The newspaper., 1909-10-22

At the top of the flight had been
placed tall wicker hamper, packed
with linen that had come from town.
1t stood at the edge of the top step,
almost barring passage. and on the
step below it was a long. fresh
scratch. For three steps the scratch
was repeated. gradually diminishing.
as If some object had fallen, striking
each one. Then for four Steps nothing.
On the fifth step below was a round
dent in the hard wood. That was all.
and it seemed little enough except
that ! was positive the marks had not
been'there the day before
II bore out my theory Of the sound.
which had been for all the world like
the humping of a metallic object down
a; fight OF steps. The four steps had
been skipped. | reasoned that an iron
bar. for instance. would do something
of the sort-strike two or three steps.
end down. then turn over. jumping a
few stairs, and landing with thud
Iron bars, however, do not fall
downstairs in the middle of the night
alone. Coupled with the figure on the
veranda the agency by which it
climbed might be assumed But-and
here was the thing that puzzled me
most-the doors were all fastened
that morning, the windows unmolest-
ed. and the particular door from the
card room to- the yeranda had a com
bination lock Of which | held the key,
and which had not been tampered
with.
l fixed on an attempt at burglary.
as the most natural expianation-an
attempt frustrated by the falling of
the object, whatever it was. that had
reused me. Two things | could not
understand; how the intruder had es-
capped with everything locked. and
why he had left the small silver,
which. in the absence of a butler. had
remained downstairs over night.
In the afternoon a hack came up
from Casanova. with a fresh relay of
servants. The driver took them with
flourish to the servants entrance,
and drove around to the front Of the
house. where / was awaiting him.
Two dollars" he said in reply to
my question L don't charge full
rates. because. bringin' EN- up all
summer as do. II pays TO make a
special price When they got of the
train ] sez. sez |: There's another
bunch for Sunnyside, cook. parlor
maid and all Yes'm-six summers,
and new lot never less than once a
month They won't stand for the
country and the lonesomeness. 1
reckon
But with the presence OF the
bunch" of servants my courage re-
vived and late in the afternoon came
a message from Gertrude that she and
Halsey would arrive that night at
about II o'clock. coming in the car
from Richfeld Things were looking
up. and when Beulah. my cat. most
intelligent animal. found some early
catnip on a bank near the house and
rolled in It in a feline ecstasy. de-
oided that getting back TO nature was
the thing to do.
While I was dressing for dinner.
Liddy raped at the door. She was
hardly herself yet. but privately l
think she was worrying about the bro
ken mirror and its augury. more than
anything else When she came in she
was holding something in her hand.
and she laid il on the dressing table
carefully.
4 found Il in the linen hamper
she said. 1t must be Mr.. Halsey's.
but 1t seems queer how IL got there
II was the half of a link cuff but
ton OF unique design. and l looked at
IL carefully.
Where was it, In the bottom OF
the hamper" | asked.
ON the very top" she replied. It's
a mercy it didn't fall out on the way
When Liddy had gone | examined
the fragment attentively. | had never
seen 1t before. and was certain 1t
was not Halsey's. II was OF Italian
workmanship. and consisted of a
mother-of-pearl foundation. encrusted
with tiny seed-pearls. strung on
horsehair to hold them. In the cen
ter was a small ruby. The trinket
was odd enough. but not intrinsically
OF great value. Its interest for me
lay in this: Liddy had found it lying
in the top OF the hamper which had
blocked the east-wing stairs.
That afternoon the Armstrong;
housekeeper. a youngish good-looking
woman. applied for Mrs. Ralston's
place. and was glad enough to take
her. She looked as though she might
be equal to dozen OF Liddy. with her