Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1910-07-07
TIL CIRCULAR STAIRCASE
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~ ROBERTS
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CHAPTER /.
i Take a Country House.

8 furnished house for the summer out
Of town, and found herself involved in
one of those mysterious crimes that
keep our newspapers and detective
agencies happy and prosperous. For
20 years i 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
good-by to my friends, and, after
watching their perspiring hegira, had
settled down to delicious quiet in
town. where the mail comes three
times day, and the water supply
does not depend on tank on the
roof.
And then--the madness seized me.
When 4 look back over the months |
spentain Sunnyside, / wonder that !
survived at all. AS 1t is, ] show the
wear and tear of my narrowing ex-
perienees. / have turned very gray
Liddy reminded me OF 1T only yester-
day by saying that little bluing in
the rinse water would make my hair
silvery instead Of a yellow white.
hate to be reminded of unpleasant
things and snapped her off.
No, said sharply, I'm not going
TO use bluing at my time of life, or
starch, either"
Lidd3'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 have to- do
Is to threaten to return to Sunnyside,
and she is frightened into a semblance
OF cheerfulness- which you may
judge that the summer there was any
thing but success
The newspaper accounts have been
so garbled and incomplete-one of
them mentioned me but once, and
y then only as the tenant at the time
the@thing happened-that feel 1t my
duesto tell what ! know. Mr.. jamie
son, the detective, said himself he
could never have done without me,
although he gave me little enough
credit, in print.
~ shall have to go back several
years--13, to be eXact-to start my
story. At that time my brother died,
leaving me his two children. Halsey
was IL then and Gertrude was seven.
When Halsey had finished his cleo
trical course and Gertrude her board
Ing school both came home to stay
The winter Gertrude came out was
nothing but a succession of sitting up
lat at 3o1,t Ir;,&
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 I was
quite tractable. So when Halsey sug-
gested camping in the Adirondacxs
and Gertrude wanted Bar Harbor, we
compromised on a 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.
Its cheerful appearance gave no indi-
cation whatever Of anything out Of
the ordinary Only one thing seemed
unusual to me: The housekeeper, who
had been left in charge, had moved
from the house to the gardeners lodge
q few days before. AS the lodge was
far enough away from the house, it
seemed to me that either fire or
Z thieves could complete their work of
destruction undisturbed. The proper
" was an extensive one; the house on
v 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
3 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
y his wife and daughter, and DR..
Walker, the Armstrong family ply
sician, Halsey knew Louise Arm.
strong had been rather attentive to
her the winter before, but as Halsey
5& was always attentive to somebody, /
had not thought Of 1t seriously, al
though she was q charming girl. j
n knew OF Mr.. Armstrong only through
his connection with the bank, where
the children's money was largely In.
vested and through an ugly story
RI about the son, Arnold Armstrong, who
sS was reported to have forged his IA
Z theirs name for considerable amour,
Z to- some bank paper However, the
b story had had mo interest for me.
cleared Halsey and Gertrude
sway 10 = house party, and moved otli
@ To sunnyside the first Of May.
The drst night passed quietly
enough. have always been grateful
4 Tor that one night Il peace; 1t shows
what the country nlig hit be under ia.
voraa,ls circumstances. Never after
M that night did Z put my head on my
81 pillow any assurance how LONG
~ or on my shOuId erss
~ that matter, iase
Sll On the SLOWING mo- ming Liddy and
rs alston. my own honsekeepsf,
M s. ~ iferexs & snfi Mrs