San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1924-04-19
ey DOUoLAs GRANT,
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cd ND a brisk fight directly in his
path when he had proceeded little
| further down the block. He avoided
| the combatants and reached the house
number given him, to find a stout but
very distressed looking elderly woman
in her Sunday black silk. Solding the
door open for him as he mounted the
dingy high stoop.
rs it Mr.. Trevor" she asked.
"Your friends right in the parlor. He
wouldn't let me fix his head"
'.Mike!" Carin Trevor dashed past
her and into the little reception room
where he found the detective seated
on haircloth sofa holding REDEEMED
handkerchief to his head.
| Its only a scratch!" Mike an
nounced defensively. "A loose tile
fell off a roof as passed by, but my
hat saved me. Come in, Mrs. Jennet.
and tell Mr.. Trevor the details of the
story you just told me-"
Mrs. Jennct hustled in and seated
herself in the chair which Trevor drew
forward for her.
"Well. I must say I'm glad your
friend thinks l did right. !" she be-
gan. "Of course I'd ought to have
gone to the police yesterday when !
seen that article in the paper about
the young lady being missing, but i
been running respectable boarding
house here for a good many years with
never a word of scandal and IL was
afraid !"
do you mean the black haired
young lady in the blue" Trevor
spoke in a puzzled tone but she cut
him short with an energetic nod.
Eyes. There's two or three old taxi
fellers that used to be hanson drivers
in the old days, who hang around the
river tunnels and if fare looks all
right to them. and asks for a nice,
quiet place to board they bring 'em to
me. That's how the young lady come,
last Tuesday afternoon at half past
four. She was q stranger in the city
and real tired and frightened but quite
the lady and / give her my third floor
front and made her as comfortable as
| could, even giving her ink and writ
ing paper which she asked for, though
it amt my rule.
! "She had big tan leather grip
with her and it seemed awful heavy,
but she didn't open it while / stood
round. Shed a wad of bills wrapped
in handkerchief and stuck in her
waist and she paid me weeks board
in advance before i had time to ask
for it. and the two cents for the stamp
I'd give her. Then she asked me
where the nearest post-box was and I
| told her on the corner All this while
l didn't know her name nor think.
somehow, to ask but she remembered
! first and said she was Alice Smith,
from Kingsville, which I'd never heard
of.
Il had to leave her then cause the
girl screeched up to me that there was
n gentleman downstairs looking for
board and l had two more rooms va
cant. He was kind of loud looking
young Teller without any baggage and
| didn't want to take him at first but
he said his bags were checked and he'd
bring EN- right over. l give him the
second floor back and he paid me out
of big roll but even then l wasn't
easy in my mind about him, though he
told me his name real prompt-Alex
Brown, it was.
81 gave him latch-key, same as !
had Miss Smith, and then went down
to see about dinner and it wasn't till
the girl was setting the. table long
after dark, that l remembered Miss
Smith hadn't no soap nor towels to
her stationary wash-basin. Up / goes
with them but she didn't answer my
knock | opened it with my pass-key.
The room was empty and i see she
must have gone out TO mail her letter
for she'd used the ink and there was a
little pile of torn paper beside it on the
table.
mot liking scraps about gathered
'em IN in my hand when l come down
stairs. but when l reached this floor
that drafted girl screeched to me that
the water cooler was leaking. so ]
stuffed those pieces of paper in that
vase over there and forgot oil about
'em till the next day, when something
else happened"
Mrs. Jennet paused in her story and
Trevor glanced at Mike.
s"YOu said | should hear news Of
of someone else," he suggested. This