The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1930-06-13
CHAPTER NINE

rev uQuAo taAAtSA III VIM NN5e
CHAPTER NINE
CHE might as well try high
- hand instantly. And it sue
ceeded. as boldness so often wins
where temporizing fails. Quick
tears came to the maids eyes.
"You know, Miss Eleanor, that
I'd rather die than bresAle a word.
I told them that you were lying
down, that you couldn't be dis
turbed, and when your father in
sisted that you see him, I just was
fresh to him."
Her own daring frightened her In
retrospect. Cynthia threw a ca
ressingly protective arm about the
maid.
"IlI fix that with my father" she
assured the maid. And now I'll go
downstairs
Besides the door to the maids
room, and the doors to the bath
and closets, there we're two other
means of exit or entrance, both
closed now. One of them must
lead to the hall and stairs, and the
other to a room at the front Of the
house.
Possibly Eleanor had a living
room, a study, her own music room.
Cynthia wished that there had been
times for explanation of the thou
sand petty details of Eleanor's life
and living, ignorance of any one
of which might bring disaster to the
impoStor.
Which of these doors, since in a
moment she must be going down
stairs, was the proper one to open?
Thus far she had been highly sue
cessful in her imposition upon Mary
the maid.
She had been aided, of course, by
the fact that Mary expected Eleanor.
That fact would work to her adj
vantage with all the others whom
she would meet downstairs. The I'M
canny physical resemblance would
be helped out by the mental atti-
tude of everybody.
But against these two great fac
tors in her behalf there was OPP
posed a factor that might even be
greater, and this was her. complete
Ignorance of everything and every
.one familiar with Eleanor.
It was not simply the physical
identity Of another person which
sshe must assume; she mush show an
.exact knowledge of people and
things which months of study could
shardly have given her.
Even the milieu in which Eleanor
had her being was as unknown to
Cynthia as the life on some remote
planet.
She never had seen butler save
in the theater. --he functions o. a
ladies' maid she could guess at. but
the duties of other servitorS in a
house of great wealth were mat
tiers closed to her information.
Even now. if she made move to-
ward the wrong door, Mary, the
maid, might be surprised. That sur
prise might not be important, but
if it were followed by a few other
revelations of her mistress unfa-
miliarity with matters that should
be second nature to the daughter
of Thomas SAWYER. this hrst petty
surprise would be remembered,
would weigh down the scales Of sus-
picion.
DUT as she hesitated Mary I'M
D Willingly came to her resue. She
walked past her mistress and
opened a door that, Cynthia saw,
faced a stair landing. Cynthia hid
a smile of relief. The incident
taught her something. to let the
other fellow make the first move,
whenever that was possible.
Then, as she almost reached the
door. Mary threw her arms unex-
pectedly about her. Her tears
splashed upon Cynthia's hands. She
shrank with a democratic distaSte,
as the maid. in an excess of devo-
ton, kissed her upon the hands.
"Oh. alannah. sure it's the beau
tifuI bride We WORT" Mary, in the
hysteria which she undoubtedly felt
proper to the occasion, and the his
trionism of which was accented by
the reality OF her recent apprehen-
\ sionS. relapsed temporarily into
the brogue which she had outgrown
Years ego.