Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-11-16

sKlrts JerEed
Turning, found that this warning had come
from the cleaner who stood close beside me-
What do you want?" l asked, not under
standing her and having nothing to conceal
"I?" she fatered with a frightened air.
Nothing, maam. nothing"
Then don't interrupt me-" / harShly ad-
nonished her, annoyed at an interference that
tended to throw suspicion upon my candor
This woman came here to scrub and clean"
now explained. 1T was by means Of the key
she carried that we were enabled to get into
the house. l never spoke to her till a half
hour CO."
At which, with display Of subtlety 1 was
far from expecting In one OF her appearance
she let her emotions take a fresh direction and
pointing towards the dead woman, she impetu-
ously cried:
But the poor child there! Amt you going
to take those things of of herr It's wicked to
leave her under all that stuff. Suppose there
was life In her"
"ohl there's no hope Of that" muttered the
doctor, lifting one Of the hands, and letting 1t
fall again.
"Still"-- he cast a side look at his oompan-
ion, who gave him meaning nod at might
be well enough to lift this cabinet sufficiently
fe me to lay my hand upon her heart"
They accordingly did this; and the doctor
leaning down, placed his hand over the poor
bruised breast.
mo life,' he murmured "She has been dead
some hours. Do you think we had better re-
lease the head?" he went on, glancing up at tbs
portly man at his side
But the latter. who was rapidly growing ser
GUS, made slight protest with his finger, and
turning to me- inquired, with sudden authority;
What did you when you said that the
house had been empty till last nightT
"Just what l said. sir. 1t was empty till
about midnight, when two persons"--- Again
I felt my dress twitched. this time very eau
tiously What did the woman wantf Not dar
ing to give her look for these men were only
too ready to detect harm in everything did
I gently drew my skirt away and took step
aside going on as If no interruption had oc
Cured. Did l say persons? l should have
said a man and a woman drove up to the
house and entered / saw them from my
window
you didr rnurmured my fnterlocutor
whom I had By this time deaided to be "a de-
tectiye "And this is the woman I suppose"
he proceeded, pointing to the poor creature ly-
Ing before --...J .s-..,.s.
(. "Yhy, yes Of course VINO else can she bel
I did not see the 1ady's face last night but she
was young and light ON her feet, and ran up
the stoop gaily."
And the man9 Where is the mani Aon't
see him here"
"I am not surprised at that He went very
soon after he came. not ten minutes after
should say That Is what alarmed me and
caused me to have the house investigated 1t
did not seem natural like any of the Van
Burnams to leave woman to spend the night
in so large house alone"
you know the Van Burnams"
Not we'll But that don't signify I know
what report says of them; they are gentlemen.
But Mr. Van Burnam is In Europe"
"He has two sons"
Living hereT
mo: the unmarried one spends bis nights at
Long Branch, and the other is with his wife
somewhere In Connecticut
How did the young couple you saw get IN
last night2 Was there any one here to admit
them%
mo; the gentleman had a key"
"Ah he had a key"
The tone in which this was said REQUIRED to
me afterward. but at the moment I was much
more impressed by peculiar sound heard
behind me- something between a gasp and
click in the throat which came l knew from
the scrubwoman, and which, odd and contra
dctory as It may appear, struck me as an ex-
preston Of satisfaction, though what there was
in my admission to give satisfaction to this poor
creature / could not conjecture. Moving so as
TO get a glimpse Of her face, l went on with the
grim sef-possession natural to my character:
And when he came out he walked briskly
away. The carriage had not waited for him.
"Ah!" again muttered the gentleman, picking
up one Of the broken pieces Of china which lay
haphszard about the floor, while l studied the
cleaners face which, to my amusement gave
evidences Of q confusion Of emotions most IN
accountable to me-
MI. Gryce may have noticed this too for he
tinued to look at the broken piece Of china In
his hand.
And how came you 10 be cleaning the
houssT he asked els the family coming
homer
They are, SIR" she answered, hiding her
emotion with great skill the moment she per-
ceived attention directed to herself, and speak
Ing with sudden volubity that made us all
stare. They are expected any day didn't
know 1t till yesterday-was 1t yesterday? No,
the day before-when young Mr.. FraEklin-he
Is the Oldest son. sir, and very nice man. a
very nice man-sent me word by letter that
was to get rhe house ready. It isn't the first
time l have done 1t for them sir. and as soon
as could get the basement key from the agent,
j came here and worked all day yesterday,
washing up the floors and dusting should
have been at them again this morning II my
husband hadn't been sick. But had to 70 to
the tnhrmary for medicine, and II was noon
when got here. and then l found this lady
standing outside with policeman, very nice
lady, very nsce lady indeed, sir, pay my re-
ETects to her"-and she actually dropped me q
curtsey Ike a peasant woman In q play-"and
they took my key from me, and the policeman
opens the door. and he and me 60 upstairs and
into all the rooms and when We come to this
ONE
6he was getting 80 excited 40 10 Be hardly In
teligible. Stopping herself with Jerk, she
fumbled nervously with her apron, while
asked myself how she could have been al work
T. i A.