, 1913-01-09
CHAPTER vi.
Concerning Margery.

| Sohcerhin1
TATARDROP showed us the pan
vAI ell in the hall. which slid to
one side when he pushed a
bolt under the carpet. The
| blackness of the closet was horrible in
its suggestion to me. l stepped back
while Hunter struck q match and look
ed in.
The closet was empty.
Better not go in." Wardrop said
ut hasn't peer used for years and it's
black with dust. / found It myself
and showed 1t to Miss Jane. ! don't
believe Miss Letitin knows Il is here"
at hasn't been used for yearsF' re
| flected Hunter. 81 suppose 1t has been
some time since you were in here. Mr.
WardropT"
Several years." wardrop replied
| carelessly. 81 used to keep ~contraband
here in my college days, cigarettes and
that sort Of thing. I haven't been in
It since then"
Hunter took his foot OF a small OF
ject that lay on the floor.
Here ia the fountain pen you lost
this morning. Mr.. Wardrop." he said
quietly.
When Hunter had finally gone at g
O'Clock, summoned to town IN urgent
business. we were very nearly where
we had been before he came. BE
could only give us theories, and after
all. what We wanted was fact-and
Miss Jane.
Why had wnrdrop lied about SO
small a matter as his fountain penf
The closet was empty. What object
could he have had in saying he had
not beer in It for years? ] found that
my belief In his sincerity of the night
before was going.
1t would have been easy enough for
him to rob himself. and. If he had In
eye fer the theatrical. to work out
lust some such plot. 1t vas even pos
s1ble that he had hidden for a few
hours In the secret closet the contents
of the Russia leather bag. But, what
ever Wardrop might or might not be.
he gave me little chance to find out.
for he left the house before Hunter
did that afternoon. and 1t was later.
and under strange circumstances. that
i met him again
Hunter had not told me what was
on the paper he had picked out Of the
basket In Miss James room. and l
knew he was as much puzzled as l at
the scrap In the little cupboard with
eleven twenty-five on 1t. 1t occurred
to me that 1t might mean the twenty.
second day of the eleventh month. per-
haps something hat had happened on
some ~momentous, long buried 22d of
November. But his was May, and
the finding Of two slips bearing the
same number was too unusual.
After Hunter left l went back to the
closet under the upper stairs and with
some difficulty got the panel open
again. The space inside. perhaps eight
feet feet high at n end and four at
the other. was empty. There was q
row of hooks. as II at some time cloth
ing had been hung there, and a fat
shelf at n end. gray with dust
l struck another match and exam
fned the shelf. On its surface were
numerous scratchings in the dust lay
er. but at one end. marked out as II
drawn on a blackboard. was a rec.
tangular outline, apparently that of a
smaliish box and fresh.
My match burned my fingers and ]
dropped 1t. The last flash showed me
on the door of the closet and wedged
between two boards, a small white
globule. 1t did not need another
match to tell me It wal a pearl.
dug It out carefully and took 1t to
my room. In the daylight there l rec.
ognized 1t as an unstrung pearl Of fair
size and considerable value. There
/ could hardly be a doubt that l had
stumbled on one Of the stolen gems.
II wardrop took the pearls. | kept re
peating, who took Miss Jane?
/ tried to forget the pearls INT to
fathom the connection between Miss
!, Maitland's disappearance and the ao
sence of her brother-in-law. The scrar
of paper. eleven twenty-five. must con'
meet them. but howf A family scan
| daI2 Dismissed on the instant There
could be nothing that would touch the
virginia. remoteness of that little old
lady. Insanity Well, Miss JAM
might have had a sudden alteration
and wandered away. but hat would
leave Fleming out. and the paper
| dragged him in. A common enemyf
smoked and considered for some
time over this. An especially malig'
pant foe might rob or even murder
but It was almost ludicrous to think
of his carrying away by force Miss
James ninety pounds Of austere nesh
The solution. had II not been for thu
/ htood stafna might have been n peace