The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1909-01-31
86J.ZZE14RZL CQM91yT

NOT L, Mrs. Hallam. Calendar aSldes
am Philip Kirkwood. American, resi-
dent abroad for some years. native OF
San Francisco. of a certain age, IN
married. by profession poor painter"
And"
Beyond that7 I presume I must tell
you. though I confess I'm In doubt
:. He hesitated, Weighing candor
in the balance with discretion.
But who are you for? Are you In
George Calendars pay?''
Heaven fOrfendr-piously. My sole
interest at the present moment is to IN
ravel a most enhancing mystery"
Entitled Dorothy Calendar'l OF
course. You've known her long?"
Eight hours. /. believe" he admitted
gravely; Tess than that. in fact"
Miss Calendars interests will not
me-"
Whether they will or no, see
must swing a looser tongue. or youll be
showing me the door,"
The woman shook her head. amused.
Not until" shAtold him significantly.
Very well, then" And he launched
into an abridged narrative OF the
nights events, as he understood them.
touching lightly on his own circum-
stances, the real poverty which had
brought him back to Craven street by
way of FrognalL And there you have
1t all. Mrs. Hallam.'
She sat in silent musing. Now and
again he caught the CLINT OF her eyes
and knew that he was being appraised
with such trained acumen as only long
knowledge of men can give to women.
Her dark head Bonded. elbow
on knee. chin resting lightly in the
cradle OF her slender, parted fingers, the
woman thought profoundly her reverie
ending with brief. curc laugh. musical
and mlrthless as the sound of breaking
glass.
1T is so like Calendar she ex-
claimed so like him that one sees
how foolish it was to trust-no. not to
trust, but to believe that he could ever
De thrown Off the scent once he got
nose to the ground So. If we suffer
my son and /, shall have only myself
to thankr
Kirkwood waited in patient atten-
ton I'LL she chose to continue. When
she did Now for my side of the caset''
cried Mrs. Hallam; and rising. began
10 pace the room, her slender and
rounded figure swaying gracefully the
while she talked.
George Calendar is a scoundreI."
she said: "a swindler. gambler-what
believe you Americans call a con-
hdence man. He is also my late hus-
bands first cousin. Some years since
ne found 1T convenient to leave Eng
land, likewise his wife and daughter
Mrs Calendar, a country woman OF
yours, by the by. died shortly after
wards Dorothy, by the merest acct
dent, obtained a situation as private
secretary in the household of the late
Colonel Burgoyne. of the Cliffs. Corn
wall. You follow me?"
Yes, perfectly"
Colonel Burgoyne died. leaving his
estates to my son. some time ago.
shortly afterward Dorothy Calendar
disappeared We know now that her
rather took her away, but then the
disappearance seemed inexplicable es-
peelally since with her vanished a
great deal OF valuable information
: She alone knew of the location of Ger
tain of the old colonePs personal eff
: feetS
: He was an eccentric. One Of his
pecullarities involved the secreting of
ValuaDleS In odd places; he had no
faith In banks. Among these valuables
We're the Burgoyne family jewels
quite treasure, believe me. Mr.. Kirk
wood. We found no note of them
among the colOnels papers, and with
out Dorothy We're pOwerIess to pur-
sue a search for them. We advertised
and employed detectives, with no re-
suit 1t seems that father and daugh-
ter were at Monte Carlo at the time"
Beautifully circumstantial my dear
lady, commented KirkwoOd-tO his
! inner consciousness. Outwardly he
: maintained pose Of impassive guilt
bility.
This afternoon. for the first time.
We received news Of the Calendars
Calendar himself called upon me to beg
loan- 1 explained our difficulty and
: he promised that Dorothy should send
US the information by the mornings
post When I insisted he agreed to
bring Ii himself after dinner this even
she interrupted, little anxious.
, Quite clear. I assure YOU" he as
sented encouragingly.
: strangely enough. he had not been
> gone ten minutes when my son came
in from conference with our solicit
! tors. informing me that at last a
memorandum has turned up, Indicating
, that the heirlooms would be found in
s safe secreted behind dresser in
Colonel Burgoyne's bedroom"
AT number 9. Frognall street"
Yes. 1 proposed going there
/ at once, but 1t was late and we were
> dining at the Pless with an acquaint-
r ance, a Mr.. Mulready. whom now re-
call as former intimate of George
Calendar To our surprise we saw Cal
: endar and his daughter at a table not
r far from ours. Mr.. Mulready betrayed
: some sgitation at the sight of Calendar,
! and told me that Scotland Yard had a
man out with warrant for Calendars
arrest, on old charges. For old sake's
5 sake, Mr.. Mulready begged me to give
! Calendar word Of warning I did So
foolishly. it seems; Calendar was at
that moment planning to rob US Null
ready aiding and abetting him."
: The woman paused before KirkwoOd
looking down upon him. And So" she
, concluded. I'VE have been tricked and
: swindled- I can scarcely believe 1t OF
Dorothy Calendar"
I, for one, don't believe it," Kirk
, wood spoke quietly. rising. Whatever
!. the culpability OF Calendar and Null
ready, Dorothy was only their hood
winked tool"
"But. Mr.. Kirkwood, she must have
! known the Jewels were not hers
2 Yes he assented passively but
: wholly unconvinced
;. And what" she demanded with a
: gesture OF evaporation. what would
you adviser"
: Scotland Yard" he told her bluntly
But it's a family secret 1t must not
IN ho