Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1915-01-08

Why did you not call upon me early
this morning. or telephone5'
Mrs. Woods hesitated a momen then
she said frankly:
Because | have been so puzzled
about what happened Immediately aft
erward that could make neither head
nor tail of the mystery
"Please tell me what happened"
"As soon as | discovered the loss of
the pearls / went to the window to see
if Edith had actually departed. There
was a yellow taxicab drawing away
from the curb. and as / looked it sud
denly speeded around the corner and
disappeared down the avenue. | was
surprised at sight of the taxi because
Edith has her own electric brougham.
and | supposed she had arrived in that.
She rarely uses public vehicles. | called
a servant and inquired If Mrs. Smith
had come in that taxicab. and the man
said she had and that she had departed
In 1t.
81 was SO wrought up over the loss of
the pearls that l went to the telephone
and called Mrs. Smiths hotel. asking
them to have her call me as soon as she
arrived there. To my surprise they aid
she was at home and would speak to
me, and when she came to the tele-
phone you can imagine my amazement
when she told me that she had not
been out that day-she had been con
fined to the house with an attack of
neuralgia. She could not understand
my illusions to her call upon me.
Immediately l rang for my motor.
and in fifteen minutes / was closeted
with Mrs. Smith in her sitting room at
the hotel. You can imagine my amaze
ment when she positively denied hay-
ing seer me before that day, and she
was looking so very i'll that l was com
PEELED to believe her. l told her about
our conversation, which was of a care
less. chattering nature. as between old
friends, and | repeated the story of
showing her the pearls and recalled to
her mind about Trixie and his clever
tricks, but Edith only shook her head
and looked at me pityingly. Then she
rang for her maid and sent for Trixie.
"Honoria, the maid. brought the little
dog to her mistress and said~emphati-
cally that the dog had not been out of
the house that day."
Mrs. Woods paused and looked at the
lawyer.
WELL" she asked expectantly, what
do you make of my mystery. Mr.. Har-
ley? Who came in the yellow taxicab
If 1t was not Edith Smith," :
please tell me as nearly as you can
recollect the last impression you have
of your friend before she left the room.
What was she doingY
81 was sitting at the telephone. and ]
called a farewell over my shoulder, ex-
cusing myself as / did SO. She stood
Trixie on the table and anne over and
kissed me. Then she went back to the
table, picked up the dog and went out
"And Trixie was standing on the
same table where the string Of pearls
was lying?" A.
Yes"
please describe Mrs. Smith to me.
Tell me what she wore"
"She is a small. fair woman with
regular features-in fact. she is very
pretty. She was wearing a dainty
gown of summer silk and her face was
swathed In a white chiffon veil-she
said that she had been suffering from
neuralgia and dared not remove 1t. l
was surprised. because the day was
very warm. as you may recollect. She
lifted the veil when she drank her tea.
but only showing the line of her lips,
and / was rather surprised to note that
she had rouged her lips and tinted her
cheeks. Edith has always been very
emphatic Ia her dislike of such subter-
fuges of the toilet.
please describe Mrs. Smiths maid.
Honoria."
"Honoria? | hardly know, MIR. Har-
ley. She has been with Edith a very
short time, but i understand she is in
valuable in her position and came high
ly recommended. She is small-smal-
Ter than Edith-pale and mousey look
ing-not pretty-well. one of those
people who look like almost any one
straight features. not very young, with
sandy hair and complexion-that Is as
close a description as l can remember"
And she has been present a number
of times when you have been to see
Mrs. Smith,"
Yes. Edith has been Ill more or
less all summer and | have visited her
in her room ut the hotel. Honoria has
sat sewing near by ready to wait upon
her mistress"
did Mrs. Smith tell you that the
maid had been absent yesterday"
"She didn't say. Mr.. Harley. She
merely explained that she herself had
slept from luncheon time until | called
her on the telephone"
Harley sat in deep thought for some
time. Then he excused himself and
went into the next room. where he
talked with his partner for a while.
When he returned to his own Office be
closed the door. but the low rumble of