Evening star., 1921-08-05
HOW MANY CARDS?
By ISABEL OSTRANDER
uthor of The Intrigue
Copyright, =
during her trouble" Mrs. o'Rourke
By ISABEL OSTRANDER

hesitated.
ITO a man 1t may sound horribly
frivolous at such time, but a woman
would understand that the conven.
merely stated the fact Of Mr.. Creve.
iing's sudden death and requested
that l arrange about mourning fol
MRS. Creveling. 1 was starting fol
the modiste's when you came"
Who Is this mutual friend?" Nc
flashed across his mind. Mrs. Doug.
| las Waverly?"
The lady nodded
My husband has gone to the house
now to offer his services and 1 would
have accompanied him, of course. bu,
MRS. Waverly said that Mrs. Creveline
| was utterly prostrated and could not
see me until later. lit must be
| terrible foH her!"
McCarty regarded the exquisite
nowerlike face opposite in contem-
platfve silence for moment. There
had been suggestion of horror in
her hushed tones when she spoke OF
the tragedy, but only in that quick,
almost involuntary exclamation had
real feeling made itself manifest. and
her softly curving lips trembled for
the first time. 1t was evident that
her sympathy went out in generous
abundance to the bereaved wife, but
what of her attitude toward the
| dead man whom she had called their
friend? Beyond a well-bred air OF
almost perfunctory regret he could
discern no trace of any emotion other
than sort Of shocked repugnance at
the manner of his taking off.
Mr.. Creveling was an intimate
asked.
"of my husbands" she replied
quickly. or course. we were all in
the same set and met constantly at
social affairs, but I naturally saw
more of his wife. Mr.. Creveling was
essentially IA mans man: mean
| that his men friends would know
more of his personal affairs than any
OF the women OF his wifes immediate
! circle"
McCarty eyed her warily. Was 1t
possible that there was a significance
| in her words other than that she had
intended to convey? She had spoken
Of the women like herself. those in
his wife's circle: but what of other
women? Could i be that unsavory
rumors concerning the man now dead
rad reached even her ears?
Under his steady scrutiny she began
to tumble with her glove and he
noticed that her hands were little
larger, than those of a child How
tiny she was. and dainty. and Lord!
how pretty! Irrelevantly his thoughts
was no trace Of the childish treble
in her low, softly vibrating tones. no
suggestion of the rosy, tousle headed
baby in this well-poised woman with
the colorless, brunette beauty Of Ire
lands highest type. and yet some-
how he saw again in her the little
companion Of far-off days.
Her voice breaking in the silence
brought him back sharply to the
problem of the moment.
MY husband will return at any
minute and if you wait for him l am
sure he will give you any information
in his power. but I am afraid he will
be able to help you as little as can
1t seems almost incredible that this
should have come to pass. Mr. Creve-
ling had everything to live for; "a
charming wife. money, friends. all
very sad"
about to rise and terminate the in
terview. but McCarty stayed her.
It's more than that, ma'am.' I was
with the inspector when he talked
with Mrs. Creveling and, as I said.
she won't have 1t that he killed him
self. not even by accident. II a mo-.
tive can't be proved for suicide it's
apt to make lot of trouble for the
department and bring notoriety on
all theirs friends"
You don't mean that Mrs Crevel-
Ing fancies some one actually killed
her husbandr cried Mrs o'Rourke in
shocked amazement. "She must be
denly-!'
McCarty shook his head.
I've seen many a hystericai woman
when I was connected with the force.
ma'am. and she was far from it. I'd
say Mrs. Creveling was the most
IAv
ness and she took the news without
the flicker Of an eyelash. From the
minute she heard he had been shot
she set her mind on finding his pos
sible murderer. and she was so de-
termfned about it that she's called
In the biggest man in his line in the
country, the criminologist. Wade Ter
hume"
"Terhune! I've heard of him. Of
course" Mrs. O'Rourke observed
After a pause she added: mo one can
blame her for wanting to be sure, to
know beyond shadow of a doubt
that her husband was responsible for
his own death when 1t occurred in
such dreadful. mysterious way, but
II the medical examiner, as you say.
has proved that 1T was case Of
suicide she is only narrowing herself
needlessly. Why should she think
that any one would want to take Mr..
OToVCIlNS
For the same reason that you say
the idea Of his killing himself is al
most incredible. as far as can make
out. ma'am; that he had no cause"
Mccarty responded. my experience
before I retired, though, taught me
that there's many a trouble in q mans
life that no one knows anything
Of suicide. the sooner the inspector
establishes a motive for it the quicker
the thought of it's being anything else
will die out Of Mrs Crevelings mind
and the more ready she'll be to drop
an investigation that's bound to bring
Your name and Mr.. O'Rourke's being
mentioned as among their best
friends, the inspector sent me to ask
you in confidence II Mr.. Creveling had
seemed to be troubled about any
thing lately and If he'd maybe drop
ped hint as to what might have
been on his mind"
mo. could not say that Mr.. Gre
Yelling betrayed any sign that would
lead one to think he was worried,
much less that he Contemplated sui
cide." Mrs. O'Rourke said slowly. .''If
anything. he has seemed to be in more
than his usual spirits. but have seen
the season. Mrs. Crevellng has been
away, you know. Ny husband ran
into him frequently about town, I be-
lieve; he would be better able to an
swer your question-Oh. here he is
now!
The front door closed with a muf-
fed jar and strong but springy foot
steps crossed the hall. The next in
stant the curtains at the entrance to
the drawing-room were thrust aside
and a tall young man stood looking
In upon them.
McCarty caught his breath. If the
chubby little Lady Peggy had changed