Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1920-09-29

4ANHEe.-L r.. .t==- rTH.LE 1000 EE
his crimes, and departed again, leays;
ing every outlet Of the room securely
fastened on h inside?
h question proved unanswerable.S5
SO I gave it up and, began to retracoA
my steps toward the house.
AS 1 neared the stables. I noticed
that 1 had seen Mrs. Carstairs slow
Nv following. early that anne morn
ing. I paused a to watch
him. and l saw that 1t was Carstairs-
the valet. To my surprise, he re-
peated exactly the procedure Of his
mother. He stepped along slowly,
had every appearance of a mann
searching for some small, lost ar
ticle. Het had a stick in his hand,
Sand he even scraped the dirt Of the
road now n then, peering closely
as If in a. desperate search.
1 determined to come upon him
suddenly, as 1 had surprised his
mother, and see if he were as apt at
explaining himself as she had been.
l approached very quietly. and as
! was just at his elbow. 1 said. What
have you lost"
raised a white, startled face.
"N-nothing.-sir. I assure you--I
have lost nothing!'
What are you looking for, then?
l will help o find it,"
l picked up the stick he had
dust. myself. But he said, stanmer-
ing, and with a pleading expression:
"N-no! 1 have not lost anything.
sir. Give me back my stick, 1 beg OF
you"
Look here, Carstairs. it's no crime&
to lose anything. But to be so secret
about it, n so ratified. betokens q
| eSlilfV lnnSciQnoaa of SnYna AnYf s.
Yes. sir; very good, sir. I'm not
ratified, strand indeed. indeed. cir,
l have not lost anything"
Clearly the man had not his moth
er's faculty for rising to a situation.
Without a: doubt they had both been!
saw them both closely examining the!
ground in the same place. But shef
had tossed off my questions with
witty repartee, while he was the em,-
bodiment of agonized embarrasA
ment.
1 went on toward the house, with q,
new problem added to my brain COLI
lection-the problem of the two
searchers, who 10Th denied having
lost anything, and who were mother
and son. Collision and secrecy were
lcertainly shown here. 1 had no clue
thought that very likely it was a
matter of nc Importance. anyway !
When 1 reached the house, Bar
,bara met me with the welcome news
that Anne desired to see me. I was
conducted to her dressing room, and
as I entered. I realized the truth OF
what I had been told regarding the
Van Wyck's apartments. A more <
quisite gem of a room, I never saw.
1t was furnished entirely in Louis
Seize effects n was a miracle OF
gilded carving and rose-colored bro
cade.
J.. "And you call this a dressing
room!" I said, endeavoring to b.
casual; Il think boudoir a, more apH
Anne smiled. "1 hate a French
word" she said. when English will
do as we'll. And I especially dislike
the term sitting room,' SO what could
you see" She waved her hand to-
ward a daintily appointed toilet table.
iglittering with glass and gold.
l scarcely knew whether to CON-
|tinue the conversation on trivial mat
tiers, or whether to speak of the
composed; though pale, and with an
air of forcing herself to be quiet and
natural. a =
But after a few moments of beat
ing time, I said, Lets not evade the
subject that fills both our minds.
may We HUI Spcdh VI II:
"How nice you are!" said Anne,
and her eyes beamed with gratitude.
"You always do the right thing, Ray
mond. My heart is bursting to talk
of these things. yet thinks
II don'tfwant to!" 81 5 Iar,.5
Talk to- ime," I said, gently, "just
as o will. Say anything that is in
your heart. 80 .sg4 /,
was on dangerous ground, and I
knew it.. but I held myself well in
hand. Anne looked lovelier than
ever, in a white lacy sort of boudoir
grown and a lace cap on her beauti-
full hair. Also she looked pathetic
and as if greatly in need of some one
to lean on for sympathy and oun
sci.
Let us talk it over freely" I said:
"you cannN be brave and courage
Gus, Anne, as you must be. if you are
afraid to face the facts. You don't
think your husband took his own
life, do you?"
Continued n tomorrow
Evenings GERALD. /;
FEW SEE