Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-02-14
ton, the globes In their mahogany cas-
ings-all heirlooms from the generations

ton, the globes In their mahogany cas-
ings-all heirlooms from the generations
of de Mountfords who had gone before.
It seemed as If the present bearer Of the
historic name called all these mute things
to witness this present degradation. A
crime had smirched the family escutch-
con, for, to some minds-those who dwell
on empyrean heights to which the mat
ter-of-fact sordidness of everyday life
never reaches-to those minds the victim
is almost as horrible as the assassin.
Lord Radcliffe however. fought his own
battle silently. Not with one tremor or
one gasp would he let the two men see
what he felt Conventionality welded her
iron rod in this shabby old library, just
as she had done in the ballroom Of the
Danish legation, and while not two hun
dred yards away Louisa Harris sang Guy
d Hardelot's songs, and smilingly received
Torrance, SO here the old man never
flinched.
He gave to his nerves the word of COM
mand, and as soon as he had forced them
to obey he looked straight at the police
officer and said, quite calmly:
please tell me all that I ought to
know"
He sat in his high-backed chair, CURLY
bidding the two men to sit down; he made
no attempt to shade his face and eyes;
once the battle fought and won he had
nothing more to hide-his own face, rigid
and still, his firm mouth and smooth brow
were mask enough to conceal the feelings
within.
The officer gave the details at full
length-he told Lord Radcliffe all that
old man listened in silence until the man
had finished speaking, then he asked a
few questions:
You have clue, of course?"
II think SO, my lord" replied the officer,
guardedly.
s'Can 7 helm in any wav1''
ANY information. my lord, that you
think might help us would, of course, be
gladly welcomed
THE man who hailed the cab in
Shaftesbury avenue-what was he like?
could help you il I knew"
'Ill have his description properly writ
ten out, my lord. and bring it you in the
morning.
ment lost is 1rretrievable in cases like
these"
Il am afraid, my lord, that cannot tell
you definitely now. There's a dense fog
outside-and-"
"The chauffeur's descriptions are
vague" interposed Lord Radcliffe, with
sheer the eternal excuses for incom-
petence."
my lord!' protested the man.
"All right! all right! No offense meant.
l assure you. You must pardon an old
mans irritability-the news you have
Of temper. l rely on your department to
clear this matter up with the least pos
sible scandal"
II am afraid that scandal is inevitable"
retorted the officer, dryly, for he still felt
sore at Lord Radclyffe's ill-tempered
thrust. 1--WE shall have to rake up a
great deal Of what might be unpleasant
to many parties"
why should it be unpleasant
I'VE shall have to know something of
the murdered mans past, Of his associ-
ates before-befOre he was able to estab
fish his claim to your l0rdship's c0nsid-
Grafton"
81 have no doubt that the late Philip de
Mountford had many undesirable associ-
ates in the past" remarked Lord Rad
clyffe, CURLY.
The silence which followed was tanta-
mount to a dismissal. The officer rose to
go. He felt nettled at the old mans OBJ
vious sneers-they had been like cold
douche over his enthusiasm, for the case
had already drifted into his hands, and
1t promised to be the most interesting and
most sensational criminal case of modern
times.
You have not" he said. before taking
his leave, told me, my lord, what you
wish done about the body"
Surely" replied Lord Radcliffe. queru-
lousy, sit is too late now to make any
arrangements. What is the timer
''Half-past 10. my lord"
Surely tomorrow morning we can as
cuss all that"
Just as you wish. Of course
Tomorrow morning-as early as you
the house will be ready-and / can make
arrangements-or else we'll wait, as you
say, until after the inquest"
The sound Of bell broke the silence