Polk County news. [volume] (Benton, Tenn.) 191?-1983, 1920-08-05

| the marriage annulled. Dad kept moth
er abroad until after ii was all over
and TO this day she never has heart
a word about it,"
"YOur father must be a wonderful
man." / said enthusiastically.
"He was" she said simply. 'He has
been dead two years"
"Oh, Pm so sorry" 1 cried, did
not know"
IF Dad were alive he would know
what to do. You see, when he died
there was not much money left. We're
really little better than paupers.
| We've been living from day to day on
our tiny capital, and Mother has been
working every wire to arrange a good
| match for Claire. / wanted to do
something, to go out and earn a living
for myself but she never would con-
sent. She insisted I'd be damaging
Claire's prospects If l went into trade,
as she calls it, and promised her I'd
do nothing until after Claire is safely
married"
~Aiid 10 sic " uC maj Ileu L hShtl.
A troubled expression came into her
face.
"She was to be, but now 1 don't
know. She is engaged to marry Young
Harry D. Thayer who Is worth a lot
of money, but someone has found out
about her secret"
"How did they find out?" l asked
eagerly. / understood now the mystic
rious meeting in the park that had
brought me first into touch with Bar
bara Bradford. Some band of rascals
was trying to blackmail Claire Brad
ford, and her sister was trying to save
her.
That's the greatest mystery of ALL"
exclaimed Miss Bradford. Before
Dad died he turned over to me all the
papers about the annulment of Claire's
marriage. Somehow he seemed to
rely on me far more than on either
Mother or Claire. He explained to
me the Importance of always keeping
them, in case the past should ever
crop up, but he charged me to see that
they always were safely put away
where no one could find them"
where did you keep them?" I
asked.
I'm the wall safe in my sitting
roam"
m the wall safe" cried, think
( in! bewffaerment of the coinci-
l.aIice that these papers should have
had a similar hiding place to the Gas
ton jewels which had vanished so
strangely.
Eyes" she answered, plainly puzzled
1t my bewilderment at was an eX-
cellent hiding place. No one but my
self had the combination. don't SEQ
now who could have taken them. !
found the safe locked as it always
vas"
"When did you first discover the pa
)ers were missing?"
'Let me see," she pondered,
'Claire's engagement was announced
It a dinner three weeks ago last
The newspapers on Sum
lay carried brief notice of it. Tw0
lays later the first note came"
"What note?"
She reached into the pocket of her
iding habit and drew forth folded
lip of paper.
81 brought it with me to show you,
ere, this is the first one"
Like the mysterious note I myself
ad received only the preceding night,
his one was not inclosed in an EN-
elope. 1t was just a folded slip, adj
ressed in typewriting to Miss Clara '
On the other side was this
lessage:
"What if Thayer knew about your
cling married before? How much |
ill you give to get those psperF {
lck?"
"Where did you get this?" I asked [
81 found it on the floor of my bed
,Om one morning when I got up late
gave it to my sister without having :,
,ad 1t, thinking she had dropped !!
Iere. She read 1t and screamed and 4.
-inteu. rOllundltlS NholhSl was 'uN | q
the house at the time. Naturally
ad the note then. l went to thu
fe and found the documents gone
aire has been nearly crazy ever o
nee. She insists that it is all my
ult She says l ought to have de" k
royed the papers, but I couldn't
uld II"
"Of course not" I replied warmly,
'ou did quite right in keeping them, g,
was not your fault they were
)len." &c
~ couldn't destroy them. Dad had
d me to keep Them" she said simply.
'What did you do them Did you
| your mother?' OF
~ 4 a Il