Copyright by D. Appleton.
Century Ce. Ine,
WNU Bervice
CHAPTER XIII—Continued
wt
“She is. And now's her chance, but
much good it will do her. Dan's had
a dose of the sex te last him a life
time. . . . But I want to see Letty,”
Mitchell went on, thoughtfully, “We'll
Just wait here and grab her when she
comes out. That gives me an excuse
for lingering In the light of your lovely
eyes”
“You leave my eyes out of it,” I sald
crossly.
“But I can’t. They are In it. You
didn’t suppose it was your ability to
tell an Angelico from an Angelica that
made me your shield and buckler, did
you?! Where Is your feminine intul-
tion? What do you think I've been
rallying round you for? Intellectual
curiosity
“Because you're a lovely character,”
{ sald promptly. “Because You have
sympathy and protectiveness and in-
gight and intuition.”
“Are you running for anything?” he
inquired politely,
“Running for my life,” I told him and
that sobered us both.
He reverted to my theories
think it's Rancini—7"
“And you think—1"
“l don't think—yet. 1 just know
something, something whose Implica-
tions I can't quite fathom. And yet—"
“But what is it you know—1! If
you'll tell me—"
If he had told me then! But Letty
Van Alstyn, with Deck in her wake,
appeared at the dining-room entrance,
and he hurried to rise to meet them.
“Letty darling,” sald Mitchell quick-
ly, “what kind of cigarettes does our
Alan smoke? Not a word out of you,
Deck! It's an Intelligence test” he
told her, his keen eyes hard on her.
“You have to be right the first time.”
The girl smiled vaguely. “But I
haven't the least idea.”
“Then why did you say to the officer,
when you asked for a cigarette, ‘Ask
Mr. Deck for his—I like his kind’?
There was a queer stillness about
os. Letty Van Alstyn looked merely
perplexed. “Did 1 say that? I don't
remember. I suppose I thought the
man's would be terrible.”
“As it happens, he doesn’t smoke at
all, but you didn't know that. You were
Just making sure he asked Deck for
bis case. And I ask you—why?"
Letty shrugged. “But 1 don't re
member saying that . . I've just been
telling Lanny how simply sick I feel
to have asked for a smoke then. That
did bring it on, didn't it? It was
beastly luck.”
“I baven't got it In for you, old dear,”
Deck told her lightly.
“All right. You fall, Letty. Maybe
you know the answer, Deck? What
kind of cigarettes do you smoke?”
“Luckles,” sald Deck fronieally,
1 saw his band touch Letty's arm,
and she said quickly, “Monty, do some.
thing for me—that's a darling. Never
mind about the old cigarette case. I
want you to run up and get Dan to
come down here”
She added, “He'll go mad, all alone
In that awful room. Tell him I simply
must see him. Tell him {t's important.
You will, won't you?”
“Why not? said Mitchell agreeably.
"Only why didn’t you ask Dan for a
emoke? He was just behind youn.”
“Lawyer!” sald Letty, In her mild,
amused tone. “If you must know I
don’t like Dan's kind.”
“What kind is that?”
She knew that. *“Macedonias. But
what difference does it make? Do go
up now and make him come.”
“All right, all right.”
He looked back at me as If he were
about to say something, then went on
up the steps. Deck, without a back-
ward look, was following Mitchell and
I moved on after them.
At the landing Deck turned to the
left-hand branch leading towards his
room, and Mitchell took the right with
me behind him. At the second floor he
turned directly to Harriden's door and
after a soft knock, apparently unre
sponded to, moved on to Mrs. Har.
riden's room. Just as I started up the
next flight, I looked back and saw him
enter,
I hadn't the slightest inclination to
8° on up to my room. Nothing there
fovited me. The moment | was left
alone, without the excitement of Deck's
presence, without the companionship
of Mitchell, I felt myself In the grip
of the old uncertainties and gloomy
barassments,
Nothing had come of my laboriously
thought-out suspicions.
“You
shut away with my
when, at the top of
HORN
the stairs, the gray cat ran past me
I tried to capture it. It eluded me, but
determimedly I turned back after it.
Even a cat was better company than
myself,
But it was down the stairs ahead
of me, and I heard Harriden's voice
saying angrily, “Damn that beast] It's
always trying to get in here!”
