ifoH'Cae LASH of I
1 CIRCUMSTANCE
#SLNT & HARRY IRVING GREENE _
Author o/""Ybsoncie of the Wilderness""
HKjaTrTvTioris fry M»gnus O. ICettner
■ OOItVIOMT 1910 by W. O. CHAPMAN
SYNOPSIS.
Abner Halllday, a miserly millionaire,
!b found gagged, bound and Insensible In
Ills room, Ids safe rifled and J40.000 miss
ing. The thread of the story Is taken up
by his nephew Tom. Living In the sam»j
house are other relatives; reckless Bruce
Halllday and pretty Clare Wlnton. Bruce,
who is a bond broker, has been trying to
raise 110.000 to put through a deal and
•ave himself from financial ruin. He has
applied to his miserly uncle and to others
for the loan but has been refused. Tom
eends for William LeDuc, an old-time
friend connected with a detective agency.
In relating the story Tom reverts to his
acquaintance with a Mrs. Dace, a wealthy
widow, whose business agent is Richard
Mackay, a boodler and political boss.
Tom is jealous of Mackay and is deeply
in love with Mrs. Dace. Bruce Halliday
warns him to shun her as an adventuress.
Tom sees Mrs. Dace and Mackay togeth
er. He afterwards meets the woman at
a horse race, and, happening to mention
that Bruce had a tip on the winner, she
gives him SSOO to place on the race. The
tip goes wrong and she loses her money.
Deter Tom Invests In stocks. He makes
some money, and returns the lost SSOO to
Mrs. Dace. It Is at this juncture that the
theft of the HO.OOO from old Abner Halli
day occurs.
CHAPTER IX.—(Continued.)
"You Bay that is all you know about
that phase of the matter. Very good.
But what else do you know?" Driven
fairly into a corner I answered des
perately:
"1 know he had a key to the house.
While I was sitting with him at the
Interview I hare just mentioned he
became angry at the thought of un
cle's refusal to assist him, and struck
the table several times with some
email metallic object which he had
tightly clenched in his hand. The
familiar appearance of the object Im
mediately attracted my attention and
1 managed to see enough of it to know
that it was a key to this place. I
was somewhat surprised, not know
ing- how he had come Into possession
of It; but thinking It was his own
business I did not mention It to him
In his then condition of mind. I do
not. believe that he knew that T had
noticed It, or was even aware that he
had exhibited It in his excitement,
for immediately after his outburst he
thrust tt back Into his overcoat pock
et. I think that I have now without
reservation told you all that I know
concerning hli words and actions
within the la*t few days. He can un
doubtedly explain his possessorship
of the key as well aa his whereabouts
last night to your entire satisfaction.
But I hope it will not even be neces
sary to hurt his pride by questioning
him."
LeDuc leaned forward with deep in
terest in his face. "Then if there are
but four keys to the front door known
to be In existence, and as your uncle
hns his own as well as the one which
you formerly possessed, and as Mrs.
Tebbets still has hers, the only one
remaining to be accounted for should
be in the possession of your other
cousin, Miss Wlnton. If she still retains
hers, then Jhe one Bruce had must
of necessity be a duplicate, and a
duplicate could not have been made
without the maker having for a time
had one of the originals That phase
of the matter we will take up, If nec
essary, when we come to it, but what
we want to know now is regarding the
originals. And to ascertain that we
must know whether Miss Wlnton has
parted keepership of hers. I n/ust
see her at once."
"Perhaps It would be well for me
to call her up over the wire and ask
ber to come here," I suggested. "Un
cle will be glad to see her, and I
know she will dance with anxiety to
come when she hears about this." He
nodded his acquiescense, and going to
the telephone I briefly put her in pos
session of the news with the request
that she come to us immediately. In
ller excitement and eagerness she
dropped the ear instrument instead of
replacing It upon the hood and I
could hear her as she rushed about
the room calling upon her mother for
ber hat and gloves. Fifteen minutes
later she was ringing at the front
door. LeDuc shot me a look full of
aigniflcance.
"Did you say that she and Bruce
•re engaged, or something to that ef
fect?" he inquired, referring to a re
mark which I had dropped a few mo
ments before. I nodded.
"So Bruce intimated to me. I knew
they were desperately fond of each
other and he told me that had he not
been wiped out he would have married
her. At any rate, she does not seem
to have her key with her this morn
ing," was my answer. Down stairs
we heard Mrs. Tebbets opening the
door, and a moment later with a pat
ter of feet and a rustle of skirts Clare
bounded in upon us. Her eyes were
dilated and she seemed almost ready
to burst from suppressed excitement.
