, 1908-03-19
Che HOUSE @@
THOUSAND CANDLES
BY MEREDITH
CHAPTER xl.
Receive . Call.

winter morning III mouse whose
WAYS are disquieting. after q duel In
which YOU escaped whole only h,
sheer good luck. does not At one 70,
Jeep. When 7 finally drew the covers
over me it was to lie and speculate
upon the events Of the night in con.
section with the history OF the few
weeks | had spent at Glenarm. Larry
had suggested in New York that Pick.
ering was playing some deep xams.
and /, myself. could not accept Pick.
erins's statement that my grandfath.
er's ,srse fortune had proved to BE- i.
myth. II Pickering had not stolen or
dissipated 1t, where was II concealed,
Morgan was undoubtedly looking for
something Of value or he would NOT
risk his life in the business; and n
was quite possible that he was EN-.
ployed by Pickering to search for hid.
den property. This idea DOL strong
hold OF me. the more readily. I fear
since | had always been axious to sec
evil in Pickering. There a to he
sure, the unknown alternative heir
but neither she Sister Tberess
was. | imagined, q person capable o.
hiring an assassin to kill me.
On reflection I dismissed the idea
Of appealing to the county authorities
and / v regretted that resolution
The seat OF Wabana county was 20
miles away the processes of law were
unfamiliar, and I wished to avoid pub
lcity. Morgan might, of course. have
been easily disposed of by an appeal
to the Anmandale constable, but now
that l suspected Pickering Of treach.
cry the caretaker's Importance Twin.
died. l had wanted all my life for a
chance at Arthur Pickering, and in
this affair l hoped to draw him into
the open and settle with him.
slept presently but woke at my
usual hour, and after 4 tub felt ready
for another day. Bates served me.
As usual. q breakfast that gave a fair
aspect to the morning. I was alert
for n sign Of perturbation in him;
but l had already decided that
might As well look for emotion in a
stone wall a. in this placid, colorless
serving man. had NO reason to sus.
pect him Of completely in the nights
affair. but l had no faith in him. and
merely waited until he should show
his hand.
By my plate nex morning l found
this note. written in q clear, bold.
wOman's hand:
The Sisters of st. Agatha trust
that the intrusion upon his grounds
by Miss Armstrong. one Of their stu.
cents. has caused Mr.. Glenarm NO an
Hoyance. The Sisters beg that this
infraction Of their discipline will be
overlooked. and they ASSURE Mr.. Glen
Vm that 1t will not recur."
An unnecessary apology! The mote
Raper was of the best quality. At
The head Of the page st. Agatha's.
~lnnandale" was embossed in purple.
One Of the sisters l had seen beyond
the wall Undoubtedly wrote it-possi-
bly, Sister Theresa herself. A clever
woman, that! Thoroughly capable of
plucking money from guileless old
gentlemen! Poor Olivia. born for
freedom, but doomed to . pent-up eI-
istence with q lot of nuns! resolved
to send her q box uf candy sometime
just to annoy her guardians. Then
my own affairs claimed attention.
Bates" l asked. do you know
what Mr.. Glenarm did with the plans
for this h~ouse?"
He started slightly. I should not
have noticed 1t II I had not been 10
keen for his answer.
NO, sir. l cant put my hand upon
them, sir"
That's all very we'll, Bates, but you
didn't answer my question. DO o
know where they are? I'll put my
hand on them II you will kindly tell
ne where they're kept"
Il fear very much, Mr.. Glenarm.
that they have been destroyed. l tried
to nnd them before you came. to tell
you the whole truth. sir; but they
must have been put out Of the way"
That's very interesting. Bates. VIII
you kindly tell me whom you suspect
Of destroying them? The toast again,
please"
His hand shook - he passed b
plate.
a hardly like to hay. sir, when it's
snly a suspicion"
OF course I shouldn't ask you TO
incriminate yourself, but I'll have U
insist on my question. 1t may have
occurred to you, Bates. that in a sense
in a sense, mind you-l'm the mas
Ter here"
Well, I should say. II you press me
that / fear MI. Glenarm, your grand
father, burned the plans when he EFT
here the last time. hope you VIII
pardon me. sir, for seeming to renee
upon him."
Reflect upon the devil! What was
his idea, do you suppose?"
Il think, sir, II you will pardon