Evening star., 1933-08-01
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
THE VANISHED BLOT.

Y caught the high lights in
its curves and the white
cockaDo clung to her shoulder, looking
fnuuistively from one to the other OF
us. We'll" she said again. will the
police now permit you to leave?"
She heard of their refusal with lace
that did not alter a shade in its Suavely
amiaole lines. Watching her. it was
dificult to believe-as I certainly had
believed, watching her husbands recep-
tion of the news-that that refusal al
fected any plan they might have made.
Either 1t had not or she was better
actor than her husband. Perhaps the
look Of secret reflection in her catlike
eyes deepened, but her face remained
smooth and friendly. with only dark
lines under her eyes and certain
pinched look about her nOstrilS, showing
the strain of the last few days. Grethe
was always friendly usually amiable.
When Iorn. who had explained dryly
and briefly, finished. her soft shoulders
rippled slightly under the silk. She
lifted one SQuariSh, but very white, hand
to caress the cockatoo's neck and said:
"Ah-well-the detectives from Paris
will do something. The police here
She left her sentence unfinished mean
ingly. We may have you here for sew
eral DAYS more then. Heaven send they
be better days"
She said it quite honestly. At least
that was the effect. 1 heartily agreed
with her
A the sane time, I'd have thought
more of it as wish if l had been en-
tirely sure it was heaven and not Nine.
Grethe herself with whom the RESPONSE
bility lay reminded myself that l
hadn't actu,lly a shadow of a clue
against her and moved nearer the regis
ter which Icy open on the tall desk at
my side.
Grethe had turned to Sue and was
talking of Ter leaving them in a very
frank and peasant manner-a manner
which, nevertheless. contrived TO en-
phaSize Sues long year with them and
somehow tie frendllness of the Low
schiems toward Sue and her mother
while Franis and Iorn, equally non-
cCmmittal n expression, waited, and,
perforce, litened.
AS she t,ked l was looking with in
terest at Fancis Tally's name scrawled
across the open page and trying to re-
cali the ilterWoVen initials below his
typed sign ture in the letter Lorn had
brought. / was true that he had recog-
niZed LorI-true, which was more i'm
portant, tlat LOrn had recognized him.
Still, as Lorn himself had said, it is
well to prGe things before resting a case
on them I could not recall the exact
characteristics of those intricate initials
with enogh accuracy to compare them
with the signature. l must ask Sue to
permit M to look at the letter again.
But tfrre was something about that
page hat was wrong. Something that
had noting to do with Francis Tally's
signature
There were three names on Tiny
own, Daid LornS and Francis Tally'S.
1t was 6actly the same as it had been
when I ooked at it last, which was on
the occSion of David Lorn's arrival
exactly he same. except. of course, for
the addition of Francis Tally's name
Yet was not as it had been when
signed at the top Of the page.
Something tugged and pulled at my
memor second and then made itself
definite SO definite that I wondered that
l had lot seen the discrepancy immedi
ately pon my looking at the page at
the tine of Iorn'S arrival.
1t vas simple. trivial. And yet. by
reason Of its very triViality, must be
somehw important
Thee wasn't an ink blot
And there had been an ink blot on
that nge when l signed my own name,
under the cockatoo's suspicious eye. the
very Vening of my arrival in that i'll
omend hotel
Nov there was no ink blot Yet there
was 10 signs whatever of erasure-the
page was smooth and glazed. And there
was ny own name in my own writ
ing
Thy were talking behind me- but
did lot hear what they We're saying.
UndG cover Of the conversation l leaned
nearr the book and, luckily, caught
high light from the window nearby on
the slimmering surface of the paper.
Then 1 was sure. My signature was
still N my own handWriting-that was
true-but it had been traced on that
rpge with a sharp instrument and then
followed with pen and ink.
And it was not too well done. With
p:Nce it wouldn't have stood test one
nZnent. Even l, no policeman, and.
God knows, no amateur detective, could
readily discern the forgery.
Bu, the forgery began and ended with
my own name Lorn's and Tallys sig
natures were clearly not traced
Why, then?
The explanation was simple and swift
Something had made the removal OF
that page imperative. 1t had become
imperative after my arrival and
before Lorn'S. And it was nothing
Of an innocent nature. such as bad
tear or more spilled ink for Lovscheim,
in such a case, would have merely
asked me to register again and ex-
plained the need for it.
No. the very fact of careful and pains