Her first words were about Uncle
Abner and as to whether he was now
entirely out of danger. I assured her
that he was and then introduced Le-
Duc, requesting that she seat herself
a moment with us before going Into
the other room. She dropped upon
the edge of a chair, fidgeting and nerv
ous. LeDuc, Immediately all court
esy, laid aside his cigar.
"I will detain you but a moment,
Kiss Winton," he apologized, his faint
kabitual smile breaking Into an af
fable one. "But as lam investigating i
this affair In the Interests of your un
«le and In the hope of recovering
nore or less of his money, I am going
4ko n'isume that you, as one of the
fasaiiy, will be glad to give me your
•kMlslwcce. At the present moment
9 urn derating our attention to locate
ing the keys of the house, it being evi
dent that the premises were entered
by the front door, as the back door
was bolted from the inside. Will you
be good enough to let me have yours
for a few moments?" Clare moved
nervously.
"It's queer about that key; I can't
find it," she said hastily. "I always
carry it in my purse, but when 1
searched for it a few moments ago on
my way over here it was not there.
Kor the life of me I cannot imagine
where 1 could have misplaced it, for
I have been very careful to always
keep it in that one place. I simply
know T have not lost it, but it is just
as strange as it can be." She squirm
ed like a worried schoolgirl.
"Suppose we go back a little. When
do you remember of having it last?"
he pursued. Her forehead wrinkled
with thought.
"Three or four days ago when I
came over here. I have not had oc
casion to think of it since until Tom
called me tip a few moments ago. I
am as worried about it as I can be.
but I am certain that I have not lost
it."
I saw LeDuc's gaze run over the
graceful form of the girl and then
settle upon her face with an expres
sion that was beyond doubt one of
unequivocal approval. That Clare,
whose heart was as open to the world
as is the heart of a flower to the
light of the sun, could harbor any
secret as dark as this was preposter
ous to one who knew her. I had never
met a girl with sounder morals or
better instincts, and her character was
of spun gold. And even though she
loved Bruce and had always defended
his frailties, I did not believe that
she would have shielded htm had she
believed him guilty of as unnatural a
crime as this, matter of history
though it is that one can never tell
what heights or depths a woman will
achieve to save the man who carries
her heart. Quietly 1 asked her when
she had seen Bruce last, and knowing
her mannerisms as 1 did became in
stantly aware that my question had
put her on the rack, for a faint
shadow flitted cloudlike across her
face. Yet she answered me with her
accustomed frankness.
"Day before yesterday—and I do
not \inderstand it either. He was to
see me yesterday evening, but he
neither came nor sent word as to why
he broke the engagement. It is not
like him to do such a thing, and
while 1 suppose there is somo good
reason back of it,l do not know
what it is. Anyway, I am worried."
She dropped her eyes and tapped gent
ly on the floor with her toe. "I wish
you would try and get him on the
wire, Tom, and find out if he is all
right. That is all I care to know at
present." 1 assented and started for
the telephone, hut had made but a
step or two before 1 heard first his
familiar ring at the door atul a mo
ment later his equally familiar voice
from the hall below. Then up the
stairs he came and at the first foot
fall I halted, listening. Usually he
mounted something after the fashion
of a scurrying cat In a series of light
leaps, but now his feet pounded the
boards with heavy uncertainty. 1
opened the door before him, but at the
first sight of his face I stepped back.
He advanced to the doorway, fal
tered there with one hand braced
against the jamb and the crimson
flushing his face as he saw Clare
amongst us. His eyes were as red
saot as a bloodhound's, and the hand
that hung by his side was aspen. The
unmistakable marks of an evil night
were stamped about his mouth and
his usually clear face looked puttyish
and mottled. I heard Clare gasp as
she arose and slowly approached him
with unbelieving eyes. He stepped
aside as though to avoid her, his
glance falling to the floor.
"I have heard about it —It is In the
papers. Tell me the particulars." he
said with a hoarse intonation. From
the bottom of my heart I pitied him
as I gently pulled the girl back to her
seat and answered him in matter of
fact tones.
"There is nothing to tell at present
except that the safe was burglarized
last night and the $40,000 stolen. I
spent the night downtown and found
Uncle Abner bound and unconscious
when I returned home this morning.
He was not much hurt and is all right
now. This is Mr. IyeDuc, who has
been engaged by Uncle Abner to
try and ferret out the matter. I think
that is the whole thing in a nut shell."
He stood as if in a half daze, his gaze
rambling over us.
