The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1936-11-26
Mssrde1. Masquerade
~ G%@a BY Inez Haynes Irwin
By Islez Haynes Irwin

that those footsteps were loaded
with panic.
"Stay here Sylvis!" l ordered.
l leaped from the hammock, ran
around my corner of the piazza to
meet Sarah. Sarah's brown face
had turned tallowy. Her brown
eyes were starting out of her head.
"Oh my God, Mrs. Avery" she
whispered. doctor Blaikie is iy-
ing dead in the Spinney. l think
he's been murdered.
Horror! Terror! Confusion! And
horror, terror, confusion all woven
together!
Fortunately l kept my head. For
tunately Sarah kept hers. l leaped
to the telephone, got the Geary
house Immediately. Luckily, Joe
Geary was at home. Then l called
the police station. Luckily, Patrick
OBrien was in. Joe Geary ar
| rived minute or two before Pat
rick.
All this time, Sylvia had been sit
ting in the hammock swinging gen.
| thy. In the stark intervals between
my messages over the telephone,
could hear her little voice grooming
Dorinda Belle to sleep.
The instant l dropped the re-
ceiver, Bessie" l called. There
must have been some strident ter
ror in my voice, for Bessie came
running from the kitchen. "Bes-
sie," l ordered, "take Sylvia over
to the Slows. Mr.. and Mrs. Stow
are out motoring. l saw them on
the causeWay a little while ago.
But tell Caddie and Jessie that an
accident has occurred over here
and to keep Sylvia there. Tell them
to ask Mrs. Stow to call me up the
instant she gets in. Tell one of
them to call up all the girls who
were coming here tomorrow and
tell them that the picnic must be
postponed. Then come back here
at once. Sarah will tell you what
has happened"
l never saw Bessie's dimples iron
out of her face so swiftly or so
completely. She gave one look at
Sarah's stricken aspect and went
Immediately out onto the piazza.
Come honey!" l heard her say in
her softest and gentlest tones,
"you and mes going to take a nice
little walk"
By this time Joe Geary had ar
rived.
Soon Patrick approached and I
could see that there was a police
man beside him on the seat, two
on the running-board; three on mo-
torcycles following the motor. The
two on the motor-board dropped off
where the road from the village
ran into Second Head-on guard,
l guessed at once. Patrick's car
came into my drive; the three mo-
torcycles followed.
With one of his swift leaps, Pat
rick was out of the car and across
the piazza. "Stay here until whis-
tle!" he called over his shoulder
to the four policemen. Lucky you
were at home, Joe," he comment
3D.
Sarah and l accompanied them
to the farthest end of the piazza.
There we women faltered.
Mary" Patrick begged, eff you
can bear to stand it, 1 wish you'd
come with u.s."
For the first time l saw that Pat
rick's Irish gray eyes were filled
with tears. 1 began to sob help
lessly. eyes, I'll come" I agreed.
''You come too, Sarah!" Joe or
dered briefly.
We had scarcely stopped for this
brief dialogue. All the time we
were hurrying forward over the
short path. Presently we were at
the entrance of the Spinney. AS
have said, only this one gravel
path, joining the grassy path which
leads from the side door of my
glassed-in piazza, passes through it.
That path curves out of it, runs
part way up the Head to the Little
House and then, up the Head be-
yond it, curves backward and ends
at my back door.
The Spinney is a tangle / let
things grow there as they will. And
they will turn tc jungle.
Entering the Spinney on that
transcendent day was to come
abruptly from sunshine singing hot
to shade, velvety COOL Cool, say
that GOODNESS rapidly became the
frigidity of horror For our cav
alcade proceeding swiftly-Doctor
Geary first, then Patrick, then
myself, then SARAH caught sight
presently, over the mems Shout
ders, of a splotch of white, hui
manly shaped, On the gravel path.
Suddenly the atmosphere of the
Spinney blackened and whirled.
l stopped.
"You go ahead" l ordered faint
ly. "I'll follow in minute" But
what happened was that, after Sar-
ah passed me, l recovered myself
instantly; followed at once and
passed her. In second or two
we all stopped.
.sHe's dead all right" Joe pro-
nounced grimly. Hes been dead
since-rigor mortis has set in"
eyes, he's dead, the poor fell
low!" Patrick echoed. Sarah and
I stationed ourselves one on either
side of Patrick.
/TO DE cONTTNJIEDt