Evening star., 1917-08-19

sary to rid one of the contact. AS all
love between your son and myself is
dead, I can no longer live within the
sound of his voice. AS this is his home.
he Is the one to remain in it May our
child reap the benefit of his mother s
~ ' '''' "RHoDA."
Both were gone. and gone forever.
The grandfather steeled himself to the
double loss. for the child's sake; but the
boy of eleven succumbed. Few OF the
worlds great sufferers. of whatever age
or condition, have mourned as this child
mourned, or shown the effects of his
grief so deeply or SO long. Not till he
had passed his majority did the line.
carved in one day in his baby forehead.
those who declare that even later than
that, the midnight stiffness of the
house was disturbed from time to time
by his muff1ed shrek of Mother.
Mother
OF this cry Violet had heard. and it
was that and the door which she was
still looking for. when her two com
panions suddenly halted. and She found
herself on the threshold of the library.
in full view of Mr.. Van Rroecklyn and
his two guests.
Slight and fairy-like in figure. with
an air of modest reserve more in keep
ing with her youth and dainty dimpling
beauty than with her errand. her ap
pearance produced an astonishment
which none of the gentlemen was able
to disguise.
Summoning up her courage and meet
ing each inquiring eye with a look
which seemed to carry a different mes
sage to each. she remarked very
quietly:
This Is not matter to guess at. I
must have time and I must look a little
deeper into the facts just given me. /
presume that the table I see over there
is the one upon which Mr.. Jpjohn laid
the manuscript during Mr.. Spielhagen' s
Inconsistencies.
All nodded.
rs it-I mean the table-in the same
condition it was then? Has nothing
been taken from it except the manu-
script?'
Nothing"
Then" she declared. with quiet as
surance and a steady meeting with her
own of every eye. .'as the thirteenth h
page was not found among the others
when they were taken from this table,
nor on the persons of either Mr. Cornell
or NJ Spielhagen, it is still in that inner
room"
each in different tone. That room is
absolutely empty"
May have look al it's emptinesso'
Mr.. Van Broecklyn led the way to the
door of the adjoining room and threw
it open.
Just what she had been told to ex-
pect. Bare walls and floors and an
empty chair, Yet she did not instantly
withdraw. but stood silently con-
templating the paneled wainscoting
surrounding her.
And that door, she asked, pointing
to a portion of the wainscoting so ex-
actly like the rest that only the most
experienced eye could detect the line of
There was a door there once; hut it
has been permanently closed. With
cement" he forced himself to add
"Then it can no longer be opened by
your hand or any other?"
1T could not be opened with an AK"
Violet sighed in the midst of her
triumph
"A sheet of paper" she remarked
"of the size Of this one cannot be
spirited away. dissolved into thin
want is some happy thought in order
to hnd it, In this case l should like
to make believe for few moments
that I am Mr.. Spielhagen. I should
like to hold his thesis in my hand and
be interrupted in my reading by Mr.
then ! should like to nod and slip OFF
mentally into deep sleep. Possibly in
that sleep the dream may come which
will clarity the whole situation. Will
you honor me SO far"
ridiculous concession. but they left
her as she had requested them to do
alone with her dreams in the small
room.
Suddenly they heard her cry out, ant
In another moment she appeared be
Gentlemen. look herer"
Seating herself, she allowed hel