, 1913-02-27
The Window
at the
White Cat
By MARY ROBERTS
RINtHART
Copyright. 1910. By Bookseller
till Co.


for water without opening -ner eyes.
and Fred slipped a bit OF ice between
her white lips. Later in the night she
looked up for an instant al me
.He struck my hand. = she said. with
difficulty.
By morning she was rallying a little
from the shock. IHgot Fred to take
Edith home. and ! took her place by
the bed.
hoped to get some sort of state
ment before the injured woma was
taken to the operating room, but she
lay in a stupor. and I had to give up
the idea. 1t was two dnys before I
got her deposition. and In that time
had learned many things.
On Monday ! took Margery Il Bell
wood. She had ~areceiyed the news
about Mrs. Butler more calmly than /
had expected.
~ do not think She was quite sane,
poor woman" she said with a shud-
der "She bad had az great deal of
trouble. But how strange-a murder
and an attempt at murder-at that lit
tie club IN a-week!!"
She did not connect the two. and l
let the thing rest at that. Once on
the train. she asked. Don't you think
that she had a Il sort of shomicidaI ma
mia and that she tried to kill me with
chloroforp?"
81 hardly think So" 1 returned eva.
sively. A"I am inclined to think some
one actually egotl in yer the porch
roof"
ut Is very comforting to have a
friend one cansrely on she said. and
the little bit OF kindness went to my
head. II she had not got a cinder in
her eye at that psychological moment
I'm afraid / would Hguratively have
trampled sIWardrop .underfoot right
there"
We foundvMiss Letitia in the lower
hall and aeppie on shers knees with q
Ratchet. Between them sat a packing
box.
Here. give it to me-" Miss Letitia
demanded as=we sropped,in the door
way. Like as not it's a. mistake"-
bang-''but the -expressage was pre-
paid. If It's mineral water"--crash!
Something broke inside.
IF it's mineral water" l said, you'd
better let me open it"
She watched vme suspiciously while
l Strengthened the nails she mad bent
and lifted the boards. The article that
had smashed under the vigor Of Miss
Letitia's seventy years had been a tea
pot Of some very beautiful ware.
have called Just now from my study
to ask what sort Of ware 1t was. n
the lady,who setsime right says it was
crown Derby. Then there were rows
Of cups and saucers and heterogeneous
articles in the same material that the
women folk seemed to understand. At
the last. when the excitement seemed
over, they found a toast rack In a
lower corner of the box, and the
"Ohs!" and "Ahs!" had to be done all
over again
There was not the slightest clew to
the sender; but, while MisstLetitia rat.
ed Heppie loudly in the kitchen and
Bella swept up the hall, Margery voic'
ed the same Idea that. had occurred tc
me. :
Tiff Aunt Jane were all right
she said tremulously. lit would be just
the sort OF thing she loves to do"
I'm not pretending to know what
took Jane Maitland away from this
house in the middle ofitbe night" said
Miss Letitia. .Sheswassa.goodsm hit offs
fool. Jane a She eve grew up
But If I know Jane Maitland. she will
come back and be buried with her peo-
pie If it's only to put Maryss husband
out of the end of thelot. And another
thing. Knox. l told you the last time
you We're here that ! hadn't been rob
bed of any of the psarls.a after all
Half of thnse pearls wore James, and
she had a perfect right to take forty
nine of them II she wanted. she-she
told me she swassgoing to- some
and 1t slipped my mind"
believe 1t was the first lie she had
ever told In her hard. conscientious ole
NE, Was she right? l wondered. Had
MISS Jane taken the pearls. and If she
had. why?
CAApTFa~HOtn