Evening star., 1928-06-17

| been called in Markhams Office, at each
! Of which the ground had been care
fully reploughed; but not one helpful
suggestion had been turned up. Two
weeks after the murder of Chester
Greene the case began to take on the
aspect of stalemate.
During that fortnight. however,
Vance had not been idle. The situation
had caught and held his interest. and
not once had he dismissed 1t from his
mind since that first morning when
Chester Greene had applied TO Mark
| ham for help. He said little about the
case. but he had attended each of the
conferences: and from his casual COM
ments I knew he was both fascinated
and perplexed by the problem 1t pre-
| sented
So convinced was he that the Greene
mansion itself held the secret to the
crimes enacted there that he had made
Ii point to call at the house several
times without Markham. Markham, in
fact, had been there but once since
the second crime. 1t was not that he
was shirking his task There was. in
reality little for him to do. and the
routine duties of his Office were par
ticularly heavy at that time
Sibella had insisted that the funerals
of Julia and Chester be combined In
one service, which was held in the
private chapel of Malcomb's Under
| taking Parlors. Only a few intimate
acouaintances were notified (though a
curious crowd gathered outside the
building attracted by the sensational
associations of the obsequies) and the
interment at Woodlawn Cemetery was
strictly private. DR.. Won Blon accom-
panied Sibella and Rex to the chapel
and sat with them during the services
Ada. though improving rapidly. was still
confined to the house: and Mrs
Greene's paralysis of course made her
attendance impossible. although I doubt
II she would have gone In any case, for
when the suggestion was made that the
services be held at home she had vetoed
1t emphatically.
It was on the day after the funeral
that Vance paid his first unofficial visit
to the Greene mansion. Sibella received
him without any show of surprise.
I'm so glad you've come" she greeted
him, almost gaily. Il knew you weren't
policeman the first time I saw you
Imagine policeman smoking Reggie
cigarettes! And I'm dying for some one
to talk to. OF course, all the people
known avoid me now as they would
since Julia passed from this silly life
Respect for the dead. I believe they
call 1t. And just when most need
6iversioni'
She rang for the butler and ordered
tea.
"Sproot makes much better tea than
he does coffee, thank Heavenm she ran
on. with kind of nervous detachment.
Wnat a sweet day We had yesterday
Funerals are hideous farces. could
hardly keep a straight face when the
oficiating deverend doctor began ex-
tolling the glories of the departed And
all the time-poor mamie was eaten
up with morbid curiosity I'm sure he
enjoyed 1t so much that he wouldn't
complain IL entirely forgot TO send
him check for his kind words :"
The tea was served, but before Sproot
had withdrawn Sibella turned to him
pettishly.
II simply can't stand any more tea.
want Scotch high-ball" She lifted
her eyes TO Vance inquiringly, but he
insisted that he preferred tea: and the
girl drank her high-ball alone.
Il crave stimulation these days" she
explained airily. This moated grange,
so TO speak, is getting on my young
and fretful nerves And the burden Of
being a celebrity is quite overwhelming
really have become a celebrity, you
know. In fact, all the Greenes are
quite famous now. ! never imagined
mere murder or two could give a
family such positively irrational proni-
nence. I'll probably be in Hollywood
yet"
She gave laugh which struck me as
a trifie strained.
ITS just too jolly. Even mother Is
enjoying 1t. She gets all the papers
and reads every word that's written
about us-which Is a blessing, let me
tell you. She's almost forgotten to find
fault: and haven't heard a word
about her spine for days The Lord
tempers the wiiid--or is 1t something
about an i'll wind I'm trying to quote?
always get my classical references
confused !"
She ran on In this fiippant vein for
half an hour or So But whether her
callousness was genuine or merely a
brave attempt to counteract the pail Of
tragedy that hung over her I couldn't
make out. Vance listened interested