, 1913-01-02

So"
when we drew In at Bellwood sta
ton ! distinctly remember opening the.
bag and putting my newspaper and
railroad schedule inside. Ii was the
right bag then. My clothing was in II
and my brushes"
had been examining the empty has
as he talked.
where did you put your railroad
scheduled" I asked.
in the leather pocket at b side"
ut is here" l said. dra wing out the
yellow folder Fer a momen my com
panion looked almost haunted.
''The whole thing is impossible. That
valise was heavy when l walked up
from the station. ! changed 1t from
one hand to the other because of the
weight When | got here set 1t down
on the edge of the porch and tried the
door. When l found it locked
"But II wasn't locked" l broke in.
when l came downstairs to look for q
burglar l found 1t open at least an
inch"
He stopped in his pacing up and
down and looked at me c%uriously.
We're both crazy, then" he asserted
gravely. Il tell you l tried every way
knew to unlock that door and could
hear the chain rafting. Unlocked
You don't know the way this house IL
fastened up at night"
Nevertheless it was unlocked when
l came down"
The sound of a smothered exclama
ton from the doorway caused us both
to turn suddenly. Standing there in a
loose gown of some sort, e r much
surprised and startled. was Margery
Fleming.
What is the matterT' she asked IN.
certainly. 81 heard such queer noises"
"Mr. Wardrop was trying to break
in," l explained, land I came down
On the way | had a bloody encounter
with an open door"
l don't think she quite believed me.
She looked from my swollen head to
the open bag and then to Wardrop's
pale face. Then. l think. womanlike,
she remembered the two great braids
that hung over her shoulders and the
dressing gown she wore, for she back
ed precipitately into the hall.
st is only half past two" l said.
glancing at my watch. "We might
look around outside"
Reticent as he was, his feverish ex-
element made me think that some
thing vital hung on the recovery of the
contents Of that Russia leather bag.
But we found nothing.
As | look back on that night the key
to what had passed and to much that
was coming was SO simple. 30 direct
and yet we missed It entirely. 1t was
some time before we learned the true
inwardness Of the events of that night
/ was almost unacceptable when l
looked at myself in the mirror the next
morning. preparatory to dressing for
breakfast. My nose boosted a new
arch k the back Of a angry cat.
making my profile Roman and fero-
cious. and the lump on my forehead
from the chair was swollen. CLASSY and
purple. l turned my back to the mir
ror and dressed In wrathful irritation
and my Yesterdays linen.
Miss Fleming was In the breakfast
room. have carried with me during all
the months since that time a mental pic
ture of her ns she stood there in a pink
morning frock of some sort But only
the other day. having mentioned this to
her. she assured me that The frock was
blue. So | amend this. Miss Fleming
In a blue frock was facing the door
when I went into the breakfast
OF one thing l am certain. she held out
Der hand.
Good morning" she said. What .
terrible facet"
"It isn't mine" l replied meekly. my
own face Ia beneath these excrescences.
tried to owe the bump OF my fore
head with French chalk, but 1t only &C.
centuated the thing, like now on q
mountain top"
"'The purple peaks Of Darien,'" she
quoted, pouring me my coffee. DO you
know. | feel 30 much better since you
have taken hold of things. Aun Lett
tia thinks you are wonderful"
l thought ruefully of the failure OF
my first attempt to play the sleuth
and ! disclaimed any right to Miss LIE
ttia's high opinion of me.
Before any one comes down. Miss
Fleming" | said. 81 want to ask q
question or two. What was the name
Of the maid who helped you search the
house that night?"
annie"
"What other maids did you say there
were2"
Della and Rose"
"Do you know anything about them.
Where they came from or where they
wentT"
She smiled a little.
"What does one know about new
~servants2" she responded. 'They
bring you references. but references
are the price most women pay to gel
rid of their servants without a fuss