, 1913-01-09

uOW Warurop went Ovef 10 ner.
you are going to lie down. Mar
gerry" he said. holding nj his hand h
help her up. Mrs. Mellon will come
over toAunt Letitia. and you must ge'
some Sleep.
''Sleepr' she said, with scorn. as h
helped her to her feet. "Sleep whef
things like this are occurringi Father
first ana now dear old Aunt Jane
Harry. do you know where my fathea
isr'
he faced her as If he had known tia
question must come and was prepared
for II.
II know that he is all right. Margery
He has been-Out of town. Ii It hat
not been for something Unforeseen
that-happened within the last few
hours he would have been home to
day"
She drew a long breath Of relief.
When they had both gone Hunter
sat down on a trunk and drew out 9
cigar that looked like a bomb.
THE window" l suggested, and hi
went over to It. When he came bach
he had a rather peculiar expression.
"In the FIRST place." he began, 'wt
can take 1t for granted that niles sh.
was crazy or sleepwalking she didn't
60 out In her night clothes, and there's
nothing of hers missing. She wasnt
taken In a carriage. provided she wal
taken at all. There's not q mark Of
wheels on that drive newer than 3
week, and besides. You IA You heard
nothing
Nothing" l said positively.
Then unless she went away in &
what she had on, she is still arouns
the premises. 1t depends on how bad
ly she was hurt"
Are you sure 1t was she who wal
hurtY' ! asked. THAT print Of Q
hand-thas is not Miss James"
In reply Hunter led the way dowr
the stairs to the place where the stain
on the stair rail stood out. ugly and
distinct. He put his own heavy hand
on the rail just below 1t.
Suppose" he said. suppose yos
grip something very hard what hap
pens to your handY'
ut spreads" ! acknowledged. seeine
what he meant :
Nov look at that stain. Look a,
the short fingers. Why. it's a child's
hand beside mine. The breadth Is
from pressure. 1t might be figured
out this way. The fingers, you notice
let us say. the burglar. for want of q
better name. gets Into the house. he
used a ladder resting against that
window by the chest of drawers"
LADDER" I exclaimed.
Eyes. there is a pruning ladder there
Now. then. he comes down these stairs
and he has n definite object. He knows
OF something valuable in hat cubby
hole yer the mantel in Miss James
room How does he get in2 The door
into the upper hall is closed and bolt.
ed. but the door into the bathroom Il
p From there another door leads
into the bedroom. and 1t has no bolt
only a key. That kind of a loci Is
only q three minute delay or less.
Now, then, Miss Maitland was a light
sleeper. When she Weakened she was
too alarmed to scream. She tried to
get to the door and vas intercepted.
Finally she got out the way the in
truder got in and ran along the hall.
Every door was locked In a frenzy
she ran up the attic stairs and vas cap
tured up there. Which bears out Miss
Margery's story of the footsteps back
and forward.
He brings her down the stairs
again. probably half dragging her.
Once she catches hold Of the stair rail
and holds desperately to it. leaving the
stain here"
"But why did he bring her DOWN."
asked. why wouldn't he take what
he was after and get awayr
"She probably had to get the key Of
the iron door. 1t was hidden. and time
was valuable. If there was a scape-
grace member of the family. for In
stance. who knew where the old lady
kept money and who needed 1t badly,
who knew all about the house and
who
"Flemingr l exclaimed. aghast.
"Or even our young friend Wardrop."
Hunter said quietly. HE has an hour
to account for. The trying to get in
may have been a blind. and how dc
you know that what he says was sto
len out of his satchei was not what he
had Just got from the Iron box wei
the mantel in Miss Maitland's roomi
O%ne-thirty. Miss Margery says, when
she heard the noise. One-forty-fve
when you heard wardrop at the shut.
tiers. l tell you. Knox. 1t Is n Of two
things, either that woman Is dead
somewhere in this house or she ran out
Of the hall door just before you went
downstairs, and in that case the Lord
only knows where she is. II there Is q
room anywhere that we have not ex'
plored"-
81 am inclined to think there u.s." 7