Evening star., 1922-03-26
4 Detective Story by Mrs. Wilson Woodrow

above it on the moldlng. You arc
caught. Achison!' His voice rang out
in triumph.
Achison rubbed his chin with his
hand. and meditated moment
"Your theory is quite correct" 10
said. suddenly. "of course. your dis.
oovery OF the means employed to e,,
feet my purpose Is disconcertine "a
me. AS for convicting mo OF crime,
that is another matter. You hays
the evidence to do II, but. we'll. yol
will not use that evidence"
/ He pressed a buzzer on his desk. A
clerk entered.
"Ask my secretary to come in," SAID
the lawyer.
The clerk bowed and disappeared.
Ramsey waited tense and ready, andl
then a young woman entered.
Ramsey's heart gave a sudden
leap. He rose mechanically, his eyca
widening as he gazed at her. She was
the girl he had seen In Achlzon's
car!
Her severe little black frock with
tho touches Of white at throat ard
wrists accentuated her 1owerIiks
grace ard charm. She brought ir-n
that dull and sober office something
OF the radiance Of spring. But what
struck Ramsey most forcibly wa
that, in spite of her efforts to Pre-
serve a demure and busincsslikc de-
meanor. she was overlooking with a
buoyant. irrepressible happiness.
to take some dictation prescntiy'
Atchison said, but ] am not oui',
ready YET. shall ring when neei
you. 1 also want to introduce NJ.
Wallace Ramsey. have an idea that
he will be good person FOR YOU 70
consult in making your future plans"
Il am sure that will be very kind."
She gave Ramsey shy and love v
smile. and then the door closed be-
hind her.
"A charming girl" remarked Achi-
son, "but in her present position a
little miscast. Let me sketch her
circumstances for you; they have a
bearing on the matter between US" Z.
"You know the story OF Edgewater, Of
course. He was client Of mine. Rose.
this girl, is niece of his wife. She was
an orphan, and her aunt took her as a
child and bestowed upon her the Edge
water name. Mrs. Edgewater herself has
for a long time been sufferer from
anthritis and is now bedribbon, unabl"
to move. The poor woman was left with
no means whatever. nothing to Gve OF
except through the sale OF tho few
pictures which were saved from her
husbands collection, and which a;
last were all sold to meet her needs
with the exception of one which she
regarded as too worthless to be dis
posed Of.
tsT asst spring she wrote and asked
me TO come to see her. 1 found
her and the girl in a deplorable sit
uation. They were literally down to
their last cent, their only remaining
asset this miserable daub Of pic
ture, a mediocre copy OF Velasquezs
Lady With a Fam Rose was tax
ing a business course with the hone
Of earning enough to support the
two Of them. but her prospects wer.
far from bright.
II am not charItably inclined by
nature. But / will admit to you.
Ramsey, that the position of those
two tenderly nurtu-ed women, strug
Cling merely to live. lacking the barA
necessities Of life. affects me deeply.
I went through good deal OF hocus
pocus, examined the picture minutely.
and then told Mrs. Edgewater that 1
was convinced it was. In part A.
least, the work of yelasquez. I tool;
an option on 1t and removed it TO my
bungalow. Also I gave the girl
place here in my office. AS a private
secretary. she is wonderful musi-
clan. have heard her play. and
am convinced that she has an unus-
ual gift for music, which she cer-
tainly has not for secretarial work.
II had not yet formulated any
plan as to what I was going to do
with the picture, but suddenly the
idea came to me how could provide
for them and at the same time sup
ply the funds to develop Roses un-
doubted talent.
It elaborated my scheme in detail
That bungalow had unpleasant as
| sociations for me. anyhow, as yor
may imagine. Then I successfully
my own benefit. mind you, but OF
Of pure altruism."
"Then will you tell me"-thers
| was a note Of evaporation in Ram
sey's voice-"why. instead Of re
sorting to these criminal and danger
Gus methods, you did not provide for
! the old lady out OF your abundant
funds. and assume the responsibility
Of the girls musical education"
Achison lifted his shoulders.
simply because my way was n1ors
interesting"
Ramsey had a vivid imagination.
The life Of those two women. with
its pinching economies, its wretchei
straits. its constant apprehensicn.
unrolIed itself like a cinema before
him, hideously, photograp phicaily real
Again the picture OF the girl ros"
before him, her face turned away
in horror. Opposed to its tremen-
dous appeal was tho dominating
aim which had ruled his life for
many months-the determination I"
end Achison's criminal activities
once and for all. And now that the
opportunity had come to him he felt
that he could not let it slip. He owed
| It to tho public. to Justice. to his own
| honor.
y X = *
LIE strode up and down the room.