The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1906-11-29

die sputtering IN it's own grease at the
bottom of a tunlbler placed on one cor
ner of an Old fashioned dressing table
This. the one touch Of incongruity in
room otherwise rich II not stately in
its appointments. was loud ia its sug
gestion Of some hidden presence given
to expedients and reckless of conse
quences, but Of this presence nothing
was to be seen.
Not satisfied with this short survey, ]
turned my attention to my surround
ings. which had many points OF inter
est. Foremost among these was the
big four poster which occupied a large
space at my right. 1 had never seen its
like in use before, and 1 was greatly
attracted by its size and the air of
mystery impaired to it by it's closely
drawn curtains Of faded brocade.
A dressing table laden with woman's
fixings and various articles Of the toll
let. all of an unexpected value and
richness, occupied the space between
the two windows, and on the floor, i'm
mediately in front Of a high mahogany
mantel, there lay, amid a number of
empty boxes, an overturned chair.
This chair and the conjectures its po-
sition awakened led me to look up at
the mantel, with which it seemed to
be In some way connected, and thus
became aware Of a wan old drawing
hanging on the wall above it. Why
this picture, which was a totally unin-
teresting sketch OF a simpering girl
face, should have held my eye after
the first glance 1 cannot say even now
hoI b. nv % 10
tai kind, and very little if any mean
ing. It's lines, weak at the best. were
nearly obliterated and in some places
quite faded out, yet l not only paused
to look at 1t, but in looking at it forgot
myself and well nigh my errand. Yet
there was no apparent reason for the
spell it exerted over me.
1t may seem both unnecessary and
out OF character for a man Of my call
ing to acknowledge these chance SEN
sations. but only by doing SO can ac-
count for the minutes which elapsed
before summoned sufficient self pos
session to draw aside the closed cur
tains Of the bed and take the quick
look inside which my present doubtful
position demanded. But, once I had
broken the spell and taken the look
Just mentioned, I found my manhood
return and with 1t my old ardor for
clews. The bed held no gaping, chat
terfng criminal, yet was 1T not quite
empty. Something lay there. and this
something. while commonplace in it
self. was enough out of keeping with
the place and hour to rouse my inter-
est and awaken my conjectures. 1t
was a lady's wrap. so rich in quality
and Of such a festive appearance that
1t was astonishing to find it lying in a
neglected state in this crumbling old
house. Though I know little OF the
cost Of women's garments. l do know
the value Of lace, and this garment
was covered with it.
Interesting as was this find, it was
followed by one still more so. Nestled
in the folds of the cloak lay the with
cred remains of what could only have
been the bridal bouquet. Unsightly
now and scentless, it was once beau
tiful specimen Of the florists art AS
noted how the main bunch of roses
and lilies was connected by long satin
ribbons to the lesser clusters which
hung from it l recalled with conceiva-
BILE horror the use to which a similar
ribbon had been put in the room be-
low. In the shudder called up by this
coincidence I forgot to speculate how
a bouquet carried by the bride could
have found its way back to this up
stairs room when, as all accounts
agree, she had fled from the parlor be-
low without speaking or staying foot
the moment she was told of the catas-
>ho xV-h;n hoI FOL To-, h.
library. That her wrap should be ly-
ing here was not strange. but that the
wedding bouquet
That it really was the wedding bou-
Quet and that this was the room in
which the bride had dressed for the
ceremony was apparent to the most
casual observer. But it became an es-
tablished fact when in my further
course about the room L CHANGED on a
with the name Veronica
in one corner.
This handkerchief had an interest
apart from the name on it. 1t was of
dainty texture and quite in keeping Sc
far as value went with the other be-
longinSs of its fastidious owner. But
1t was not clean. Indeed it was
strangely soiled. and this soil was Of
nature I did not readily understand. A
woman would doubtless have compre-
hended Immediately the cause of the
brown streaks / found on it, but it
took me several minutes to realize that
this bit of cambria. delicate as a cob
web. had been used to remove dust
To remove dust! Dust from what?
From the mantelshelf probably. upon /
one. end OF which / found it. But no. |
One look along the polished boards |
convinced me that whatever else had /
been busted in this room this shelf !
had not The accumulation Of days if ,
not OF months was visible from one
end to the other Of its unrelieved sur
face save where the h. ndkerchief had
aid. nnd-the greatest discovery yet
where I'VE clear spots just to the left
of the center showed where some
mans finger tips had rested. Nothing /
but the pressure OF finger tips could /
have caused just the appearance pre-
'ented by these spots. By scrutinizing
them closely 1 could even tell where /
he thumb had rested ana at once fore
saw the possibility Of determining by