Evening star., 1921-08-04
HOW MANY CARDS?
ried his niece and put him on his feet
By ISABEL OSTRANDER
uthor of The Island of Intrigue Suspense to Ashes etc
Copyright. 1921. by obertM Mcbride Z Co.

, ried his niece and put him on his feet
What do you know about the set
! spoke with studied carelessness.
The Waverlys and Fords and a man
named Nicholas Cutter and this Mrs;
Baillie Kip, of East SD street?
mentioned in connection with them"
You heard an earful," Jimmie as
sured him. They're a pretty swift
bunch. but all well connected and
there's never been any actual scandal
Waverlys are ali right financially,
though he's rotter and. like Crevel-
ing. his wife comes Of a far better
family than he. II by the Fords you
mean Lonsdale Ford and his wife,
they're climbers; never heard Of un-
/, seat on the exchange. 1t Is a mys-
terry how they managed to get into
that set. especially on footing with
Nicholas Cutter. for he's a dyed-in-
thewool aristocrat"
What does he do for a livingT'
McCarty asked.
Nothing, though he is an honorary
director of half a dozen banking in
stitutions. His father left him mil
lions. but he doesn't seem to care
! much for society beyond a small cir
Gle of intimate friends. and he never
entertains on a large scale. though
he could have the smartest people In
town about him If he liked" Jimmie
stood up and thrust his hands In his
pockets. See here, Mac. I'm no walk
ing Blue Book. You've seen Mrs.
Creveling: what did she say? How
did she act? Had she been notified
of her husbands death before she ar
rived?'
wait a bit." McCarty admonished.
"You haven't told me about this Mrs
Kip yet. Who is she?"
Jimmie shrugged.
Nobody knows. Widow of a west
blew into town about six. or seven
years ago, rented a big house and
went In for charity: the old short cut
to social position, you know. 1t did
knocking at the portals for two or
three seasons she dropped out of sight
only to reappear last autumn in the
Crevelings', set, but the Lord knows
how she got there. Now come across,
Mac: give me the straight dope. You
you must have been there when In
spector Druet questioned him. for the
report says that he was the first of
the family to appear on the scene
after the discovery of the body"
McCarty complied. and with GER
tain mental reservations gave his
young friend a sketchy account Of
what had taken place. omitting all
reference to the mysterious telephone
messages which had summoned George
Alexander and Mrs. Creveling, as well
as his own discoveries and conclu-
sions. 1t satisfied Jimmie Ballard,
however. and he crowed exultantly.
"Oh, boy. That'll be some scoop If
I get down to the shop In time!
Thanks. Mac. I'll do as much for you
some day"
At the door McCarty halted him.
"One second, Jimmie. Every gang
has a leader. and misdoubt but it's
the same in society as down on the
docks Who was the head Of the
Creveling crowd? HIMSELF"
Jimmie Ballard shook his head.
mo. Usually a woman is the CEN
ter of any social clique and Mrs. Gre
Yelling has been mentioned more often
and more prominently than any of
her immediate friends. but that is be-
cause of the position her family have
held for so long. I think the real
leader of their crowd is Nicholas
Cutter"