Evening star., 1923-12-13
HOW THE STORY BEGAN.

servant at the country hoase OF Mrs.
samuel Cayley At Sunny Beach, upon going to
body. apparently that Of the brother of the
mistress Of the house. near stone bench.
servant, Carp the butler, had left the man.
Mr.. Bernhard. sitting upon the bench late at
night, and the latter had told him he would
the eaeRs Ing elss
Lefty, another servant. and as the man col
lapses from excitement the woman takes
charge OF Affairs She calls Mrs. Csyley. and
In the meantime the rest OF the household is
aroused: Vera. younger woman. is instruct
from knowing the full extent of the tragedy
Geon Peters. a man about the grounds, ropes
of the place where the body lies, in prepa :
coroner Mrs. cayiey questions the various
persons and calls the coroner. By long dis
Trend Of shs sbo ssd been M With &
murdered man a short time the preceding
evening. She informs him of the tragedy and
he promises TO come 10 the house at once.
the coroner is dependinR.
Continued from Yesterdays Starr
DIR. Hood will be here at any
moment now" she Informed him. He
wants you to wait here to see him"
sril be right outside. Mis- cayiey.
and likely to see him comm" he re-
piled
Passing on to her own room, Mrs.
Cayley was on the point of entering
when her daughters door, further
down the gallery, few open and NIL
dred appeared upon the threshold
She had dressed In evident haste, and
her small. white face quivered with
fear.
Mother, what ia itr I will know
the truth. Vera has gone back to
me Uncle Joe was Ill and neither
you nor he wanted me to go down.
stairs. What does II mean?'
Mrs. Cayley slowly approached her
stead, she looked steadily down into
the vioiet-bIue eyes raised to her
own and spoke in q low, clear tone
strangely devoid OF any natural
tenderness.
II have tried all your life to teach
has come for you to exert 1t. Your
uncle Is dead"
The girls whole slender body
quivered as If IL were under the
stroke of lash, and she caught her
breath in a little gasp.
Il felt it, she whispered. Il knew
that something dreadful had come!
Mother. how did he die?"
Look over the railing down into
the patio and you will see. There
seemed to be almost calculated
woman's tone. Remember, no
scenes. We do not know who is re-
sponsibIe for your uncle's death, but
in any event there will be endless
questioning. hideous notoriety. The
the police--is coming. and so is stone
ham Lane; ! have sent for him"
Why" Mildred stifened and
seemed to grow inches taller as she
drew herself up under the stern, COM
manding gaze bent upon her. What
is he n
Low as II was. her voice rang with
an open defiance that was Ike
declaration of warfare, and for mo-
ment the two strange antagonists
mother and daughter, faced each
replied with sudden suavity:
Our Oldest and closest family
friend He will take charge OF
everything for US. Bear that in
mind, my child, when he arrives. /
past attitude; you know, Of course.
what your future one must be. YouI
uncIe's death has rendered it in.
evitable that his last wishes shall
be obeyed."
The girls rosebud lips curied ever
we are not living in the middle
ages now. mother. I'm not go
ing to pretend any grief that /
don't feel nor acknowledge any alb
u x
ever else Uncle Joe may have been, he
was no hypocrite; nor will be. If
Mr.. Lane is coming TO act for you
as a family friend. my attitude to-
ward him will be becomingly crate,
full, I can promise you. wonder
wonder who-?
Here's your coffee. ma a'am." Lefty
appeared at Mrs. Cayley's elbow with
q tray. and the latter directed:
Take II into my room. please:
Then to her daughter she added: We
will have a little talk later. Mildred.
Meanwhile, II you cannot feel any
natural grief over the tragedy which
has come upon US. l must at least
insist that you show TO every one
decent respect for your uncle's
memory"
she glanced meaningly toward the
room occupied by their guest, Vera
Sherwood. and, turning, vanished
within her own door. Let alone, the
young girl took one tentative step
coward the railing of the gallery as
given advice and look down for her
SELF at the scene which, from where
she stood, would be within her line
Of vision But the next moment, with
q little shiver. she covered her face
with her hands and fled back into
her own room.
Meanwhile, Geoff Peters had lin
gered at the stairs head until he saw
Lefty emerge from below. Then he
had hurried out to the terrace, where
he busted himself gathering up the
loose sections Of board and scattered
Implements left from his work of the
previous day until the rattle of an
ancient car, approaching at break