Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-04-08
CHAPTER VII.
nneernlnn Maroerx.

F.. \.
CHAPTER VII.
Concerning Margery.
When Hunter had finally gone at
five o'clock, summoned to town on
urgent business, we were very nearly
where we had been before he came. He
could only give us theories, and after
all, what we wanted was fact-and
Miss Jane Many things, however.
that he had unearthed puzzled me!
Why had Wardrop He'd about so.
small matter as his fountain pen?
The closet was empty: what object
could he have had in saying he had not
been in it for years? I found that my
belief in his sincerity of the. night be-
fore was going. If he had been lying
then, l owed him something for
lump on my head that made 1t difficult
for me to wear my hat. q
1t would have been easy enough Tor
him to rob himself, and If he had an
eye for the thertrical, to work out Just
some such plot. 1t was even possible
that he had hidden for few hours IN
the secret closet the contents OF the
Russia leather bag. But, whatever
Wardrop might or might not be, he
gave me little chance to find out, Tor
he left the house before Hunter did
that afternoon, and 1t was later, and
under strange circumstances, that I
met him again.
Hunter had not told me what was
on the paper he had picked out Of the
basket in Miss James room, and knew
he was as much puzzled as at the
scrap in the little cupboard, with
eleven twenty-five on it. 1t occurred
to me that it might mean the twenty
second day OF the eleventh month.
perhaps something that had happened
on some momentous. long-buried
twenty-second on November. But this
was May, and the finding OF two slips
bearing the same number was toe
Unusual. ~,
After Hunter left went back to the
closet under the upper stairs, and with
some difflculty got the panel open
again. The space inside, perhaps eight
feet high at one end and four at the
other, was empty. There was row
OF hooks, as II at some time clothing
had ! cen hung there and fiat shelf
at one end, gray with dust 81.
I struck another match and examin.
ed the shelf. On its surface were
numerous scratchings In the dust
layer, but at one end, marked out as II
drawn on blackboard, was rectan-
gular outline, apparently that, OF q
smallish box, and fresh.
MY match burned MY fingers and !
dropped it to the floor, where 1t ex-
pired in sickly blue flame. AT the
last, however, it died heroically-like
an old man to whom his last hours
bring back some of the glory of his
prime, burning brightly for second
and then fading into darkness. the
last flash showed me, an the floor OF
the closet and wedged between Two
boards, small white globule. 1t DID
not need another match to tell me 1t
was pearl.
7 dug it out carefully AMI took 1t to
nv room. In the daylight there !
recognized it as an unstrung pear! OF
fair size and considerable value:
There could hardly be a doubt that
had stumbled on one of the stolen
gems; but pearl was only pearl to
me, after all. ] didn't feel any OF the
inspirations which fiction detectives
experience when they happen on an
important clue.
| lit a cigar and put the pearl on the
table in front of me. But no explana-
ton formed itself in the tobacco
smoke. If Wardrop took the pearls,
I kept repeating over and over, II
Wardrop took the pearls, who took
Miss Jane?
tried to forget the pearls. and to
fatbom the connection between Miss
Maitland's disappearance and the alb
sence of her brother-ln.iaW. me
scrap of paper, eleven twenty-five
must connect them, but how? A lam
lily scandal? Dismissed on the instant:
There could be nothing that would
touch the virginia. remoteness OF that
little old lady. Insanity? Well, Miss
Jane might have had sudden aberra-
tion and wandered away, but that
would leave Fleming out, and the
naner dragged him in. A common
enemy?
smoked and considered for some
time over this. An especially malig-
nant foe might rob, or even murder
but it was almost ludlcrous 70 mink
of his carrying away by force MISS
James ninety pounds Of austere flesh.
The solution. had it not been Tor the
blood.stains, might have, been peace
full one. leaving out the pearls. alto
gether. but later developments showed
that the pearls refused to be omitted;
To my mind, however, at that time.
the Issue seemed double one. be-
neved that some one, perhaps Harry
Wardrop. had stolen the pearls, hid
den them in the secret closet, and dis
posed of them later. made note
to try to follow up the missing pearls.
Them chung to the theory that
Miss Maitland had been abducted and
was being held for ransom. II could
have found traces OF vehicle OF any
sort near the house, would almost
have considered my contention proved.
That any one could have entered the
house .fntimidated and even slightly