The Snowflake herald., 1922-07-21

aware that he had seen.
| She came TO him, very quiet and
very flushed; then she was quite pale
as she asked him, you wanted me?"
He was white as she, and could not
speak at once. "You told me last night,
Miss Sheriff." he said, that the last
thing that Mr.. Corvet did-the last
| that you know of-was to warn you
against one Of your friends. Who was
| that?"
She flushed uneasily. "You mustn't
| attach any Importance to that didn't
mean you to. There was no reason for
what Mr.. Corvet said, except in Mr..
| Corvet's own mind. He had quite
unreasonable animosity-"
| against Mr. Spearman, you mean"
She did not answer.
"His animosity was against Mr..
| Spearman, Miss Sheriff., wasn't it7
That is the only animosity of Mr.. Cor
vets that anyone has told me about"
| "Yes."
ut was against Mr.. Spearman that
| he warned you, thenY
eyes"
"Thank you." He turned and, not
waiting for the man, let himself out.
| He should have known it when he had
seen that Spearman, after announcing
himself as unable to get back to the
| office, was with Constance.
He went swiftly around the block to
his own house and let himself in at the
| front door with his key. The house
| was warm; shaded lamp on the table
| in the larger library was lighted, a fire
was burning in the open crate, and the
rooms had been swept and busted. The
Indian came into the hall to take his
| coat and hat.
Dinner is at seven," WassaQuam
| announced. "You want some change
about that?"
mo; seven is all right"
| Alan went upstairs to the room next
| to COrvet'S which he had appropriated
| for his own use the night before, and
| found it now prepared for his occu-
pancy. When he came down again to
the first floor, Wassaquam was no
where about, but he heard sounds in
floor. He went part way down the
service stairs and saw the Indian in
the kitchen, preparing dinner. Wassa-
| guam had not heard his approach, and
| Alan stood an instant watching the
| Indians tall, thin figure and the quick
movements of his disproportionately
small, well-shaped hands, almost like
| IL e.
upon the stair, and Wassaquam turned
swiftly about.
Anybody been here today, Judah?"
| Alan asked.
"No, Alan. l called tradesmen; they
came. There were young men from the
newspapers"
"What did you tell them?"
Nothing"
"Why not?"
Henry telephoned I was to tell
| them nothing"
'You mean Henry Spearman"
EYES,"
''Do you take orders from him, Ju-
dah?'
81 took that order, Alan"
Alan hesitated. you've been here
in the house all day?"
"Yes. Alan"
Alan went back to the first floor and
| into the smaller library. The room
was dark with the early winter dusk,
and he switched on the light; then he
knelt and pulled out one of the draw
erS he had seen Spearman searching
| through the night before, and carefully
examined the papers in it one by one,
| but found them only ordinary papers.
He pulled the drawer completely out
and sounded the wall behind it and the
partitions on both sides but they ap-
peared solid. He put the drawer back
| in and went on to examine the next
one, and, after that, the others. The
clocks in the house had been wound,
for presently the clock in the library
| struck six, and another in the hall
| chimed slowly. An nour later, when
| the clocks chimed again, Alan looked
up and saw Wassaquam's small black
eyes, deep set in their large eye sock
cts, fixed on him intently through the
door. How long the Indian had been
there, Alan could not guess; he had
| not heard his step.
"What are you looking for, AlanT
| the Indian asked.
Alan reflected a moment. "Mr. Sher-
rill thought that Mr.. Corvet might
have left record of some sort here
for me, judah. Do you know of any,
thing like that ?"
mo. That is what you are looking
for?'
"Yes. Do you know Of any place
where Mr.. Corvet would have been
likely to PIT away anything like that?"
"Ben put papers in all these draw
ers; he put them upstairs, too-where
you have seen."
Nowhere else, Judah?"
''If he put things anywhere else,
Alan, have not seen. Dinner is
served, Alan"