Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-02-10
Continued from Yesterdays start

For answer Ackroyd groaned and
dropped his head into his hands.
ut can't be-" he said. I'm mad
even to think of such a thing. No, /
won't even admit to you the wild sus-
plcion that crossed my mind. I'll tell
you this much, though. Something
she said made me think that the per.
son in question might be ACTUALLY
! among my household, but that can't
be so. | must have misunderstood
her"
What did you say to her?" asked.
What could / say? She saw, of
course, the awful shock it had been to
me. And then there was the question,
what was my duty in the matter?
She had made me, you see, an acces-
sorry after the fact. She saw all that,
/ think, quicker than l did. / was
stunned, you know. She asked me for
"a hours-made me promise to do
nothing till the end of that time. And
she steadfastly refused to give me the
name of the scoundrel who had been
Matchmaking her. l suppose she was
afraid that | might go straight off and
hammer him, and then the fat would
have been in the fire as far as she
was concerned. She told me that /
should hear from her before "a hours
Il
Sheppard, that it never entered my
head what she meant to do. Suicide.
And l drove her to it,"
mo, no" | said Don't take an
exaggerated view of things. The re-
sponsibility for her death doesn't lie
at your door,
THE question is. what am I to do
now? The poor lady is dead. Why
rake up past trouble?"
II rather agree with YOU" / said
But there's another point. How
am / to get hold of that scoundrel who
drove her to death as surely as IL he ID
killed her? He knew of the first
crime. and he fastened on to 1t like
some obscene vulture. She's paid the
penalty. Is he to go scot-free?"
II see," said slowly. You want to
hunt him down? 1t will mean a lot
of publicity, you know"
Yes, I've thought of that. I've
zigzagged to and fro in my mind"
II agree with you that the villain
ought to be punished, but the cost has
got to be reckoned."
Ackroyd rose and walked up and
down. Presently he sank into the
chair again.
Look here, Sheppard, suppose we
leave it like this. If no word comes
from her, we'll let the dead things
lie
What do you mean by word COM
ing from herr" / asked curiously.
II have the strongest impression
that somewhere or somehow she must
have left a message for me-before
she went. ! can't argue about it, but
there 1t is.
| shook my head.
she left no letter or word of any
kind?" 7 asked.
Sheppard, I'm convinced that she
| did. And, more, I've a feeling that by
| deliberately choosing death. she
wanted the whole thing to come out,
| il only to be revenged on the man who
drove her to desperation. believe
| that If could have seen her then
she would have told me his name and
| bid me go for him for all 1 was
worth
He looked at me.
"You don't believe in Impressions"
"Oh, yes, i do, in q sense. If, as
you put it, word should come from
| her.
| broke off. The door opened noise
| lessly and Parker entered with a sal
yer on which were some letters.
1.-The evening post, sir" he said
| handing the saiver to Ackroyd.
!
and withdrew.
| My attention. diverted for a moment
came back to Ackroyd. He was star
| Ing like a man turned to stone at a
| long blue envelope. The other letters
| he had let drop to the ground.
| "Her writing" he said IN whisper
"She must have gone out and posted
1t last night just before-before---
He ripped open the envelope ano
drew out thick Enclosure. Then he
looked up sharply.
You're sure you shut the Window
he said.
Quite sure" / said, surprised
"Why?"
CAN this evening I've had a queer
feeling of being watched, spied upon
| What's that"
He turned sharply. So did l. We
both had the impression of hearing
the latch of the door give ever Sc
slightly. went across to it ant
opened it. There was no one there.
/ Nerves" nnurmured Ackroyd to
himself.