The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1920-04-24
CHAPTER vi.

Left alone for a moment by my COM
panion, | sat there ut the table in
the crowded restaurant, idly watching
the beautifully costumed women all
about me, listening dreamily to the
music of the orchestra, observing with
interest the graceful gyrations of the
occasional couple who sought the
dancing floor in the center, when sud-
denly l was brought To myself by
hearing a gruff voice saying:
"What'd you bring that crook in
here for?'
"What do you mean?" I gasped in
establishment, looking up at n square
shouldered man with n neatly trimmed
black mustache who was standing be-
side my table.
"It's you I mean" he announced.
Don't you know you can't bring that
Kind of people in hereT
AS explanation for my presence
there in the White room of the IA
nous Hundredth hotel, let me say
that my investigations into the per
picking chain of mysterious circum
stances in which Barbara Bradford
and seemed to be each day becom
ing more firmly involved, had finally
ed me to deduce three different the
cries, each more or less plausible
and each involving an entirely diner
ent set of persons.
There were certain happenings ant
circumstances that made me some
times wonder If the whole thing wer
not a base plot on the part of m
great-uncle Rufus, perhaps influences
by a desire for revenge or perhap
led on by an insane greed for stil
greater wealth.
Yet. on the other hand, there wer
those entries in his diary about tn
mysterious voices. Apparently, to'
his wife and Mrs. Burke had hear
them.
Did il not seem more likely that tn
, arch plotter was Claire Bradford's e!
) husband?
. This theory seemed far more tel
able. While the Bradfords had hear
( nothing from him for several year
. fine publication of Claire Bradford
: engagement might have attracted n
notice and inspired him to an attend
at blackmail. Yet how could he ga
. access TO the wall safe where the
yorce papers were kept, or how cou
he be dropping notes on the moor
Barbara Bradford's bedroom! Ho
could he have stolen the CASTE
nearls? It seemed incredible but st
NV thoughts kept returning to q
possibility of his directing Clal
Rrodford's actions through hypno'
control. Once he had had infiuen
over her sufficient TO make her q
nm family, friends, home, everythir
TO marry him. Had he, in some W
unknown TO Barbara Bradford,
gained his control over her, sister a
was he using her as the unconsclo
- tool for his villainies? She COZ
have gained access to my room
| walking along the ledge when all I
| bouse was still. Yet this theory
| planned neither the theft OF the pear
| nv great-uncle's peculiar actions,
| own discharge, nor the mysterlC
| noises in the apartment. l had S
] a third theory.
= Suppose a band of criminals
located in the apartment house on
floor above the BradfOrds and me
Access to either apartment wo
not be difficult BY short rope /
ders they could easily reach either
of rooms. They would be so loca
that there would be little difficulty
them TO devise mysterious sounds
terrifying the people in the APP
ments below. l recalled that in
cry case the voices and the footst
seemed to come from somewhere
near the ceiling OF course IT seer
preposterous that a criminal %
would find lodging in luxurl
apartment house like this, yet,
10 not? Tenants in these buildings Il