The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1938-02-24

same man came again, an even
more sinister-look individual was
with him. / got only the merest
glimpse of them as Kaspar led them
into this room and closed the
doors"
II hardly think these two myster-
ious callers" Kenyon Renting COM
mented with pompous finality, ''have
any connection with Kaspar's kid
mapping"
"Can you be sure of that, Mr..
Kenting?" Vance asked coldly.
"Oh, no-oh, no." the other re-
piled apologetically. II can't be
sure. Merely it isn't logical to
suppose that two men would ex-
pose themselves so openly if they
contemplated step attended by,
such serious consequences as prov
en- kidnapping"
ut might be, of course, as you
say" he remarked lightly. "Also it
might not be-what? Interestin'
speculation. But quite futile. And
now l think we might go above, to
Mr.. Kaspar Kenting's bedroom"
AS we came out into the main
hall, the door to a small room just
opposite was standing ajar, and
through it I saw what appeared to
be a miniature museum of some
kind. There was the slanting cases
set against the walls, and a double
row of larger cases down the CEN
ire of the room.
"Ah! a collection of semi-presious
stones" commented Vance. do
you mind if l take brief look?" he
asked, addressing Mrs. Renting.
Tremendously interested in the
subject, don't y know"
.By all means. Go right in"
E"Your own col1ection?" Vance in
quired casually.
ooh, no." the woman told him
somewhat bitterly, it seemed to me.
''It belonged to Mr.. Renting senior.
It was here in the house when /
first came, long after his death.
Neatly arranged in the cases were
specimens, in various shapes and
size, or various semi-precious stones.
Many of these gem-stones were
beautifully cut and lavishly faceted,
and I was admiring their lustrous
beauty, impressed by what as
sumed to be their great value, when
Vance murmured softly:
"a most amazin' disquietin' col
lection. Only one gem of real value
here, and not rare specimen among
the rest. A schoolgirls assortment,
really. Very queer. And there
seem to be many blank spaces"
1 looked at him in amazement.
Then his voice trailed off, and he
suddenly wheeled about and re-
turned to the hall.
s'Most unusual collection. Hard
ly representative, though. . =. Was
your father an expert, Mr.. Kent
ing?"
ooh, yes. He studied the subject
for many years. He was very proud
of this gem-roon, as he called it."
"Ah!"
Renting shot the other a peculiar,
shrewd look but said nothing; and
Vance at once followed Heath to-
ward the wide stairway.
AS we entered Kaspar Kenting'S
bedroom, Captain Dubois and De-
tective Bellamy were just prepar-
ing to lease it.
81 don't think there's anything for
you, Sergeant" Dubois reported to
Heath after his respectful greetings
to Markham. "Just the usual kind
of marks and smudges you'd find in
any bedroom and they all check
up with the finger-prints on the sill
yer toilet set and the glass in the
bathroom. Can't be any one else's
finger prints except the guy what
lives here. Nothing new anywhere"
'And the window-Sill?"
scNot a thing, Sarge, absolutely
not thing
Kaspar Kenting's bedroom was
distinctly old-fashioned, and con-.
ventional in the extreme.
There were two windows in the
room one at the front of the house,
overlooking the street; the other
was in the east wall, and I recog--
nized it at once as the window to
which Mrs. Renting said she had
run in her fright. It was thrown
wide open, with the Venetian blind
drawn up to the top. At the rear
of the room, to the right of the bed,
was door, now wide open. Be-
yond it another bedroom, similar to-
the one in which we stood, was
identifable: it was obviously Mrs.
Kenting's boudoir.
when you came in here this