The Pulaskian., 1920-05-20

The old woman nodded her head sagely.
 Tt ain't believing in them things that makes you hear them. Either you hear them or you don't. The old man heard them"
 "How do you know?'
 Didn't I hear him asking meself about it? He heard them, many times"
 How about the others-the serv- snts-did they hear them. too?"
 "They may have that. Niggers is always hearing things anyhow. It's what the white folk hear that counts"
 'How about the other apartments in the house? Do the people in them hear whispers?"
 "Neyer that I've heard tell of, but how should I know? This is the only place in the house that I work" i Did Mrs. Gaston ever speak to yol about it?"
 "She did and she did not. She new CT in so many words asked me if heard them. All she says to me was, Nora, if ever you see or hear anything strange or unusual here, you're to let me know at once And I says, 'Yis, Mrs. Gaston, I wiIl.'"
 And have you ever seen or heard anything?"
 The old woman busted herself with 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 I could be telling if was minded to open my lips"
 If you know anything said, you must tell me. Mir. Gaston 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 seen2 What do you know?' Its neither what I've seen nor what I know" She nodded mysteri- ously. Its what I've been hearing myself"
 For heavens sake, woman,' cried, losing patience, what is it you've heard?"
 'Tve heard them walking" she an- nounced with an air of triumph. You've heard who walk.ngY
 "The little people, of course. Who else would it be doing it?"
 "Oh, bosh '" I exclaimed. I was we'll enough acquainted with the supersti- | tions 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 I 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"
 Ut was not The floors do be dead ened like, and it's nothing at all you can hear It was somebody walking soft-like right there in the wall at me back"
 Well" I announced If there is anything like that going on, am go- ing to stay here until I hear it. want to make sure no one can come into the apartment but myself, so I am going to ask you to give me your key. I'll be home here all the morn ing, so can let you in when you ring"
 Its me key you're wanting, is itg'
 She produced it from a pocket of her gown and handed it over, first unknotting 1t from corner of her kerchief where she had tied it for safe keeping.
 And indeed if it's meself you're not trusting with key after Mrs. Gaston 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 founeed out of the place. To tell the truth I was not sorry that she had announced her decision not to return. While my in- pression of her was that she was q simple-mlnded old woman of uttermost honesty, I was just as well satisfied that no one but myself should have entry to the apartment uRtil I had finished my investigations and had made further progress in solving the mysteries that were so rapidly deyel- oping.
 Left once more to myself, sat down at my great-uncle's desk and made out list of questions that must be answered:
 l. Where was Rufus Gaston? Had the cid gentleman really gone away or was he .n hiding in the building?
 2. Who had removed the Gaston pearls from the wall ssfe? It must be someone who knew the eomblna- ton.
 t.-. 4. u. a.... ,Ll