Nogales international. [volume] (Nogales, Ariz.) 1926-1979, 1931-12-23
SIXTH INSTALMENT
SYNOPSIS

I SYNOPSIS
Six people, Horace Johnson (who tells
the story, his wife, old Mrs; Dane, Herbert
Sperry, friends and neighbors, are in the
habit Of holding weekly meetings. AT one of
them, Mrs. Dane, who is hostess, varies the
program by Unexpectedly arranging a spirit.
ualistic seance with Miss Jeremy, friend OF
DR.. Sperry and not professional, as the
medium.
At the first sitting the medium tells the
details of murder as it is occurring. Later
that night Sperry learns that neighoor'
Arthur Wells, has been shot mysteriously.
With Johnson he goes to the Wells residence
and they find confirmation of the medium $
account. Mrs. Wells tells them her husband
shot himself in fit of depression.
AT a second seance, Miss Jeremy adds
details about a summer resort where
Charles Ellingham was known to have been
at the same time that Mrs. Wells was
there. She also speaks of pocketbook
being lost which contained some lr1por'
tant car tickets and letters. Mrs. Dane,
alone OF the women, seems thrilled by the
investigation.
NOW co ON WITH THE STORY.
I find that the solution of the Ar
thur Wells mystery-for we did solve
;t-takes three divisions in my mind.
Each one is sitting, followed by an
investigation made by Sperry and my
self.
But for some reason, after Miss
Teremy's second sitting, l found that
nv reasoning mind was stronger than
nv credulity. And as Sperry had at
that time determined to have nothing
more tc do with the business, made
a resolution to abandon my investlga-
tions. Nor have | any reason to be-
1ieye that l would have altered my
attitude toward the case, had 1t moi
been that | saw in the morning paper
on the Thursday following the sec.
ond seance, that Elinor Wells had
closed her house, and gone to Flor
ida.
7 confess I had an overwhelming
desire to examine again the ceiling OF
the dressing room and thus to check
I'D one degree further the accuracy
Of our revelations. After some reficc-
ton. | called up Sperry, but he fatty
refused to go on any further.
miss Jeremy has been i'll since
Monday" he said. 'Mrs. Danes rheu-
rnatism is worse, her companion is
nervously upset, and your own wife
called me up an hour ago and says
YOU are sleeping with light, and
she thinks you ought to go away. The
whole club is shot to pieces.
But, although I am a small and |
rot a courageous man, the desire to
Examine the Wells house chung to me
Suppose there were cart
.idges in his table drawer? Suppose
should find the second bullet hole
n the ceiling? I no longer deceived
myself by any argument that my in
crest was purely scientific. There is
/ point at which curiosity becomes
when it becomes an OBJ
session, like hunger. / had reached
hat point.
Nevertheless, I found il hard to
,lan the necessary deception to my
wife. My habits have always been en-
irely orderly and regular. My widest
dissipation was the Neighborhood
Club. | could not recall an evening
way from home in years, except on
business. Yet now | must have a tree
evening, possibly an entire night.
In planning for this, l forgot my
nervousness for time. | decided nm
lily to tell my wife that an out-ot-
own client wished to talk business
With me, and that day, at luncheon
go home to luncheon-I mentioned
hat such a client was in town.
at is possible" I said, as easily as
could, that we may not get through
his afternoon. If things should run
over into the evening, I'll telephone.
She took it calmy enough, but later
IN, as I was taking an electric flash
from the drawer of the hall table
md putting it in my overcoat pocket,
she came on me, and thought she
ooked surprised.
During the afternoon, l was beset
With doubts and uneasiness. Suppose
,he called my office and found that
he client I had named was not in
own? 1t is undoubtedly true that a
angled web we weave when first we
practise to deceive, for on my. return
@ the Office / was at once quite Ger
.ain that Mrs. Johnson would
telephone and make the inquiry.
After some debate called my sec
-etary and told her to say, If such
message came in, that Mr.. Forbes
was in town and that l had an APP
pointment with him. AS matter of
fact, no such inquiry came in, but as
Miss Joyce, my secretary, knew that
Mr.. Forbes was in Europe, was
conscious some months afterwards
hat Miss Joyce's eyes occasionally
-ested on me in speculative and sus-
1icious manner.
Other things also increased my TN
,asiness as the day wore on. There
vas, for instance, the matter of the
Jack door to the Wells house. Moth
ng was more unlikely than that the
1ey would still be hanging there. l
must, therefore, get a key.
Going through my desk [ found
number of keys, mostly trunk keys
md one the key to a dog-collar. But
ate in the afternoon visited a client (
# mine who is in the hardware bust ;
less, and secured quite selection. ;
One of them was skeleton key He '
,ersisted in regarding the matter as
Aha |