The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-01-05
UNSEEN HANDS
A BeUtLdering DetectiUe Story By R b -at Orr Chipperfield

sinister sort Ioomed close, would have 1 been an entirely different matter. to the line just then, as the detective | knew, to invite any publicity and | place himself even indirectly in the | path of the investigation.
 He had not yet had an opportunity 1 to examine the letters which he had l appropriated from Gene's desk, but 1 he had detailed one of his men to l keep a. sharp lookout on that young 1 gentleman's activities; trail him if he 1 left the house, intercept any letter he ! might attempt to send, and record 1 a possible telephone message Per 1 haps he had already tried to com l znuntcate with Drew.
 A discreet knock upon the library door interrupted his meditations, and he opened it to find Taylor, another of the men to whom he had assigned a special duty. confronting him.
 ''Jane told me you had got back, sergeant. and I thought I had better report to you now if you'd got time to hear me-"
 "Shut the door and fire away, Fay lor," Odeu seated himself once more. ''You searched the servants rooms first, as I directed? ?'' 'Yes, sir. That butler must have changed from his livery into a plain suit; and Jane says that his derby hat, light overcoat and cane with a {; dogs head on it are missing. Every thing is wide open in his room, none of the bureau drawers nor the trunk locked; and he left in such a hurry that he forgot his bank book. a1- though there is no check book around"
 Have you the bank book?" "Humph! He had over two thous- and last spring, and his account has huctuated since like miniature stock
 market gone crazy" the detective commented. 'tHe has drawn out two or at c1i | times put back double that amount on the following day; but he's drawn
 out more than he has deposited in the long run. According to this, he has less than seven hundred left now"
 i Nothing in James room CT the cooks
 that would. interest you; and there
 was no grate or fireplace in any of
 of cheap showy clothes and stack of letters from a bunch of fellows, l but they are all innocent enough. Marcelle has just few letters writ ten in a foreign language-French, I
 think--some books the same, and
 rosary. She has mighty few clothes; ] but her room is the cleanest of the | lot, and her bank book shows S4,- 900. all small deposits at time and
 none drawn out. She's a thrifty
 soul, that Marcelle! l don't quite get
 this Gerda, though; the 1ady's maid" 1 'Why?"
 i well, her trunR ana bag are cheap and unmarked, but new, though she had just bought them before she ! came here. sergeant; and there isn't
 a letter or scrap Of paper in her room- I've been maxim up to Jane | to get the dope, like I always do on
 a case of this kind, and she tells me that Gerda hasn't written letter nor received one in all the six months
 she has been here. Now, ask you is that usual with servants?" Tay-
 Tor leaned over the table the better
 to carry his point. "Ive. gone through the rooms Of many of 'em but this is the first one I ever saw that didn't have a. personal thing in it except just clothes and toilet ar tticles all unmarked. The store tabs have even been taken out of the
 dresses and coats and hats. There's another thing strange about 'en, too; they're all dark and plain tut they're
 fine quality, fner than any ordinary
 servant would appreciate or pay for;
 and the toilet articles are real ivory.
 or I'll eat my hat!''
 Sure you haven't been listening too much to Jane 9" Oden looked
 ouizzically at this subordinate. ''She s got it in for Gerda and tried to make a mystery of her to me: but I've all though she is a superior sort for a lady's maid her story is straight enough; she gave me complete ac- count of where she worked before
  plac~ Lay off her, Taylor; you'll draw q blank there.'
 It was TO part of Odel1s plan to
 have his henchmen get a line on the 3 case and begin to speculate on their own account concerning 1t: they were :, there merely to carry out his. orders
 : and he wouJ@ brook no self-appoint- ed assistants as a matter of author tty.
 ] "oh. all right Taylor responded 2 shortly, ''Have it your own way ] sereea nt: but it vou ask me- .'I didn't!' OdeM Interrupted sharp. 8 Nv 'where did you search next?' t '"The young lady, the youngest enc
 was sitting with her father so hae e chance to give her room the ono' g over: but there was nothtn' doin !. but 1t was clean ana polished" Tay ,' lor sat hack somewhat s'tikily ir hi
 chair. but he was eaTet"' to ren' e orrptly. "Her desk was full of t. /. things a young society slr! us'a, t keeps-tnv1tatlors and theatre 10 u grams and Garce cards and ali tha
 f,um1nery, There were some letter c or ondolenee, too. an the death O t dle tied with blue r,eHonf lot . k sentiYuertei kid stuff and an Of the'' S s1sred "Tad.' . ~ know al; ahcu. tAat." Otai eaE Y s glance toward the door "Any
 tfing elss7"
 @ "!Jieh-hrow tee.es and 8 Eoif-hae '- r,7ing breeehea ano 2 Reh-cross nfi1 a fornl that's seen ct of wear" Tay ,s for's geed-nature@- grin reasserted '! " se'A "she must be reguiar girl
 she ,s fl swell that Miss Nan. Ther le wesn't a thing locked in her room lt either"
 ot "Her room, Is on the third floor or
 pasite Mir Chalmers, isn't itf Dl Y YOU see Porter
 =. .sr didn't see him but heard him Taylor's grin expanded into e, c;,1ck1e, 'sMr. Gene must have see '. him on guard and invited nin II Il, fo. from what I heard outside tn ne door they were p'ayin' trura' tegethe - and Farter had about snertsased n
 next three months pay to the yeun 'o gentyen1an!
 ss Oden did net smile. He felt tfas eH he had taken Genes mea asuTe to tf ne weak, snohhish soul of hirn; and II he had Rtaoped to fraternize with ad n,,,n a,ot3,as man there was some II W;