Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1912-09-04

that for her own happiness it was nee
essary that I should continue my
course. | would go on with my inyes-
tlgatlcn and once for all free her from
the crushing thrall Of this hidden evil.
| would wait where | was until Gran
dali had left the house, then l would
insist on seeing her and telling her
my resolve, nor would l permit her
TO dlssuade me from it.
On the corner was a drugstore
Sheltered by it's awning l took my
stand to wait until Crandall left the
house. l could see the Parrish door,
yet my presence there under the avn
ing would hardly be noticed. l had
not long to wait. In about five min
utes the door opened and the caller
emerged. This time had an opportu-
nifty to get a good look at him. l was
right. His face was that of the man
VINO had been registered in the Ard
way hotel as Henry Cook, who had so
abruptly left the room when the in
quest was being held as l had begun
to ask questions about the yellow let
ter, who had driven from the town be-
hind the fastest horse obtainable.
He came swinging down the street
pastgWhere | stood. AS he came closer
was amazed to note that his face
was not the unnatural color of the
morphine users that l expected, but
rudy with health. H eyes, however,
wore strained expression and his
brow was knotted with wrinkles. l
was strongly tempted to spring out
from where l stood as he passed, to
seize him by the throat and to make
him tell me all l wished to know about
the hideous mystery. Yet better judg-
ment withheld my hand. After all,
the evidence l had against him was
not Of the tangible sort that would
convict. Even though l knew of his
telephoning Katharine just before she
shot herself, even though General
Parrish had learned something about
him that barred him from the house,
even though we had found in his
rooms a hypodermic syringe and the
address in New Jersey where the third
suicide had taken place, even though
myself had noted his suspicious ac-
tons there, there was nothing definite
enough to warrant Selling him as yet.
watched him as far down the ave-
nue. as my eye could follow and then
turned toward the Parrish house. This
time l was admitted without delay.
Apparently the maid had new instruc-
tons
I'll tell Miss Louise you are here"
she said as she showed me into the
reception-room.
As | waited | tried to think how l
should greet Louise. While there was
much that l might reproach her for,
l felt that surely it had not been her
fault. | knew she must be acting I'm
der compulsion. l was determined,
though, to let her know that l knew
that Hugh Crandall had been in the
house.
Suddenly l heard smothered
scream upstairs and a second later
Louise burst into the room. There
was terror in her face as she ran to
me.
"Oh, Harding" she gasped, "it's
gone-stolen!"
What do you mean? What's sto-
len?" l cried, Selling her hands tightly
in my own.
She was trembling all over and her
breath came in quick, short jerks.
She was dressed in an automobile hat
and coat, but even through the thick
folds of her coat l could feel the pal
pitating of her heart. The new mys-
terry, whatever it was, had been too
much for her already overstrained
She was in a condition close
ly bordering on hysteria.
Tell me about it, what was it?" /
said.
'The yellow letter-it's gone, sto-
len!"
Where was it?'
l had taken it with me the morn
ing went down to Inspector Davis
office, but after he had compared it
with the Elser fragment he had re-
turned it to me. l had restored it to
Louise when Davis and l called on her
after our visit to Mrs. Trask's board
lng-house. l had not seen it since
then. My last recollection Of it was
placing it in her hand as Davis and
l left the house.
''Let me think" she said, trying
hard to regain her composure. "When
you and Mr. Davis we're here the other
day you gave it back to me. l took
it upstairs and put it in a drawer
in a little desk in my room. locked
the desk and hid the key in vase
on the mantel. I went to the desk
just now to get it and it was gone"
"Was the desk 1ocked?"
She nodded.
who could have taken it ?" asked.
Even as I framed the question there
came to me the thought Of Crandall's
visit. He had been in the hotel in
Ardway where the woman committed
suicide after reading a yellow letter
and tearing it up. The scraps Of that
letter had disappeared. More likely