He and Mitchell had come out of the
room, I saw, and I heard the door slam.
The two men went downstairs togeth-
er, and I turned and went up my fight
again. The cat came, too, and this
time I got hold of it. Snuggling my
cheek against its warm fur I carried
it Into my room,
But not even a cat and cream silk
walls and rose red cushions could
make the room bearable that night. It
was & wet, windy night, October turned
dismal, and a tall tree kept tapping at
a pane like fingers.
I tried to marshal the facts in my
mind and study them. And I thought
of something that had not occurred to
me before—that the finding of the dia-
mond In Deck's case might be utterly
unrelated to any of the rest. I would
not put it past Harriden to bolster the
case he sincerely thought he had
against Deck by planting that pendant
in his case. He might have found it
about the room that night and re-
solved to make it clinch the evidence
he was so sure of In his own mind
He might have found the chain It-
self, for that matter. He might have
planted that chain on me. He hated
me enough for having told about the
scene at the window. But no—the
chain was wrapped In the stained hand-
kerchief——the handkerchief from which
Nora Herriden's blood had been
washed. It was Rancini, I thought, who
had tiptoed up the stairs In the night
to my room with that.
I thought of going to Donahey and
trying to talk things over with him.
I wanted to do anything that would
take me out of that lonely room. So
I went downstairs again.
I took the cat In my arms for com-
pany. It was purring, In deceptive
quiet, but the moment we were on the
second floor it made a clear spring
and raced away down the hall
As 1 looked after it I saw it vanish
about the edge of the door that was
ajar into Mrs, Harriden's room. I walt-
ed; nothing happened. Harriden evi-
dently wasn't there. A perfect panic
of fear possessed me; I shared all Har-
riden’s feelings about having the eat
In that room for I had been brought up
never to let a cat be alone with the
dead.
I waited a moment more, then hur
ried to the door of the room, sald
“Kitty, kitty, kitty,” very softly and
coaxingly but with no result. Then I
looked In.
The room was faintly lighted by one
or two rose shaded lamps. No one
was there but that still figure under
the white sheet on the bed.
As I looked Into the room, my throat
filling with that emotion that death
evokes, I saw the overhanging cloth
quiver and stir—then out from under
the bed came the cat, arching its back
against the draping sheet. 1 was des-
perately afrald that fit would make a
sudden spring on the bed so I stole
In softly and tried to catch It but it
evaded me and ran towards the fire
place,
“Kitty, kitty, kitty” 1 sald, my
hushed tones appealing, and I thought
the creature hesitated, then, as I made
another move, it leaped the low screen
into the fireplace where the white
birch logs were lald and robbed against
one of the tall, brass andirons. Then
it stopped rubbing and began to reach
up and lick that andiron.
It licked along the edges of the brass,
first experimentally, then enthusiast].
cally, and It seemed to me as If all the
blood In my body rushed to my heart
and pounded there. That andiron——
that tall, sharp-pointed andiron. . . .
I made a swift rush to the absorbed
cat and caught it up.
I knew now. 1 knew something, at
any rate. It was like seeing discon-
nected things by lightning. One or
two scenes stood out with flery dis-
tinctness. Another flash and I would
see more,
I ought to have gone out of that
room then. I ought to have gone
straight to Donahey and told him. I
knew It. 1 moved towards the door,
the cat In my arms. And then my eyes
fell on a small leather case on the
table. Nora Harriden's dressing case.
The case which, I believed, had held
her letters. The case which might yet
hold them,
I make no defense for what I ald
then, It was utterly Indefensible. But
I felt on me the pressure of Deck's des-
perate need, the savageness of Har.
riden’s hate. 1 felt that Deck's life
might depend upon getting that last
fetter of his out of Harriden's hands.
And here was opportunity, If I could
get that letter back—If no real motive
could be shown—
I went to that case, and, gripping the
cat firmly under my arm, 1 opened It.
Swiftly 1 ran my Icy fingers along the
green silk lining where 1 had seen
Harriden's big, blunt fingers stop sud-
denly in their exploring. When I had
seen his face change to that still at
tentiveness,
But the lining was smooth, unpadded
by paper. It was flat
steel. The consciousness of my owe
foolishness and foolhardiness filled me
to suffocation,
The room seemed to,be crowded with
faces, appearing almost at once. They
swam before me In a blur of confusion.