"Any cities?" he mumbled at length.
I made no spoken reply, merely bow
ing In the direction of the detective.
And at the signal LeDuc immediately
assuned vocal command.
"The only thing we have learned as
yet which seems to be of any particu
lar interest is that Miss Winton's key
has mysteriously disappeared. All the
others have been accounted for and
we are anxious to locate hers. She is
unable to offer any explanation, and
we therefore turn to you as one who
Is frequently in her company in the
hope that you may offer a suggestion.
Can you offer any thought along that
line?"
He shook his head decisively and
without hesitation, and I leaned back
Jr. my chair with a long breath of
aato&lshmrpt. I had been thoroughly
confident that he would at once admit
his possession of it and offer some
explanation that would immediately
satisfy everybt-dy. LeDuc was look
ing steadily at him, apparently as puz
zled by his answer as was I. To ali
outward appearances there was some
thing hidden beneath the skin here,
and I determined to make a quick
thrust at the heart of the matter,
bleeding him of his lecret for his own
good.
"Where were you last night, Bruce?**
I asked quietly. The pallor of his
cheeks took on the unhealthy hue ol
wet ashes and he stood mute with an
unpleasant narrowing of his eyes. For
a long minute the silence was un
broken, LeDuc scanning him Impa
tiently and Clam, her pupils expand
ed, leaning far forward in her intent
ness. Then he shifted sullenly upon
his feet.
"I have no reply to make to that
question at present."
I signaled to LeDuc, who instantly
caught the cue. "But perhaps if the
young lady would pardon us —" h«
murmured with a courteous bow to
Clare. She arose upon the Instant,
and glancing neither to right nor left,
passed Into my uncle's apartments,
while Bruce glooming after her with
tightened lips moved no muscle. Aa
the door closed behind her I made ail
other efTort In his behalf.
"I wish you would be reasonable In
this matter. Bruce. You ought to
know that you can trust us Implicitly
when I give you my word as T rtsw do.
If you have any reason—any man's
reason—to think that your where
abouts last night if known to Clare
would distress her, Mr. LeDuc and I
will bind ourselves upon our honor to
keep your communication confidential.
on you make such explanation
to her as you may desire, but in view
of certain statements which you made
to me it is necessary that our mutual
friend here should know where you
spent the night. Will you tell us?"
A pale glow of passion, phosphores
cent like, appeared deep behind his
eyes and he answered me doggedly,
almost defiantly.
"No. It Is a matter which at pres
ent concerns only myself. Nor do
I understand your Insinuations when
you say It Is for my own good that I
make confidants of you. What do
you mean by such attempted Intimida
tion?"
Ignoring the gathering storm, I an
swered him in a calm tone:
"Bruce, I trust you implicitly and
tell you now that It would take noth
ing less than a bombshell of absolute
proof to shatter that belief. That be
ing the case, when I assure you that
I have reason to believe that it is for
your own good to do so, I think you
might honor me with your confidence.
Along that same line I am going to
nsk you another question. Do you ob
ject to showing us the contents of
your pockets everything?" He turned
a dull red, seemed about to explode
with the heat of his passion, and then
growing suddenly cold bowed frigidly
and began laying before us the con
tents of his clothes. It was the us
ual miscellaneous assortment of a
man's personal carryings, and when
he had finished a glance told us that
the object for which we were search
ing was not among them.
"The pockets of your overcoat,
please." purred LeDuc. With mocking
deliberation Bruce began turning the
folds and crevices of that garment
inside out. Nothing of interest was
exposed to us, and when he had fin
ished we sat eyeing each other with
silent lips. I broke, the hush.
"Bruce, you had a key to the house
yesterday. You pounded upon the
table with It as we sat together down
town and then put It back In your
side overcoat pocket. 1 noticed It
distinctly. Now Clare's key has dis
appeared and it Is impossible for us
to overlook the coincidence. Where
did you get the one you had and
"It's Queer About that Key; I Cant Fin* It—"
which you do not now show us? We
have a right to know, and for your
own good you should tell, bearing In
mind that we are all your friends and
believe in you beyond telling." His
eyes narrowed.
"You mean to say that 1 had a key
to this house yesterday?" he returned
with slow distinctness. I bowed.
For a moment he stood looking at
me with an expression I had never
seen him wear before creeping over
his features. Then he turned away
abruptly.
"I make no reply beyond saying
that you are a very badly mistaken
Individual. Neither do I understand
| what you mean by all these intima
tions, and furthermore I am Indiffer
ent. I have nothing more to say.
