Cheyenne record., 1920-03-04

and. reading a. mnnched, tried to
make up for lost time; and Il was not
till had finished eating that I remem-
bered to put away my coat md hat
that had thrown OF ON the diyan. 4
carried them to my bedroom and
pulled open the wardrobe door. In
the bottom Of It lay the thEse tur-
quoise-beaded slippersi
Ny coat and hat fell out OF my
hands on the floor and / sank down on
the bed. was not merely myntihed-
I was frightened. How had they come
there1-and when3 They were not
there when I took out the coat in the
morning to go to Nrs. Ds1aH16s-t
that l knew could swear, fo9 In my
hurry to be rid Of her diamonds,I had
snatched the coat out and dropped 1t.
and couldn't have missed seeing the
slippers then, any more than had
missed seeing them now.
Now, under ordinary circumstances,
finding the three slippers In NJ ward
AVOC WV4AuA u4v0 0R&Lt A&AG 8AVOAQ
very likely have thought It . lapse
Of memory and let It 60 At that; but
was by way of keeping tab on them
and I knew I couldn't have Put them
In the wardrobe, because the last thing
knew Of them they were gone out of
the nat entirely. could only stare
and feel horribly creepy.
II this were not q manifestation,
then somebody had access to my fiat.
But wh07 And why slippers1
jumped up at this thought and began
digging into my bureau drawer-I had
five hundred dollars cash buried there
that had been paid over to me in the
settlement Of an estate and I'd not
bad minute to take 1t to the bank.
The cash was safe. Everything else
was safe, as far as could see; not
chair was out Of place; nothing had
been moved or touched since I;left the
flat-only three slippers. And why
slippers? The more I thought the
more disturbed I became, It was all
SO uncanny. One thing was clear to
me, though-whoever came In to mon
key with the slippers came while !
vas out.
"I'll get a new lock a. my next
move in the game" said I and this !
prepared to do Immediately, not by 60
ing out and leaving the diamonds oh.
no!-I was too really scared by the
slippers to leave the diamonds now
alone in the flat-but by finding lock-
smith In the telephone book ard invit-
ing him to call; and was diligently
pursuing him thus when my telephone
rang and I threw down the book to
answer 1t. And In response to my
'hello" recognized the voice Of Mon
sieur de Ravenol.
"Why, how do You do. monsieurr'
I exclaimed. thinking instantly hs had
some scheme on for getting me to take
charge Of Claire for him. since Mrs..
Delario wouldn't keep her.
II am as always. sank You, but Il y
our friend. Madame Delario. wish 70
speak wis you about"
Mrs. Delarioi" cried, thrown on
my guard BY this unexpected mama
"What about herf"
"She meets wis an accident and
wishes to see You immediately
IAN accidentw was dismayed and
thought. "Poor woman. what next for
herr but I called back, .What sort
Of an accidentf' and before he could
tell me I added, when did It hap
penf"
my daughter and are Just now
calling on her to pay our respects and
madame faints and falls. striking %
verely her head. I call at once 70 phy.
sician and he says xere may be neceS
sary an operation. She refuses-until
she can speak wis you about some pri.
vate matters. I shall tell her you win
comef
For moment wondered II she had
given him hint Of the private mat
ters," and I asked him point blank,
"Do You know what she wishes to see
me forf'
"She asks only Eat send for you
Immediately. and obey her instruc-
tions. I tell you only what ze doctor
have told me-and ask me to send for
her best friend. She say it is your.
self and she must see you. You win
come immediatelyT
"Yes-immediately. I'll be there In
about twenty minutes." A
I rushed to her. buttoning my coat
as I ran downstairs, and 1t was not
until had taken my seat in the sub
way that remembered I had left her
diamonds In my nati
CHAPTER VI.