Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 31, Number 304, 29 November 1906 — Page 7

fhe Richmond Palladium, Thursday, November 29, 19C6.

Page Seven.

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I even took a step toward It. holdlnz Jup my lamp so that a stray ray struck kho a4rl nrfsn f an r!1 onmu irlnr liangicg over the fireplace. It was the hvell known one, in wasnington at bast, of Benjamin Franklin at the ourt of France, Interesting, no doubt, n a general way, but scarcely calcub ( ...i ,iri iu. t r. -ruti n fastant. Neither did the shelf below all for more than momentary atten - ion, for it was absolutely bare. So' was the time worn, if not blood stained, kHh frtf ftnr.wntmhi. hadow cast over it by the huge bulk bf the great settle standing at its edge. I have already described the impresion made on me at my first entrance y thi.3 ancient and characteristic arti- " lie of furniture. It was intensified now as my eye ran ver the clumsy carving which added o the discomfort of its high, straight ack and aa I amelled the smell of its noldy and possibly mouse haunted ushlons. A crawling sense of dread 00k the place of my first instinctive epugnance, not because superstition ko,l -ret 1a1 It. rrin nnon mi. r- - - --- - hough the place, the hour and the near nd veritable presence of death were enough to rouse the imagination past he bounds of the actual, but because f a discovery I ul made a discovery khich emphasized the tradition that all ; k'ho had been found dead under the nantel had fallen as If from the end of his monstrous and patriarchal bench. 1)0 you ask what this discovery was? t can be told In a word. This one nd and only this end had been made omfortable for the sitter. For a space icarcely wide enough for one the seat ind back at this special point bad ieon upholstered with leather, fastened o the wood with heavy wrought nails. rhe remaining portion stretched out tare, hard and inexpressibly forbidding o one who sought ease there or even i moment of casual rest. The natural Inference was that the bwner of this quaint piece of furniture had been i a very selfish man who nought only, of his own comfort.', But might be not have had some other rea ton, for his apparent niggardliness? V a T MCttrcwf mrialf this niiMHmi ami noted how the long and embracing inn which guarded this cushioned rereat was flattened on top for the conenlent holding of decanter and glass, eellngs to which I can give no name nd which I had fondly believed mylelf proof against began to take the lace oCjudgment and reason. Before realized the nature of my own imulse or to what It was driving me I Jound myself moving slowly and steady toward this formidable seat under n Irresistible desire to fling myself own upon these old cushions and Hut here the creaking of some farofl Jhutter, possibly the one I had seen waylng from the opposite side of the treet, recalled me to the duties of the our. and, remembering that my Inestlgation were but half completed nd that I might be Interrupted any ioment by detectives from headquarprs, I. broke from the accursed charm. hich horrified me the moment I esaped It, and, quitting the room by a oor at the farther end, sought to find h some of the adjacent rooms the def lite traces I had failed to discover on bis the actual scene of the crime. . It was a dismal search, revealing at very turn the almost maddened hastr ,-ith which the house had been aban kmed. I passed out into the kitchend so on by a close and narrow pas ige to the negro quarters clustered 1" ie rear. Here I made a discovery ne of the windows in this long clas sed portion of the house was not onlr nlocked. but partly cpen. But, as 1 time upon no marks showing that th' utlet had been used by the escapim Lurderer, I made my way back to the Tb candle in the tumbler rT&-? 1 rv ront of the house and thf9 to the Uirs communicating with the upper oor. It was on the rug lying at the foot of lese stairs that I came upon the first ' a dozen or more burned matches hich lay In a distinct trail up the aircase and along the floors of the pper halls. As these matches were 1 burned as short as fingers could old them, it was evident that they ad been used to light the steps of me one seeking refuge above, possily in the very room where we had 1'ca the light which had first drawn k to this house. How then? Should I oceed. or await the coming of the boys" before pushing in upon a posble murderer? I decided to proceed. hsclnated. I think, by the nicety of ie trail which lay before me. I'ut when after a careful following tthe steps of bun who had so lately eceded me 1 came upon a tlcbtly osed door at the end of a side paskge. I gave a alight push to the door hd, on seeing a crack of light leap into Jfe along the jamb. puBhed the door rider and wider till the whole room ood revTaled. " The Instantaneous banging of a shutr in one of its windows proved the km to be the very one which we had fea lighted from below. Otherwise 1 was still, nor was I able to detect y first hurried glance any other Dm

