New Britain herald., 1930-10-17

pened. If you do," again he ap preached her and she shrank away I'll turn you over to Inspector Mitchell"
 With an articulate sound-relie and promise combined, Lucy flet from the room. Thorne kept behind her making certain that she re- turned to her own quarters. A mo ment later he tried Lambert's door It opened to the touch and, locating a light switch, he pressed the but ten. Lucy was right, the butler was not there, nor had the bed beer slept in. A look in the closet showed his hat and overcoat were missing Thorne stroked his chin thought fully; evidently Lambert had been in such haste that he had over looked delivering the letter to Elsa By such narrow margins, justice was served!
 Ten minutes later Thorne ap- preached his own room and taking a small awl from his tool belt, he slipped it inside the key hole of his door to poke out the block of wood which had been put there to pre- vent any one from sypins on him The awl shot through the hole to its full length. meeting no obstacle.
 Thorne withdrew the tool and ap- piled his eye to the keyhole-there was no light in his room-and, by the same token, there was no wood ir the keyhole. He turned the knob ard pushed against the door. It was still locked, apparently, for it would rot open. Taking out the key which he carried in the pocket ot his trousers, he inserted 1t in the lcck and opened the door.
 It was an instant or so before Thorne entered his bedroom, first taking the precaution to slip his hand around the door jamb anc turn on the lights. No one was 1T sight. Closing and locking the door he looked down on the floor Some distance away lay the wood plug It's smooth surface bore Unmistak. able scratches where some sharI instrument had been damned into it.
 With revolver cooked and ready he went into both closets in the room and then into the bathroom only to return immediately, con. vinced that no other human being besides himself was there.
 Had the unknown who pushed the wooden peg out of the keyhole done so simply for look into his bedroom to see if he was there, oI had the intruder, provided with 6 key, come inside and gone out, re, locking the door? And was that intruder the remarkable dancer whose shadow he had seen for the second time silhouetted on the drawn curtain of the dormer win dow of the locked room in the attic
 He drowned in bewilderment as he reached around and pulled the reading lamp by the side of the bed closer to him. Then picking up the envelope he had taken from Lucy he examined the words: Miss Elsa Chase" carefully through his mag nifying glass. Undoubtedly it was Jack Winslow's writing. So that was how he communicated with Eisa-through Lambert.
 For a moment Thorne hesitated, tEen taking up his penknife he ran the heavy, linen-lined envelope and one of the blades under the flap of looked inside. It was empty.
 The next second the room was plunged in darkness and Thorne resting on his pillows, prepared fol long vigil -one thought upper most in his mind. Had Lambert tue to his trust, given the contents to Elsa, and intentionally left the sealed envelope as a decoy, or had Lucy removed the note?
 Next morning, when Arnold Wins. low entered the dining room fol breakfast, 1t was to find his wife prepared to wait on him, instead o1 the servants. She was in a far from amiable spirit.
 Arnold" Her husband winceG at the severe pronouncement of his given name. "The servants are de. moralized; Lucy i'll in bed, Lamber absent" She put the coffee pot ant cream pitcher on the dining table at his elbow. Tt is best to discharge Lambert"
 Winslow's spoon rattled agains the side of his cup as he stirred his coffee. Discharge Lambert.' He repeated the words mechanically My dear, after all these years ol faithful service! Impossible"
 His wife's thin lips closed in theil