Hostlle faces, quickened with curiosity,
The guests of that house-party, I
thought hysterically, were llke supers
in a show, always gathering In some
mob scene, They must get a wonder-
ful kick out of it,
“Looking through my wife's dressing
case—after more jewelry,” Harriden
flung out for their benefit,
I tried again to shake off the im-
prisoning hand. I gasped: “I came in
after the cat. . . . It ran In the door.”
“You little lar! I shut that door
when I went out. I saw to that” He
gave my arm a viclous shake. “You
sneaked in here the instant this room
was left alone. You were watching for
the chance—maybe you planned to get
it. You were after this dressing case,
the key to the jewel box. This finishes
you. Arrest her, inspector—I demand
her arrest |®
Donahey had materialized out of the
blue, the cartoon of an official off duty,
in his shirt sleeves, vest unbuttoned, a
thick cigar in the corner of his heavy
mouth, His hard eyes took It all in.
“Has she got anything, Mr. Har.
riden?”
“How do I know? I haven't looked
yet. I Just got here and caught her
at it."
“Well, she can't get away,” sald Don-
ahey comfortably, shifting his cigar,
“Better take a look round and see if
there's anything missing.”
Harriden's grip fell reluctantly from
my arm, He went slowly to the closet
and looked within to see If the jewel
box was safe. I saw him bring it out,
try the clasp. It was still locked.
There are no words for the agony I
felt. The sick mortification. Caught
in my own folly,
Then he came back and looked Into
the open dressing case and a sudden
thought seemed to strike him. I saw
his fingers move over the lining of the
case as I had seen them move before.
Then his face turned a dark, hideous
red.
He whirled about and stood over
me, thrusting that swarthy, lowering
face into my own.
“So that's It, is It?" he sald His
voice was terrible. “You give them
back-—do you hear?"
“Is the key gone? Donahey was
asking, still thinking of the jewel case.
“Lost anything?” y
“Papers,” Harriden ground out. “She
took them, . . , Inspector, she's got a
lot of papers on her. Search her, 1
tell you. Get them back at once”
“I haven't any papers,” I sald, with
sincere thanksgiving that I hadn't
“Search me, If you like,” and I made
a wide gesture with one arm. I let the
cat go and heard them putting it out
Then the meaning of it all came to
me. The letters had been hidden there,
as 1 surmised—now they were gone.
The door had been ajar—be sald he
had shut it, and I had heard It slam
as he and Mitchell had walked off.
Some one had come In—Deck had come
in and taken the letters.
That was the explanation, I realized
belatedly, of Deck's scene downstairs
with Letty Van Alstyn—he had been
urging her to get Harriden downstairs,
knowing she would be only too glad
to do It for the sake of her own desire
to be with him.
And I had never guessed, never sus
pected. I had blundered into the room
and tried to save him.
In that moment I saw him, appear
ing suddenly at the crowded doorway,
staring surprisedly at me over the
crowd. 1 was afraid that be would
blurt out something incriminating him-
self In order to clear me. I didn't want
him telling Harriden to go to the devil,
that be had taken his own letters and
destroyed them-——the scandal would be
ineffaceable,
1 spoke out quickly, “I came in the
room after the cat, Mr. Harriden 1
knew you did not want it to run in
And I was just golng out when you
came and found me-—I was Just pass.
ing the table where this case happened
to be”
“You were looking through that case!
The cover was open, you little Crooks
you'd got those letters out. , . . I tell
you, Inspector, I want her searched.”
At that moment a hand slid through
my arm and Monty Mitchell was by
my side. He was no taller than I but
be seemed a very tower of strength, 1
felt courage flowing into me through
that friendly touch,
“You've gone crazy agaln, Dan” he
sald curtly, “You've been having too
many drinks with Letty. You heard
Miss Seton say she came In after the
cat. She is not Interested in your jet-
ters.”
“You mind your business,” Harriden
retorted. “What's Miss Seton to you?”
“As It happens, we are "
sald Monty Mitchell
she Is to me.”
