Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1920-05-26
The
Abandoned
Room
By WADSWORTH CAMP
AUTHOR OF
sTHE HOUSE OF FEAR"
WARS DARK FRAME" ETC.
CHAPTER X.

CHAPTER ~.
"She had told me something Of her
history. You might have had as
much from her press agent. Altho
she had lived in Spain since she was
a child, she was born in Panama, my
own country, of a Spanish mother
and an American father. Right
away I wondered If Blackburn had
ever been in Panama or Spain. be-
gan to seek the inception Of the pos
sible understanding between them.
Since found no illuminating docu-
ments about Blackburn's past In the
library, l concluded, If such papers
existed, they would be locked up In
the desk in his room. l searched
there a number of times, giving you
every excuse could think of to get
upstairs. The other night, after /
had suspected her of knowing some
thing, Miss katherine nearly caught
me. But l found what l wanted--a
carefully hidden packet Of accounts
and letters and newspaper clippings.
They're at your, service, Mr.. District
Attorney. They told me that Silas
Blackburn had been in Panama.
They proved that Maria, instead of
ever having been his accomplish, was
his enemy They explained the
source OF his wealth and the founda-
ton of that ennity. Certainly you
remember the doctor told us Silas
Blackburn started life with nothing;
and hadn't you ever wondered why
with oil his money he buried himself
in this lonely hole?'
HE returned from South America.
rich, more than twenty-five years
ago." the doctor said. why should
we bother about his money!?
Il wish you had bothered about
several things besides your ghosts"
Paredes said. you'd have found 1t
significant that Blackburn laid the
foundation of his fortune In Panama
during the hideous scandals of the
old French canal company. We
knew he was selfish tyrant. That
discovery showed me how selfish,
how merciless he was, for to succeed
in Panama during those days requir-
ed an utter contempt for all the
standards of law and decency. The
men who got along held life cheaper
than a handful of coppers. That's
what meant when walked around
the hall talking of the ghosts of
Panama For was beginning to see.
Silas Blackburn's fear, his trip to
Smithtown. we're the first indications
Of the presence OF the other Black
burn. The papers outlined him more
clearly. Why had 1t been forgotten
here. doctor. that Silas Blackburn
had a brother-his partner in those
wretched and profitable contract
scandals?"
"You mean" the doctor answered,
Robert Blackburn. He was q year
younger than Siias. This boy was
named In memory of him. Why
should any one have remembered?
He died in South America more than
n quarter Of century ago. before
these children were bofn."
That's what Silas Blackburn told
you when he came back" Paroles
said. He may have believed 1t at
first or he may not have. dare say
he wanted to, for he came back with
his brothers money as well as his
own-the cash and the easily con-
verttble securities that were all men
would handle in that hell. But he
never forgot that his brothers wife
was alive, and when he ran from
Panama he knew she was about to
become mothAr.
"That brings me to the other fea-
ture that made me wander around
here like a restless spirit myself that
night. Yon had Just told your story
about the woman crying. II there
was . strange woman around here
It was almost certainly Maria. As
Rawlins deduced, she must either be
historical or signalling some one.
Why should she come unless some-
thing had gone wrong the night she
drugged Bobby to keep him in New
York? She wasn't his enemy, be-
cause that very night she did him q
good turn by trampling out his
tracks in the court"
Bobby took Naria's letter from his
pocket and handed it to Paroles.
Then how would you account for
thisT' -,
The Panamanian read the letter.
Her way of covering herself" he
explained. 'in case you suspected she
had made you drink too much or
had drugged you. She really wanted
you to come to tea that afternoon. It
was after writing that that she found
out what had gone wrong. In other
words. she read in the paper of Silas
Blackburn's death, and in q panic
she put on plain clothes and hurried
out to see what had happened. The
fact that she forgot her managers,
her professional reputation, every
thing, testified to her anxiety, and /
began to sense the truth. She had
been born in Panama OF Spanish
mother and an, American father. She
had some stealthy interest in the Ce-
dars and the Blackburns. She was
about the right age. Ten TO one she
was Silas Blackburn's niece. So for
me, many hours before Silas Black
burn walked in here, the presence OF
the other Blackburn about the &C.
dars became a tragic and threaten
ing inevitability. Had Silas Black
burn been murdered or had his
brother? Where was the survivor
who had committed that brutal muir.
der? Maria had come here hyster-
ically to answer those questions. She
might know. The light in the de.
serted house! She might be hidine
him and taking food to him there
But her crying suggested sigma
which he never answered. At an,
rate. had to find Maria. So slip.
ped out. I thought I heard her a,
the lake. She wasn't there. I wa.
sure would trap her at the desert,
ed house, for the diffused glow of tn,
light we had seen proved that it has