Evening star., 1935-09-15
September IS, 1885

purchases ndu come frOm | was still
without hint, began to pace up and
down the library wondering whether
the visits OF Mr. Paul had been in any
way connected with the mysterious
source of my grandfather income. To
be sure. had found no mention OF
MIR. Paul name. or Lucille Paradene's
either, among the papers in the big
desk; but | took it into my head to
have another look. and pulled my
grandfather's keys from my pocket.
had not got very far when some
thing struck me as queer. Hastily |
began to haul out drawers and ex-
anime their contents. Then with a
muttered exclamation, got to my
feet and stood biting my lip in per-
plexity. Since the previous evening.
my grandfather's desk had been
opened and searchedi
Ii was difficult to know what my
next move should be. | could go
straight to Lucille Paradene, tell her
what | had seen during the night. and
bluntly ask her if she had been hunt
ing among my grandfather's personal
papers. On the other hand, | could
continue TO keep my eyes open and
say nothing. The second plan appealed
To- me. After had locked up the desk,
pulled on an overcoat and set out
foI Roger Barnett's house in the
hollow.
wanted to have another talk with
the man. felt fairly certain that the
offer TO rent Falcon Castle was not
genuine. and | was more eager than
ever to know what lay behind his
proposal, As approached Falcon
Lodge, | remembered | had said
nothing to him about the murder OF
Mr.. Paul. Should mention the SUBJ
ject now? That. | decided, must de-
pend upon the line he took with me.
My knock was answered by man
i'll chauffelu's livery. and he was GER
tainly not OF very prepOssessing
type. He had dark complexion. with
small black eyes set too close together
and smile that l did not like. He
showed me into a pleasant sitting
room. A minute later MIR. Barnett
himself appeared.
My neighbor seemed to be in high
spirits.
"Good-morning. Mr.. Irvine! It's
kind of you to have come over. How
are things at Falcon Castle? hope
you aren't getting bored with doing
nothing"
Not yet" assured him. Besides,
I've got Miss Paradene for COM
pany."
He laughed. "Ah. | was forgetting
your charming guest. She was great
friend of Mr. Swinburn's. think
you told me? 1t must have been
rather a shock for her to arrive at
Falcon Castle and find that the old
man had departed this life"
1T was," | agreed offhandedly. If
MIR. Barnett was hoping to draw me out,
he was disappointed. by the way"
added. ''our telephone is out of order.
Have you one at Falcon Lodge?" l
had not seen any wires outside. but
wanted to make certain.
Nothing so modern as a tele-
phone" he assured me- rs there
anything urgent?"
Il wondered if we could find out
when snowplow is likely to come up
this glen and open the road"
Surely they'll have the road clear
by tomorrow! he declared. How
ever. if they don't, we shall just have
to make the best of it." And then he
changed the subject. Have you
thought over my proposition, MIR.
Irvine? II we could come to terms now
about renting Falcon Castle, could
let my friend know as soon as | got
back to London
replied that had thought the
matter over. but had decided it would
be better to wait until l consulted the