Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1921-07-28

began apologetically. II have an an
pointment with her."
Not here yer amt, young man. for
there amt nobody by that name in
this house."
Are you sure? This is PAT is it
not? That was the number given me-
She was to be here at two O'clock"
This we're is PAT all right. | amt
denyin' that" the voice more acid
than ever, "but there amt no Miss
Conrad we're; so that's ali there is
about it,
"But there must be-"
Must be nuthin'! l guess l know.
I've been we're seventeen years, an
Their never was nobody of that name
ever in this house. Besides, I'm house
cleaniI' and can't stand yere talkin'
all day."
do you know man named
Krantz?" flung at her desperately,
in last effort to arouse some re-
Spouse. "Adolph Krantz."
mo, l don't; Their amt none of
those people we're, l tell yer"
The door slapped shut in my face,
and / heard bolt shot into place
the Interview was ended
stared moment at the blank door
in bewilderment; then turned away,
and slowly retraced my steps to the
street. So the young woman had de-
Iiberately lied to me; had helrely been
amusing herself at my ,' n nse: had
sent me on this wild gopssl chase so
that she might laugh essS my sim
plicity. But was this fSSe? If so,
how was to account for the strange
coincident that both she and Harris
had named the same number, and
street? 1t could not have occurred
merely through chance, Something
must have happened In the mean
while to overthrow all her plans, and
to cause Il rabid housekeeper to
even deny her very existence. And
held the key Of explanation--the muir
der OF Alva.
Beyond all doubt here was both
cause and effect. The girl had intend
ed to either see me herself, or by
proxy in the form of this mysterious
Miss Conrad. But what had since
occurred had compelled sudden
change in plans, necessity for con-
cealing' her escape. There was no
way in which she could notify me, but
she might very easily have telephoned
to her landlady. And, if the place
was what l suspicioned it to be, she
might have every confidence that her
secret would be guarded.
/ glanced up at the front of the
house, searching the windows. but
without results. The curtains were
closely drawn to keep out the sun.
and the place appeared forlorn and
deserted AT the delicatessen shop on
the corner I gained CLEAN of light,
but merely enough to strengthen my
former judgment. The keepers flax
en-haired Swede, was loquacious
enough, but had only been in business
there few weeks
-"247 lie Compile, you say. Yes, she
takes roomers; some are men. and
some are women. They come in here
and buy, but never ask the names it
was all cash, so why should | care?
Sometimes | hear them call names
sure; but never Conrad. The woman
what keeps The house? Wait and
tell you; it is on the books; ahl you
read as she wrote it for me-Mrs. Au-
gusta Waldron: maybe a, widow?
What you think? Bah, she never like
anything i have to sell. l care moth
ing for trade with her-a cat this Mrs
Augusta Waldron."
left him with the familiar sound
of the name r'n'.'n" Is NV ears--the
whole thin" :" ;" .'r''le
and 4ha -, .tt,at
II more compact. Blindly, was
stumbling up against it here and
there most Unexpectedly. Augusta
Waldron, beyond doubt, was Ivan Wal
drOn's wife. No wonder her house
was designated the meeting place for
those people.
! returned to the hotel. Only as
stood before the door did / realize
th"h thS hCNobOyo NClC Ndihi6 Votp
Extra! All about the murderw
felt that my face was white, and that
ny hand shook, yet hastily bought
copies of half dozen sheets. showing
them into my pockets.
The reports were mostly alike, ex-
ceedingly brief and unsatisfactory, ex-
cept that they conveyed the impress
sion that thus far the police possessed
no real clue as to the perpetrator Of
the crime. No one connected with
the meeting the night before was men,
toned in any article, nor was any sus-
picion Of such a meeting mentioned.
read the last line with distinct feel
ing of relief, dropping the paper on
the floor.
They had discovered no clue, moth
ing whatever to work upon. The in
terror of the car had yielded no evil
dence Of its former occupant, the only
reference being to mud on the floor.
outside all footprints had been OBJ
liberated by the falling rain. No one
I'm thp npiphhorhood had heard