“That's what
about at him, and he gave me back a
funny twinkle, his fingers squeezing
my arm. [ thought what a comfort
it would be to put my head down on
his shoulder and sob out.all my rage
and Sagan, but pride beld my head
have taken nothing of Mr, Harriden's.”
“You're a liar!” sald Harrides vio-
lently. “Damn you! I
you're Mitchell’
unprepared, and he reeled, a hand at
his chin, then, with a choking sound
he lunged at his assailant,
With official agility Donahey's big
body intervened; Keller and young
Watkins sprang to hold Dan
“Not here, Dan, not here—*
Keller's reminder had its welght,
Harriden gave a queer look towards
the bed, to that still, sheeted figure of
his wife, and his arms fell He drew
a deep, convulsive breath,
He addressed Donahey., “Whoever
this girl 1s, she took those papers.”
“What sort of
Mr. Harriden?"
enough.”
idea—"
him,
“They were letters”
rasped out. “Private letters. She is
& thief and a blackmailer.” He added,
I left this room”
there. No fire had been touched off
since those white birch logs had been
lald in preparation for Mrs. Harri
den’s arrival
The sight of the andirons exploded
something In my brain. It was as
though some flash of lightning, the
flash I had been waiting for, subeon.-
sclously, flung into indelible brilliance
the way before my straining vision.
I spoke out, throwing all caution to
the winds,
“You'll find blood on one of those
andirons, Mr, Inspector. On the left
hand one. It is Mrs. Harriden's blood.
« « It has been washed away, but
it is still in the deep places. . , . fhe
was killed by falling on it, by being
thrown back upon it."
In the stillness that descended on
the room there was literally no sound.
Not even of breath. It seemed as If
all those people there had become
shadows, noiseless, unreal, impalpa-
ble, incapable of movement. Only
Hazriden was real, and he was still,
too, still as the dead woman on her
bed. 1 feit as if she lay there, be-
low her sheet, listening intently, wait-
ing upon me
Then a volce came, Harriden's
voice, hoarsened, hardly distinguish-
able. “If you know—that—you did it
— Oe"
“No, you," 1 sald. “When you strock
lowed her away from the window.
It was you who struck at her at the
window,” I went on. “You had come
“You're a Liarl™
out at her,
you struck at her again.
struck her down, perhaps she fell
trying to escape you, but she fell
across the screen, knocking it over,
anf! her head crashed on that and
iron.”
I wasn't looking at him. I was look.
Ing at that sharp - pointed andiron,
watching what I saw there “She
came down with all her weight, You
rushed to draw the curtains You
lifted her up, carried her into the
closet. Perhaps you thought she was
already dead. She dled very soon,
her blood on that closet door, . . .
Yon wiped off the andiron with your
handkerchief, you wet the handker
chief end washed over the andiron
but more blood than you knew had
run into the deep grooves of its deco
rations. Then you washed the hand.
kerchief and left it drying on the
radiator.”
I spoke as If 1 were seeing It
was seeing it; everything
confused and
if
i
hur”
i
3
|
Pattern 18895-B
There is nothing smarter for |
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Quickly as a slide fastener. Note
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© Bell Syndicate. —~WKLU Bervice,
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By
LOWELL
HENDERSON
© Beil Syndicate —WNU Bervice.
The Four-Word Test
In this test there are four words
Three of
1. Holy, sacred, profane, divine,
2. Tall, squat, lofty, high.
3. Lob, double-play, net ball,
4. New Hampshire, Vermont,
3. Vain, humble, modest, sub-
6. Shot put, javelin throw, 100-
discus throw.
7. Hot, stolid, fiery, ardent.
8. Harvard, Princeton, Vassar,
8. Tallahassee, Sacramento,
Baton Rouge.
Answers
Profane. 6. 100-yard dash.
Squat, 7. Stolid.
Double-play. 8. Vassar.
Boston. 9. Chicago.
Vain. 10. Swimming.
Follow You
So live as to make your chil-
GIRL
Try the “First Quart” test. Drain
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«+. the oil that stands up longest
is giving your motor the safest
lubrication. The retail price is 35¢
pet quart. Quaker State Oil
Ee,
CULL
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Leg RT|
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