Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1920-12-23
III. THE AMATEUR sLEUTH.

III. THE AMATEUR SLEUTH.
Dredging tile past for the truth
about Priscilla's mother brought to
light nothing that seemed helpful. In
tWenty-Odd years New York itself had
changed almost beyond recognition
and the constitution of its society had
been made over again and again till
few of the original elements remained.
Then, too, the memory of man is Pc
c~uliarly brief concerning the troubles
of others. Henry Hobart Maine, one
of the most successful of American
portrait painters and in his day a con-
SpicuOuS figure in the social life of
the city, nevertheless had made few
close friends, and of these only one
had survived him by a year or two
Philips father. Priscilla's aunt"
Mrs. TrOwbridge, being duly pumped,
proved to be as ignorant as the girl
had said she was concerning the mar
riage of her kinSman. She knew in
definitely that there had been trou-
BILE" its nature, its cause, its outcome,
were alike outside her knowledge and
alien to her interest. Apparently she
had never been anything more than
she was today, an amiably self-cen-
tered soul, cOmfOrted and sustained by
those delusions of personal Importance
which are 50 essential to the ~insignifi-
|, cant.
From other sources, by dint of guard
ed and seemingly casual but persistent
goSsiping in the lounges of clubs fire.
quented by the elder generations, FOS-
dick learned that Maine had been re-
~grettably guilty of a romantic indis-
erection in marrying a woman of a
world outside his own. But her very
name had been forgotten. He found,
indeed, nobody who remembered Mrs.
Maine, and but few who recalled tie
tradition of a hOt-bloOded, high-spirit-
ed creature whose hopeless impotence
of restraints and conventions defied all
Names half-hearted attempts to rec
OnCile his wife with his friends and
mode of life, till, discouraged, he dis
appeared with her and for some years
absented himself utterly from New
York. Concerning this period of his
life nothing definite was known !;
there was a suggestion that he had de-
voted it to travel in South America.
But it was certain that he had re-
turned with a girl child and without
a wife. This last was presumed to
have died, though there were whispers
to the contrary, that "incOmpatibility"
had dictated a separation. Maine never
made any explanation but, it appeared,
quietly resumed his place and thence
forth devoted himself steadfastly to
bis profession and the care of his
daughter. Philip remembered him
well. He lived to see Priscilla give
promise of carrying on the torch of his
genius, even as her dark loneliness
fo~reshadowed something of the furOre
II was destined to create.
Disappointed but not discouraged,
Fosdick turned to other venue of in
vestigation.
Bound by his pledge to Priscilla not
to consult the police, discreet employ
ment of channels of information pro-
vided by a wide acquaintance among
newspaper men nevertheless brought
him all police headquarters knew
about the Bielinsky affair. Nothing
was known concerning the party in the
room at Ristori's by way of which the
Russian ESCAPED after adding two
murders to his score. The name of
Red Carnehan had not been mentioned
in connection with the crime. There
was, however, such a person, a notori-
Gus gang-leader of the lower East side.
Considering it essential that he
should learn more Of Mr.. Carnehan
and his friends, and perceiving but
one way to gain that information
without breaking his promise to Pris-
ella, Philip adopted it without more
hesitation.
On the following morning Priscilla,
calling up his office, was Informed that
Doctor Fosdick had been suddenly
called out of town on a case of vital
importance.