Evening star., 1923-06-10

Miss Bascom says they're the Austin
| girls"
Esther" Old saItonstall Adams
rose in his wrath. You ought to be
ashamed of yourself to let that girls
name get into the Warins matter At
| all. Even If she did go out Sunday
| night, if Miss Bascom did see her. you
! keep still about IT. II that girls
/ wrong, it'Il be discovered without our
| help. II she isn't, wo must not be the
/ ones to bring her into notice"
| She couldn't be-be implicated
| could she. Salt?''
! No he thundered. Esther, you
| astound me. That Bascon woman
| has turned your brain. She's a viper
/ that's what she is,''
! He stormed out OF the room. and
getting into his great coat, tramped
/ down to the village
Gordon Lockwood was in his rooI~
This was much to the annoyance a.
/ Callie. the impatient chambermaiG
who wanted TO get her work done.
| Lockwood was himself impatient II
! get over to the Waring house, for he
| had much TO do with the mass of H.
coming mail and the necessary inter
| views with reporters and other call
| ers.
! Yet he tarried in his pleasant bed
| room at Mrs. Adams, his door Sc
| curely locked and his own attitude
| one Of stupefaction.
/
the crumpled paper that he had taken
| from the study waste basket under
the very nose of Detective Morton
| Had that sleuth been little moro
worthy of his profession he never
| would have allowed the bare-faced
! theft.
! And now that Lockwood had II
scarce knew what to do with It,
| And truly it was an astonishIa-
missive.
| For
MY Darling Anita
At the first glance Of your brow ri
! eyes this afternoon love was born In
my heart. Life is worth living-pit,,
you in the world. And yet"
That was all The unfinished lette,
| had been crumpled into a ball and
thrown in the haskell Had another
been started and completed? Had
Anita Austin received it. and was
that why she kept to her room for
two days? Was she Che hated ths
| become acquainted with John War
| ing during her presence in Corintl
and had so charmed him that ha
wrote to her thus? Or had the
known each other before? What y
! mystery.
/ There was not the slightest doubc
! Of the writing. Lockwood knew it az
we'll as he knew his own, And on
! top Of all the other scraps in til
] waste basket. it must have been thu
| rather. the last he threw away
! This meant he had been writing it
! on the Sunday evening. Then. Lock
wood reasoned, knowing the routine
| If he had written another. which he
| completed and addressed, 1t would
| in natural course, have been put witt
the letters for the mail and would
/ have been posted by Ito that next
morning
What an oversight never to have
| asked Ito about that matter.
/ It was an inviolable custom for the
/ butler to take all letters laid ,on =
| certain small table and put them H.
, the pillar box early in the morninp,
| Had Ito done this? It must be il
| quired into.
But far more absorbing was the a.
| tual letter before him. How could il
/ be possible that John Waring. the dis
nif1ed scholar the confirmed bachelor,
| should have loved this mystery gir!
Yet, even as he formulated thu
/ question, Gordon Lockwood knew the
/ answer. He knew that from his owr
4 point Of view II would not be in
| possible or even dAhe,.hs for any man
| vita t~ syss tA hts head 30 love
that fascinating. enchanting psF@es-
ality.
And as he pondered he knew THAI
| he loved her himself. Yes, he had
loved her almost from the moment h.
| first saw her. Certainly from the
! and counted the queer little ball
j fringes In the back OF her daintl
! gown.
Those fringes! Lockwood gave d
| groan as sudden thought came :"
| him.
He jumped UP and with deter
mined air set about burning the ir
exrlicable letter that John WARNS
/ had written and thrown away.
/ In the empty fireplace Of the old
match to the sheet and burned il t"
an ash.
Then he went over to the waring
house.
reported TO Miss Bascom.
Queer COINS on" the girl said.
rolling her eyes at her eager listenel
Mr.. Lockwood, now, he burnt soF1e
papers, and Miss Austin, too. she burn
some papers"
What's queer about that?" snspped
Miss Bascom. who had hoped for some
thing more senSa tional.
Well it's sbrta strange they're both
burnin' papers at the same time. And
both so sly about il. Mr.. LoclSwo ood
he KEEP Iookin' back at the fireplace as
he went outa the door. and Miss Aus
tin. she jumped like she was shot when
I come in suddenly an found her
StOOpIl over tn0 HI6pldCS. All 100,
Miss Bascom, whatever else she burnt
she burnt that picture she had Of Dr.
Waring."
Did she have his picture?"
Yep. one Mr.. Lockwood guv her
after Nora carried off the one she cut
out of paper"
What in the world did that SRI
want Of DIR. Warnings picturer
Il dunno, ma'am. What they cal
hero-worship. l guess Just like I've
s1A,, Il
Massnger, that man who plays cave
man in the movies. Ny, but he's hand
some!''
And so Miss Austin burned a photo
graph Of John Waring."
! Yes, ma'am. And you know they re
kinda hard to burn. Anyways. SIZE
was a-kneelin' by the fireplace an th.
picture was smokin' like everything.
Iemme help you miss ! says, IS
polite rs could be-and watcha tlllnl
| she snatched back. and says. 'Yc
lemme alone. Get our aherei' or some
thin like that. Oh, she was mad a.
right"
"She has a high temper, hasn''
she?"
"Yesm. there's no denyin' she mas
Then again. she's sweet AS pie, md
nice an gentle. She's queer makeup
| | will say
There, Callie, that win do. dof,
gossip" and Miss Bascom, sure shr
| had learned all the maid had to tell.
| went downstairs to tell it to Mr..
Adams
The landlady seemed less receipt,
than usual. being still mindful of h,r
husbands admonitions. But Miss Ia
| CONS story of the burnt photoE-lr
| reused her curiosity to highest pitcf
There's something queer about tia:
girl Mrs. Adams opined, and the othc
more than agreed.
Lets go up and talk TO her." MIS-
Bascom suggested, and after a moment@
| hesitation Mrs. Adams went.
| The landlady tapped lightly at The
door hut there was no rASDonsa