, 1910-12-22

ohAy IL pIONI0e nnIV
one possible entrance for the invadar
anu 10 Keep a constant guard in the
lark at the foot of the circular stair
case seemed to be the only method.
In M absence of the detective
Alex and Halsey arranged to change
on Halsey to be on duty from ten to
Two, and Alex from two until sfx.
Each mar was armed, and, as an ad-
di'ional precaution, the one off DUTY
slept in a room near the head of he
circular staircase and kept his door
open, to be ready for
These arrangements were carefully
kept the servants, who were only
commencing to sleep at night. and
who retired, one and all, with barred
doors and lamps that burned full until
morning.
The house was quiet again Wednes-
day night. 1t was almost a week since
Louise had encountered some one on
the stairs. and It was four days since
the discovery of the hole in the trunk.
room wall. Arnold Armstrong and
his father rested side by side in the
Casanova ch~urchyard, and at the Zion
African church, on the hill, a new
mound marked Che last resting-place
Of poor Thomas.
Louise was with her mother in
town, and, beyond a polite note of
thanks to me, we had heard nothing
from her. DR.. Walker had taken up
his practice again. and we saw him
now and hen flying along the road,
always at top speed. The murder of
Arnold Armstrong was still ~unavenged,
and 1 remained firm in the position l
had taken-to stay at Sunnyside until
the thing was at least partly cleared.
And yet, for all its quiet, it was on
Wednesday night that perhaps the
boldest attempt was made to enter
the house. On Thursday afternoon
the lauudress sem word she would
like to speak to me, and l saw her in
my private sitting room, q small room
beyond the dressing room,
Mary Anne was embarrassed. She
had rolled down her sleeves and tried
q white apron around her waist, and
she stood making folds in it with I'm
gers that were red and shiny from her
so%ap-suds.
well Mary" l said encouragingly,
what's the matter? Don't dare to
tell me the soap is out"
mo. ma'am, Miss Innes." She had
a nervous habit of looking first at my
one eye and then at the other, her
optics shifting ceaselessly, right
eye, left eye, right eye, until l found
myself doing the anne thing. mo.
ma'am. / was askin' did you want the
ladder left up the clothes chute?"
THE WHAT" l screeched, and was
sorry the next minute. Seeing her
suspicious were verified, Mary Anne
had gone white. and stood with her
eyes shifting more wildly than ever.
There's a ladder up the clothes
chute, Miss Innes," she said. Its
up that tight l can't move 1t, and I
didn't like to ask for help until I spoke
to you"
1t was useless to dissemble; Mary
Anne knew o as well as l did that
the ladder had no business to be
there. l did the best I could, how
ever. I put her on the defensive at
once.
Then you didn't lock the laundry
last night?"
81 locked it tight, and put the key
in the kitchen on its nail"
Very well. Their you forgot a win
dow"
Mary Anne hesitated.
"Yes'm,'' she said at last. 81 thought
I locked them all. but there was n
open this morning"
I went out of the room and down
the hall, followed by Mary Anne. The
door into the clothes chute was Sc
curely bolted, and when l opened 1t
| saw the evidence of the woman's
story. A pruning ladder had been
brought from where 1t had lain
against the stable and o stood up
right in the clothes shaft, its end rest
ing against the wall between the first
and second floors.
| turned to Mary.
This is due to your carelessness."
said. "If we had all been murdered
in our beds 1t would have been your
fault" She shivered. Now, not a
word of this through the house, and
send Alex to me"
The effect on Alex was to make him
apoplectic with rage, n with 1t all /
fancied there was an element Of salts
faction. AS / look back. so many
things are plain to me that / wonder
| could not see at the time. 1t Is all
known now, and yet the whole thing
was 30 remarkable that perhaps my
stupidity was excusable.
Alex leaned down the chute and ex-
amined the ladder carefully.
1T is caught" he said with a grim
smile. 1.-THE fools, to have left a
warning like that The only trouble
is, Miss Innes, they won't be apt to
come back for a while"
81 shouldn't regard that In the light
OF a calamity" | replied.
Until late hat evening Halsey and
Alex worked at the chute. they
forced down the ladder at last, and