Evening star., 1923-06-15

guess he was saying other than abso-
lutte truth.
But look here" spoke up Maurice
| Trask. This won't do. you know.
\re you people accusing a girl of DR..
! Warnings murder? \ girl.'
him but we want to know more
! about the young lady III question. In
! fact. she's been dubbed Miss Mystery,
! because so little is known about her"
Miss Mystery eh? And she came
here to see the doctor the night he
| died?"
"She did not" Lockwood asserted,
| calmly. Had shs done so, 1 should
have known it."
"Of course, you would" Trask
ieft lett On one the r'"PfH chairbacRs @ IS % that %its
That's it," said Helen sharply.
and when forty-'leven other things
i don't know why Mr.. Lockwood so
positively denies it. He must have
deep interest in the young lady"
Helen's Spitefulnsess vas was ud,1sa undis7
and regretful. Both these women had
hoped that Gordon Lockwood's affec--
tons might turn toward Helen, and
the older one realized that snsn sue
further their plans.
l;ut Helen was thoroughly jealous
"f Miss Mystery for more reasons
than one. and she let her unbridled
tongue expose her feelings
cray knew all this, and therefore
took Helen's statements with grain
OF salt And yet, he soliloquized. she
would scarcely make up that rigma-
role of the dress trimming. He fan
cied it was true. And why shouldn
it be? The evidence of Anita Aus
tins presence in John Warnings study
fnf f,I Ierlt strong
to be ignored. Moreover. the girls
possession of the money and the
ruby pin had yet to be satisfactorily
explained. II was unthinkable that
any one should have stolen these
things and planted" them in Miss
| Austins buresu drawer.
I'd like to see this young woman"
said Trask. suddenly.
I'm going over to see her now,
come along" invited Cray. who was
nf thts stranger.
I'm going. too" declared Helen
ptyton, and as Lockwood couldn't
keep away. they all went over to the
Adams house.
In the cozy sitting room they con-
Eregated, and Mrs. Adams went up
stairs to summon Anita.
She found the room locked. When,
IN response TO a repeated summons,
Ale door was opened Mrs. Adams
faced fearful. sad-faced girl. who
asked indifferently what was wanted.
You'll have to come downstairs"
the landlady said: Mr.. Cray is there,
and-and some others. They want
&c see YOU"
4 won't go down. / don't want to
see anybody"
4 guess you'u have to- Mrs.
/ .Fdams spoke little crisply. It's
IA summons. You've got to come"
oh Miss Austins manner
changed. Well. 1 will, then. Wait
Till | hathe my face"
Mrs. Adams came in. closed the door
and waited She felt sorry for Miss
| Mystery, but she also felt suspicious
Of her Perhaps the mystery would
The good woman was about to
speak kindly to her strange boarder
| Lut as she watched she lost the desire
10 help her.
For, to Mrs. Adams primitive no.
tions, the girl was doing dreadful
things.
Having bathed her tear-stained
face. Miss Mystery proceeded to pow
der it lightly, and. horror of horrors,
she added the merest flick of rouge TO
her pale checks. And not content
with such baseness, she stopped to
further degradation and touched her
pale lips with some heathenish CON
traptton that made them just little
redder'
No. Mrs. Adams had no sympathy
for a girl who would do such awful
things, and she waited in grim and
stony silence.
Then Miss Mystery huffed out her
pretty dark hair a little more over
her ears, settled her sailor collar,
with it's row Of tiny buttons for trim
ming. and with critical glance at