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KATHARINE GREEN, Agatha Webb," "Lost Maa's Lane," Etc by (be Bobbs-Merrifl Cenpaay it I toxen of human presence than a can- ' die sputtering in its own grease at the bottom Or a tUEODier Placed OD One COrner of an old fashioned dressing table, lur ivui.u ui mwugruiiy iu a room otherwise rich if not stately in appointments, was loud in Its Buggestion of some hidden presence given to exDedients and reckless of consquencea. but of this presence nothing j was to be seen. Not satisnea with this short survey, I turned my attention to my surroundiocs. wDicn naa mnv comts or inter-' est. foremost among these was the big four poster which occupied a large Pce at my rignt. x naa never seen its Hk 1 use before, and I was greatly attracted by its size and the air of 1 . . i J i m m mystery lmpariea 10 11 ny its cioseiy drawn curtains of faded brocade. A dressing table laden with woman's fixings and various articles of the toilet, all of an unexpected value and richness, occupied the space between luc lY" -"- "wr. mediately In front of a high mahogany mantel, there lay. amid a number of empty iHes, aa ovenurnea cnair. This chair and the conjectures its position awakened led me to look up at the mantel, with which it seemed to be In some way connected, and thus I became aware of a wan old drawing "nR,V vu llJ " aooTe V ny tbl9 Pture, which was a totally unin W I V. . .11 1 A. WT teresting SKetcn or a simpering girl face, should have held my eye after the first glance I cannot say even now. It had no beauty, even of the sentimental kind, and very little if any meaning. Its lines, weak at the best, were nearly obliterated and in some places quite faded out, yet I not only paused to look at It, but in looking at It forgot myself and well nigh my errand. Yet there was no apparent reason for the spell it exerted over me. It may seem both unnecessary and out of character for a man of my calling to acknowledge these chance sensations, but only by doing so can I account for the minutes which elapsed before I summoned sufficient self possession to draw aside the closed curtains of the bed and take the quick look inside which my present doubtful position demanded. But, once I had broken the spell and taken the look just mentioned, I found my manhood return and with It my old ardor for clews. The bed held no gaping, chattering criminal, yet was it not quite empty. Something lay there, and this something, while commonplace in itself, was enough out of keeping with the "place and hour to rouse my Interest and awaken my conjectures. It was a lady's wrap, so rich In quality I and of such a festive appearance that It was astonishing to find it lying in a neglected state in this crumbling old bouse. Tbough I know little of the cost of women's garments. I do know the value of lace, and this garment : was covered with it. ) Interesting as was this find, it was 1 followed by one still more so. Nestled in the folds of the cloak lay the with- ' ered remains of what could only have been the bridal bouquet. Unsightly now and scentless, it was once a beautiful specimen of the florist's art. As I ; noted how the main bunch of roses i and lilies was connected by long satin . rihhnn. tn th inr rfii.t. hi,.h ' hung from it I recalled with conceivable horror the use to which a similar ribbon had been put in the room below. In the shudder called up by this coincidence I forgot to speculate how a bouquet carried by the bride could have found its way back to this upstairs room when, as all accounts agree, she had fled from the parlor below without speaking or staying foot the moment she was told of the catastrophe which had taken place in the library. That her wrap should be lying here was not strange, but that the wedding bouquet That It really was the wedding bouquet and that this was the room In which the bride had dressed for the: ceremony was apparent to the most casual observer. But it became an es- j tablished fact when In my further i course about the room I chanced on a 1 handkerchief with the name Veronica ! embroidered In one corner. ! This handkerchief had an interest ' apart from the name on it. It was of dainty texture and quite in keeping so far as value went with the other belongings of its fastidious owner. But it was not clean. Indeed it was strangely soiled, and this soil was of a nature I did not readily understand. A ; woman would doubtless have comprehended immediately the cause of the brown streaks I found on it, but it ; took me several minutes to realize that I this bit of cambric, delicate as a cob-; web. had been used to remove dust. To remove dust! Dust from what?

