The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-03-13

| one was uttered in reference to your
self by Miss Knollys. She said: I have
| locked Miss Butterworth again in her
| room. III she accuses me of having
done SO, L shall tell her our whole
story. Better she should know the
tamlly's disgrace than imagine us gull
| ~ OF crimes of which we are utterly
incapable"
Well" cried. "you heard that?"
Yes, madam, l heard that, and I do
not think she knew She was dropping
that word into the ear of detective,
out you may differ with me-"
II am not ready to say so yet" I re-
pied What else did these girls let
fall in your hearing?"
Not much. Itswas Hannah who led
me into the upper hall and Hannah
who by signs and signals rather than
words showed me what was expected
or me. However. when, after the box
was lowered into the cellar, Hannah
was drawing meTaway, Lucetta STEP
ped up and whispered in her ear: Don't
give her the biggest coin. Give her
the little one or. she may mistake our
reasons reason for secrecy, I wouldn't like
even fool to do that even for the
moment it would remain lodged in
Mother James mind"
Wen, WE'LL" 1 cried again, certainly
puzzled, for these stray expressions of
the sisters were in a measure contra
dlctory not only of the suspicious / en-
tertained, but of the facts which had
| seemingly come to my attention.
Mr.. Gryce, who was probably watch
Ing my face more closely than the
movements Of the cane with whose
movements he was apparently engross-
ed, stopped to give a carressing rub to
| the Knob of that same cane before say
ing:
"One such peep behind the scenes is
| of CT on
wrong side of the curtain. l let you
(! share my knowledge because it is your
due. Now if you feel willing to eX-
/ plain what you mean by a knot of
Grape on the shutter 1 am at your
service, madam"
Then I told him. and as 1 talked 1
saw his face lengthen and doubt take
the place of the quiet assurance with
which he had received my various init
nations up to this time. The cane was
laid aside, and from the action of his
right forefnger on the palm Of his left
hand l judged that I was making no
small impression on his mind. When
l had finished, he sat for a minute
silent; then he said: .-'
Thanks, Miss Butterworth; you
have more than fulfilled my hopes.
What we buried was undoubtedly HUI
man, and the question now is who it
was and of what death did this person
ule lou LINK 1t was silly RuIuS.
did not answer. There was a weak
point in the position had taken in this
matter, and L knew it.
He did not try to hurry me.
I appreciated this and took my time.
Presently I said:
Il have a confession to make. Up to
a certain moment 1 never had a
thought but that it was silly Rufus
they held imprisoned in Williams room
and who died there, nor am quite sure
that 1 am yet ready to embrace any
other theory; but, Mr.. Gryce, in the
minute I took to look about the room
from which the victim had been SO
lately carried 1 saw standing in one
corner a pair of shoes that could never
have been worn by any boy tramp
have ever seen or known of. Neither
could they have been the property of
any one I had ever met In the KnollyS
house. Loreen and Lucetta: both have
trim feet, but these were the shoes Of
a child Of ten, very dainty and of a
cut and make worn by women, or
rather, I should say, by girls. Now,
what do you make of that?"
He did not seem to know what to
make Of it. Tap, tap went his finger on
his seasoned palm, and as / watched
the slowness with which it fell said
to myself, Il have proposed a problem
to him now that will tax even Mr..
And I had. 1t was minutes before he
ventured an opinion, and then, it was
with a shade of doubt in his tone that
I acknowledge to have felt some pride
at putting there. -af gnf5t.cs .e
-t'fThey were 5Lucetta's shoes The
emotions under which you labored-
very pardonable emotions, madam,
considering the circumstances and the
hour
Excuse me-" said I. I'VE do not
want to waste moment. I was eXcit-
ed, suitably and duly excited, or
would have been a stone. But I never
lose my head under excitement nor my
sense of proportion. The shoes were
| not Lucetta's. She never wore any
approaching them in smallness since
| her tenth year"
HAS Simsbury a daughter? Has
| there not been a child about the house
some time to assist the cook in errands
and so on?'
mo, or I would have seen her. Be
sides, how would the shoes of such
| person come into Williams room?"
Easily. Secrecy was required. You
were not to be disturbed so shoes were
taken off that quiet might result
WAS Lucetta shoeless or William or
even Mother Jane? You have not told
me that you were requested to walk in
| stocking feet up the hall. No, Mr..
! girl. I know it because it was matched
by dress I saw hanging up in sort
| Of wardrobe"
"Ah! You looked into the wardrobe ?"
II did and felt justified in doing so.
1t was after I had spied the Shoes
VERY good. And you saw dress ?"
"a little dress; a dress with a short
skirt. The Misses Knollys do not ride
bicycle, I take it, and this could only
| be the dress of one who did or of a
child. 1t was a silk dress-another
anomaly-and the color. I think, was
blue, but 1 cannot swear to that point
est glance. But my brief chances can
be trusted, Mr.. Gryce. That, I think,
you are beginning to know
Certainly" said he, land as proof
of it we will now act upon these two
| premises-that the victim in whose
burial I was an innocent partaker was
| a human being and that that human
| being was a girl child who came into
that house well dressed. Now where
did that girl come from? The town, so
far as we know has lost none of it's
inhabitants lately"
THAT you should know" said I.
"a visitor-But no visitor could en-
ter this house without it being known
far and wide. Why, i heard of your ar
rival here before LEFT the train ON
which I followed you. Had we allowed
! ourselves to be influenced by what the
people about here say we would have
turned that Knollys house inside out
week ago. But Iodon't believe in put
ting too much confidence in the preju-
| dice of country people. The idea they
suggested, and which you suggest
without putting it too clearly into
L. III 30 !