The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1906-10-12
THE MYSTERIOUS
SQUARES
(Original.1

(Original1
There was q cOmmOtiOn In Sarason
Hall. where house party composed Of
wealthy British people was making
merry. Lady Barnickel, the wife Of
Sir Michael Barnickel on retiring to
her room to go to bed missed brooch
In which was a rose diamond her hus-
band had brought her from India and
which he had procured from one Of the
native princes. 1t was Of priceless
value. Every guest was known to be
above suspicion except Edgar Ken
worthy, a young American. Ken
worthy was student at Oxford, where
he was trying for the honor Of senior
wrangler, a distinction to be obtained
only by proficiency in the higher
mathematics.
Lady Barnickel declared that her
her by a servant, for she did not trust
servants and took care not to expose
her jewelry to them. 1t must have be-
come unclasped during the evening of
it's loss and been picked up by some of
her associates. At any rate. no servant
had come near her in the evening A
number of persons had been with her,
among them Kenworthy. Lord Sara
son directed personally search Of the
house and grounds, but the brooch was
not found. An unspOken opinion grad
ually settled upon the guests that Ken
L. couon<hinrp al fho 1oc
Of the treasure.
The first intimation he had that he
was suspected was from Miss Lucy
Trevor, young lady to whom he had
been devoted, who gave him a hint.
He showed such unaffected surprise
that the girl had no doubt of his inno-
cence from that moment. But she had
no influence with the others. Ken
worthy, after learning of the position
he occupied, went to his room to think.
Either the brooch must be found or he
must endure the obloquy Of being con-
sidered a thief.
That night after all had gone to bed
Miss Trevor, whose room overlooked
the front lawn, heard some one be-
meath her window and saw a dark
figure pouring something out Of wa
tering pot on the grass. Either his
build or walk or some other feature in
dicated to her that he was Kenworthy.
The figure soon passed too far away
to be visible. and Miss Trevor went to
bed wondering. She wondered still
more the next morning when one Of
the guests asked, 'WhO was that per-
ambulating over the lawn with Ian
tern before daylight this morning."
She did not catch what followed, but
she naturally put the remark with
what she had seen. Then when she
went out on the terrace she saw
number of guests looking at the lawn,
which had been divided into squares
by lime lines, the process used in
marking lawn tennis courts. These
squares had been made during the
night, and no one could tell who had
made them. The host denied any
knowledge of the work, and none of
the guests attempted to explain it.
Miss Trevor looked on with the others
and said nothing.
The mystery Of the squares on the
lawn engaged the attention of the
household all that day. The only per-
son who did not appear to take any
interest in the matter was Kenworthy,
who sat over sheets of paper on which
he was figuring or porting over book
on optics. At luncheon time he left
his books and papers on table on the
terrace, and they were examined by
several persons, hoping some evidence
could be adduced from them to con-
Wet the American of theft.
The next night one of the guests
whose room overlooked the lawn, was
awakened by seeing light through
the Stats Of window blind. He got
up, went to the window and looked out
A light was moving on the lawn. And
a very singular motion it was. The
light would go. say, to the right, then
at right angle, then at another and
still another right angle. This process
was repeated over and over again.
What did it mean?
The watcher kept bis post till the
monotony of the moving light made
him sleepy, when he went back to bed
In the morning he Informed the house
hold That the place must be haunted,
for he had seen a light moving over the
lawn about two feet from the ground
describing a succession of right angles.
Then some one suggested that lantern
had been carried over the squares
That day the host told Kenworthy
that he was suspected Of having laid
down the squares and asked him if he
had done So; also if he had moved
over them with lantern at night.
Kenworthy admitted that he had done
both. Then when his lordship asked
his object in this strange proceeding he
said he was working out problem
which would be finished that night and
would not object to spectators.
As soon as it was dusk, while the
terrace overlooking the lawn was
crowded with people waiting in anx-
ious expectation for revelation Of the
mystery, the American came out with
lantern and said:
~ saw Lady Barnickel on this lawn