From the mantelshelf Probably, upon and Qatts of appilreDt conseone. end of which I found it But no! TOe uki ,ace in 4he house One look along the polished boards j to wnlch he nad himself directed tne convinced me that whatever - else had j attention of the police struck me as been dusted in this room this shelf . oy,, 1"

had not The accumulation of days if; end to the other of its unrelieved surface save where the handkerchief had laid, and the greatest discovery yet where lire clear spots just to the left of the center showed where some man's finger tips had rested. Nothing but the pressure of finger tips could have caused just the appearance presented by these spots. By scrutinizing them closely I could even tell where the thnmb had rested and at once foresaw the possibility of determining by means of these marks both the size and shape of the hand which had left behind it so neat and unmistakable a clew. Wonderful ! But what did it all mean? Why should a man rest his finger tips on this out of the way shelf? Had he done so in an effort to balance himself for a look up the chimney? No, for then the marks made by his fingers would hare extended to the edge of the shelf, whereas these were in the middle of it. Their shape, too, was round, not objonx Hence the vreaanra had.

come from a Dove, ana an: i uaa it. These impressions In the dust of the shelf were Just such aa would be made by a person steadying; himself for a close look at the old picture. And this

accounted also for the overturned chair and for the handkerchief used as a duster. Some one's interest in this picture had been greater than mine; some one who was either very nearsighted or whose temperament was such that only the closest inspection would satisfy an aroused curiosity.This gave me an idea, or, rather, impressed upon me the necessity of preserving the outline of these telltale marks while they were still plain to the eye. Taking out my penknife, I lightly ran the point of my sharpest blade around each separate impression till I had fixed them for all time in the well j wrn varnish of the mahogany. - j the Question already raised. W hat was w c u,uv',uure lu urouee tutn 1 f01'1!1 ne bent on evil if not fresh " u,u'nju' -"u":' ac uiI fore that the Picture as a, picture was w0uU, nr IBU(;u hi omy .uur..uB 8uu xbu wherein lay Its charm, a charm which extent? It was useless to conjecture. A fresh difficulty had been added to my task by this puzzling discovery, but difficulties only Increased my interest. It was with an odd feeling of elation that, in a further examination of this room, I came upon two additional facts equally odd and irreconcilable. One was the presence of a penknife, with the file blade open, on a email table under the window marked by the (ha fllinja n the sbl loosened shutter. Scattered about it were some filings which shone as the light from my lantern fell upon them, but which were so fine as to call for a magnifying glass to make them out. i The other was in connection with a ! closet not far from the great bed. It j was an empty closet, so far as the hooks went and the two great drawers which I found standing half open at its back, but in the middle of the : floor lay an overturned candelabrum j fttmilar to the on below, but with ita prisms scattered and Its one candle 1 crushed and battered out of all shape on the blackened boards. If upset while alight, the foot which had stamped upon it in a wild endeavor to put . out the flames had been a frenzied one. j Now, by whom had this frenzy been ' shown' and when? Within the hour? I I could detect no smell of smoke. At some former time, then say on the day of the bridal? ! Glancing from the broken candle at ' my feet to the one giving its last sput- j ter in the tumbler on the dressing table, I owned myself perplexed. Surely no ordinary explanation fitted these extraordinary and seemingly contradictory circumstances. CHAPTER IV. AM in some ways hypersensitive. Among my other weaknesses I have a wholesome dread of ridi I cule, and this is probably why I falled to press my theory on the cuptain when he appeared and even for-: bore to mention the various small mat- J ters which had so attracted my attention. If he and the experienced men who came with him saw suicide and nothing but suicide In this lamentable Bhoottn of a brlde of two weeks, then H wa8 not for me to gest a deeper crime, especially as one of the latter eyed me with open scorn when I proposed to accompany them upstairs into the room where the light bad been seen burning. No, I would keep my discoveries to myself, or at least forbear to mention them till I found the captain alone, asking nothing at this juncture but permission to remain in the house till Mr. Jeffrey arrived. I had been told that an officer had gone for this gentleman, and when I heard the sound of wheels in front I made a rush for the door in my anxiety to catch a glimpse of him, but It was a woman who alighted. As this woman was In a state of great agitation, one of the men has tened down to offer his arm. As she took it I asked Hibbard, who bad sud denly reappeared upon the scene, who she was. Ho said that she was probably "the sister of the woman who lay inside, upon which I remembered that this lady, under the name of Miss Tuttle she was but half sister to Miss Moore had been repeatedly mentioned by the reporters in the accounts of the wedding before mentioned as a person of superior attainments and magnificent beauty. This did not take from my Interest, and, flinging decorum to the winds, I approached as near as possible to the threshold which she must soon cross. As I did so I was astonished to hear the strains of Uncle David's organ still pealing from the opposite side of ! tllA CUT" 'Vfata of a mAmnt est fiorinna very favoraolT lmpre9ged by this display of open if not insulting Indifference on the part of the sole remaining Moore, an indifference which did not appear quite natural even In a man of his morbid eccentricity, I resolved to know more of this old man and. above all. to make myself fully acquainted with the exact relations which had existed between him and his unhappy niece. Meanwhile Miss Tuttle had stepped within the circle of light cast by our lanterns. I have never seen a finer woman or one whose features displayed a more heartrending emotion. This called for resp.ct, and I for ne endeavored tshow It by withdrawing Into the back ground. But I soon stepped forwar again. My desire to understand he: was too great, the impression made bher bearing too complex, to be passe OTer lightly by one on the lookout fo a key to the remarkable tragedy befor us. Meaawfcile her lips had opened will tha cxr!i

