The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1928-01-13

1920
bewildered surprise-she put her hand
over her eyes to shut the vision out
Lizzie made a welcome Interrupt
ton.
II told you I saw a man go up that
staircase!" she walled, jabbing her
forefnger in the direction of the al
cove stairs.
Miss Cornelia, now recovered from
the first shock of the discovery, sup
ported her CALAMITY.
That's the only explanation, Mr..
Anderson" she said decidedly.
The detective looked at the stairs
at the terrace door. His eyes made a
circuit of the room and came back to
Fleming's body.
I've been all over the house." he
said. there's nobody there"
A pause followed. Dale found her
self helplessly looking toward her
lover for cOmfort-comfort he could
not give without revealing his own
secret.
Eerily, through the tense silence, a
sudden tinkling sounded-the sharp,
persistent ringing of telephone bell.
Miss Cornelia rose to answer it au-
tomatically. 1.-The house phonel" she
said. Then she stopped. But we're
all here"
They looked at each other aghast.
1t was true. And yet-somehow-
somewhere-one of the other phones
on the circuit was calling the living
room.
Miss Cornelfa summoned every
ounce of inherited Van Gerder pride
she possessed and went to the phone.
She took off the receiver. The ring
ing stopped
'Hello-hello-" she said, while the
others stood rigid, listening. Then
she gasped. An expression of won
dering horror came over her face.
Somebody groaningi" gasped Miss
Cornelia. Its horrible!
The detective stepped up and took
the receiver from her. He listened
anxiously for moment.
81 don't hear anything" he said.
II heard it ] I couldn't imagine such
a dreadful sound! / tell you-some-
body in this house is in terrible dis
treSS."
where does this phone connect?"
queried Anderson practically.
Miss Cornelia made hopeless little
gesture. Practically every room in
this house, 20
The detective put the receiver to
his ear again.
"Just what did you hear?' he said,
stolidly.
Miss Cornelia's voice shook.
Dreadful groans-and what seemed
to be an inarticulate effort to speak !"
Lizzie drew her gaudy wrapper
closer about her shudderilg form.
"Td go somewhere" she walled in
the voice of lost soul, 'if only had
somewhere to got"
Miss Cornelia quelled her with a
glare and turned back to the detec-
tive.
"Won't you send these men to in
vestigate-or go yourself?' she said,
indicating Brooks and Billy.
The detective thought swiftly.
"My place is here" he said. You
two men," Brooks and Billy moved
forward to take his orders, take an
other look through the house-don't
leave the building-rll want you
pretty soon."
Brooks-or Jack Bailey, as we may
as well call him through the remainder
Then his eye fell on Miss Cornelia's
revolver, which Anderson had taken
from beside Fleming's body and still
held clasped in his hand.
eff you'll give me that revolver"
he began in an offhand tone, hoping
Anderson would not see through his
little ruse. Once wiped clean of fin
gerprints, the revolver would not be
such telling evidence against Dale
Ogden.
But Anderson was not to be caught
mapping.
THAT revolver will stay where it
IS" he said with grim smile.
Jack Bailey knew better than to
TRY and argue the point. He followed
Billy reluctantly out of the door, CIV
ing Dale a surreptitious glance of en-
couragement and faith as he did so.
The Japanese and he mounted to the
second floor, as stealthily as possible,
prying into dark corners and search
ing unused rooms for any clew that
might betray the source Of the star
Ting phone call from nowhere. But
Bailey's heart was not In the search.
His mind kept going back to the fig
ure of DaIe-nervous-sh
dergoing the terrors of the third de-
gree at Anderson's hands. She couldn't
have shot Fleming, of course-and
yet-unless he and Billy found some
thing to substantiate her story of how
the killing had happened-it was her
own, unsupported word against a
damning mass Of circumstantial evil
dence. He plunged with renewed
vigor into his quest
Back in the living room, as he had
feared, Anderson was subjecting Dale
to merciless Interrogation.
"Now want the real storyI' he
began, with calculated brutality. "You
lied before!"
That's no tone to use! You'll ter
rify her." cried Miss Cornelia indig-
nantly. The detective paid no atten-
tion-his face had hardened-he
seemed every inch the remorseless
sleuth-hound Of the law. He turned
on Miss Cornelia for moment.
where were you when this hap
pened?" he said
Upstairs in my room" Miss Cor
nelia's tones were icy.