, 1910-12-08

as a DIT OF mortar ana iarn. NO DOUBT
they were even then heaped neatly
on a gravestone in the Casanova
churchyard!
l brought Mr.. Jameson up to e
the hole in the wall, directly after
odd when he looked at 1t, and the first
thing he did was to try to discover
what object, II any. such a hole could
have. He got a piece of candle. and
by enlarging the aperture a little was
able to examine what lay beyond. The
result was nil. The %trunkroom, al
though heated by steam heat, like the
rest of the house. boosted of a fire.
place and IaDtel as we'll. The open
ing had beer made between the f1ue
and the outer wall of the house. There
was revealed. however. On inspection,
only the brick of the chimney on one
side and the outer wall of the house
on the other; in depth the space ex-
tended only to the flooring. The
breach had been made about four feet
from the floor. n inside were all the
missing bits of plaster. 1t had been
a methodical ghost.
It was very much of a disappoint-
ment. / had expected a secret room,
at the very least, and / think even Mr..
Jameson had fancied he might at last
have a clew to the mystery. There
was evidently nothing more to be dis
covered; Liddy reported that every
thing was serene among the servants,
and that none of them had been dis
turbed by the noise. The maddening
thing, however. was that the nightly
visitor had evidently more than one
way Of gaining Access to the house, and
we made arrangements to redouble
our vigilance as to windows and doors
that night.
Halsey was inclined to pooh.pooh
the whole affair. He said a break in
the plaster might have occurred
months 6 and gone unnoticed, and
that the dust had probably been
stirred up the day before. After all,
we had to let 1t got at that, but we
put in an uncomfortable Sunday. Ger
trude went to church, and Halsey took
a long walk in the morning Louise
was able to sit vi and she allowed
Halsey and Liddy to assist her down
stairs late in the afternoon. The east
veranda was shady, green with vines
and palms. cheerful with cushions and
%lounging chairs. We put Louise in a
steamer chair, and she sat there
passively enough, her hands clasped
In her lap.
We were very silent. Halsey sat on
the rail with a pipe, openly watching
Louise, as she looked broodingly
across the valley to the hills. There
was something battling in the girls
eyes; and gradually Halsey's boyish
features lost their glow at seeing her
about again, and settled into grim
lines. He was like his father Just
then.
We sat until late afternoon, Halsey
growing more and more moody. Short.
ly before six he got up and went into
the house, and in a few miautes he
came out and called me to the tele
phone. 1t was Anna Whitcomb, In
town. and she kept me for 20 minutes
telling me the children had had the
measles and how Nine. Sweeny hao
botched her new gown.
When I finished, Liddy was behint
me, her mouth a thin line.
Il wish you would try to look cheer
full, Liddy," / groaned, your fac,
would sour milk" But Liddy seldom
replied to my gibes. She folded he
lips a little tighter.
He called her up" she said oracu
larly, he called her up. and asked he
to keep you at the telephone, SO h
ant,II tnlly - IA.
less child is sharper than a serpent,
tooth"
NONSENSE" ! said ~brusquely. 81
might have known enough to leav
them. It's a long time since you an
| were in love, Liddy, and-we fol
get"
Liddy shifted.
NO man ever made a fool of me.
h replied %virtuously.
We'll, something did," 1 retorted.