Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-08-04
CHAPTER XVII.
My Discovery in Dean Street.


oughfare is Dean street. Soho.
Within the small front shop, behind a
mud-slashed window, clean lnen-shirts
and collars-was hanging upon. lines,
while at table several dark-haired
women evidently foreigners. their sleeves
rolled up, were ironing away for dear
life, laughing and chattering the while
A stout gray-haired French woman,
with white apron, was engaged in check
ing a laundry list as entered and made
inquiry for madame.
II am Nine. Perrin, m'sieur,' replied
the woman in rather musical French, as
she Strengthened herself and turned to-
ward me.
you. madame 7 said. lowering my voice
confidentially and raising my hat as l
spoke. 1.-The fact is, Ii
My words froze upon my lips. / stood
staring as though l had encountered an
apparition, for as spoke the glass door
which led to the parlor behind the shop
opened and there appeared in the door
sway a dark-eyed young woman In white
apron and with sleeves rolled up, one Of
madame's ironers.
Observation-Disclosures / gasped, step
ping quickly toward her. IL"
But with look Of quick apprehension
upon her face she stepped back with
cry of alarm My attitude had frighten-
ed her. She believed. no doubt, that |
had taken leave of my senses, while her
fellow-workers glanced at me in sheer
amazement.
The young woman did not. of course.
recognize me. To her knowledge she had
never set eyes upon me.
But I had recognized her. Though
dressed in plain black. with a white
apron and her hair plainly arranged, no
second glance was needed to tell me that
she was the woman who had called in q
cab at the Cecil for Ralph Garshore-the
woman who had been pointed out to me
by Granny as Lydia Popescu.
How l managed to control myself In
the few seconds that followed I cannot
tell. I. however. became conscious that
only by playing cunning game could
learn the truth. This unexpected LIZ, d'sc co..
cry had complicated matters still FUR
Their, yet fortunately was able to make
pretense that I had mistaken mademel-
selle for a lost friend. and. of course. be-
came profuse in my apologies to madame,
to mademoiselle and to her companions.
II fear" ] exclaimed In French, that
I've made myself somewhat ridiculous,
mademoiselles. / am English-so for
give mel laughed.
And the dozen or so ironers all laughed
in chorus.
'.Mademoiselle Melanie is always hay
ing English admirers" declared madame,
with a bristling, business-like air.
looked across at the woman of mys-
terry and. with pleasant smile, said:
"Mademoiselle resembles an old friend
somewhere in London-but London Is a
big place In which to search"
I'VE have never met BEFORE, laughed
the young woman known there as Mela-
ME, apparently unsuspicious now, though
at first / saw by her countenance that
she had been startled, believing me to De
an agent OF police.
My course was to appear regretful al
creating such surprise. Therefore, treat
ing the whole incident humorously, but
remained a few minutes chatting with
madame and her bevy of laughing work
girls, and then politely withdrew. / did
not, however. go before satisfying my
self that had allayed any suspicion.
u. made up s soekland ~ Story caI.
tain Mademoiselle Elise Vaugarde,
who had been in my sisters service. and
whose relative. an old aunt, had died in
Dijon, leaving her small Inheritance.
NV sister, said, had been much attached
to the girl, and l had promised to en-
deavor to find her.
The story, / saw, appealed to all the
girls. the mysterious Melanie included.
and when l walked back toward Shaftes-
bury avenue it was with feelings of graft
ffcation that l had made great and i'm
portant discovery.
Granny had declared it was Lydia
Popescu who had called at the Cecil. Yet
I had found her in hiding In the humble
Who was Melanie? Was she Marie Lee
has, or was she LYDIA Popescu? That
was a point for me to decide. My own
firm belief was that the Cad woman was
Lydia Popescu whom Cram. hated.
If she were his enemy, an enemy SO
deadly that 1t was to his own interests
to get rid of her-and 1t plainly seemed
so-then surely my suspicious were corr
rect.
Was Granny playing me false? Was it
not possible that Lydia Popescu-the
woman who had been obnoxious to the
Minister Soutzo, and who had assisted
master-criminal to fortune-might be
the woman SO cleverly masquerading as
attentions of the police? Yet If SO. then
why had the life of this lady's maid Lee
has been sacrificed? And why by means
so subtle that the whole medical profess
sion of London regarded the cause of
death as an enigma?
The tragedy of Radcliffe Gardens be-
trayed the master hand. No blunder had
taken that woman's life. One witness
knew the truth. Elfrida Maynard, the
sweet. fresh girl from the Yorkshire
moors who held me in her tolls.
But. alas, fear held her silent. Fear Of
what?
I did not remain long inactive.
Granny Cough, with his complex ma
his genuine philosophy, had now aroused
within me curious NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
that | could not define. BY telling me
that it was not Lydia Popescu who was
dead. he might. l thought, be endeavor-
ing to shield himself, and to hide from
me the real enormity of his crime.
And yet as, / walked along 1 reflected
that that big. burly, open-faced fellow
with the merry blue eyes-the man who
was so essentially man Of the world
the man who loved tiny child better
than his own life. and whose ideal was
Myra, SO delicate and refined-could never
exhibit such meanness as to become the
cowardly assassin of a woman.
And SO whenever | felt suspicious OF
my friend creeping upon me at once put
them behind me. resolved to still believe
in him, to still endeavor to extricate him
from the difficulties into which he had
fallen.
My next action, saw. was to keep a
shrewd eye upon the mysterious Melanie.
With that object I set about ascertain
ing the whereabouts of Garshore and dis
covered that he had returned to his COM
Portable house in Bolton street. his ten
ants term being up. He, the man whom
Rufford the master criminal was living
there in ease and security.
He was Grannys arch enemy, there
fore he was mine.
I spent that evening In the lounge at
the Empire Theater with Cunliffe. hut
tell me nothing regarding Elfrida's con-
nection with the crime. The police. he
said. had endeavored to get a statement
from her. but failed. AS far as the news
papers were concerned. the Radcliffe Gar
dens affair was ancient history. 1t was
other events Aequally mysterious. The
public craze for something fresh has to