The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1929-03-29
What the Gray House Hid


| but Dina's right. She said l should
meet disaster, ruin, and even death.
There's some mystery about my pleas
ure house in Duchess county,"
Nothing will keep me away from It
now" Dina asserted. ave shall have
four able-bodied men In the place all
the summer"
| "FourY' her husband demanded.
"You are not counting fourteen-year-
old Tim as an able-bodied male, are
| you?'
HThere will be you, Junior, Leslie,
and Bill"
"Me2D Pelham cried.
"Of coursei On your own confes
sion, you've nothing to do until your
company is reorganized in the fall.
Danger calls, and we need you. I've
| already picked out your suite"
"Dina, you are taking great chances.
| Even dull-witted Hill, the last to seen;
the danger, knows that I'm in love
| with you"
| "That makes you so much the safer.
| You shall work, believe me. I'm crazy
! to have some stately old-worId gar
| dens. You shall be my man with the
| hoe"
4 II sign on here and now" said Bill
/ Where are you going?"
/ Il promised to tell Tim about the
inquest. My children have the modern
| interest in crime. Don't gol shant
/ be very long"
| Pelham looked at Handy almost wist
fully.
"Hil. was that joke on me or
/ genuine invitation?"
/ Don't you want to Gomez"
/ Except for the reason that your
i family is my family, that | shall live
i rent free and make enough out of you
/ at pool to spend an affluent winter
/ -no!'
That's settled, them" said Handy
/ Honestly. Bill, shall be glad to have
/ man like you, with nerve and cour
/ age, around the house."
| "That sounds as if you anticipated
\ trouble"
oddly enough, do. | must be get
ting old, but driving back today | be
gan to make excuses for not living in
4 the Gray house SubcOnsciously, was
n actuated by fear. Most people patron
H ize their subcOnscious mind nowadays
Il but it's the subcOnscious mind that
gives you the real danger signals. I'm
! going up there, but I'm not going up
II there with the idea that every pros
! pect is as pleasing as it looks. I'm OH
guard!"
| s'If that's so, ] demand salary a.
/ we'll as free board and entertainment
1 Make 1t Eve dollars day, and replace
4 all clothes stained with gore in the
Y Exercise of my duty with ones of equal
br greater value The trouble with
&ou Is that after piking along on
Ahirty thousand year and q mere
81 hes apartment, you re got twice
| that amount and thirty-room man
sion. It mas gone TO your poor weak
head. You are paying too much atten
ton to poor Aunt Selma"
'sYou didn't see or hear her." Han
by reminded him.
She's merely crank. One morn
ing, thirty long years ago, in the bosky
dells that are now yours, she met
rustic swain and pursued him with
love. Wisely he jumped into the lake
and was drowned. 1t is sacred spot
to her.
"What about the Seymour chaut
feur?'
a ON nf oh
man, fond of children. His simple.
untutored mind believes that ev!
spirits dwell there because his boss
children ventured on an unsafe bridge
and were drowned. Probably he has
a dozen kids himself. AS to Red
Chaplin, he took refuge there and was
killed BY his pals whom he had double
crossed. Perfectly plain, as see it,
Maybe" Handy said slowly, "it is
merely annoyance that the house
bought for Dina should be mixed up III
this tragic business" He spoke al
most irritably. 81 hate gloom and
tears and death When first saw the
Gray house, said. Here is place
where people have been happy Prett,
rotten picker, ell, Bill?"
"Your family will take the curse of
anything" said the other. "Dina vii!
have us all dancing as happily as ever
Junior will bring his crowd, and Celia
will import hers. | miss my guess il
the result won't be very interesting
mixture. Dance on!" he concluded
dramatically "Cutside your win
dows your faithful house detective will
be watching-the supplemented sleuth
whose meager pay is five dollars day
and extras. During the day shall be
hoe man in chief to Dina. At dusk !
am the house detective. I'll get
deputy's badge. in case have to make
arrests"
There was a knock on the door. and
Mary Sloan entered.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS