The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, 1921-10-13
but there must be-"

cleanin' and can't stand yere talkin'
all day."
''Do you know man named
KrantzT l flung at her desperately,
i'm last effort to arouse some re-
sponse, "Adolph Krantz."
mo, 1 don't; ther amt none of
those people yere, I tell yer"
The door slapped shut in my face,
and 1 heard a bolt shot into place
the interview was ended.
j 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-
liberatsly lied to me; had merely been
amusing herself at my expense; had
sent me on this wild goose chase 80
that she might laugh over my SIM
p!icity. But was this true? II 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 this rabid housekeeper to
even deny her very existence. And l
held the key Of eXplanatiOn-the mur-
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
10 ier iaTa!ady. 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 SUM-
and the place appeared forlorn and
deserted. AT the dellcatessen shop on
the corner l gained n CLEAN of light,
but merely enough to strengthen my
former judgment. The keeper, flax
en-haired Swede, was loquaciOus
enough, but had only been in business
there a few weeks.
"247 lie Compte, you say. Yes, she
takes rOOmerS; some are men, and
some are women. They come in here
and buy, but never ask the names; ii
was all cash, so why should l care?
Sometimes / hear them call names
sure; but never Conrad. The woman
what keeps the house? Wait and I
fol ic
read as she wrote 1t for mc-Mrs. Au-
gusta Waldron; maybe widow?
What YOU think? Bah, she never like
anything 7 have to sell. I care moth
ing for trade with her-a cat this Mrs.
Augusta Wnldrnn"
I left BIN with the familiar sound
of IT." lane ringing I'm my earS-the
whole thing was travelling in circle,
and the circle was growing continual
ay more compact. Blindly, ! was
stumbling up against 1t here and
there most unexpectedly. Augusta
Waldr0n, beyond doubt, was Ivan Wal
drOn's wife. No wonder her houS.
was designated the meeting place for
those people.
l returned to the hotel. Only as
stood before the door did I realize
that the newsbOys were calling out,
Extra All about the murder!"
felt that my face was white, and that
ny hand shook, yet / hastily bought
copies Of half a 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 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 evi-
dcnce 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
In the neighborhood had heard
sound, or witnessed any movement.
hV "uS S11TOuOeu In myS-
terry.
What, under these conditions, was
my duty? What could / either do, or
say, to clarity this tragedy, and bring
the guilty to Justice? | sat there for
an hour thinking and smoking, en-
deavOring to answer these queries.
could study out no clear way to any
confession, which would not directly
involve myself In the tolls of the po-
lice, or else implicate Marie Gessler,
so as to make any defense on her part
almost impossible. No doubt she was
guilty, yet i could not drive myself to
openly charge her with the crime.
There must be some extenuatIng cir
cumstances, some unknown cause,
which had led to the act. / could not
forget her face, her manner, the clear,
womanly look OF her eye-she was no
murdereSs, and 1t was not I'm nv heart