The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1920-08-14

making up the bed for moment be-
fore she answered me.
I'm not saying I've seen anything"
she began, "but there's thugs l could
be telling if was minded to open my
lips"
IF you know anything" I said, you
must tell me. Mr.. CASTOR put me here
to find out what was wrong"
There's no doubt there's wrong
here"
What makes YOU say that? What
have you seen? What do you knOw?"
ITS neither what I've seen nor
what know" She nodded mysteri-
Ously, ITS what I've been hearing
myself"
For heavens sake, woman" l cried,
losing patience, what is it you've
heardp
i've heard them walking" she an
nOunced with an air of triumph.
you've heard who walking?"
1.-THE little people, of course. Who
else would it be doing it?"
ooh, bOsh!" I exclaimed. was we'll
enough acquainted with the supersti-
lions Of the Irish to understand who
she meant by "the little people," It's
the habit Of the old crones from the
Emerald isle to attribute anything
they cannot understand to fairies.
"YOu may laugh" she retOrted indig-
nantly, but 1 heard them, 1 tell ye."
"Where did you hear them, these
fOotsteps?"
Coming right out of the wall, here
in this room, and in the Kitchen be-
yond."
"It was probably somebody in an
other apartment you heard"
at was not. The floors do be dead
ened like, and it's nothing at all you
can hear. 1t was somebody walking
soft-like right there in the wall at me
back"
WELL" l announced, ''if there is
anything like that going on, am go
ing to stay here until l hear it.
want to make sure no one can come
into the apartment but myself, so !
am going to ask you to give me your
key. I'll be home here all the morn
ing, so l can let you in when you ring"
ITS me key you're wanting, is it?'
She produced it from q pocket of
her gown and handed it over, first
unknOtting it from a corner Of her
kerchief where she had tied it for safe
keeping.
"And indeed if it's meself you're not
trusting with a key after Mrs. CASTOR
letting me have it for these ten years
back, it's your own bed you can be
making. I'll not be coming near the
place again"
In fine indignation she flounced out
of the place. To tell the truth / was
not sorry that she had announced her
decision not to return. While my i'm
preston Of her was that she was q
simple-minded old woman of utternost
honesty, I was just as well satisfied
that no one but myself should have
entry to the apartment until ! had
finished my Investigations and had
made further progress in solving the
mysteries that were so rapidly devel
oping.
Left once more to myself, sat down
at my great-uncle's desk and made
out a list of questions that must be
answered:
1. Where was Rufus CASTOR? HaG
the old gentleman really gone away
or was he in hiding in the building?
Q. Who had removed the Castor
pearls from the wall safe? 1t mus
be someone who knew the cOmblna
ton.
3. Who had written the note found
on the floor of my bedroom? How
and when had 1t been placed on thu
floor there?
4. Who were the persons who were
trying to blackmail the family mex
door?
5. How had the anonymous notes
been delivered on the floor of Barbara
Bradford's room? Evidently III,
writer was the same as in my case,
6. Was there anything in the pas
relations of Mr.. Bradford and N!
great-uncle that would cause. m!
great-uncle to plot against the Brad
ford family?
Z. How were the mysterious sounds
heard both by my great-uncle, by Bar
bara Bradford, and by myself to b,
: accounted for?
s. How were the mysterious foot
steps heard by Mrs. Burke to be ex
, planned? Were they merely the i'm
aginings of superstitious old woman
The relations between Mr.. Hgadfort
and Rufus Castor puzzled me- Mis-
Bradford's recollection Of her father
remark about my great-unrle certainl
indicated that he held no high opinion
5 Of him. My great-uncle's action
r throughout had been peculiar. Hi
! suddenly sending for me and insisting
on my coming here to live. his insist
ence on leaving his wife's jewels in m
{ care, and on entrusting me with tn
combination Of the safe, all now too
on sinister aspect. It certainly wa
: peculiar that he had gone OFF withou
leaving me any address where he coul
be reaches.