The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1940-11-07
CHAPTER VIH-COntinued

-lU-
When 1 looked up from my work
again, Allegro stood in the doorway.
Hello"
Good morning" I scrambled to
my feet and speech left me again.
l saw the quick rise and fall of her
breast beneath the tweed cloak.
There was something in the silence
that disturbed both of us. She broke
it.
SIS there SCOT on my nose?" she
asked little wildly.
NO" I said and cleared my
throat. 81 was just-I was just real
izing what a beautiful person your
aunt must have BEEN"
She came in and sat down, with
a ghost of Miss Agatha's chuckle.
Thanks" she told me. THAT is,
if l follow you. I can believe that
your sister-in-law is very, very love-
ly, too. Is she also good liar?"
Her mouth was merry but her
eyes were grave. managed to
meet them.
"What?"
"You heard the first time. You
can drop the pose of deafness-or
is it dumbness?"
Her voice sank. Little gloved
hands were locked in her lap.
Grove" Allegro said, 'has told
me everything.
I kept my face.
81 see."
Grove" she said, sis in love
with lone Ferriter.
That opened up new avenues of
surmise. did not turn toward them.
1 asked:
"And you don't like it?"
,"It, or her. She's older"
"That," 1 said, "isn't necessarily
fatal. So was Mrs. Browning and
Mrs. Disraei and Mrs. Mary of
Scotland and Mrs. Oedipus and"
''Skip the Phi Bette erudition," she
broke in, but her eyes were less
tragic. Grove is an infant and al
ways will be. He's all the family
I've got. l don't want him hurt but
he will be. Grove won't listen to
me. He doesn't care what I think
any more"
''It's just possible, isn't it, that
lone loves him? Does your aunt
know?"
She smiled and shook her head.
"She knows, I think. But Grove
is supposed to be adult and Agatha's
religion is minding her own business.
I can't speak to her about it. I
promised Grove I wouldn't, but he
said last night could explain to you
why he was in Ione's fiat"
"And, sooner or later, you're 60
ing to-"
The girl looked at me and smiled.
Meaning" she interpreted, "that
talk too much. Groves had a
Ferriter latchkey for month. He's
been meeting lone there"
She stopped and looked at the WIN
dow and the smile had left her face.
/ waited.
81 WISH" she said slowly, "that
/ could like her. Up to now, we've
always liked the same things, Grove
and /. I'm not jealous. know what
they're doing. They're keeping this
thing under cover until after Groves
birthday, next week. You see, if
Grove marries without Agatha's and
my Uncle SANKEY'S consent, they
could hold up his inheritance That's
in my fathers will"
/ told her: ''You haven't yet ex-
planned why he was in
She said impatiently: "Oh, he had
the idea that maybe he could find
some clue the police had ignored
something that would clear the Fer
riters. That's the sort of a mind he
has"
l said:
Zone doesn't love person for
his BRAINS
"All the aphorisms are edifying,
she told me with a flash of her
aunt's spirit, ''but they don't solve
anything"
"You could have saved yourself a
lot of wear and tear" I answered,
''by telling me in the first place
what you wanted solved"
Allegro looked at me hard and
then smiled.
'All right, Admiral Crichton. Find
out who killed that man."
Eyes, ma'am," I told her, cts as
good as DONE"
She held out her hand toward me.
Then she turned.
Neither of us knew how long Miss