Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1917-06-28

DEATH"
She turned to the man. 81 do not
think Mr. Vernon will return tonight"
she said; but l shall see him first
thing tomorrow morning. / will give
the locket to him, if you wish"
"Will you" said Mr. Myers, re-
lieved. II shall be very much obliged
to you, miss. He will no doubt want
to keep it in memory of his brother"
where was Mr.. Vernon buried?"
inquired Grace as she slipped the
locket into her purse.
ION Staten Island" He mentioned
the name of the cemetery. Nothing
wrong about the matter, hope? The
certificate of death was perfectly reg
ular."
Nothing that I know Of" Grace
replied. Good night" She went out
and instructed the chauffeur of the
taxicab to take her back to the Hotel
Rochambeau. AS they left she glanc-
ed at her watch. 1t was half past
twelve.
On the way downtown Grace tried
to figure out some solution of the mys-
terry Of the purser's death and the
events which had followed it. In the
hrst place why had he been murdered
at all? The theft of the one.franc
piece seemed an entirely insufficient
reason. And who was the man Hart
mann, who had murdered his com.
pani'n, Reinhardt, and why had he
done it?
And who, too, was this brother of
the purser's who had so suddenly ap-
peared on the scene? Was he no
brother at all, but the man Hartmann
himself? The whole affair seemed
shrouded in mystery. She longed to
see her husband and find out what he
had learned.
The Hotel Rochambeau was dark
when she reached it, but by dint Of
| much ringing of the bell she managed
to awaken the night porter, swarthy
| and heavily built Gascon. He in
| formed her gruffly that Mile. Mercier
had not returned, and shut the door in
| her face.
Grace was by no means satisfied.
| She dismissed the taxicab and walked
| slowly along the street, crossing to
| the other side to avoid attracting at
| tention from the porter. 1t was dark
| there, and she paused in the shadow
Of doorway and looked across at the
hotel. A single light shone in the
| little office, and through the window
she could see the porter in his chair.
| The night was oppressively warm.
AS she glanced toward Sixth Avenue
she saw the colored lights in the win
dow of a drugstore. 1t occurred to
her to telephone the hotel and ascer-
tain if Richard had returned. A few
moments sufficed to learn that he
had not. She left word that she was
safe and would be back later on;
then, more worried than before, she
retraced her steps to the shelter Of
the doorway. Clearly the project,
and her husband as well, were out on
the case. 1t seemed to her unlikely
that they would not be somewhere in
the vicinity of Mile Mercier. And
the latter had left the apartment on
One Hundred and Tenth Street an
hour before, accompanied by the man
who called himself Charles Vernon.
Surely the girl would soon return to
her hotel. She determined to wait
while longer.
Mechanically she glanced over to
the hotel window. She could no
longer see the porter. The shade of
the window had been drawn. This
circumstance struck her as being eX-
tremely peculiar. She crossed the
street at once and peered at the win
dow, but it told her nothing.
Had Miss Mercier returned, she
wondered, while she was away tele-
phoning? She was at the point OF
ringing the bell to inquire when she
heard the sound of footsteps inside
coupled with a queer, muffled report
that sounded like an explosion heard
afar off.
She was undecided as to what to do
Clearly something was going on in
side the office-she did not just know
what. She waited for several min
utes, but heard nothing more. Their
It occurred to her that the best thint
to do would be to call a policeman
She descended the steps softly ant
started toward the corner.
She had not gone half the distapct
when she heard hurried footsteps be
, hind her, and before she realize. it ;
man and woman passed. The woman'
! face she could not see. The mai
, turned toward her inquiringly, ant
| she got momentary glimpse Of hi
] features. They seemed singularly ia
/ miliar, yet she could not place them
/ For moment she thought of the mai
i she had followed the night before
) the one who had struck her with tn
4 satchel; but he had been clean shaw
j en-, with the exception of smal
e mustache, while this man wore
4 short, curly beard.