Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1907-09-20

You would make him oft Cagllostro
or something worse. Miss Van Ars-
dale, fear your theory will topple
over of its own weight"
He was very patient with me; he did
not show me the door
"Yet such a substitution took place,
and took place that evening"" l insist
ed. "The bit of paste shown us at
the inquest was never the gem Mrs.
Fairbrother wore on entering the al
cove. Besides. where all is sensation.
why cavil at one more improbability?
Mr.. Grey may have come over to
America for no other reason. He is
known as collector, and when a man
has a passion for diamond getting"-
HE is known as n collector"
"In his own country"
81 was not told that"
"Nor l. But l found it out"
GLOW, my dear child howT
"By a cablegram or So"
"You-cabled-his name-to Eng
land?'
mo, inspector; uncle has a code, and
I made use of it to ask friend in Lon
don for a list of the most noted dia-
mond fanciers in the country. Mr..
Greys name was third on the list"
He gave me look in which admira-
ton was strangely blended with doubt
and apprehension.
"You are making a brave struggle"
said he, "but it is hopeless one"
81 have one more confidence to re-
pose in you. The nurse who has charge
Of Miss Grey was in my class in the
hospital. We love each other, and to
her l dared appeal on one point. In
spectOr'-here my voice unconsciously
fell as he lmpetuously drew nearer
"a note was sent from that sick cham
Der on the night of the ball-a note sur
reptitiously written by Miss Grey while
the nurse was in an adjoining room.
The messenger was Mr.. Greys valet
and its destination the house in which
her father was enjoying his position as
chief guest She says that 1t was
meant for him. but l have dared to
think that the valet would tell diff
ferent story. My friend did not see
what her patient wrote, but she &C
knowledged that If her patient wrote
more than two words the result must
have been an unintelligible scrawl,
since she was too weak to hold a pen
Gil firmly and so nearly blind that she
would have had to feel her way over
the paper"
The inspector started .and. rising
hastily, went to his desk, from which
he presently brought the scrap of paper
which had already figured in the in
quest as the mysterious communication
taken from Mrs. Farbrother's hand by
the coroner. Pressing it out fiat, he
took another look ut it. then glanced
up in visible discomposure.
1T has always looked to us as If
written in the dark by an agitated
hand, but
said nothing. The broken and un-
finished scrawl was sufficiently elo
quent.
did your friend declare Miss Grey
to have written with pencil and on
a small piece of unruled paper?'
Eyes. The pencil was at her bed
side. The paper was torn from book
which lay there. She did not put the
gave it to the valet just as it was
He is an old man and had come to bel
room for some final orders"
"The nurse saw all this? Has SHE
that book?'
mo; it went out next morning Will
the scraps. 1t was some pamphlet,
believe"
The inspector turned the morsel o.
paper over and over in his hand.
what is this nurses name?"
Henrietta Person"
"Does she share your doubtsF
81 cannot say"
"You have seen her often?"
"No, only the one time"
as she dscreet?"
every. On this subject she will b.
like the grave unless forced by you t
speak"
"And Miss Gregg"
"She is still i'll, too i'll to be disturbed
by questions, especially on so delicat
topic. But she Is getting we'll fast
Her fathers fears as we heard then
expressed on one memorable occasion
were i'll founded, sir"
Slowly the inspector inserted thl
scrap of paper between the folds of hi
pocketbook. He did not give me anott
er look, though l stood trembling be
: fore him. Was he in any way convinC
ed or was he simply seeking for tn
most considerate way in which to dis
miss me and my abominable theory?
could not gather his intentions from hi