Evening star., 1899-03-25
CHAPTER XVII.

\ half hour later these men were all clos
eted with DR.. Talbot in the label kitchen.
Abel had rejoined them, and Sweetwater
was telling his story with great earnestness
and no little show of pride.
Gentlemen. when l charge a young wo-
man of respectable appearance and con-
nections with such a revolving crime as
murder. | do so with good reason as I
hope presently to make plain 10 you ALL
Gentlemen. on the night and at the hour
Agatha Webb was killed | was playing
with four other musicians in Mr.. Suther-
land : hallway. From the place where I
sat could see what went on in the paror
and also have 4 clear view of the passage
way leading down to the garden door As
the dancing was going on in the parlOr |
naturally looked that way most, and this is
how | came To note the eagerness with
which, during the first part of the evening
Frederick Sutherland and Amabel Page
came together in the quadrilles and coun-
try dances.
Sometimes she spoke as she passed him
and sometimes he answered, but not al
ways, although he nevsr failed to show
he was pleased with her or would have
been If something-perhaps 1t was his lack
of confidence in her. sirs-had not stood
in the way of a perfect understandings
She seemed 10 notice he did not always
respond. and after awhile showed less in
Clination to speak herself, though she did
not fail to watch him and that intently
But she didn't watch him any more closely
than l did her, though / little thought at
the time what would come of nv espionage
She Wore a white dress and white shoes
and was as cOquettiSh and seductive as
the evel one makes them. Suddenly l miss
ed her. She was in the middle of the dance
one minute and entirely out of it the neyt
Naturally | expected that she had slinned
aside with Frederick Sutherland but no
he was still in sight, but looking so male
and 80 abstracted l was sure the young
miss was up to some sort of mischief But
what mischief? Watching and waiting but
no long-r combining my attention to the
parlor. l presently espied her stealing along
the passageway. l have mentioned carry
ing Il long cloak which she rolled I'D and
hid behind the open door. Then she came
back humming a gay little song, which
didL deceive me for moment. 'Goodr
lhoash l. she and that cloak will soon join
company. And they did. As we were
playing the Harebell Mazurka L again
cauSnt sight of her steaithy white figure
IN mat distant doorway. Selling the cloak
she wrapped II round her, and with just one
furtlVe look backward, seen, | warrant
by no one but myself, she vanished in the
outside dark. Now to note who follows
her! thought l. But nobody followed her.
natural love for detective work, in spite
or my devotion to the arts / consult ed the
clock at the foot of the stair, and. noting
that 1t was 80. scribbled the hour on
the margin of my music, with the inten-
tlon OF SEEING how long my lady would
Lngcr outside alone. Gentlemen II was
two hours before / saw her face again
how sire got back into the house do not
know. 1t was not by the garden door. for
my eye seldom left it; vet at nearly 20
L heard her voice on the stair above me and
saw her descend and melt into the crowd
as If she had not been absent from it for
more than five minutes. A half hour later
l saw her with Frederick again They were
dancing. but not with the same spirit as
before, and even while l watched them thew
separated. Now, where was Miss Pare
during those two long hours2 1 think I
to the police
But first L must inform you of a small
discovery l made while the dance was stilI
in progress. Miss Page had come down
stairs, as l have said, from what I nov