"My sister: Where is my sister? The captain made a hurried movement toward the rear and then, with the laudable Intention doubtless of

preparing her for the ghastly sight ; which awaited her, returned and onened a way for her Into the drawing room. Hut she was not to be turned i aside from her course. ,, Passing him by, she made directly for the library. which she entered with a bound. 'Struck by her daring, we all crowded up behind her and, curious brutes that we were, grouped ourselves in a semicircle about the doorway as she faltered toward her . sister's outstretched form and fell on, her knees beside it. Uer involuntary shriek and the fierce recoil she made as her eyes fell on the long white ribbon trailing over the floor from her sister's wrist struck me as voicing the utmost horror of which the human soul is capable. It was as though her very soul were pierced. .Something In the' fact itself, something in the appearance of this snowy ribbon tied to the scarce whiter wrist, seemed to pluck at the very root of her being, and when her glance, in traveling its length, lighted on the death dealing weapon at its, end she cringed in such apparent anguish that we looked to see her fall In a swoon or break out into delirium. We were correspondingly startled when she suddenly burst forth with this word of stern command: "Untie that knot! Why do you leave that dreadful thing fast to her? Untie It, I say! It is killing me. I cannot bear the sight. And from trembling she passed to shuddering till her whole body shook convulsively. The captain, with much consideration, drew back the hand he had impulsively stretched toward the ribbon. , "No, no," he protested; "we cannot do that We can do nothing till the coroner comes. It is necessary that he should see her jUBt as she was found, j Resides. Mr. Jeffrey has a right to the ' same privilege. We expect him any moment." The beautiful head of the woman before us shook involuntarily, but her lips made no protest. I doubt if she possessed the power of speech at that moment. A change, subtle, but quite perceptible, had taken place in her emotions at mention of her sister's husband, and, though she exerted herself to remain calm, the effort seemed too much for her strength. Anxious to hide this evidence of weakness, she rose impetuously, and then we saw how tall she was, how the long lines of her cloak became her and. what a glorious creature she was altogether. Tt will kill him," she groaned In a deep Inward voice. Then, with a certaa tocfdt ba8te and in tone of,sur' prise which to my ear had not quite a natural ring she called aloud on her who could no longer either listen or answer: 'Oh, Veronica, Veronica ! What cause had you for death? And why do we find you lying here in a spot you so feared and detested?" "Don't you know?" insinuated the captain, with a mild persuasiveness, such as he was seldom heard to use. "Do you mean that you cannot account for your sister's vioient end, you, who have lived with her or so I have been told ever since her marriage with Mr. Jeffrey?" "Yes." Keen and clear the word rang out, fierce in its keenness and almost too clear to be in keeping with- the half choked tones witu which she added: "I know that she was not happy, that she never has been happy since the shadow which this room suggests fell upon her marriage. But how could I so much as dream that her dread of the past or her fear of the future would drive her to suicide, and in this place of all places! Had I done so had I imagined in the least degree that she was affected to this extent do you think that I would have left her for one instant alone? None of us knew that she contemplated death. She had no appearance of it; she laughed when I" What had she been about to say? The captain seemed to wonder, and, after waiting in Vain for the completion of her sentence, he quietly suggested: "You have not finished what you had to say, Miss Tuttle." She started and seemed to come back from some remote region of thought into which she had wandered. "I don't Niaa Tuttle know I forget," she stammered," with a heartbroken sigh. "Poor Veronica! .Wretched Veronica! How shall I ever tell him? How, how can we ever prepare him?" " The captain took advantage of this reference to Mr. Jeffrey to ask where that gentleman was. The young lady did not seem eager to reply, but when pressed, answered, though somewhat mechanically, that it was impossible for her to say; Mr. Jeffrey had many friends, with any one of whom he might be enjoying a social evening. "But it is far past midnight now," remarked the captain. "Is he in the habit of remaining out late?" "Sometimes," she faintly admitted. "Two or three times since his marriage he has been out till 1." Were there other causes for the young bride's evident disappointment and misery besides the one intimated? There certainly was some excuse for thinking eo. Possibly some one of us may have shown his cjubts in this regard, for the woman before us suddenly broke forth with this vehement' assertion: . "Mr. Jeffrey was a loving husband to my sister a very lorina husband.

