The Little River news., 1920-03-20


 CHAPTER I.-Circumstancas having prevented Spalding Nelson, eserlz. joining the American forces going to rance, be Is in a despoE3cnt E5Sod TAGu ke re- ceives an invitation to dinner from his 8reat-uncle, E4EG5 G.4St0n. On his way to the house he meets, under peculiar cir oufnstanees. q young girl, apparently in trouble, to whom he has an opportunity to be 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 to Maine for 6 trip and want to leave Nelson ln charge of the apartment. He accepts. Gaston and his wife tell their great nephew of mysterious noises" whispers which they have heard in the house.
 CHAPTER u.-On his way to the Cas- ton apartment next Sunday Nelson again meets his accidental aCduaintance Of few days before, Barbara Bradford. She urges him not to allow the fact of t.le1r being acquainted to be know-i. At 5he apartment Nelson meets the sup.-inten!- ent, Wick, and instinctively disl1kes him. In a wall safe he finds @ necklace Of ma~niticent pearls, worth a small fortune. Meeting Barbara in the hallway she passes him without recognition. Dining in restaurant he is conscious of tne un- pleasant scrutiny of Q stranger, but man whom he had seen before.
 the pc ~'s 1a 2 disappeared from the wall raie 1.S first idea of informing the police is 1t scter L3oo because of pc culiar tireut stances. He has been dis charged from his position without ade- quate explanation or rqfson, and feels hirasseaf involved in so5I1ssttf5g of a mys- tery. He decides tx tonduct an inyestt- gation himself. ThaF night Barbara sig nals from the window of her apartment. which is opposite his, and they arrange meeting for next day. In the moLpng he ainds a note in his room, asklns hIm aWflysshe had not informed the police of ..ti7e loss of the jewels.
 CHAPTER rV.-Barbara tells Nelson her sister Claire had some years before made runaway marriage with an ad- venturer, from whom she was soon parted and the marriage annulled Claire is en- gagged to be married and someone know ing of her escapade has stolen docum ents concerning the affair from the Bradford apartment and demands 9 large sum of money for their returra, threatening to forward them to Claire's fancs if the de- mands are not met. Neither 4:a-oara nor her sister have the money to satisfy the demands. She tells Nelson she has also heard mysterious sounds in the flat. They agree to meet frequently.
 CHAPTER v-The Gaston laundress, the only person in the apartment besides Nelson, tells him she has heard whispers and footsteps. apparently in the wall. He begins to suspect his great-uncle of some knowledge of the affair. Barbara tells him she also has heard the footsteps. Tn the morning he discovers his pockets have been searched during the night, in contestable evidence of the presence of someone in the apartment during the night.
 CHAPTER W.-Nelson invites Miss Nellie Kelly. telephone operator in the building, to dinner. hoping through her to find out something that will help him. During her temporary absence from the table Nelson is informed by the house detective that she is a known associate of criminals, and the wife of Lefty Moore" convict in Sing Sing. He tells something of the affair to the detective James Gorman-and makes an appoint me1t for the next day. Returning home, he finds Claire Bradford in his apartment. She tells him she was trying to trace the source of the whispers. which had also disturbed her.