Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-10-01

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bloom which hung wilted and dyini
from crushed, broken stems.
I've nursed them as a mother woult
a child :" he lamented. "Sat up nights
with them to keep the temperature just
right and brought horticulturist ur
all the way from Central America tc
try out a new method of grating he
had devised-and now look at them =
But Paul gave no second glance to
his hosts hobby. He was gazing about
the glass domed room with its artist
cally massed flowers and narrow tiled
paths winding cunningly about through
aisles of arching palms. A miniature
fountain tinkled in the heart of the deli
cate greenery and rustic seats were
tucked invitingly into secluded hooks
and corners. Despite its beauty there
was something sinister in the atmos
phere, damp and heavy with the cloy =
ing mingled perfumes, which sent chill
to his bones. He shivered involuntarily.
From where he stood with his back to
the orchid bank, Paul faced directly
upon the row of long French windows
cNb oO NlooNiy lOENJhtI as W plNp lnp iii :
preston of an unbroken wall of glass
that looked out upon the strip of garden.
At the farther end to the right stood n
narrow closed door, doubtless the one
of which Colonel Lcdyard had spoken.
paups eyes turned to the left, toward
the larger, opened door which led into
the ballroom. In a direct line with his
en- tbo nj A..
damask- hung wall. He turned again to
the row of windows.
"Were any of these open on the night
Of the dance?'
"No. The ventilation came from n
sliding pane of glass or two in the
dome" The colonel turned with a sigh
from his mutilated orchids and started
down the walk. Come and examine
the door for yourself 1t hasn't been
tampered with, you Sec There's the
padding and weather stripping I had
put in last autumn, and the chain and
paddock are still on, as well as the bolts.
1t could only have been opened if all
that stuff were pried loose first"
Paul nodded as though satisfied and
led the way himseF back through the
ballroom and into the entrance hall.
THANK you for your courtesy,
Colonel Ledyard. 1 may have to
trouble you again in a day or two. but
I won't unless it's absolutely ncccs-
sary."
The colonel waved n pudgy hand.
That is all right. Glad to give the
authorities any assistance 1 can, but
you won't find any clue here, Mr.. Har-
vey, to what happened after the poor
little woman reached her home. Fright
full thing, upon my soul! / can't think
what the motive could have been; she
looked no more capable of history
than "a maltese kitten! Yet that
reticence of hers-Y He broke off
and added nervously: IL hope the
chief of police won't consider it neces-
sary to lay stress upon the fact that
Mrs. HartshOrne was last seen alive
here. If the newspapers get wind of
it and play it up Mrs. Ledyard will be
simply prostrated. She has been under
a severe nervous strain ever since the
tragedy became known"
Unless the special article chap dopes
that out for himself, l oan assure you
that the chief will not tip his hand off
to the press at this stage of the game
Paul smiled Good afternoon, Colonel
Ledyard -
1t was late at night before he found
his way to the modest old fashioned
rooms where he kept bachelors hall.
The days exertions had told upon his
slender store of strength, but his eyes
glowed with unabated zeal from the
shadowed rings which encircled them
and his brain ,seethed with conflicting
impressions which he strove to co-or-
dinate.
Upon leaving the Ledyards he had
made a wearisome round of taxicab
companies of the city, but with no re-
suit. No cab had been ordered to con-
vey Mrs. Hartshorne to her home on
the previous Thursday night, and it
was inconceivable that she should have
left the dance and wandered about the
street bare headed and in her evening
attire until she picked up a strolling
Some private conveyance
had taken her to her home, but whose,
and after what possible rendezvous?
Paul Slept fitfully at last, hammering
still in his half-conscious moments at
the problem which obsessed him.
In the quiet of the early Sunday
his telephone shrilled instantly
and he obeyed its summons to find Chief
Burke on the other end of the wire.
'Hello, Paul? Feel all right to-
day?"
Surely" His voice rang out
firmly, WHATS the news?"
'That little kitchen maid from Far
ragut street has disappeared. Her
aunt phoned in to headquarters just
now. You'd better jump down there
and get what dope on it you can; it
looks queer to me. You've got the
address, Sadie Mullen, care Peters, six
teen Sherman place"
II get you, sir I'll go at once and
report to you later"
Dressing hastily and snatching a cup
of coffee at a nearby restaurant, Paul
boarded a car for the address given.
1t proved to be tenement of a model
type, clean and airy, with struggling
pots of geraniums on more than one
window sill and an air of responsibility
and civic pride despite its poverty.