she emphasized, men, growing arperately pale, she added, I have never known a better man, and stopped. Some hidden anguish in this cry.

some self consciousness In this pause. saSK?sted to me a possibility which I was SIaa 10 see ignored by tne captain in nis next question.

"When did you see your sister last? sion of sorrow from one of whose p reshe asked. "Were you af home when nee he as yet had given no token of the left her husband's house?" recognizing? lie did not seem to. His

"Alas!" she murmured. Then, seeleg that a more direct answer was ex pelted of her. she added with a lltti appearance of effort as possible: "I was at home, and I heard her go out. But I had no Idea thnt it was for any purpose other than to join s-fjje social gathering." "Dressed this way?" The captain pointed to the 2oor. mil her eyes followed. Certxinly Mrs. Jeffrey was hot apnnreleil fjr an o -enin?: company. As illss Tr.ttle realized the trap into which she had been betrayed her words rushed forth and tripped each other up. "I did not notice. She often wore black. It became her. My sister was eccentric." Worse, worse than nse'ess. Some 8iJns cannot be exnla'ned awav. Miss Tntti KMmxi tn riiT tht this w one of them, for she paused abruptly, with the -"-crds half finished 0:1 her tongue. .?t her attitude commanded rAsrwvf an1 T frtr nm wnu rAOilv r n f cord it to ter Certainly such a woman was not to be seen eTery dav, and if Lor rejlIies lacked candor there was a uobilitv in , her presence which gave the lie to anv J doubt At leastf tnat wns th(. effect she nroducd on me. Wh.-tber or net her interrogator shared my feeling I could not so readily determine, for his attention as well as mine was suddenly diverted by the cry which now escaped her lips.

-Her watch! Where Is her watch? evcr come 10 do ioojtea on as me true It is gone! I saw it on her breast, and , oneit's gone. It hung just-just where" i "How came you to search here for "Wait!" cried one of the men who the wife who had written you this had been peering about the floor. 'Is vague and far from satisfactory farethis it''" j well? I see no bint in these lines of

