Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1913-12-24
THE MAN WITH
THE SUIT CASE
A Story For Thanksgiving
BY MARTHA v. MONROE

aOh. heard 1t q month ego! | think
q was ON Thanksgiving day. | dined
with the Atwaters. They said Clara
webster was Just the girl for you. you
being impulsise. she steady and eau.
tious."
aDid they say that?'
Yes
Listen. | have little story to ten
You. on the very day. Thanksgiving,
that these persons were attrlbuting
these traits 10 us little drauia was
being enacted.
aAy freud Billy Smithsou invited
Clara and me n spend the Thanksgiv.
tne week end ut his house Ia the coun.
try, which he opened for the occasion.
Tie AFFAIR was got M TO celebrate our
engagement. for Billy Is an old chum
Of mine. and his wife Is an intimate
friend og Clara's.
Clara and ! were TO so up on The
traln together. hmt Just ~ was about
10 leave the Office to call for her a lob
came INTO the Office which nobody but
l could do. aud was obliged TO re-
main over til the next day. tela-
phaned her 10 80 on and would ar.
rive the next day. I reached the house
tie next afternoon 10 End the guests
gone cut on an automobile ride Billy
had got up for them. There were
three carloads, and they were not TO
return tn O'clock. About g l dressed
for dinner and was going downstairs
when ! met man coming up with a
suit case in his hand. Presenting he
was one Of the guests who had Just
arrived, went on down into the H.
brary. thinking no more about him and
amusing myself till the auto party re
turned.
This was the evening before Thanks
giving. The next day we were getting
ready for the feast when Clara took
me OF into quiet corner and said to
me
Will, ! have very unpleasant
Communication to make. On returning
from the auto ride yesterday several
Of the girl guests missed articles Of
Iewelry. Several boxes In which the
Jewels were kept were found In the
closet In your room
Naturally was a bit upset by this
Information. but the principal cause
was that Clara didn't say this with
my hand In hers or her arms around
me. but sitting apart. and instead OF
adding that she felt just absolutely
confident that was not thief she
looked very gloomy and waited for mo
to say something.
Clara / said astounded. do you
mean to say that you have the slight
est suspicion that l stole these jew
elsT
1T r. the bounden duty OF every
one. she replied, to consider an ac-
cased person innocent until proved
guilty. And as your fiancee feel
obliged TO do what can to influence
the others to give you every opportu-
nifty 10 clear yourself
1T was not so much the position In
which was placed that troubled me
as the swapping Of the cord that
bound me 10 Clara. In twinklIng my
feelings toward her We're changed
from attraction 10 repulsion. And yet
What right had to expect her to
believe me Innocent in face of such
proof against me and before l had
brought forward any proof in my IA
yor? She was simply acting on that
trait In her character for which those
persons you have mentioned on that
very day were giving her credit.
This change In my feelings toward
her for awhile OVERRIDE every other.
Then the gravity of my position rush.
ed upon me with full force. But what
could | d0f Ignorant as | was OF how
the tewelry boxes got into my closet,
didn't see that | could do anything
but leave tke house.
Il went 20 Billy. who begged me 10
stay. saying that there was some mys-
terry about the matter which he hoped
would be cleared up, but judged that
he didn't know what TO make OF the
matter. and at last he agreed with me
that might as well go. On passing out,
Sue Wentworth, who. since her fathers
failure, has been making her own liy-
ing by teaching school. came out of the
drawing room into the hall and said:
mfr. Thruston, this idea OF your
having stolen jewels is absurd. There
are a hundred supposItions that can
be made. each more likely than what
appears on the surface. Some one,
stole the jewels. took them into your
room temporarily and threw the boxes
down there. That's one
There was something in her by
pothesis that brought back the man
had seen going upstairs with the suit
case. and it solved the problem for
me, for 1t occurred to me that l had
not seen him since. But this was moth
Ing TO me compared with the comfort
derived from Miss wentworth's faith
tn me. just put my arms about her
and Rugged her.
She, backed by my statement as to
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