Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1899-03-16

he, II will send you whatever you may
desire for your comfort.
~ think you know what that is, "
said l, at which he nodded again and
left me, closing the door carefully be-
hind him as he went.
The few minutes which elapsed be-
fore my quiet was disturbed were spent
by me in thinking. l had not only in
formation to give to the police, but
had many little questions to settle in
my own mind, for which spell of un-
interrupted contemplation was neces-
sary. One of these was whether, in the
event of finding the police amenable,
should reveal or hide from these chill
dren of my old friend the fact that it
was through my instrumentality that
their nefarious secret had been discov-
cred. wished-I hoped-that the affair
might be so concluded, but it all seemed
so impossible, especially since Mr..
Gryce was not on hand to direct mat
tiers, that spent very little time on this
subject, deep and important as 1t was
to all concerned.
The thing to which devoted my
most serious attention was the necessity
of telling my story so as to exonerate
the girls rs much as possible. They
were mistaken in their devotion AMI
most unhappy in the exercise of it, hot
they were not innately wicked and
should not be made to appear so. Per.
haps the one thing for which I should
yet have the best cause to congratulate
myself would be the opportunity had
gained to give to their connection with
the affair it's true and proper coloring.
was still dwelling ON this thought
when there came q knock at my door
which advised me that the visitor OK
pected had arrived. To oper :snd admit
him was the work of a molIAIt, but it
took more than a moment for me to
overcome my surprise at seeing in my
visitor no lesser person than Mr. Gryce
himself, who in our parting interview
had assured me he was too old and too
feeble for such affairs and must there
fore delegate them to me.
"Ah" CALCULATED slowly. 1T is
you, is it? Well, am not surprised. Il
shouldn t have been) When you say you
are old, you mean old enough to pull
the wool over other peoples eyes, and
when you say you are lame you mean
that you only halt long enough to let
others get far enough ahead for them
not to see how fast you hobble up be-
hind them. But do not think am not
glad enough to see you. l am, Mr..
Gryce, for I have discovered the secret
of Lost Mans lane and find it somewhat
too heavy a one for my own handling"
On the instant, knowing him now as
do, I saw that this was more than he
expected
"You have?" he asked, with just that
shade of incredulity which it is so tan
talizing to encounter.
"Then I suppose congratulations are
in order. But are you sure, Miss Butter
worth, that you really have obtained
clew to the many strange and fearful
disappearances which have given to this
lane its nams?'
II could not be surer," said I, "for
have seen with my eyes and almost
touched with my hands the body of one
of the victims"
"Quite sure," I returned. nettled.
"Why do you doubt it? Because have
kept so quiet and not sounded one note
of alarm from my whistler"
"No," said he knowing your self
restraint so we'll. cannot say that that
is my reason"
"What is it, then?" urged.
"Well," said he, my real reason for
doubling if you have been quite as sue
cessful as you think is that we ourselves
have come upon clew about which
there can be no question. Can you say
the same of yours?"
You will expect my answer to have
been a decided YES" uttered with all
the positiveness of which you know me
to be capable. But for some reason,
perhaps because of the strange influence
this man s personality exercises on all
yes, all-who do not absolutely steel
themselves against him, faltered just
long enough for him to cry:
81 thought not. The clew is outside
the Knollys house, not in it, Miss But
terworth, for which, Of course, you are
not to be blamed or your services scorn-
ed. I have no doubt they have been in
valuable in unearthing secret, if not
the secret"
"Thank you," was my quiet retort.
thought his presumption beyond all
bounds and would at that moment have
felt justified in swapping my fingers
at the clew that he so boasted of had it
not been for one thing. What that thing
is am not ready yet to state.
"You and 1 have come to issue over
such matters BEFORE" said he, land
therefore need not take too much ac-
count of the feelings it is likely to en-
gender. will merely state that my
clew points to Mother Jane and ask if
you have found in the visit she paid at
the house last night anything which
would go to strengthen the suspicion
against her. :"
"Perhaps," said I in state Of dis
dain that was more or less unpardon-
able, considering that my own suspicious
previous to my discovery of the real
tragedy enacted under my eyes at the
Knollys mansion had played more or
less about this old crone.
"Only perhaps?' He smiled, with
Wiei my iioOu iOl
which I should have been truly CRATE
full to him.
"She was there for no good purpose,
said I, land yet if you had not charac
terized her as the person most response
BILE for the crimes we are here to inves-
tigate should have said from all that
saw then and previously Of her con-
duct that she acted as a supernumerary
rather than principal, and that it is to
me Won should look for the correct clew