Evening star., 1924-01-06
ABOVE. SUSPICION
By Robert Orr Chipperfeld.
A,uhor Of "The Second Buues" "Unseep Hands,
The Trigger Of Conscience" Etc
Copyright by
By Robert Orr Chipperfield.
Copyright. 1879. by Robert NJ Mesra. ; Co.


a feeling of relief, albeit with his
| most deferential air. Folks were so
doggone polite down in these parts
| that 1T didn't pay to take changes.
GOOD afternoon, ma'am." he began,
once more sweeping off the nicked
straw hat. II was told Miss Kather-
! inc Beverley lived here. and l got
message for her Could you tell me
Ii she's to homer"
Il am Miss Beverley" A clear.
gentle voice like soft falling water
replied to him, and he saw all at once
that the woman wasn't elderly at all.
Not line maIred the smooth white
| ness of her skin, and her eyes were
brightly blue beneath the incongruous
nun of misty gray hair.
He felt a sudden sensation of panic.
! and bowed again to cover his confu-
sion. He was feazed at the start, but
not in the manner which he had
anticipated. Surely this could not be
the right "Katherine"' Yet the old
gentleman had certainly recognized
| the name of Shirley" and warned
him not to come to her with a mes
sage concerning the family who bore
| it,
Excuse me- Miss Beverley. I've
! travelled a long ways to see lady O.
your name, and the message I'm
bringin' to her mebbe she won't care
to hear now. 1t ought to a-been
! delivered more'n ten year ago by
come"
Ten years ago." she repeated,
and the pruning shears slipped out
of her hand and dangled from the
ribbon about her waist. Beneath the
steady gaze of her eyes Geof weak
ened still more, but he f1oundered on
with a respectful but dogged earnest
i ness.
Yes, ma'am. I was told the lady
| I'm lookin' for mightn't care to hear
hi ion aI hut I IN
| find out If you're the right one. I'm
| speakin' O. a Mr.. Lawrence Shirley"
He could see the slender shoulders
beneath the thin white gown quiver
as though a lash had been laid across
| them. But she drew herself UP slow
ly. her small head with it's ashen hair
held high.
Won't you come into the house,"
The gentle, liquid tones trembled
little. Il think / am the lady you
| have been looking for"
Miss Beverley led the way up the
path. and he followed. marveliug.
Her face was soft and sweet and hu-
man, not proud and disdainful as
ever been beautiful, her looks must
have faded like an old picture. mel
lowing into delicate tones. She had
remained Miss katherine" all these
years; was 1t because of young Shir-
ley? Had she cared for him. too If
so what was the cloud between them
that Dunn had mentioned?
With involuntary professional inter-
est Geon cast a quick glance over the
| house. and then followed his hostess
porch. 1t was a mighty old place
and needed paint worse than any he
had seen in a long time: the porch
roof sagged, too, the boards of the
worn down. Inside the big. square
entrance hall Geoff saw further evil
dences of disrepair. But only when
Miss Beverley led him into a long,
dim parlor and motioned to one of
the fragile-looking. spindle-legged
Dunn had said about her family meet
ing with relatives. Actual poverty
alone could account for those cur
| tains. Immediately fresh, but mended
could scarcely be discerned, and for
the furniture set every-which-way to
hide the unpatchable holes in the
threadbare medallion carpet.
Miss Beverley touched silver bell
on a quaint little table beside her.
and then turned to him. smiling
family.
II knew a gentleman of the same
as that you have just mentioned. but
he dfed up north ten years ago. None
OF his family are left here now-but
your message was to me. Mr."
MY names Godfrey Peters, ma am.
but 1 don't matter. I've come from
friend O. Mr.. Shirley's in New York:
bout the closest friend he had there.
/ reckon, and the only one he ever
spoke to 'bout-'bout what he'd plan
ned for the future
Not the gentleman In whose home
he died that New Year day" Her
voice was vibrant with pain.
NO. ma'am. he's dead, too; only
speakin' o is a MIR. william Dunn.
who had rooms just acrost from Mr..
Shirley the last year % his life.
to you, but l s'pose you wouldn't re-
collect after all this time-?'
II remember every word he ever
wrote to me-" she replied simply
He spoke often Of his neighbor, Mr..
dead. that Mr.. Benkard?"
Yes. ma'am. Mr.. Dunn and me,
we got to talkin' bout him and Mr..
Shirley, and 1t come up what Mr..
Shirley had said bout you. Mr.. Dunn
and &omethin' else. too, and told
him that bein' as I was comm down
this way I'd mebbe drop in and tell
you if-if you felt like hearin' it,"
Geof hesitated. First. I'll have to
ask you a question, though; You
died, ma'am, but did you hear tell
how twas. and why?"
Bravely she faced the issue.
Yes, Mr.. Peters. 1 heard that he
a great deal of money from people
who trusted him. people he worked
for. I even had the New York city
papers sent for-I have them yet-and
lieve it! I have never believed. it
for one instant of these ten years,
I cannot! Some dreadful mistake
has been made!'
"A mistake. ma'am-" Geoff eyed
wonderingiy. but at that moment a
decrepit and manservant entered the
room. bearing a tray. His brown
face was as scanned as a withered
apple and his woolly head almost
white, but he bowed with vast dignity
as he set the tray on the little
table and poured two glasses of a
frosted fruit drink from a tall, slen-
der pitcher. One of these he placed
at Geoff's elbow, bowed once more
Miss Beverley waited until the
door had closed behind him and his
shuffling footsteps died away down
the hall toward the rear. Then she
turned again to her guest.
as a woman knows the man she
loves and-and means to marry, but
we were boy and girl together, Mr.
Peters. We grew up in the intimate
daily eompanionship of a small town
ike ours mere, Wnere only few
families associate with each other.
His character was an open book to
me and I know that he could not
have done this thing? Reckless. and
daring, and high spirited, he was
never thief. a coward! If he killed
himself he must have been, out of
his mind from brooding over the un-
Just, mistaken accusation which was
about to be made against him.
know that he was Innocent"
CONTINUED in Tomorrow's Star.)