The interior journal., 1912-04-26

was no news OF massey. MI. jamie
son had taken . lodging In the vii
lage. and I had not seen him sincs
mid-afternoon. II was about nine
O'Clock. I think, when the bell rans
and he was ushered into the livins
room
"Sit down." I said grimly. ~Havs
you found elew that viii !ncr!m:nass
me. Mr.. Jamiesonr'
He had the grace to look uncomfort.
able. NO." he said. IF you had
killed Mr.. Armstrong. you would have
left no clews. You would have had
too much intelligence"
After that we got along better. He
was fishing in his pocket, and after
a minute he brought out two scraps
Of paper. II have been to the club
house, he said. and among Mr.. Arm
strong's effects. I found these. One h
curious; the other Is puzzling."
The frst was Q sheet Of club note
paper on which was written. over and
over. the name "Halsey b. Innes." II
was Halsey's flowing signature to Q
dot. but II lacked Halsey's ease. The
ones toward the bottom Of the sheet
were much better than the top ones.
Mr.. Jameson smiled at my face.
"His old tricks" he said. That
one Is merely curious: this one. - !
said before, 10 puxzling."
The second scrap. folded and re-
ioioed into . compass 30 tiny that the
writing had been partly obliteratsd.
was part Of letter-ths lower half Of
. sheet. not typed. but written In .
cramped hand.
by altering the plans for
rooms. may be possible. The best way.
In my opinion would be to.--tne plan
for-in one Of the-rooms-chim
ney.
That was all.
wells" I said, looking up. There
II nothing In that, 10 there! A man
ought to be able to change the plan
Of his house without becoming an OBJ
pect OF suspicion"
There IL little In the paper ITSELF"
he admitted: but why should Arnold
Armstrong carry that around. unless
1t meant something! He never built
Q house. you may be sure Of that. II
It II this house. It may mean anything
from . secret room"
To an extra bathroom" I said
scornfully. Haven't you Q thumb
print. too"
Il have" he said with q smile. "and
the print Of foot in . tulip bed, and
Q number of other things. The odd
est part II. Miss Innes. that the
thumb-mark 10 probably yours and the
footprint certainly"
His audacity was the only thing
that saved me: his amused smile put
me on my mettle. and I ripped out .
perfectly good scallop before an
swered.
why did I step into the tulip bed!"
asked with interest.
you picked up something" he said
good-humoredly. which you are 60
ing to tell me about later"
Am /. indeed!" I was politely Gu
rious. with this remarkable insight
of yours. wish you would tell me
where I shall find my four-thousand-
dollar motorcar."
Il was Just coming to that" he
said. you will ind 1t about 80 miles
away. at Andrews Station. In Q black
smith shop. where 1t Is being re-
paired"
l laid down my knitting then and
looked at him.
And Halsey?" managed to say.
We are going to exchange infor- |
nation" he said. Il am going to tell |
you that. when you tell me what you
picked up In the tulip bed"
We looked steadily at each other; 1t |
was not an unfriendly stare; we were
only measuring weapons. Then he
smiled q little and got up.
With your permission" he said, Il
am going to examine the card room
and the staircase again. You might
.hink over my offer In the meantime"
CONTINUED next Friday