The Red Cloud chief., 1910-05-19
TIL CIRCULAR STAIRCASE
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Z Take a Country House

This is the story of how a middle
aged spinster lost her mind, deserted
her domestic gods In the city. tool
a furnished house for the summer on
OF town. and found herself involved II
one of those mysterious crimes tina
keep our newspapers and detective
agencies happy and prosperous. Fol
20 years | had been perfectly com
Portable; for 20 years | had had the
window.boxes filled in the spring, the
carpets lifted, the awnings put up and
the furniture covered with brown
linen; for as many summers ! had said
sood-by to my friends, and, after
watching their perspiring hegira, had
settled down to delicious quiet In
town. where the mail comes three
times a day, and the water supply
does not depend on tank on the
roof.
And then--the madness seized me.
When ] look back over the months
spent In Sunnyside, ! wonder that
wear and tear of my narrowing ex'
periences. have turned very gray
Liddy reminded me Of 1t only yester-
day by saying that little b,uing in
the rinse water would make my hair
sllvery instead OF yellow white.
hate to be reminded of unpleasant
things and ! snapped her Off.
NO" ! said sharply, I'm not going
Co use bluing at my time of life, or
starch. either"
Liddy's nerves are gone, she says.
since that awful summer, but she has
enough left, goodness knows! And
when she begins to go around with a
lump In her throat. all I have to do
Ia to threaten to return to Sunnyside,
and she Is frightened into a semblance
OF cheerfulness-from which you may
Judge that the summer there was any
thing but success.
The newspaper accounts have been
80 garbled and incomplete-one OF
them mentioned me but once. and
then only as the tenant at the time
the thing happened-that | feel IL my
due to tell what know. Mr.. jamie.
could never have done without me,
although he gave me little enough
credit. in print
1 shall have to go back several
years-l3. to be exact--to start my
story. At that time my brother died,
leaving me his two children. Halsey
was II then and Gertrude was seven.
When Halsey had finished his elec.
rical course and Gertrude her board.
Ing school both came home to stay.
The winter Gertrude came ont was
nothing but succession OF sitting up
late at night to bring her home from
things, taking her to the dressmakers
between maps the next day, and dis
couraging ineligible youths with either
more money than brains or more
brains than money. BY spring | was
quite tractable. So when Halsey sug.
sested camping In the Adirondacks
and Gertrude wanted Bar Harbor, we
compromised on good country house
with links near, within motor dis.
lance OF town and telephone distance
OF the doctor. That was how we went
TO Sunnyside.
We went out to inspect the property.
and 1t seemed to deserve it's name
It's cheerful appearance gave no indi.
cation whatever of anything ont of
the ordinary. Only one thing seemed
unusual to me: The housekeeper. who
mad been left In charge, had moved
from the house to the gardeners lodge
rev days before. As the lodge was
iar enough away from the house. II
seemed to me that either fire or
thieves could complete their work of
destruction undisturbed. The proner
" was an extensive one; the house on
the top OF a hill, which sloped away in
great stretches of green lawn and
clipped hedges, to the road, and across
the valley, perhaps a couple of miles
away. was the Greenwood Club house
Gertrude and Halsey were infatuated
The property was owned by Paul
Armstrong. the president of the
Traders bank, who at the time we
took the house was in the west with
his wife and daughter, and DR.
Walker. the Armstrong family phy
sician. Halsey knew Louise Arm.
stronghold been rather attentive to
her the winter before, but as Halsav
was always attentive to somebody !
had not thought of It seriously. al.
though she was charming girl. |
knew of Mr. Armstrong only through
his connection with the bank, wher,
the children's money was largely in
vested, and through an ugly stor,
about the son, Arnold Armstrong. who
was reported to have forged his ia
ther's name for considerable amoun,
to some bank paper. However. IN,
story had had no interest for me.
] cleared Halsey and Gertrud,
away to house party, and moved on
to Sunnyside the first of May.
The first night passed ouIetr
enough. ] have always been gratefu
for that one nights peace: IL show,
what the country might be under fa
sorable circumstances. Never af.a.
that night did ] put my head on m,
pillow with any assurance how loni