Evening star., 1925-09-28

So, Pandora Haste had threatened
to leave her adored Ken and his
wife.
And Rawdon Wells had been italian
and primitive" and his eyes had
been terrible" when Eve had broken
the news to him of her engagement to
his friend, Kennedy Hastei
But it was the letter concerning the
unnamed Idol which interested Da.
Eon most.
this man Miss Carroll referred TOP
he asked, pointing out the passage to
Haste.
Ken read the words and flushed up
10 the roots of his brown hair. Ask
me something else" he said. II can't
tell you that"
do you mean you cantor you
wont?"
lam afraid I've forgotten that
chaps who fell in love with Miss Car
roll" Ken stammered
Dagon knew that he had not forgot
ten; and Haste probably knew that he
. knew But the detective let the sub
ject drop. Instead. he said. Just now
You gave me permission to ask you
something else Well, I take YOU at
your word. We're in Miss Haste's
own sitting room. You tell me that in
the wardrobe there are souvenirs of
the time when she first came to you.
Will you let me see those things?"
Haste stared. But what possible
connection can they have with this
case?"
They may have more than you
think" said Dagon.
Haste took back the letters hurried
ly, as if he feared more questions, and
then-glad of the change of subject
found the key of the cupboard in a
drawer of the secretary above, where
no doubt he had seen Pan place 1t.
This new affair had little interest for
him. He could not conceive it pos
sible that the souvenirs of Pandora's s
babyhood should have the remotest
connection with the disa appearance Of
Eve Carroll. His glowing opinion of
Dagon's talent paled slightly because
of the detectives request. But there
was no reason for refusing, so Ken
rather indifferently unlocked and
threw open the cupboard doors.
Il suppose you've heard the whole
story" he said. about the box being
left at our door, and all that. The
boN-I remember il quite distinctly
was like boys school box, but rather
small. 1t was thrown away by our
servants. I suppose; but everything in
1t was kept; and there's the lot in
that dolls trunk which was one Of the
great treasures of Pans childhood"
ALLOW me" exclaimed the detective,
and STOPPING took from the one shelf
in the cupboard a miniature trunk got
up to resemble the fashionable travel
ing boxes Of a Paris maker. 1t was
not heavy, though it was of a good
size, 2 feet long by l in height per-
haps, and Dagon placed it on a table.
1t was unlocked, but thinking Of the
girl he hesitated to lift the lid, and
Haste impatiently did so.
A delicious perfume of potpourri
rose to the nostrilS of the two young
men. And though Haste had moods
of fiercely doubling his adopted sister,
his heart melted as he looked at her
previously guarded treasures of the
past. The trunk had tray, in which
reposed a doll which had been pres
ent from him on one Of Pans BIRTH
days. 1t had eyes which opened and
shut, real eyelashes and curly hair
which could be brushed. Pan had
named the doll after him and herself:
Pandora Kennedy" 1t lay on a
neat pile of it's wardrobe, made by
the childs own hands, with here and
there a ribbon bag of potpourri. Ken
removed the tray, and Dagon'S eager
eyes saw first Il f1eecy Shetland shawl,
then a silky blanket striped with red,
white and green.
"Therel the poor little kid was wrap
ped in those when we found herr
Haste said. Il suppose the rest of the
things are underneath. Examine them
as much as you like"
The dark face of the Canadian had
flushed at the sight of the silk blanket;
but Haste did not notice his change OF
color. He was thinking Of Eve, and
wondering why the detective had said
so little about the letters which, after
all, he had come TO the house ex-
pressly to see.
The fellow had appeared to be some
what impressed by two of those let
ters; yet now he seemed far more ''tn-
trigued' by these odd trif1es which,
surely, could have no bearing what
ever on the case.
Almost reverently Dagon touched
the blanket. Before looking at what
lay beneath, he held the silky stuff
with its bright stripes between his
hands. Perhaps he was trying to
make use Of the faculty he had de-
scribed to Anson: that Of seeing an
image Of the person most intimately
associated with the thing touched. Or
else 1T might be that the blanket
fascinated him because Of the Italian
colors. and because he must have
known-if he knew anything about
italian manufacturing-tha the blan-
claimed as his birthplace. He could
hardly have decided on such scant evil
dence that Pandora Haste, the found
ling, was a compatriot of his, for these
italian blankets We're intended more
for export than for home use, and
thousands were sold every year in
most countries Of Europe. They had
been cheap in the old days before
the war, too, and therefore would
- III, tt,n -
g. poor mother.
Whatever his motive was. Dagon
gazed at the little striped silk blan.
ket for several moments with an odd
distracted gaze. Then, still with the
air OF one who feared to profane a
shrine, he examined in turn the tiny
garments which were Pans only relics
Of her babyhood. They were com.
Snonplace things enough, cheap and
rather coarse; but a small scarlet cloak
of wooden stuff, with a mother O pearl
button at the neck, and lined with
cotton flannel which initiated ermine
held him spellbound.
zone would think you could read the
history of my adopted sisters birth In
that hideous little cloak" Haste said
Dagon actually started. "Oh, / don't
go so far as that he exclaimed. his
sense of humor not in the least
aroused. But / confess 1t interests
me-for special reasons. May take
the cloak home, and keep it a short
time? I'll promise to bring 1t safely
back in the same condition as now
7 don't believe Miss Haste would
object, do you?"
"Oh, certainly, take It," said Ken
"I'll be responsible for giving you
permission. 1t would be different with
T2ves letters if you wanted them.
couldn't bring myself to part with
those for 10 minutes"
Il remember every word in the let