He held aloft a small object blazing with jewels. "Yes," she gasped, trying to take it. But the officer gave it to the captain instead. "It must have slipped from her as she fell," remarked the latter, after a cursory examination of the glittering trinket. "The pin by which she attached it to her dress must have been insecurely fastened." Then quickly and with a sharp look at Miss Tuttle, "Do you know If this was considered an accurate timepiece?" "Yes. Why do you ask? Is it" "Look!" lie held it up with the face toward us. The hands stood at thirteen minutes past 7. "Tbg hour and Francis Jsffrey the moment when it struck the floor," he declared. "And consequently the hour and the moment when Mrs. Jeffrey fell," finished Durbin. Miss Tuttle said nothing, only gasped, "Valuable evidence," quoth the captain, putting the watch in his pocket, Then, with a kind look at her, called forth by the sight of her misery, be added, "Does this hour agree with the time of her leaving the house?" "I cannot say. I think so. It ; was some time before or after 7 I don't remember the exact minute." "It would take fifteen for her to walk here. Did she walk?" "I do not know. I didn't see bor leave. My room is at the back of the house.' "You can say if she left alone or In the company of her husband?" "Mr. Jeffrey was not with her." "Was Mr. Jeffrey in the Louse?" "He was not." This last negative was faintly spoken. i The captain noticed this and ventured upon Interrogating Lor further. "How long had he been gone?" Her lips parted; she was deeply agitated, but when she spoke it was coldly and with studied precision. "Mr. Jeffrey was not at home to night at all. He has not been in nil day." "Not at home? Did his wife know that he was going to dine out?' "She said nothing about it." The captain cut short his questions and in another moment I understood why. A gentleman was standing in the doorway, whose face, once seen, was enough to stop the words on any man's lips. Miss Tuttle saw this gentleman almost as quickly as we did and sank with an involuntary moan to her knees. It was Francis Jeffrey come to look upon his dead oride. Breathlessly we awaited his first words. His eye, which was fixed on the prostrate body of his bride, did not yield up its secret. When he moved and came to where she lay and caught his first sight of the ribbon and the pistol attached to it, the most experienced amoug us were baffled as to the nature of his feelings and thoughts. One thing alone was patent to all. He had no wish to touch this woman whom he had so lately sworn to cherish. His eyes devoured her, he shuddered and strove several times to speak, and, though kneeling by her side, he did not reach forth his hand nor did he let a tear fall on the appealing' features so pathetically turned upward as if to meet his look. Suddenly he leaped to his feet. "Must she stay here?" he demanded, looking about for the person most in authority. The captain answered by a question: "How do you account for her being here at all? What explanation have you, as her husband, to give for this strange suicide of your wife?" For reply, Mr. Jeffrey, who was an exceptionally handsome man, drew forth a small slip of crumpled paper, which he immediately handed over to the speaker. "Let her own words explain, said he. "I found this scran of writlnK in.

our upstair room when 1 returned home tonight. She must have written it just before before" A smothered groan filled up the break, but it did not come from his lips.

