Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-07-19
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CeIllTlClIN VI lHItS wealthy, otud -
and middle-aged brothers has
OWEN MILES. detective sergeant
and his colleague,
FERGUS McCREADY, known as
"Scottie," to investigate on the
request of
PATRICIA DRAKE. daughter oil
the youngest brother,
HOBART DRAKE. a Wall Street
broker. who startled his neigh
bors by appearing in the town
square. clothed in a sheet, and
delivering a mock Grafton.
Miles, in the guise of a houseman,
Is employed at the home and on his
first night hears two brothers,
ROGER, the scientist, and
ANDREW, who has recently come
from Australia. talking in loud
tones. Roger. by making a bur-
lesque of a scientific paper, and
Andrew. by playing with tops on
the parlor floor, have equaled Ho-
bart in eccentricity.
I'm not going to endure it,"
Miles heard Roger cry. There Is
q way out, quick and sure"
GO ON WITH STORY
you're talking like an ass and
worse--a coward" Andrew inter-
rupted with sudden, subdued fury.
"Jerry's all right but you've forgot
ten Hobart's girl! Could she live
down the fact that her uncle was d
suicide?"
"You know what chance we have
Of averting what is coming!" Roge.
laughed in a strained falsetto which
made the listening detective shud-
der in spite Of himself and there
was a quick movement within the
room. Pat had better live with
the knowledge that n or both of
her ~uncles-and her father as well
had died by their wi hands than
that all three of them were-!"
Here! None of that" Andrew
cried. He had evident thrown eau
ton to the winds for his tones hal
risen to a below and a door opened
down the hall. Miles retreated has
tily toward his screening corner of
the wall near the back stairs but
not before the sound of a sharp
struggle came from the room where
the brothers were, followed by an
oath and the tinkle and crash of
shattered glass.
downstairs and darting out the win
dow he concealed himself in the
shadow of one of the great pillars.
one was in sight. Leaping from
the porch he ran around the rear
of the house to the other side. The
pantry was dark now but the two
faint patches of light from Rogers
room still fell upon the sparse grass
of last years lawn. In the glow OF
the farther one, something glisten-
ed like a handful of diamonds.
Broken glass! He had anticipated
a pistol or perhaps even a knife of
some sort but not a bottle!
Throwing himself fiat upon his
face the detective writhed inch by
inch along the ground until he was
close to the scattered fragments Of
the bottle and then he saw among
them a number of tiny white tab
let's. Selling a handful of the gravel
and-saticts together Miles stuffed
1t into a pocket of his trousers and
ran swiftly around the house again
to the library window.
CHAPTER v
Carter was i'll the following
morning. touch of sciatica-and
the new houseman was forced to
assume the more complex duties.
Under the kindly guidance of
Pierre, he finished arranging the
table for breakfast and then re-
membered the mail. When he had
cleaned the lower hall a short time
before it had not arrived. but now
a small heap of letters and rolled
circulars and periodicals lay upon
tho table and he sorted them rapid
ly. There was nothing for Andrew
Drake nor Miss Patricia. but a for
midable pile of correspondence
awaited Roger and several letters
were addressed to Miss Jerusha.
There was only m envelope to
place beside Hobart brakes plate.
Miles noted idly that it was plain,
with a typed address and a New
York City %postmark. Then he hur-
ried out and returned with the fruit
just as the elder Miss Drake en-
tered.
Good morning. William" She in
clined her gray head formally. 81
see you have made a good begin.
ming. Mehitabel. my maid. tells me
that Carter is i'll and you have as
sumed his duties"
The three brothers entered al
most together and took their places
with a perfunctory greeting to their
sister. Roger seemed dropping and
shaken and his drawn, young-old
face paled as his glance fell or the
heap of correspondence beside his
plate. He pushed it aside with a
gesture of horror and Andrew re-
marked:
More scientific criticism, I sup
pose? Throw II all in the fire, old
man. and don't bother your head
about it!'
Patricia's entrance created a
break in the tenseness of the atmos-
phere, and she eyed the detective in
startled, confused recognition. but
his expression was bland until he
reached the shelter of the pantry to
which her gaze had followed him,
when he risked a quick nod of
warning and reinsurance A slight
flush suffused her face and she turIi-
ed to her father. only to exclaim i'll
an1azement and alarm:
Daddy! What is it?"
Only Miss Drake was silent but
her eyes were fixed with burning in
tensity upon the empurpled countc-
nance of her youngest brother as he
brought his fist, clenching his soli-
tary letter, down violently upon the
table.
Trouble ?" he repeated hoarse-
ly. "Trouble enough,-It's each
man for himself when you stand
with your back against the wall,
and I'm going to fght!'
He strobe from the room with the
open letter still in his hand and
they heard the library door close
behind him atd the key turn in the
The meakended shortly and Miles
was clek.ihg away the dishes and
s~ilver zen he observed that the
enxe<ope of the letter which had
Yy1hn~& TN,olrA cynh orit finr