The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1933-10-02
Chapter IL
A NEW LEAD

a NEW IEAD
CAROLINE was quite certain e.sat
~ Mrs. Riddell was not only a
Snatcher, but lying Snatcher, and
that for some irrelevant reason of
her own she had disappeared with
Jim Randall. If it wasn't Jim. how
did he happen to have bit of my
letter in his pocket? she asked her.
self.
She could see the twirl with which
she had written Caroline-quite an
extra one because she was so
thrilled about Jim. Why should any
one but Jim Randall have the torn
off end of letter with Caroline on
it?
She ought to have asked the day
nurse whether it was Caroline with
a twirl. because that would have
settled it-not that it needed set.
Ting, bccauce she felt quite, quite
sure.
On the strength of which She
drank another cup of tea. md was
glad that her name was Caroline
and net name that just anyone
might have. She had, of course
never heard OF old Caroline RUSSELL
who was hcusckeeper at Pacl,ham
Hall. -
And then she remembered the
fooled paper which the Gay nurse
had gwen her to take to Mrs. Rid
dell THE ward maid picked it up.
We think it must have dropped out
of her bag"
That w2S what the day nurse had
sad. And Caroline had juet let it go
right through her head and out
the other side. She opened her BAG
II hurry, found the PAPER. and
spread it out.
It was a bill-oEe OF the flimey
blac,.-lincd sort that girl scribbles
On in carbon-papered book and
then gets the loor-walker to sign.
Caroline tingled ali over with ex.
element as she looked at it. 1t was
in her vocabulary. absolutely
stuffed with meat" To start with
there w2s the name Of the shop
Smithies. ironmongers. And then
there was the address-29 Market
Strcet. Lexington. Lastly there wac
The bill itself. for one pardonium.
For the love of Mike-what's g
purdonium?" said Caroline solemn
~, and then all at once remembered
Mrs. Pocklingtons sale. Coalscutt!es
became purdoniums when they got
into an auction. They evidently
started life in ironmongers' shops
under the same classic alias.
Anyhow Mrs. Riddell had bought
a purdonium at a shop in Ledling
ton, and If you bought coalscuttle
in Lexington, the chances were
that you lived somewhere near by
and that you made them send i
home. OF course you might take Il
away in a car-but coalscuttles DE-
have the most revolving corners
and what would be the sense 0.
scratching your car when Smithies
might just as we'll deliver the thing
She paid for her tea, went down
six moss-grown steps to the car. anf
poreL over map. Lexington was 9
good fifty miles. She looked at hel
watch Z. getting on for six. 1t was
a clear impossibility to reach Mr.
Smithies before his shutters went
up.
THE village of Hazelbury West Il
l like a rood many other English
villages. There is a pond. and 8
green, big house with stone pillars
crowned by pineapples and a lone
neglected drive, a church, parson
age, two or three houses of the bet
ter sort, a butcher, baker. gen
eral shop which is also the post
Office. and a struggle of cottages.
Miss Arbuthnot. who was Caro-
line Leigh's first cousin once re
moved, lived in the last cottage or
the left. Caroline lived there witt
her. S m g t m s she wondered
whether she was just going to 60
on living in Hazelbury West witt
Patsy Ann for ever and ever.
Miss Arbuthnot had been chris
tened Ann, but preferred TO BIZ
called Patsy. She sketched a little