The Kennewick courier. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1905-1914, 1912-09-27

Il kept them with me that night and
the next morning hid them in the Sc
cret closet. That was when l dropped
my fountain peny'
And the pearls?" Margery asked
when did you get them, HarryY
To my surprise his face did not
change.
1.-TWO days before l left" he said.
I'VE were using every method to get
money, and your father said to sacri-
fee them if necessary"
my fatherr'
He wheeled on us both.
did you think l stole them?' he de-
manded. And l confess that l was
ashamed to say had thought precise
ly that
Your father gave me nine unmount-
ed pearls to SELL" he reiterated Il
got about thousand dollars for them
eleven hundred and something, be-
lieve."
l think Margery was fairly stunned
to learn that her father had married
again. that he had been the keystone
in an arch Of villainy that. with him
gone. was now about to fall and to as
sociate him with so snail and mean a
thing as the theft of a handful Of
pearls.
'Then," l said to bring Wardrop
back to his story, you found you had
been robbed Of the money, and you
went in to tell Mr.. Fleming. You had
some words. didn't you?'
He thought what you all thought"
Wardrop said bitterly. He accused
me of stealing the money. 1 felt worse
than thief. He was desperate, and
took his revolver from him.
II came back here to Bellwood. and
the first thing l learned was about
Miss Jane. When I saw the blood
print on the stair rail l thought she
was murdered and had more than
could stand. l took the letters out of
the secre' closet before l could show it
to you I'D Hunter. and later I put
them in the leather bag | gave you and
locked it. You have it. haven't you.
KnOx?'
l nOQQe0.
"As for that night at the club, told
the truth then. but not all the truth.
suppose l am coward. but / was
afraid to. If you knew Schwartz you
would understand"
With the memory Of his huge figure
and the heavy undershot face that l
had seen the night before could I'M
derstand very well. knowing Wardrop.
II went to that room at the White
Cat that night because l was afraid
not to 60. Fleming might kill himself
or some one else l went up the stairs
slowly. and l heard no shot At the
door hesitated, then opened 1t quiet
~. The door into the built in staircase
was just closing. It must have taken
me only an instant to realize what had
happened. Fleming was swaying for
ward as l caught him. l jumped to
the staircase and looked down. but
was too late. The door below had
closed. knew in another minute who
had been there and escaped. 1t was
raining, you remember. and Schwartz
had forgotten to take his umbrella
with his name on the handle"
"Schwartz!'
"NOw do you understand why l was
being followedy' he demanded Il
have been under surveillance every
minute since that night. There's prob
ably some one hanging around the gate
now. Anyhow l was frantic. / saw
how it looked for me, and If had
brought Schwartz into it would have
been knitted in forty-eight hours.
hardly remember what l did. know
/ ran for doctor, and took the UNI
brella with me and left it in the vesti-
bule of the first house l saw with a
doctors sign. I rang the bell like
crazy man. and then Hunter came
along and said to go back: Dr. Gray
was at the club.
'That is all I know. I'm not proud
of it. Margery. but it might have been
worse, and it's the truth. It clears up
something, but not all. 1t doesn't tell
where Aunt Jane is or who has the
hundred thousand. But it does show
who killed your father. And if you
know what is good for you. Knox, you
will let it go at that. You can't fight
the police and the courts single hand
ed Look how the whole thing was
dropped and the most cold blooded
kind Of murder turned into suicide.
Suicide without weapon! Bah!'
81 am not so sure about Schwartz"
said thoughtfully. 1--WE haven't yet
learned about eleven twenty-five c."
Miss Jane Maitland had been miss
ing for ten days. In that time not
one word had come from her.
Some things puzzled me more than
ever in the light Of Wardrop's story.
For the third time l asked myself
why Miss Letitia denied the loss of the
pearls There was nothing in what we
had learned. either, to tell why Miss
Jane had gone away-tO ascribe a mo-
tive.
How she il-H rome. in view of War
drops story OF the cab. was clear. She
had gone by street car. walking the
three miles to Wynton alone at 2
o'clock in the morning, although she
had never stirred around the house at
night without candle and was pri-
vately known to sleep with a light