Emmons County record. [volume] (Williamsport, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-current, 1919-06-19
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ana 30 made the very natural mis-
take Of saying she hadn't come ut all,
ut all. The young woman in question
is Mrs. Van Dykes maid. But, bless
me soul, how was / to know she was
even In existence. much less expected
by train or motor or Shnnks' mare?
Well, she's here, so there's the end Of
our mystery"
Barnes was slow in replying. He
was doubling his own ears. 1t was not
conceivable that an ordInary-or even
an extraordinary-lady's maid could
have possessed the exquisite voice and
manner of his chance acquaintance of
the day before, or the temerity to
order that sourfaced chauffeur about
as If The chauffeur!
"But / thought you said that Mr..
Curtis chauffeur was moon-faced
and"
"He is, bedad,r broke in Mr..
O'DOwd, chuckling. "Thatis what de-
ceived me entirely, and no wonder. 1t
wasn't Peter at all, but the rapscallion
washer who went after her. He was
Instructed to tell Peter to meet the
-FOUR O'Clock train, and the blOckhead
forgot to give the order. Bedad, what
does he do but sneak out after her
himself, scared out Of his boots for
rear of what he was to get from Peter.
had the whole story from Mrs, Van
Dyke"
"Well, I'm tremendously relieved"
said Barnes slowly.
"And so am l." shid O'Dowd with
conviction. 81 have seen the heroine
Of our busted romance. She's a good
looking girl. I'm not surprised that
she kept her -veIl down. II you were
to leave 1t to me, though. I'd say
that it's sin to carry discretion 80
far3as oil that. You see what mean,
don't-youg' His rich laugh came over
the wire.
Perfectly. Thank you for letting
:. me know. Ny mind IL Mt rest. ,Goou.
by" As he hung up the receiver he
said to himself, ''You are a most AZ.
fable. convincing chap. Mr.. O'Dowd.
but l don't believe word you say.
That woman Is no lady's maid, and
you've known all the time that she
was there"
At four o'clock he set out alone for
a tramp up the mountain road in
which the two men had been shot
down. His mind was quite clear.
Room and Paul were not ordinary rob
bers. They were, no doubt, honest
men. He would have said that they
were thieves bent on .burglarizIng
Green Fancy were it not for the dis
closures Of Miss Thnckerny and the
very convincing proof that they were
not shot by the same man. 81
1t was not beyond reason-indeed,
1t was quite probable-that they were
trying to cross the border; in that
event their real operations would be
confined to the Canadian side Of the
line. He could not free himself of the
suspicion that Green Fancy possessed
the key to the situation. Room and his
companion could not have had the
slightest interest in his movements mp
to the instant he encountered the
young woman at the crossroads. His
busy brain suddenly suffered the shock
Of distinct conclusion. Was she
fellow conspiratorr Was she the In
side worker at Green, Fancy in we'll
: laid plan to rifle the placer
Could 1t be possible that she was
the confederate Of these painstaKing
agents who lurked with sinister pa
thence outside the very gates Of the
place called Green Fancy?
His ramble carried him far beyond
the spot where Rooms body was found
! and where young Conley had come
upon the tethered horses. His eager,
curious gaze swept the forest to the
left Of the road in search Of Green
Fancy. Overcome by a rash, daring
impulse, he climbed over the stake
: and rider fence and sauntered among
the big trees which SO far had OBJ
scured the house from view. The trees
grew. very thickly on the slope, and
they were unusually large. He pro-
crossed deeper into the wood. At the
end Of what must have been q mile.
he halted. There was no sign OF habi-
tation, no indication that man had
ever penetrated SO fur into the forest.
As he was on the point Of retracing
his steps toward the road his gaze
fell upon huge moss-covered rock
less than hundred yards away. He
stared. and gradually 1t began to take
on angles and planes and recesses of
the most astounding symmetry. I'M
der his widening gaze 1t was trans
formed into substantial object Of
cubes and gables and-yes. windows,
He was looking upon the strange
home Of the even stranger Mr.. Cur
tis-G Green Fancy.
Now he understood why It was
called Green Fancy. Its surroundings
were no greener than itself; II seemed
to melt into the foliage. to become
part Of the natural landscape. Noun
tain ivy literally enyeIoped II. Ex.