The Omaha morning bee., 1925-04-17

No. 1t had been before Emilys
death, the night before. lie had been
lying on his bed, dressed for dinner,
and there had been voices in the hall
Suddenly he realized that the voices
had been those of Rose and Jarvis:
Dry up and blow away'-the phrase
re-eehoed in his ear but he could not
remember all of 1t.
Look at them out there" Miss
Minty exclaimed, when he joined her
at the window. 1.-The whole morbid
town is crawling around out there"
Ted looked out and then drew back
behind the curtains. People lined the
opposite side of the road boys had
climbed into trees, more people were
coming. Its that account in the
morning paper" Miss Minty said.
They're all out to see us. The MUIR
der party they call us. Ugh, It's
horrible. Trying to pick out which
one of us did it, she went on. THANK
heaven they're having Poor Homer's
funeral at the undertaker's chapel.
IT would be too much to have it out
here And won't they talk when
they find I'm not out there. But l
can't go. can't, The doctor told
me l couldn't. And therell he just
Ghopal and me who'll be staying
away from it,.
Don't let 7em worry YOU. Miss Min
ty. Come away from the window. No
body suspects you
Yes, they do. Those detective men
do. You could tell 1t in every word
they said to me yesterday. You just
don't know. Teddy. And I think it
was that heather bronze idol Homer
gave me that brought all the bad
luck"
Ted led her back to comfortable
rocker. Wen give the town some
thing else to think about. I'll stay
home from the funeral, too. That'll
keep 'em busy guessing for a good
long time. I'm not keen to go, any
way. And poor old Ghopal, he's pret-
ty we'll shot even now. He couldn I
20 II he wanted to. | suppose. That
hunger strike OF his. and the time
he was in Jail, have been pretty
hard on him.
You don't suppose they'll put me
in like that. do you. Teddy, the way
they have Soames, too
You'll be the last one they'd take
Miss Minty. Depend on that. They We
Just treated you like they have the
rest"
That's what Rose said. too. l
wish she could come. See II that s
them going out now. Therell be Hell
en-. and Janet, and Jarvis. and Rose.
They'll certainly notice that we're not
there. Theodore. I'm going to call
YOU Theodore. It's so much more
substantial sounding than Teddy.
/ wish Rose wouldn't go. =. don't
believe she's fit to go. really. She s
a comfort, but at the same time, she S
worried"
Have you noticed that. too?
What do you suppose it Is, anyway?
I've just been talking to Jar
Were thinking the same thing,
Theodore" She looked at him slant
wise. AS she looked, she seemed frail
: er to him than ever, drier, with less
life She was very old. really. lie
had never noticed 1t before. A strong
wind and she'd dry up and blow
away"
The words re.echoed glgantically
through his brain. lie could recall
now--it WAS all very clear: lie had
been lying on his bed. utterly de
pressed, almost asleep. Voices had
spoken in the narrow passageway
lust outside his room which was the
,ld nursery. Roses voice and then
Jarvis and all the words We're cor1
ing back now. 1t was Jarvis who
had said: "She's outlived her useful
ness. She ought to be anaesthetized
Some day she'll dry UP and blow
away. and nobody'll know just
where" The words were very clear
now. And then the sound OF sob
and a choked word from Rose: "You
mustn't talk that way. Jarvis and
then another Sob and a light hysteri
cal laugh. They moved on, and he
was still lying on his bed.
II was all very clear now. The
dusk had been driven from his mem
DRY.
what is It, Theodore?"
Nothing. . | was just thinking
something, nothing important.
Funny you'd think that about Jarvis
and Rose. too. Have you thought
she avoided him, or he herr"
I've thought she avoided him, that
II made her shudder 10 be near him
"Yes-but We mustn't let suspi
cions run away with ns. Miss MintY
We don't have nything-much--to
go on, and neither do the detectives
] fancy II takes evidence to con
Wet a person you know. And that
the trouble, there's no evidence. .
or course, n we worked toward fh'
detectives, and they worked towar,
us. then we might meet. somewhere
like engineers boring a tunnel through
. mountain"
Ugh But suppose we iust metz
Zach other, oh, The whole thinJ
makes me III. Ted--Theodore. | thinl
I'll lie down a while. lust hx me
bromide tablet for my nerves. won
,ol. dear. In glass Of wntcr29
When he had given her the bro