“All that they have against you now
is that you had the opportunity to pick
up the chain and that it was found,
this morning, secreted (n your dress.
It was secreted In a handkerchief
whose Identifying marks were torn
out, that had been recently washed
and dried without benefit of ironing,
and the implication from that Is that
the handkerchief might have been
bloodsteined. Now, could Deck have
passed you the chain at dinner in that
very handkerchief? Going Into the
horrid details we have to Imagine
Deck thrusting Nora into the closet,
wiping his hands on his hanky, or
wiping off the point of whatever he
i
wm
Jabbed her with, and then promptly
washing out the aforesaid hanky and
drying It on the radiator. Then he
put Nora out the window, snatched
his hanky off the radiator, and came
down to dinner , , , Yes, it Just could
have been done. . , , Or he could
have done the hanky washing and the
consignment of the gems te you lat-
er in the evening, while all the bustle
was going on.”
“I hardly saw him—"
“Who's to prove that?! What I'm
examining is the strength of the, pos-
sible case against you. How can you
prove that you didn't know him In
New York? You should never have
let yourself meet him accidentally in
that gallery! . . , I'm not saying,
mind you, that you couldn't get a jury
to belleve that the chaln was planted
on you, as you say, but you don't want
to get into all that If you can be kept
out. And the best way to keep you
out Is to find who did the planting.”
I nodded, rather helplessly. ,
“If the jury believes It was Alan
Deck, they will at least look into the
case against you as an accomplice, If
the jury Is shown that It Is not Deck,
there isn't any accomplice case against
you"
“Yes, but suppose they do find the
murderer — and he doesn't confess to
stealing the diamonds. How am 1 RO-
Ing to prove that I didn't find the
chain In the room when | came up
and hide it myself?”
“You wouldn't have the blood-stained
hanky to hide It in, silly—if those
stains prove to be blood.”
This was our chance, he sald, Yo
look into the situation. Rapidly, in-
cisively, he spread that house-party
out like a pack of cards about me. The
servants he swept away with one con-
clusive gesture. He had been going
into that all morning: every one was
a retainer tried and true, some inherit
ed from the elder Kellers, and almost
“We All Know the Answer to That
- Blood.”
all of long standing here. Elkins, the
most recent addition, had impeccable
references. And every one of them
was downstairs after elght o'clock. ex-
cept the maids busy with the rooms.
Then he dealt out the guests, It had
to be some one who came slong after
eight o'clock when both Harriden and
Anson had seen Mrs. Harriden on her
bed. The thing was to discover in
what order they had come down to
dinner, and he had been working on
that, he told me. The Kellers had
been down first, then Mrs. Crane, and
after that there was a confusion of
accounts. The Watking said they had
come down and sat out in the lounge
behind the long entrance hall before
they registered among the others.
“Susy Watkins might have some
thing against Nora Harriden,” he said
“She was crazy over Deck, once upon
a time, but he couldn't see her for
Nora. But that was the moment to
put Nora out of business and not
now."
He went on to speak of the Ran-
cinis. “They're just landed — he'd
hardly have cooked up an Infernal
passion for Nora so soon.”
“But be knew her abroad” I told
him,
“A European past! That needs
scrutiny, He might have been the
gent in the room with Nora shout sev.
en-thirty. He might have slipped in
before Dan came up, and they had
that fracas that you saw.”
I objected. “But he couldn't have
killed ber then—she was seen after
wards at eight,”
“He might have popped In again
after Dan had gone down. The prin.
cess admitted they didn't go down to-
gether. She says he was late”
herself,” 1 sald “She might have
found out that he'd been In Mrs. Har.
spasms of jealousy.”
serious for a first explosion. . , . Of
murder— just meant to speak her mind
Nora, being in a state of nerves, tried
something handy--they haven't been
sible to find out yet what it was done
with, But we'll take that up later.
one?”
I couldn't Imagine it of them. Rut
then, I couldn't Imagine It of any
one, To murder, I thought, one would
have to be literally possessed by fury,
I asked a really sensible question,
“What time was Harriden down? Be
for or after the Rancinis?
(TO BE CONTINUED)
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