Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1910-12-17
CHAPTER XXlV.-Continued.

Hotchkiss felt certain that it had
been Sullivan, but / was not so sure.
Why would he have crawled like
thief into his own house? If he had
crossed the park. as seemed probable,
wheA we did, he had not made any
attempt to use the knocker. l gave it
up finally, and made an effort to con-
ciliate the young woman in the tower.
We had heard no sound since our
spectacular entrance into her room
] was distinctly uncomfortable, as
alone this time, | climbed to the tower
staircase. Reasoning from before,
she would probably throw a chair at
me. stopped at the foot of the stair
case and called
Hello up there" ! said, in as de-
bonnair manner as | could summon.
Good morning. VIE gent es bel
jhnen?"
No reply.
Bon jour, mademoiselle," l tried
again. This time there was move
ment Of some sort from above, but
nothing fell on me.
I've want to apologize for rous-
ing you so-er-unexpectedly this
morning" / went on. THE fact is, we
wanted to talk to you, and you-you
we're hard to waken. We are travel
ers, lost in your mountains. and we
crave a breakfast and an audience"
She came to the door then. ! could
feel thai she was investigating the top
of my bed from above. as Mr. Sui
iivan y h your she asked. 1t was
the fssf word from her, and she was
not sure of her voice.
no. We are alone. If you will
come down and look at us you will
find us two perfectly harmless people,
whose horse-curses on hin-depart-
ed without leave last night and left
us at your gate
She relnxed somewhat then and
came down step or two. 81 was
afraid | ,aad killed somebody" she
said. "The housekeeper left yester-
day. and The other maids went with
her"
When she saw that l was COM
paratively young and lacked the ear
marks Of the highwayman, she was
greatly relieved She was inclined to
fight shy of Hotchkiss, however, for
some reason. She gave us breakfast
sof sort, for there was little in the
house, and afterward we telephoned
to tae town for vehicle. While
Hotctkiss examined scratches and re-
placed the Bokhara rug, | engaged
Jennie in conversation.
Can you tell me-" / asked. who is
maaa&ing the estate since Mrs. Cur
lis wH killed."
"Eol one" she returned shortly.
.'Has-any member of the family
been here since the ACCIDENT"
ne, sir. There was only the two,
and some think Mr.. Sullivan was
killed IS well as his sister
You dont?'
NO" with conviction.
WHY"
sbe,wheeled on me with quick sus-
ricieR.
Are you a detective?" she de-
lnanded.
mo"
you IOlu HiHl W bay yOu iSpiO
vented the law"
81 am lawyer. Some of them mis-
represent the law, but +"
She broke in impatiently.
~ sheriffs officer?"
NO. Look here, Jennie; l am all
that | should be. You'll have to be-
fieve that. And I'm ip bad position
through no fault of my own. ] want
YOU to answer some questions. If you
xwiI help me, ] will do what can for
you. do you live near here?"
Her.cmn quivered. 1t was the first
sign u weakness she had shown.
MY home is in Pittsburg." she said
@aud / haven't enough money to get
there. They hadn't paid my wages fol-
tive months. They don't pay any
body"
VERY WE'LL" l returned. I'll send
YOU back to Pittsburg, Pullman in
cluded. il you will tell me some things
want to know"
She agreed eagerly. Outside the
window Hotchkiss was bending over
examining footprints in the drive.
Now | began, there has been Q
Miss West staying here2"
yes"
Mr.. Sullivan was attentive to
herr"
"Yes. She was the granddaughter
nf wealthy man in Pittsburg. My