The Washington times., 1912-05-14
CHAPTER TX.
Mrs. Anselm Concludes.

| L was Monday, sir-the day after Mr.
| Gettys left the house. and the same
/ day he sent for his trunks. Mr.
Bellair was very strange all day.
BY that | mean his appearance was
strange and his manner queer. He wan
| dered about the house, not distracted,
! but like man who is wondering what
TO do when he has nothing 20 do. ex-
cept something he is not particular
about doing. Sometimes he would sigh
heavily and stop Unexpectedly with his
hands behind his back. Once he came
to halt right in front of me as |
met him in the hall, and looked steadily
| into my face
Yes SIR l said. is there anything
you wish?'
At that he gave a start and looked
very silly.
Il beg your pardon. Mrs. Anselm -
he said. II did not see you. | must
have been thinking deeply"
He must have been, as you say, sir. !
don't see what you are smiling about.
About the middle of the day a de-
tective came, and the coroner's physi-
clan and a crowd of reporters but the
coroner's physician said the fat man
died OF heart failure, so the detective
and the reporters went away. The
coroner's physician was in the study,
sir, for about two minutes. Whether he
saw anything queer about the place, l
don't know. You can ask him for your
self. Soon after that wagon came
and took the fat man away
Then Mr.. Bellair took to wandering
about the house again. I noticed that
he did not go near the study. which was
odd In him, for he usually spent be-
tween meals there. Instead, he went
into every corner of the house, and
think heard him talking to himself.
, beg your pardon? Oh! II / only think
l heard him talking to himself II Is
hardly likely that l heard what he was
saying. Is it? Sometimes he stood be-
fore a picture on the wall and looked
at It for ten or fifteen minutes No par.
ticular picture. sir. Different ones al
different times. And once ! saw him
standing in the main hall staring al
himself in the m irror of the hatrack
which was queer in Mr.. Bellair-a man
that was never in the least conceited
although l must say he was always
neat.
About 4 o'clock in the afternoon he
asked me II ! had any note paper. A.
in his head All his writing was done
in his study. and I should think he had
plenty OF paper and envelopes there
|
Next thing he did was to borrow an ink
stand and a pen. and begin writing let
ters and things In the parlor-a thing
never saw him do before. In fact, there
were so few visitors of his own class
that the parlor was not entered by any
one but myself more than once in two
months. He took all his queer visitors
to the study.
When he had finished writing he told
me to call a messenger boy: When the
messenger came Mr.. Bellair gave hin
two letters, with very particular In.
structions, which / remember clearly
One Of the letters the messenger was tc
deliver at once; the other was not to be
kdelivered until after o'clock that even
ing:
same party at the same place." said the
THAT is none of your business" salt
Mr.. Bellair, sharply. IF you will look
again, YOU will see that they are ad
/ remember seeing the boy look at the
addresses and suddenly grin all over.
"All right, boss" said he. You leave
, it to Casey" That's what he said, sir
The one TO the mister goes right away
and the one to the mlssus after l."
l remember Mr.. Bellair was half an,
cry, but he began to laugh all at once
II 1t had been me | would have cuffeG
him out of the place-meaning the boy
of course. But the master just laughed
and said 1t was nothing like that; anC
| TO make sure tneTe would De no mis-
take he took one of the letters back ant
marked the instruction on the top Of
the envelope.
When the boy was gone the master
did not go near the study. I'm sure tn
place must have given him a turn. AnC
! don't blame him, poor man. Abou
$50 o'clock in the evening he cam'
supper for two. 1t was short notice
, considering that. Mr.. Gettys being gone
l ] had not expected more than one; bu
he was very nice about IT. After he ha!
one thing and another in kind o
friendly way that was new to him.
Mrs. Anselm." ne said; you are I
, is What he said. And am very sorr:
that you and should be about to par
company"
This rather, took. me aback. for, al
though II hal been in my mind. l hadn'
as yet said n word about leaving. May
be the poor man had a presentimcnt
mean about death. Anyhow, I put hir
cff nv saying that I would have to hurr
II supper was to be ready by I, O'Clock
At that nc took to wandering about tn
> house again.
/ The gentleman he had told me wa
: H., sent up his card. which met MI
! R"llair coming down the stairs. Th
s name on the card was Robert Ford,
Hnd thers was as sOmethinS har in forTs ns
3 lair looked at it he changed all at one!
e You never would have known II wa
/ the same moody man when he ran dow
in the han to meet Mr. Ford. The ger
a tlGman was a hit stin, I thought; bu
4 the lastcr was as merry as "A cricket
! and talked so fast that he had MI
Q Ford in the iinin,E room before he coul
= get Il word in. Then the master tol
me to serve supper ut onc9.
W"n. sir. l have served supneT in thS
very queer moods, but he wasn't tn
same person that night. ln sore II h
n could have behaved like thht all tn
4 ! tine Mr.. Ge.tys would ne"er have LEI