The Washington times., 1918-06-01
Pax ons-(coztiaBss)

PAL. death. She expected It. per-
8aPs-she was never told OF the
horrible circumstances which sur
rounded Il. That know for GER
NGin- There were tragedies at Ad-
derry, but can 'aequit Mrs. Bora
dale. of any knowledge Of them
Probably you yourself were the
hrSt 20 impaFt TO her the news OF
BGsil's death. The unhappy lady
was prostrated by the shock, and
20 prevented from giving any eXpla-
nation-"
II begged her to. say II I was
free" cried Esther. she could only
reply that must go to yOu-and
you would net speak" =. -
SShe PFobably surTnlsed that this
strange marriage had been OF my
arranging. fancy that, for his
own purposes, Grimstead exaggeT-
9ted 70 her my position at Adder
ley Perhaps, too, the fact Of the
marriage meant more 20 her than
you or I can understand. Yes
Lillian repeated her conclusions
with q marked emphRsis-''lt Is
certain that Mrs BOrradale was
kept properly Informed OF what
passed at Adderley. She simply
paid what she was asked to pay,
and left the rest to Grimstead. And
he acted In obedience 70 some one
else"
ut was this that frst made you
Suspicious Of another secretT"
.SaHpieiOn II Aroused.
SYes, that and many almost IN
dednabie circumstances that would
crop up daily. AddeFley Manor
reeked with q mystery beyond what
I know OF t. The treasure in the
'Vault-to whom did II belong, a II
why was Il used for certain pur-
poses only-such as to pay you the
marriage annuity agreed upOnY
That seems simple enough" said
Esther logically. eff you are right
. IN saying that Mrs. Borradale was
{ TO know nothing Of Basil's mar
riaEe, no application could be made
Of her for the money. The Curse
was. the guardian Of the treasure,
and his permission had to be OBJ
talned- Do not remember his sig
nature TO the document-thRt
Ehsstly hand protruding through
the curtain?
1T was not q large sum. and Mrs..
BoFradale would have paid anything
without inquiry. don't think that
fully explains It And then, Esther,
you do not know AddeFley as do.
] have wandered through It by day
and night have felt the presence
Of a malIEn infiuence-Oh, I'm not
Buperstitious, and don't believe In
ghosts. It's not . ghost-but l will
swear that there is some one else
who lives concealed In the house.
It was a long time before discov-
cred that access TO one small wing
a apparently cut on. There are no
windows 70 that wing or they have
been walled up. I was curious and
aid my best, as quietly as could.
- unravel the new mystery.
AnsfheF PFOblem t0 Solve.
why was the Curse taken at
certain times from the grange to
the manor! That was another
question to which could find no
answer. He was always led down
BY one Of his keepers and at the
manor handed over to Grimstead.
FhIs was before he became as Sc
nous as he was after CyriFs death.
Oas day-or. rather. one night
followed Il was not easy to do 80
uHobServsd, but managed It
.TWeedIedee WAS the keeper. re-
FaembeF. knew exactly the spot
where they would meet Grimstead,
And I hid myself in q recess
well, FWSediOdee turned back.
and I managed to follow Grim
stead and the Curse TIE former
AaA k!s lO=E whip, but he d!d not
WS=t TO USe !t Coz TIE creature
Nvszr v!.!..zS!y enough. =e gave
Czoss Little, sort ba-Xs o. his
you remember Jhe soU=d 9: tae=s?
They cane ~ !Sst TO 8 door
Ophich GFimstead unlocked eyith 4
key ne carried with him. and they
passed through. waited to hear
hin lock q, but he did not do 50.
I presume that he meant to return
the same way. I hesitated abou:
goinE on, but curiosity prompted
ne. ! waited a few moments and
then pushed open the door.
EunlaheI IN OFie1tal BHUy.
II saw . short passage which
Opsnod directly into q room, the full
extent Of which was hidden from
me-a kind>of anterOom Il appear
70 be, for Il was not furnished In
any particular style. But the lux
uFy Of the furniture and decoration
positively took my breath away. A
RFeat red curtain faced me, q cur
tain Of rich damask. evidently
drawn over q partition door. and
the room was lit By several hang
ing Eastern lamps. floating globes
Of ruby coloTed light A great
couch caught my eye; Il was up
holstered in rich crimson brocade,
and pillows were massed upon Il
Their united gorgeousnesB was dGz-
EiEnE. There was one evidently
from the East, wonderfully en-
broIdered in purple, crimson. and
gold, and another must have hailed
from Paris. and 90 on through q
whole dazzling medley. / saw no
books, newspapers. or flowers. but
there were q number OF mirrors,
and in one corner the bronze statue
of an Ethiopian slave holding up 4
lamp. The carpet was woven by
hand. rich in color. and was won
derfuIly soft TO tread on.
When I first raised my head to
the level OF the topmost stair Grim
stead and the Curse were not visible
20 me, but before had time to fully
appreciate the extraordinary wealth
Of the room / looked a. they ap-
peaFed IN front Of the great damask
curtain. They had evidently been
concealed in some other part Of the
room for q few moments. and now
they were waiting by the partition
door for what? The Curse was tug
EinE at the red curtain, wrapping Il
around those claws OF his, and CIV
ing uttsFEnce to low growis.
could not hear q word, though, Gs
!. YoU know. the creature csn speak