Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-03-12
|V'ICKY VAN VI I;
q ca. I a' f.;i I.@ =. cl..:- n. M.rval M,,t.r7:' Ess,
a, dom believe vicky is disguised.

II don't believe vicky is disguised:
Her personality is, too pronounced
and so is jules. I think some friend
is caring for them. Not Ariadne
Gale, Of that I'm sure. But it may
be Mrs. Reeves. She is very fond OF
vicky and is clever enough to hide
the girl all this time"
''The police have searched her
house." l.Sje
IT know, but Mrs. Reeves ana
vicky could connive a plan that would
hoodwink the police. I'm pretty GER
tain"
"I'l look into that" and stone
made a note of it. about that carv-
ing knife. Fibsy. Did the caterers
take 1t away by mistake?" I,
"No, sir; 1 'vestergated that an
they didn't"
THAT knife. is an important thing,
to my MIND" the. detective went on.
eyes, sir" eagerly agreed Ffbsy.
ut may yet cut the Georgian knot!
Why, Mr.. Stone. the sewing lady
knew that knife. She was here to
lunching a few days before the
moider, an she says she always sat
at the table in the dining room to eat,
after Miss Van Allen got through.
An she says that knife was there, c 0
they had steak, an she used it her.
self. 1 described the fork pufteckly,
an she reckernized it at onct."
You're a bright boy" I exclaim-
ed in involuntary tribute to this
clever bit of work. ..
I'm associated with Mr.. Stone
said Fibsy, with a quiet twinkle.
cit was clever" agreed Stone. I'm
sure. myself. that the absence OF that
small carving knife means something,
but I can't At it in yet"
We went up to the, dining-room to
look again at the carving fork, still IN
its place on the sideboard.. I was al
ways thrilled at a return to this
room-always reminded of the awful
tableau 1 had seen there.
The long, slender fork lay in its
place. Though it had been repeatedly
examined and puzzled over, 1t had
been carefully replaced.
But I can't see," I offered, why
a carving-knife should figure in n
matter at all when the crime was
committed with the little boning-
knife"
That's why the missing carving
knife ought to be a clue" said Stone.
because it's connection with the case
is inexplicable. Now, where is that
knife? ? Fibsy. where Is it,"
Fleming stones frequent appeals to
the boy were often in a half-banter-
ing tone, and. yet. rather often, Ter
ence returned an opinion or a bit of
conjecture that turned stones cogita-
lions in a fresh direction.
You see, sir" he said. this time,
"that knife is in this house. It's got
ter be. That lady left the house in a.
mighty hurry but all the same she
didn't go out a b%randishin' of a car
vin'-knife! Nor did she take it along
drop it in the street or IN ash can
for it'd been found. So. she sicereted
it summer. an it's still in the house
away since. You know. Mr.. Stone,
the Van Allen has been in this house
more times than you'd think for. Yes,
sir, she has"
How dosyou know"
Lots o. ways. Frinst' on Sat-day,
I noticed a clean squarish place in, the
dust on a table in the lady's bedroom,
an it's where a book was. That book
disappeared durin' Friday night. I
don't remember SEEM the book, 1
didn't notice II, to know what book it
was, but the clean place in the dust
couldn't get there no other way. Well,
all is. it shows Miss Wick an
goes pretty much as she likes-or did
till you'n me camped out here"
Then you think she left the knife
here that night, and has since return
ed and taken it away
Il donno.''. Fibsy scowled in his ef-
fort to deduce the truth. Lets
look!'
He darted from the room and up
the stairs. Stone rose to follow,
THAT boy is uncanny at times" he
said. seriously. I'm only too glad to
follow his intuitions, and not seldom:
he's all right"
We went upstairs. and then on up
to the next floor. Fibsy was in vicky
Vans dressing room, staring about
him. He stood in the middle of the
floor. his hands in his pockets, wheel
ing round on one heel.
They say she ran upstairs fore she
flew the COOP" he murmured, not
looking at US. ''That Miss Weldon
said that. Well, if she did. She
natchelly came up here for a cloak
an bonnet. I'll never believe that
level-headed young person went out
into the cold woild in her glad rays.
an no coverin'. Well, then, saw she
lef' tfat knife here, locked up good
plenty. Where-where. I saw.
would she siccrete it,"
He glared round the room, as II