The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-05-18
By GEORGE GIBBS

water and rose. And with her strength
came greater obduracy.
81 saw nothin'-" she repeat
ed again, as she saw that he was still
looking at her. 'Nothin' at ALL"
Peter and Beth exchanged glances,
and Beth, putting her hand under the
housekeeper's arm, helped the wom-
an to the back stairs.
Peter stood for a moment in the
middle of the kitchen floor, his gaze
on the door through which the wom-
an had vanished. Aunt Title, tool
She had seen some one. some thing
the same some one or thing that Nc
CURE had seen. But granting that
their eyes had not deceived them,
granting that each had seen some
thing, what. unless it were supernat-
ura1. could have frightened MCGUIRE
and Aunt Tfllie. too? Even If the
old woman had been timid about
staying in the house. she had made
it clear to Peter that she was entirely
unaware of the kind of danger that
threatened her employer. Peter had
believed her then, He saw no rea-
son to disbelieve her now. She had
known as little as Peter about the
cause for McGuire's alarm. And here
he had found her staring with the
same unseeing eyes into the darkness.
shock as Mcclure had shown. What
enemy of McGuire's could fr1ghten
Aunt Ti1lie into prostration and seal
her lips to speech? Why wouldn't
she have dared to tell Peter what she
had seen? What was this secret and
how could she share it with Mcclure
when, "a hours ago, she had been in
complete ignorance of the mystery?
Why wouldn't she talk? Was the
vision too intimate? Or too horri-
BILE?
Peter was imaginative. for he had
been STEPPED from boyhood IN the su-
perstitions of his people. But the
war had taught him that devils had
legs and carried weapons. He had
seen more horrible sights than most
men of his years, in daylight. at dawn.
our silvered with moonlight He
thought he had exhausted the posi-
bilities for terror But he found
himself grudgingly admitting that he
was at the least a little nervous-at
the most, on the verge of alarm But
he put his whistle in his mouth, drew
his revolver again and went forth.
First he sought out the man in the
spruce tree. 1t was Andy. He had
seen no one but the people on the
porch and in the windows. It was
very dark, but he took an oath that
no one had approached the house
from his side.
you saw no one talking with Mrs
Bergen by the kitchen door,"
mo. I can't see tn Kitchen door
from here"
Peter verified. A syringa bush was
Then you haven't moved7'' asked
Peter
oPx
They've seen something@
ct don't know. But look sharp. If
anything comes out this way, take a
shot at it,
you think there's something"
"Yes-but don't move And keep
your eyes open"
Peter went off to the man in the
hedge behind the kitchen-Jesse
Brown
'-See anything?" asked Peter.
Nope. Nobody but the chauffeur. I"
1.-The chauffeur"
He went up to tn house a while
back"
"Oh-how long ago?"
Twenty minutes
ct see." And then. You didn't
see any one come away from the
kitchen door,"
NO He's thar yet, reckon
Peter ran out to the garage to YER
ify this statement. By the light of
a lantern the chauffeur IN his rubber
boots was washing the two cars.
Have you been up to the house
Iately?''
why, no." said the man. IN sur
prise.
you're sure? asked Peter excit-
eddy.
"Sure~
Then come with me. There's
something on"
The man dropped his sponge and
followed Peter. who had run back
quickly to the house.
It was now after II. From the
drawing-room came the distracting
sounds from the tortured piano, but
there was no one on the portico. So
Peter, with Jesse, Andy and the chauf-
feur made a careful round of the
house. examining every buch, every
tree within a circle of a 100 yards,
exhausting every possibility for con-
cealment. When they reached the
kitchen door again Peter rubbed his
head and gave It UP. A screech owl
somewhere off in the woods 1eered at
him. All the men. except Jesse. were
f<aaisty skeptioal. But he sent them
back to their posts. and still ponder
It was extraordinary how the Wis
itor, whoever. he was. could have got
ten away without having been observ-
ed, for though the night was black
the eyes Of the men outside were &C
customed to 1t and the lights from
the window sent a glimmer into the
obsou-ity OF one thing Peter was
now certain, that the prowIer was no
ghost or bapshee, but a man, and
that he had gone as nysteriously as
he had come
Peter knew that his employer
would be anxious until he returned to
him, but he hadn't quite decided to
tell Mcclure of the housekeeper's
share in the adventure. He had a
desire to verify his belief that Mrs
Bergen was frightened by the visitor
for a reason of her own which had
nothing to do with Jonathan Mcclure
Any woman alarmed by a possible
burglar or other nniscreant would
have come running and crying for
help. Mrs. Bergen had been dog