Mansfield mirror. (Mansfield, Wright County, Mo.) 1908-1957, 1920-05-13
SYNOPSIS.

NNslNAasNAN AApti NEltl ne Z
ceives an invitation to dinner from his
ereat-uncle. Rufus CASTOR. On his way
10 the house he meets, under peculiar cir
oumStances. a young Girl, apparently in
10 he of slight service. She lives in the
same apartment building as Rufus Gas
Ton, and he accompanies her TO the house.
Gaston and his wife are going 10 Maine
LOT a mp and want to leave Nelson in
1harge of the apartment. He accepts.
Castor ana his wife tell their great
nephew Of mysterious noises-'whispcrs"
which they nave heard in the house.
CHAPTER lion his way 10 the Gas
ton apartment next Sunday Nelson again
meets his accidental acquaintance OF a
few days before, Barbara Bradford. She
being acquainted to be known. At the
apartment Nelson meets the superintend-
ent, Wick, and instirctively dislikes him.
In a wall safe he finds a necklace Of
magnificent pearls, worth a small fortune.
Meeting Barbara in the hallway she
passes him without recognition. Dining
In a restaurant he is conscious of the I'M
pleasant scrutiny OF a stranger. but a
man whom he had seen before.
CHAPTER IIL-Next day Nelson finds
the pearls have disappeared from the
wall safe. His first idea Of informing the
culiar circumstances. He has been dis
charged from his position without ade-
quate. explanation or reason. and feels
himself involved in something of a mys-
terry, He decides to conduct an investi-
CATION himself. That night Barbara sig
mails from the' window OF her apartment,
which is opposite his, and they arrange
a meeting for next day. In the morning
he finds a note in his room. asking him
why he hadsnot informed the police Of
TIL loss Of the jewels.
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 paupe
We've been living from day 10 day OF
our tiny capital, and Mother has been
working every wire TO arrange a good
match for Claire. l wanted 10 do
something. 70 so out and earn a living
for myself. but she never would con-
She insisted I'd he damaging
Claire's prospects If I went into trade,
as she calls it, and l promised her I'd
do nothing until after Claire is safely
married"
And is she 10 be married?" l asked.
A troubled expression came into her
face.
she was TO be, but now I don't
know. She is engaged 10 marry young
Harry l.. Thayer, who Is worth a lot
Of money. but someone has found out
about her secret"
How did they find out?" I asked
eagerly. l 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 10 blackmail Claire Brad
ford. Inc her sister vas 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 40 one could find them"
where did you keep thenT I
asked.
In the wall safe in my sitting
room"
in the wall safe" ! cried. think
ing in bcwilderment Of the coinci-
dence that these papers should have
had a similar hiding place to the Gas
ton jewels which had vanished so
strangely.
YES" she answered, plainly puzzled
at m. bewiIderment. ut was an *
ceIient hiding place. No one but my
self had the combination. / don't see
now who cnrld have taken them. I
found the safe locked as it always
was"
when did you first discover the pa
pers were missing:'
Let me see" she pOndered.
"Claire's engagement was announced
at a dinner three weeks ago last
Thursday. The newspapers on Sun
day carried a brief notice Of it. Two
days later the first nOte came"
"What notef'
She reached into the pocket Of her
riding habit and drew forth a folded
slip Of paper.
II brought 1t with me to show you;
here, this is the first one"
Like the mysterious note I myself
had received only the preceding night,
this one was not inclosed in an en-
yelOpe. II was just a folded slip, ad-
dressed In typewriting to miss Claire
Bradford" On the other side was this
mess8ge:
"What If Thayer knew about your
being married before? How much
will you give to get those papers
where did you get thIsy' ! asked.
u found II on the floor Of my bed
one morning when ! got up late.
gave It 10 my sister without having
read II, thinking she had dropped II
there. She read II and screamed and
Fortunately Mother was out
Of the house at the time. Naturally I
read the note then. ] went TO the
safe and found the documents gone.
has been nearly crazy ever
since. She insists that II Is all my
She says i ought TO have de-
the papers, but I couldn't,
~
"Of course not" I replied warmly.
You did quite right In keeping them.
{ was not your fault they were
81 couldn't destroy them. Dad had
old me to keep them" she said simply.
"What did you do then? Did you
ell your mOtherT
.nh M Sha must ueyor know Dad