, 1910-12-08

me ming to 90 Is TO Ieave Things ex-
actly as they are, to avoid rousing
suspicion. Then can watch for at
least a part of each night and prob
ably Mr.. Innes will help us out. I
would say as little to Thomas as pos
sible. The old man knows more than
he is willing to admit"
/ suggested that Alex, the gardener,
would probably be willing to help. and
Mr.. Jameson undertook to make the
arrangement. For n night. how
ever, Mr.. Jameson preferred to watch
alone. Apparently nothing occurred.
The detective sat in absolute dark
ness on the lower step of the stairs,
DOING, he said afterwards, now and
then. Nothing could pass him In
either direction, n the door In the
morning remained as securely fast
ened as 1t had been the night before.
And yet one of the most inexplicable
occurrences of the whole affair look
place that yer night.
Liddy came to my room on Sunday
morning with a face as long as he
moral law. She laid out my things as
usual, but / missed her customary
60 . "oo Aoh e"hS ~
the new cooks extravaganza as to
eggs, and she even forbore to mention
that JAMESON" on whose arrival she
had looked with silent disfavor.
whats the matter, Liddy? I asked
at last. Didn't you sleep last night"
mo, ma'am," she said stiffiy.
Ibid you have two cups of coffee
at your dinner?" I inquired.
mo. MAN," Indignantly.
! sat up n almost upset my hot
water-I always take a cup of hot wa
ter with a pinch of salt, before I get
up. It tones the stomach.
"Lfddy Allen" I said, stop comblng
thpt switch and tell me what is wrong
with you"
Liddy heaved a sigh.
Girl and woman" she said, i've
been with you 25 years, Miss Rachel,
through good temper and bad the
idea! and what I have taken from
her in the way of sulks!-'but | guess
/ can't stand It any longer. My trunks
packed"
Who packed it?" asked, expecting
from her one to be told she had
Weakened to fin It done by some
ghostly hand.
Il did; Miss Rachel, you won't be-
lieve me when I tell you this house
fs haunted. Who was 1t fell down the
clothes chute? Who was 1t scared
Miss Louise almost into her grave?"
I'm doing my best to FIND out" i
said. What In the world are you
driving at?' She drew a long breath
HThQra iu a hnIo IN tho trrrlrcNp,
wall, dug out since last night. It's big
enough to put our head in. and the
plaster's all over the place"
"Nonsense!" ! said. Plaster is al
ways falling"
But Liddy clenched that.
Just ask Alex" she said. when
he put the new cooks trunk there last
night the wall was as smooth as this.
This morning it's dug out, and there's
plaster on the cooks trunk. Miss
Rachel, you can get a dozen detectives
and put n on every stair in the
house, and you'll never catch any
thing. There's some things you can't
handcuff."
Liddy was right. AS soon as | could.
I went up to the trunkrocm, which
was directly over my bedroom. The
plan o, ~" upper story of the house
was like tl"' of the second floor, in
the nam. Cue end, however, oyer
tho east wing, had been left only roug-
~ raiGhgd. the intention having been
H., Corv0ri i into a ball rom at some
TT '~'" The maids roUfDs. trunk.
room, n various storerooms, includ-
ing a large airy linen room, opened
from a long corridor, like that on the
second floor. And in the trunkroom,
as Liddy had said, was q fresh break
In the plaster.
Not only in the plaster, but through
the lathing, the aperture extended. l
reached into the opening, and three
feet away, perhaps, l could touch the
bricks of the partition wall. For some
reason the architect in building the
house had left a space there that
struck me, even in the surprise of the
discovery, as an excellent place for a
c~oufiagration to gain Roadway.
"You are sure the hole was not here
yesterday" ! asked Liddy, whose ex-
preston was a mixture of satisfaction
and alarm. In answer she pointed to
the new cooks trunk-that necessary
adjunct of the migratory domestic. The
top was covered with fine white plaster,
as was the floor. But there were no
large pieces of mortar lying around
no bits of lathing. When l mentioned
this to Liddy she merely raised her
eyebrows. Being quite confident hat
the gap was of unholy origin, she did
not concarn herself with sunh triaaa