The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1910-09-01

1>Na CoAko IN |
library paper-basket again"
Liddy was arranging her bits of pa.
per with the skill Of long practice and
paid no attention.
Did il ever occur to you" I went
on. putting my hand over the scraps, |
that when people tear up thei.' cor.
~respondence 1t is for the express pur-
pose of keeping it from being read?"
IF they wasn't ashamed of 1t they
wouldn't take so much trouble, Miss
Rachel Liddy said oracularly. More
than that, with things happening every
day, | consider it my duty. II you
don't read and act on this, l shall give
1t to that Jameson, and I'll venture
he'll not go back to the city today"
That decided me. If the scraps had
anything to do with the mystery or
binary conventions had no value. So
Liddy arranged the scraps, like work
ing out one of the puzzle pictures chill
dren play with, and she did II with
much the same eagerness. When it
was finished she stepped aside while
I read it.
"Wednesday night, nine o'clock.
Bridge" | read aloud. Then, aware
of Alexis stare. l turned on Liddy.
Some one is to play bridge to-
night at nine o'clock" ] said. rs that
your business. or mine?'
Liddy was aggrieved. She was
about to reply when l scooped up the
pieces and left the conservatory.
Nov them | said, when we got
outside, will o tell me why you
choose to take Alex into your con
fdence? He's no fool. Do you sup
pose he thinks any one in this house
is going to play bridge tonight at
nine o'clock, by appointment! I sup
pose you have shown it in the kitchen,
and instead of my being able to slip
down to the bridge tonight quietly,
and see who is there, the whole house
hold will be going in a procession"
Nobody knows it," Liddy said hum
bly,, u found II in the basket in Miss
Gertrude's dressing DON Look at the
back of the sheet" l turned over some
of the scraps, and, sure enough, II
was a blank deposit slip from the
Traders bank. SO Gertrude was going
to meet Jack Bailey hat night by the
bridge! And / had thought he was
i'll! It hardly seemed like the action
Of a. innocent man-this avoidance Of
daylight, and of his fiancee's people.
l decided to make certain, however,
by going to the bridge hat night.
After luncheon Mr.. Jameson suE-
sested that l go with him to Richheld.
and | consented.
II am inclined to place more faith
in DR.. Stewards story" he said, since
l found that scrap in old Thomas
pocket. 1t bears out the statement
that the woman with the child, and
the woman who quarreled with Arm
strong, are the same. 1t looks as II
Thomas had stumbled on to some af-
fair which was more or less discred-
liable to the lead man, and, with a
certain loyalty to the family. had kept
1t to himself. Then, you see, your
story about the woman at the card
room window begins to mean some
thing. 1t is the nearest approach to
anything tangible that we have had
yet
Warner took US to Richfeld in the
car. 1t was about % miles by rail
road. but by taking a series of afro
ciously rough short cuts we got there
very quickly. 1t was a pretty little
town, IN the river, and back on the
hill I could see the Morton big coun-
try house, where Halsey and Ger
trude had been staying until the night
of the murder.
Elm street was almost the only
street, and number IA was easily
found. 1t was a small white house.
dilapidated without having gained
anything picturesque, with a low win
dow and a porch only a foot or so
above the bit of a lawn. There was a
baby-carriage in the path, and from
a swing at the side came the sound of
conflict. Three small children were
disputing vociferously, and a faded
young m with a kindly face was
trying to hush the clamor. When she
saw us she united her Bingham apron
and came around to the porch.
Good afternoon" l said. Jameson
llfted MS nat, without speaking. Il
came to inquire about a child named
Lucien Wallace"
81 am glad you have come" she
said. In spite of the other children,
| think the little fellow ia lonely. We
thought perhaps his mother would be
here today"
Mr.. Jameson stepped forward.
You are Mrs. Tate?" wondered
how the detective knew.
Yes, sir"
Mrs. Tate, we a to make some
inquiries. Perhaps in the house"
Come right in" she said Hospitality.
And soon we were in the little shabby
parlor, exactly like a thousand of its
prototypes. Mrs. Tate sat uneaslly, her
hands folded in her lap.
How long has Lucien been here?"
Mr.. Jameson asked
Since a week & last Friday. His
mother paid one weeks board in ad-
vance, the other has not been paid"
Was he III when he came?"
mo, sir, not what you'd call sick.
He was getting better of typhoid, she
said, and he's picking up fine"