Evening star., 1923-06-18

c1NofoiS of PREV lOUS lNSIAlIlsMENTS
John Waring. newly elected to the presi
dency OF Corinth College. a venerable New
England seat Of learning is found stabbed 10
death in his study. As he is at the pinnacle
OF his career and about TO marry Emily Bates.
charming and cultured widow. motive
for suicide appears. He had no known enc
mics. There was trace of weapon. nor
vas there any way in which murderer could
have left the locked room.
The next morning Nogi. the Japanese but
Ter, Is missing. us are valuable ruby stick
pin worn by the dead man. and $500 known
70 have been in his private drawer. His
will. made out in favor of his hancee. has
apparently been burned in the CRATE. Thus
his estate reverts to a distance relative. Mau-
rice Trask. Gordon lockwood DR.. Waring :
secretary, insists firmly, even suspiciously
upon the suicide theory.
Anita Austin. The Mystery Girl" az she
has been dubbed by the inmates Of Mrs.
Adams boarding house because of her silence
Corinthj. is drawn into the tragedy when
\, Mss s,iit; biascomi prSns old maid acsuses her her
death. and of being an accomplice in his
murder.
Footprints. into which her shoes exactly
it., are found in the crusted snow leading 10
and from Dr. Warnings study window. More
over. the roll Of bills and his ruby stckpin
wound might have been made.
With fngerprint evidence against her. and
with unmistakable proof thai il the
imprint Of her button-trimmed dress which
was found on a plush chairback in Dr. War
lnss ,t, study ANITA admits visiting him on the
conflicting and her distress so apparent that
Maurice .Trask finds his sympa ,hies enlisted
evident that it rouses the Jealousy of Lock
wood. who is secretly IN love with her. Trask.
however, overrides all objections and consti-
Unable any longer to keep back his feel
tngs. Lockwood confesses his love to Anita.
A Bribe.
Maurice Trask took up his reins of
government with a firm hand. He
left all housekeeping and domestic
matters to Mrs. Peyton, but the bust
ness affairs of DIR. Waring he con-
cluded to clean up as rapidly as pos
sible
ITS astonishing" he said to Lock
wood, what a lot of varied interests
my cousin had. This mornings mail
brings all sorts of things from rare
book catalogues to mining prospec-
fuses BY the way. I think ] shall
have an auction of his rare books.
Such things don't interest me, and I
believe they have a big money value .
Some of them have" Lockwood re-
turned. indifferently.
He could not bring himself to like
his new employer, but as he had
agreed to stay with him for time,
he did his best to meet requirements.
Take this lot now" and Trask in
dicated a bookcase, full of old vol
umes of the classics. They mean
nothing to me- can't read Latin or
Greek, and l wouldn't if ! could. My
good heavens. Look at this one"
Trask had taken down the volume
that had been on DR.. Warnings desk
the night of his death. AS he Tipped
over the pages, two were stuck to-
gether. and the CHASTITY red stains
showed only too clearly that they
were the spilled blood of the dying
man.
Ugh he said. holding out the vol
How could any one have put it back
on the shelf? Never let me see 1t
again.
The secretary took it. noting that II
was copy of Martial to which DR.
Waring had been greatly attached
Indeed, it had. to Loekwood's knowI-
edge. been lying on the doctors desk
for a week or more before his death
Laying the stained volume aside in
his own desk. Lockwood proceeded to
assist in the examination of the books
He was not at all surprised to find
Trask discarding the ones he would
, have retained and keeping the most
worthless-though there was little
that could really be called trash in
the Waring library.
Where are the story books?" the
new owner grumbled.
No detective stories? No spicy
novels? No joke books?"
"Dr. War!ng was serious-m minded
Lockwood reminded him. He cared
little for lighter reading. He was a
scholar"
He sure was-to judge from these
old dry-as-dust tones. But III fire
a lot of the poky old stuff, and sc
make room for more entertaining
books. You see. Lockwood. / hope
and ] expect, to get me wife be-
fore long"
Gordon's heart seemed to contract
for he OWNED what was coming.
"Yeppy, that's so. Little Old Mau-
rice wants awifie-and-who do you
suppose has caught my fancy?'
"Who?" was the mechanical re-
sponse.
Why none pther than the little