, 1908-04-02

Ill ANA hlC "
visit the crypt of the chapel and ex-
anime the opening to the tunnel. As
I passed the little group of school
buildings a man came hurriedly from
one Of them and turned toward the
chapel.
arst thought It was Stoddard. but
could not make him out in the mist
and in my uncertainty waited for him
to put 20 PAGES between Us before 1
followed.
lie strobe into the chapel porch
with an air of assurance and I heard
him address some n who had been
waiting. The mist vas now so heavy
that | could not see my hand before
my face. and I stole forward until I
heard the voices Of tive men distir city.
"Bates!"
Yes, sir"
heard feet ~scraping on the stone
moor of the porch.
This is q devil Of q place to talk
lin, but it's the best we can do. Did
1.-The young man know l sent for your"
mo. sir. i kept him quite busy
with his books and papers"
"Humph! We can never be sure of
him."
81 suppose that IL correct, sir"
Well, you and Morgan are a fine
pair, l must say! thought he had
some sense and that you'd see to 1t
that he didn't make a mess of this
whole thing. He's in bed now with q
hole in his arm and you've got to 20
on alone"
TN do my best. Mr.. Pickering"
Don't call me by name, you idiot.
We're not advertising our business
from the housetops."
Certainly not" replied Bates hum
bly,.
The blood was roaring through my
head. and my hands clenched as l
stood there listening to this colloquy.
Pickering's voice was-and is-un-
mistakabls. There vas always a purr-
ing softness in 1t. He used to remind
me at school of 4 sleek, complacent
cat, and / hate with particular
loathinE.
rs Morgan lying or not when he
says he shot himself accidentally"
demanded Pickering petulantly.
II only know what l heard from
the gardener here at the school. You'll
understand, l hope, that I can't be
seen going to Morgan's house."
"Of course not. But he says you
haven't played fair with him, that you
sven attacked him q few days after
Glenarm came"
Yes. and he hit me over the head
.,S<h N-A rx -,A hlo {-lfSoraff0r
sir. He wanted to go through the IL
brary in broad daylight. and it wasn't
any 9 anyhow. There's nothing
there"
But I don't like the looks Of this
shooting. Morgan's sick and out of
his head. But q fellow like Morgan
Isn't likely to shoot himself accident
ally, and now that It's done the works
stopped and the time Is running on.
What do you think Glenarm sus-
pects?"
Il can't tell, sir. but mighty little.
| should say. The shot through the
window the first night he was here
seemed to shake him . trifle. but he's
quite settled down now, 1 should say.
sir. That shot of Morgan's was .
great mistake. The young gentleman
isn't to be frightened ava as easily
as that"
"MorEan's q fool. But what 10 Glen
arm doing? He probably doesn't spend
much time on this side of the fence
doesn't haunt the chapel, l fancy"
Lord, NO! hardly suspect the
young gentleman Of being a praying
man."
You haven't seen him prowling
about the house Analysing the archi-
lecture"
Not q bit Of it, sir! He hasn't, l
should say, what his revered grand
father called the analytical mind"
Pickering stamped his feet upon he
paved porch floor in = way that l re-
membsrsd Of old. 1t marked q con-
clusion, and preluded serious mis-
takes.
Now, Bates" he said with a ring
of authority and speaking in a louder
key than he had yet used, Its your
duty under all circumstances to help
discover the hidden assets OF the e.
tate. We've got to pluck h mystery
from that architectural monster we
there. and the time for doing II 10
short enough. Mr.. Glenarm was .
rich man. To my own knowledge he
had . couple of millions, and no
couldn't have spent 1t all on that
house. He reduced his bank account
to q few thousand dollars and swept
out his safety deposit boxes with q
broom before his last trip to Yer
mont. He didn't die with the stun In
his clothes, did he?"
Lord bless me. no. sir! There wal
lAtle enough cash to bury him, with
you out Of the country and me alone