You may both present the devil with
my compliments for all 1 care."
Pausing not at all, he went thump
ing down the stairs, while I sat star
ing at the detective, who in turn sat
| smiling queerly back at me.
1 CHAPTER X.
The expression on my companion's
face remained unchanged as the sound
of my cousin's footsteps was cut off
by the bang of the closing door. The
smile seemed to have grown into his
features, so unaltered did it remain,
and tiring of its monotony I arose
and without apology passed into the
next apartment. Clare was sitting be
side the bed of TTncle Abner, stroking
one of hla gorilla like hands as he
rolled his head from side to side with
weak whisperings. Most of the lines
which now harrowed his face were
Unfamiliar to me. Heretofore he had
always appeared as a fairly well-pre
served man of nearly forescore, but
now his face was as wrinkled as one's
palm, lie shot a sidewise glance full
of apprehension as 1 entered, but see
ing It was only 1 resumed his mutter-
Ings. Clare's face was unwontedly
serious. Her lips were tight fitting
and thinned by compression; the
laugh had entirely deserted her eyes,
and altogether she was the picture of
one who suffers uncomplainingly. Of
course it took no wizardry to guess
the cause of her unhappiness. Bruce,
to whom she was engaged, and to
whom she therefore must be devoted,
had broken his faith with her without
explanation or apology; and if that
had not been enough In Itself, his ap
pearance had been sufficient to shock
any one who had pride In him. 1 knew
Clare as I knew the alphabet. There
never was H woman more generous,
nor one who once having decided to
give gave more freely. Therefore I
knew that having bestowed her heart
upon Bruce she had done so without
stint or reservation. Her nature lay
close to the surface, and what might
have been a superficial wound to an
other would hurt her to the core of
her being. Sympathizing deeply with
her I approached her from behind
and took her cheeks in my palms. "It
is bound to come out all right, Clare,"
I half whispered.
She freed her face by a slight for
ward movement and Uncie Abner,
closing his eyes wearily, lay for the
moment inert on the pillow. They
seemed to be ignoring me in their
silence, and unable to think of any
thing to do or say which might re
lieve the situation, I turned away and
left them to themselves. LeDuc had
gotten upon his feet in my absence,
and hat in hand, appeared to be wail
ing for me togo with him. The whole
ntr.iosphere of the place was offensive
(o me. nnd as I led him down the
and out into the open 1 filled
my lungs to the uttermost, as a con
vict might who breathes the pure air
of freedom after long confinement in
a fetid cell. It was quite a while be
fore either of us saw fit to speak.
At the end of the block he threw
his cigar Into the street. "The police
—you did not tell them about seeing
your cousin have the key yesterday?"
"Bruce, You Had a Key to the House Yesterday."
he said half interrogatively, half as
sertively. 1 told him 1 had not. His
next question was, "Why?"
"Because of several reasons. First
of all, they did not ask me; second,
because 1 have no idea that Bruce is
guilty in this matter; and third, be
cause I did not care, under the cir
cumstances, to put his reputation in
their hands. Also, I assumed that he
would immediately acknowledge his
possession of It and give an adequate
explanation. You will readily under
stand that I did not want the newspa
pers to come out with a sensational
story, and I, therefore, reserved that
bit of Information for my own Investi
gation. You may be sure, however,
that I had Intended to mention it to
him privately when we met again, and
only volunteered the information to
you because I knew you would work
up to it eventually and corkscrew it
out of me. Furthermore. I know I can
rely upon you to suppress details,
which although as yet unexplained, in
all probability have no real bearing
on the issues." His reply came with
out hesitation.
"Tom, you have known me for
years and >ou know that even as a
boy I always played fair. Now, I have
| no more use for a professional crim
inal than I have for a mad dog or a
venomous serpent. They have shot
me. stabbed me and laid in ambush
to assassinate me. and when I think
of them I am imbued with a great and
righteous wrath. But when I come
across a young fellow of good instincts
who has fallen because of a reckless
step, 1 would a whole lot rather give
him a boost than a kick. I want you
to get me right on that statement."
I signified my comprehension. As
he himself said, I.<eDuc had always
been a fair, even a generous, fighter,
and his last assertion was wholly in
accord with my understanding of the
man. Glancing about to make sure
that we were safely beyond earshot of
any possible listener I broached a
matter about which I had been think
ing for some little time.
