Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-12-08
rHE OIT1UMWA COURIER.
took them kindly and seemed to be

i cSN~NNSSA
quite satisfied.
| Such little, trembling, tear-filled
Amazon!" he cried. "Shall you have
courage to undertake the task before
you? If not
"Oh, but l have" said I. ut is your
| goodness and the surprise of 1t all
which unnerves me. | can go through
what we. have planned If you think
| the secret of my personality and In.
| terest in Mr. Durand can be kept from
the people go among"
ut can If you will follow our advice
implicitly. You say that you know the
doctor and that he stands ready to
recommend you in case Miss Pierson
withdraws her services"
Eyes, he Is eager to give me a
chance. He was a college mate Of my
father's.''
How will you explain to him your
wish to enter upon your duties under
another name?"
VERY simply. / have already told
him that the publicity given my name
in the late proceedings has made me
very uncomfortable; that my first case
of nursing would require all my self.
possession and that if he did not think
it wrong / should like to go to 1t under
my mothers name. He made no dis
ent and think can persuade him
that would do much better work as
Miss Ayers than as the too well-known
Miss Van Arsdale."
"You have great powers Of per
suasion. But may you not meet peo-
pie at the hotel who know you2"
/ ho1 tr.r 10 mr.
my identity is discovered, Its effect
or non-effect upon one we find 1t diff,
cult to mention will give us our clue.
If he has no guilty interest in the
/ crime, my connection with 1t as a
witness will not disturb him. Besides,
two days of unsuspicious acceptance
of me as Miss Grey's nurse are all
want. shall take immediate oppor.
| tunity, assure you, to make the test
l mentioned. But how much con.
fidence you will have to repose In me!
1 comprehend all the Importance Of
my undertaking, and shall work as IL
| my honor, as well as yours, were at
stake"
81 am sure you will" Then for the
first time in my life l was glad that
was small and plain rather than tall
| and fascinating like so many OF my
friends, for he said. If you had been
a triumphant beauty, depending on
your charms as woman to win peo-
pie to your will, we should never have
listened to your proposition or risked
our reputation in your hands. 1t is
your wit, your earnestness and your
quiet determination which have i'm
pressed us. You see I speak plainly.
do SO because I respect you. And
now to business"
! Details followed. After these were
well understood between us, I ven.
tured to say do you object-would
it be asking too much--if I requested
some enlightenment as to what facts
you have discovered about Mr.. Grey
which go to substantiate my theory?
might work more intelligently."
No, Miss Van Arsdale, you would
not work more intelligently, and you
know it. But you have the natural
J curiosity of one whose very heart is
bound up in this business. l could
deny your what you ask but l won't,
for want you to work with quiet con.
fidence, which you would not do If
your mind were taken no with doubts
and questions Miss Van Arsdale,
one surmise of yours was correct. A
d man was sent that night to the Rams.
dell house with note from Miss
Grey. We know this because he
boosted of it to one of the bell-boys
before he went out, saying that he
was going to have glimpse of one
Of the SWEETEST parties of the season
| | r ic ole fr,,n hof hic mo no
, Grey's valet, an old servant who came
over with him from England. But
, what adds weight to all this and
makes us regard the whole affair with
suspicion, is the additional fact that
this man received his dismissal the
following morning and has not been
seen since by any one we could reach
| This looks bad to begin with, like the
! suppression of evidence, you know
| Then Mr.. Grey has not been the same
man since that night. He is full Of
care and this care is not entirely IL
connection with his daughter, who is
r doing very well and bids fair to be
UP in few days. But all this would
/ be nothing if We had not received ad
| vicse from England which prove thai
r Mr.. Grey's visit here has an element
5 of mystery in it. There was every
reason for his remaining in his owr
/ country, where political crisis is ap
) preaching, yet he crossed the water
bringing his sicl1ly daughter with him
f The explanation as volunteered b,
/ one who knew him well was this:
That only his desire to see or acquire
some precious object to. see or acquire
could have taken him across the
5 ocean at this time, nothing else rival
Y ing his interest in governmental
t affairs. Still this would be nothing i
: stiletto similar to the one EN-
4 ployed in this crime had not once
: formed part of collection Of curio'
1 belonging to cousin Of his whom hi
l often visited. This stiletto has beer
$ missing for some time, stolen, as thu
, owner declared, by some unknown per
. son. All this looks bad enough, blu
/ when tell you that week before tn,
t fatal ball at Mr.. Ramsdell's Mr.. Gre,
E made tour of the jewellers on Broad
. way and, with the pretext OF buying