Mansfield mirror. (Mansfield, Wright County, Mo.) 1908-1957, 1920-04-22

THE elevator boy reported your ar
rival" he continued, but he WASH
quite sure il was you. The fact tina
you were chatting with the youn.
lady bothered him. and me. too. Mr.
CASTOR told me YOU were a strange,
in the city, and Tdidn't expect TO tint
you knowing one Of the Brndfnris,'
II was on the tip Of my tongue L
say. We'll. you see l do know her.
when I recalled her request that
would not recognize her until we hat
been introduced In some fashion.
cuntented myself with saying merely
well. | hope YOU are satisfied now"
'Of course, Mr.. Nelson, of course
he answered, though his looks heliet
his words. Manifestly he was still
puzzled over my acquaintance with
Miss Bradford.
Il hope you will find II comfortable
here" he said, plainly trying t. con
tinue the conversation. III there.
erer anything the matter. just call me
on the house phone; Mr.. Wick. the
name is"
Il will" l said, and he unwillingly
withdrew.
III there's ver anything the mat
ter -" Was there something
sinister in the superintendent part
ing remark? Once more the warn,
inSS Of my relatives flashed into my
mind. What was wrong in the house,
Why did he anticipate that | might he
calling him up? Why did he exhibit
such an interest in me and in my
acquaintance with the girl across the
hall? Somehow the mans whole as
pect had impressed me- ~unfayorably.
carried my bag back TO my bed
room and unpacked IL. The various
attachments in the bath looked so in.
wiling that | stripped and amused my.
self for half an hour testing the va.
rir,y OF showers and sprays provided.
DOMINIC my hathrobe | ~leiSurely
smoked an excellent cigar from q box
old Rufus had Observation-Disclosures per.
hapS lhoughtlessly-lett open on his
desk. and then returned TO the iuSpec-
ton Of my e quarters.
As IL Vas Sunday. I had a whole
day Of leisure before me. and ! felt
that il l was To clear up the mystery
that had driven the Old couple out, II
was incumbent on me 10 make a MI
nut study ~ my surroundings. Only
in the little rear sitting room was
there any atmosphere of nominees. All
the rest Of the place was done in the
best department store style, even 10
the richly bound sets of standard au-
thors which lined the walls Of the liv-
ing room. most OF which. found had
their pages uncut.
My search N the place-and ii was
thorough. extending even Ia the empty
caniSters in The pantry and Kitchen
revealed nothing whatever that Gave
any hint as to the cause or explana-
ton of old Rufus fears. The place
seemed the least likely OF all places
in the world to hide any mystery. just
q great, modern. luxurious apartment.
equipped with every possible device for
the comfort and convenience of its &C.
cupants. 1t would have to be an up
to-date ghost to find itself ar home
here.
But wait, Perhaps the safe held
some clue TO the problem they wanted
me to solve. But where was the safe?
/ had not noticed it anywhere in my
repeated journeys through the rooms.
l made another tour looking for it.
More than likely il had been located
in some incon>picuous place purposely.
But where? At last l located it. be-
hind a faded crayon portrait of Mrs.
Castor, in the little sitting Dom.
l lifted the picture to the floor and
stood hesitant before the safe. Should
|, or should | not. open it? The fact
that they had given me the cOmbina-
ton seemed to Imply that l had a
perfect right TO inspect its contents.
"SiX to the right. four to the left.
two to the right, eight to the left"
AS turned the knob | repeated the
combination to myself. There was a
little click. and the steel door came
open. Reaching in l drew forth two
Old-fashion"d jewel cases Of leather.
both securely locked. I took from my
pocket the keys my creat-uncle had
given me and tOyed with them thought
fully. Among them were two tiny
keys that undoubtedly belonged to the
jewel cases. Had ! The right to use
them? | decided that | had.
The first case | opened contained. 50
far as my limited knowledge of prcc-
ious stones enabled me to judge, moth
ing but a bunch of cheap junk. bits
Of tnery from another century. coral
earrings that Mrs. CASTOR may have
worn when She was a little girl, combs
Of jet, amber beads, quaint hoop ear
rings and a ring or two, merely the
trlnketS Of a vain old woman. treas
ured from the time when the money
to buy them was scarce. There was
nothing in the lot that any self-re-
SI''l'hs tnI'I "cuiI ldht' precious as
they may have been to their owner.
! locked up that case and returned it
to the safe and opened the other.
AS / raised the lid an involuntary
exclamation Of amazement and admi-
n A6
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