Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1899-04-13
LOST MANS LANE.
BIZ ANNA KATHARINE GREEN
CHAPTER XXYI-Continued.

| IlstS iiao thOiC
not been child about the house some
time to assist the cook in errands and so
on?'
mo, or would have seen her. Be-
sides, how would the shoes of such q
person come into Williams room?'
Easily. Secrecy was required You
were not to be disturbed so shoes were
taken off that quiet might result.
Twas 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..
Gryce, the shoes were the shoes of a
girl. l know it because it was matched
by dress saw hanging up in a sort
of wardrobe. -
"Ah! You looked into the wardrobe?"
II did and felt justified in doing SO.
1t was after l had spied the shoes.
Very good. And you saw dress?"
"A little dress; dress with a short
skirt. The Misses Knollys do not ride a
bicycle, take it, and this could only
be the dress of one who did or of a
child. 1t was silk dress-another
anomaly--and the color, l think, was
blue, but l cannot swear to that point.
felt very hurried and took the brief
est glance. But my brief chances can be
trusted, Mr. Gryce. That. think. you
are beginning to know.
Certainly, said he, land as proof
of it we will now act upon these two
premfses-that the victim in whcs.
ial l was an innocent partGlicT
human being and that that huE:";
ing was girl child who came int
house well dressed. Now where did
girl come from? The town, so far =
know, has lost none of its iuhal,i..
lately"
THAT you should know" said /.
"A visitor But no visitor could G:
scr this house without it being kno'
far and wide. Why, / heard of your at
rival here before left the train G!
which followed you. Had we ALLOW,
ourselves to be influenced by what 4
people about here say we would h.,
turned that Knollys house inside cur
week ago. But don't believe il H.:
ting too much confidence in the prey
dice of country people. The idea the
suggested. and which you suggest witt
out putting it too clearly into words, i
much too horrible to be acted upCI
without the best of reasons. Perhaps W.
have found those reasons, yet L still feel
like asking where did this girl come
from and how could she have become a
prisoner in the Knollys house without
the knowledge Of Madam, you have
met Mr.. Trohm?''
The question was so sudden had not
time to collect myself. But perhaps it
was not necessary, for the simple aflir-
nation used seemed to satisfy Mr..
Gryce, who went ON to say:
1t is he who first summoned US here,
and it is he who has the greatest inter
est in locating the source Of these dis
appearances, yet he has seen no child
come here"
"Mr. Trohm is not spy" said l,
but the remark, happily, perhaps, fell
unheeded.
mo one has," he began. 1--WE must
give another turn to our suggestions. 1"
Suddenly a silence fell upon us both.
His finger ceased to lay down the law,
and my gaze, which had been searching
his face inquiringly, became fixed. At
the same moment and in much the same
tone of voice we both spoke. he saying,
"Humphp" and I, "Ahr' followed by
similar II have found it."
1.-THE phantom carriage" explained I.
(Which rolled SO quietly into Lost
Mans lane the evening preceding your
arrival"
1T was no phantom" went on.
1.-TWO saw it, and I"-here / could not
suppress slight toss of my head-"re-
member now a petty circumstance
which l dare you to match in corrobo-
ration Of this new theory"
You have had advantages, he com.
menced.
And disadvantages, finished, de-
termined that he should award me my
full need of praise. "You are probably
not afraid of dogs. You could visit the
stables"
and did, madam, but l saw moth
ing
Il thought not" / could not help
tho interruption. 1t is so seldom one
can really triumph over this man. "Nut
having the cue, you would not be apt to
see what gives this whole thing away.
l would never have thought of it again
if we had not had this talk. Is Mr..
! Simsbury a neat man"'
ga neat man? Madam, what do you
mean?"
Something important Mr.. Gryce
IL Mr.. Simsbury is q neat man, he will
have thrown away the old rags which,
l dare promise you, numbered his stable
floor the morning after the riding in
here of the phantom carriage. If he is
not, you may still find them there. One
of them, know, you will not find. He
pulled it off of his wheel with his whip
the afternoon he drove me down from
the station. / can see the sly look he
gave me as he did it. 1t made no impress.
sion Oh Inc then, but now
Madam, you have got 1t. That car
riago was the old coach to be found now
in the Knollys stable. and its phantom
appearance was due to its noiselessness,
which you have now in measure ey
planned; but, Miss Butterworth, If they
went to the length of winding rags
around the carriage wheels to make
them noiseless, even tying up the horse S
feet for the same purpose perhaps, they
must have had motive dark enough to
warrant your deepest suspicious. And
William was not the only one involved
Simsbury, at least, had hand in it, nor
does it look as If the girls were entirely
innocent of a forelznowledge of what
| was Hkely to Occur -