"Billy, there Is another thing which
the police did not bring out and which
1 did not volunteer, but which you
ought to know. My excuses for not
having stated it before are practically
the same as those 1 gave in Bruce's
case, namely, because I do not be
lieve it has anything to do with the
crime and because I wish to shield
a certain individual from annoyance
and publicity. Under the same un
derstanding that you are to consider
it as a privileged communication 1
will tell It to you. It is this: There
is one more person, at least, who
knew that Untie Abner occasionally
had considerable sums of money on
hand, and to whom T imparted in a
casual conversation the circum
stance of this particular amount being
in the house. I had a little visit with
her yesterday on my way downtown
after my quarrel with my uncle. In
it I told her of Bruce's misfortune.
Also, I once left my keys at her
house through an oversight, and they
remained there several days. And
while I should bitterly resent even
the intimation Ihat she was a con
scious party to the crime, it is never
the less a crevice through which the
information may have leaked. I sup
pose you would like to hear me out
on this line." He slipped hts arm
through mine, drawing me closer to
him.
"By all means. It may prove decid
edly interesting. My promise goes to
this angle of the case as well as all
others. Shoot ahead."
"Then 1 do not mind telling you
that T am in the habit of calling upon
a lady who is—well, we will call her
an exceedingly good friend of mine. I
care a great deal for her, respect her
thoroughly and believe she is fond
of me. T have Incidentally told her
about Uncle Abner and his strange
ways, and one evening left roy keys
in her apartment* altar having opa&atf
a bottle of wine with a corkscrew
which I kept attached to my key ring.
It was several days later that I called
her attention to my oversight and re
ceived them back from her. While I
trust her implicitly, yet she has a yel
low maid who is Inscrutable to me and
who always seems to be hovering
within earshot. To my mind it is not
impossible that this makl was in poe
session of the keys while they were
on those premises—in fact, her mis
tress so intimated when she returned
them to me. That the maid through
outside acquaintances might have
taken advantage of any information
which she chanced to overhear is
within the realm of possibilities. You
understand I merely offer this as a
suggestion."
"And do you know anything of the
character of the maid's acquaintances
on the outside?" was the swift inter
rogation. I bit my lip.
"No. Hut I do know this. I know
that Richard Mackay is the business
agent of this girl's mistress —Mrs.
Dace of the Avcadia —and that h»
sometimes calls upon her. And know
ing his reputation as T do, It has oc
curred to me that stranger things
have happened than that this girl
might be under his influence and re
veal secrets to him that she has In
come possessed of. T understand
there is practically no limit to the
man's machinations."
T,eDuc brought me to a sudden
standstill. "Do you mean Richard
Mackay. 'Coughing Dick,' the boodler
and arch conspirator?" he cried, lis
hand gripping my arm like a trap
"Yes. You will remember the fart
that uncle mentioned the fact that Cie
man who choked him cleared JMs
throat In a peculiar manner."
The grip upon my arm loosened s.nd
for a moment my friend stood staring
into my face. Then with a soft, whis
tle he drew me on again. It was sev
eral moments hefore he once mere
broke the silence.
"Bye the bye, you had better giie
me your card with your telephone
number on it so that I may be ahle
to reach you over the wire In case of
necessity," he suggested reflectively,
and I felt in the pocket in which I
always carried iny card case in
to comply with his request. The case,
which was an unusually handsome af
fair, had been presented to me
Mrs. Dace, and I would not have lo?t
it for a great deal, but at the end of
a couple of minutes' search, which
exhausted every nook and cranny cf
my raiment, 1 was comvelled to
up the quest In despair.
"I must have lost it," I announced,
deeply chagrined. LeDuc looked at
me with a question in his eyes.
"And you had it last —when?" w*r«
his words. Iran the course of my
actions during the past few dt>yn
ihrough my mind until 1 recalled the
occasion of its last use.
"Last evening. After the theate' - I
gave the friend who was with me one
of my cards with the request that le
call me up some evening when he was
lonesome. Put I have a distinct recol
lection of putting it back in my upper
vest pocket. I would not have lost it
for many times its value, and it was
a rather expensive trinket at that."
Ruefully I continued my search for
the fourth or fifth time as he sympa
thized with me. following his con
dolences with the remark that a pen
cil memorandum in his book would
answer the same purpose. Therefore
I gave him the number orally and •
noted that he wrote it down correct
ly. Then with an apology and an <x
cuse of urgent business he darted
aboard a passing iar with a farewell
flirt of his hand.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
Country Makes a Difference.
He—ln China, a fellow never sees
his wife till after they are marrle.l
She —How strange. In England. tt'a
the wife who never sees her ha.afcud
titer tkay iri married*—-*. A. F.