Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 246, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 October 1914 — II EMPTY STOREROOM [ARTICLE]

II EMPTY STOREROOM

By JOHN PHILIP ORTH.

(Copyright, 1914, by the McClure. Newspaper Syndicate.) Harold Winters and May Evans were engaged. Harold Winters was a portrait painter. May Evans was a sculptor. * They both had studios in the same building, and they both boarded with the same landlady. AQ this would not have attracted as much attention as a raise in fee price of dill pickles bat for the fact feat they wwe always in a quarrel. What they quarreled about and what surprised all their friends was a feature of crime—mysterious disappearances.' They would read in fee papers that a girl was sent to the store or started out to her work, and had been missing for two days. The earth had swallowed her up. She was not dissatisfied with her home life and had had nothing to depress her. Then Miss Evans would deduce: “Some villain has kidnaped her.” "She has been coaxed into an elopement." "She went to Coney Island and was drowned while bathing.” “She was killed by an auto.” Mr. Winters would deduce: "Very likely the girl was advised by other girls to assert her independence.” “She may have been invited to stay at the house of one of them while fee two of them ran around together for a good time." "In two or three days the missing girl will walk Into her home wife a defiant air.” Once in a while the missing girl was found drowned, but it was so rare, and Mr. Winters was right so often, feat there was hhrdly a peaceful day In the week for them. One day the owner of a new stndlo building called to ask them to inspect his new apartments with a view to a change. Both were satisfied to remain where they were, bnt of course Miss Evans had a curiosity to see the place. Without a word to any one she set off, and after a street car ride of a mile she reached the place. The janitor was out. She went to the top floor at once, and she was immediately interested. She had looked about for a quarter of an hour when she attempted to open a door which she found locked. It was a spring lock, however, and after a moment she had it open. These was a large closet at the rear of the suite, and it had no windows. She was wondering what it was designed for, and she stepped in as she wondered. "Bang!” A puff of wind from an open window closed the door on her, and the spring lock did the rest. She pushed and battered and kicked and shouted, but nothing came of it. “I deduce that it will be afternoon tomorrow before I am released,” said the girl as she sat down on the floor. "I called Harold an idiot tMs morning, and he will deduce from my absence that I have gone home with Flora Day to stay all night just to bother him. I love Harold, but he does vex me with his deductions.” Although their studios were side by side Mr. Winters and Miss Evans did not always walk home together, and it was only when she did not appear at the dinner table that she was asked after. "I saw her on a Vine avenue car two hoars ago " said a young man. Mr. Winters went to the club that evening. At midnight he quit his billiards and made a beeline for home. No Miss Evans yet. "Look here. Winters,” said a boarder who had jnst come in, "you deduce things, don’t you?" "Yes, I have done so.” "Then you’d better get to work on this case. Miss Winters is steady as the clock. Something must have happened her this time.” And Mr. Winters sat down in his room with pipe in mouth and deduced as follows: "Now, then, what happened during the day? A little row. Mr. Billiard called. Mrs. Davis called. The owner of the new stndlo called. He wanted ns to look them over. We didn’t go. Ha! I didn’t go, bat’ didn’t Miss Evans? The card is at fee studio. If she went what could have happened to her?" At three o’clock in the morning the artist led the way up fee stairs of fee new studio. When he came to the locked door he paused a moment “Only an empty storeroom!" growled the janitor. Yes, only an empty storeroom with Miss Evans asleep in a corner! ‘Tour heela are not too long,” said Mr. Winters as she sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Then you are not a fool,” she smiled.