which were fixed and set. but from those of the woman who crouched among us. Did he catch this exures ye was on the captain, who was slow ly reading, by the li;;ht of a lantern heM in a deitX'iive's hand, the almost illegible words which Mr. Jeffrey had Just said were his wife's last communication. Will they seem as pathetic to the eye as they did to the ear In that room of ! awesome memories and present death? I f-jj tht I do not love you as 1 thoui,.-t 1 du I cannot live, knowing this to be eo. I pray God that yt u may torgiva me. VERONICA. . A gasp from the figure in the corner; then silonce. We were glad to hear the captain's voice again. "A woman's heart Is a great mystery," he remarked, with a short glance at Mr. Jeffrey. It was a sentiment we could all echo, for he to whom she had alluded In these few lines as one she could not love was a man whom most women would consider the embodiment of all that was admirable and attractive. That one woman so regarded him was apparent to all. If ever the heart spoke in a human face it spoke in that of Miss Tuttle as she watched her sister's husband struggling for composure above the prostrate form of her who but a few hours previous had been the envy of all the fashionable young women iu Washington. I found it hard to fix my attention on the next question. Interesting and valuable as every ' small detail was likely to prove in i case my theory of this crime should ! the place where she intended to take her life." "No! No!" Even this strong man shrank from this idea and showed a very natural recoil as his glances flew about the 111 omened room and finally rested on the fireside over which so repellent a mystery hung in impenetrable shadow. "She said nothing of her intentions; nothing! But the man who came for me told me where she was to be found. lie was waiting at the door of my house. He had been on a search for me up and down the town. We met on the stoop." The captain accepted this explanation without cavil. I was glad he did. But to me the affair showed inconsistencies which I secretly felt it to be my especial duty to unravel. CHAPTER V. N O further opportunity was af forded me that night for studying the three leading characters In the remarkable drama I saw unfolding before me. A task was assigned me by the captain which took me from the house, and I missed the next scene the arrival of the coroner. But I repaid myself for this loss in a way I thought justified by the importance of my own theory and the evident necessity there was of collecting each and every point of evidence which could give coloring to the charge, in the event of this crime coming to be looked on at headquarters as one of murder. Observing that a light was still burning in Uncle David's domicile, I crossed to his door and rang the bell. I was answered by the deep and prolonged howl of a dog, soon cut short by bis master's amiable greeting. This latter was a surprise to me. I had heard so often of Mr. Moore's churlishness as a host that I had expected some rebuff. But I encountered no such tokens of bostllity. His brow was smooth and his smile cheerfully condescending. Indeed, he appeared anxious to have me enter, and cast an indulgent look at liudge. whose irrepressible joy at this break in the monotony of his existence was tinged with a very evident dread of offending his master. Interested I anew, I followed this man of contradictory Impulses into the room toward j which he led me. 1 The tiiue has now come for a more careful description of thi3 peculiar : man. Mr. Moore was tall and of that reiiued spareness of shape which suggests the scholar. Yet he had not the ':. scholar's eye. On the contrary, his regard was quick, if not alert, and while It did not convey actual malice or ill will it roused In the spectator an uncomfortable feeling not altogether easy to analyze. He wore his iron gray locks quite long, and to this distinguishing Idiosyncrasy, as well as to : his invariable custom of taking his ; dog with Lizn wherever he went, was due the interest always shown in him by street urchins On account of bis whimsicalities he bad acquired the epithet of Uncle David among them, de- ' ppite his aristocratic connections and his gentlemanlike bearing. His clothes formed no exception to the general air The detective visit Vncli D.vid 1 . of individuality which .marked him. They were of different cut from those of other men, and in this as in many other ways he was a law to himself; notably so in the following instance: He kept one day of the year religiously, and kept it always in the same way. Long years before he had been blessed with a wife who both understood and loved him. He had never forgotten this fact, and once a year, presumably on the anniversary of her death, it was his custom to go to the cemetery where she lay and to spend the whole day under the shadow of the stone he had raised to her memory. No matter what the weather, no matter what the condition of his own health, he was always to be seen in this spot, at the hour of 7, leaning against the shaft on which the name of his wife was written, eating his supper in the company of his dog. ,

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So much for one oddity which may stand as a sample of many others. One glance at the room into which he ushered me showed why he cherished so marked a dislike for visitors. It 1 WHg bare to tne point of discomfort. and had it not been for a cortain quaintness in the shape of the few articles to be soeo there I should have experienced a decided feeling of repulsion, fo pronounced was the contrast between this poverty stricken interior and the polished bearing of its owner. He, I am sure, could have shown do more elevated manners if he had been doing the honors of a palace. The organ, with the marks of home construction upon it, was the only object visible which spoke of luxury or even comfort. But enough of these possibly uninteresting details. I did not dwell on them myself except in a vague way and while waiting for him to open the conversation. This he did as soon as he saw that I had no intention of speaking first. "And did you find any one in the old house?" he asked. Keeping him well under my eye, I replied with Intentional brusqueness: "She has gone there once too often 7' The stare he gave ue was that of an actor who feels that some expression of surprise Is expected from him. "She?" he repeated. "Whom can yon possibly mean by she?" The surprise I expressed at this bold attempt at ingenuousness was better simulated than his, I hope. "You don't know!" I exclaimed. "Can you live directly opposite a place of such remarkable associations and not interest yourself in who goes In and out of its deserted doors?" t "I don't sit In my front window," he peeviflilj' returned. I let my eye roam toward a chair standing suspiciously near the very window he had designated. "But you saw the light?" I suggested. "I saw that from the doorstep when I went out to give Rudge his usual five minutes' breathing spell on the stoop. But you have not answered my question whom do you mean by she?" "Veronica Jeffrey," I replied. "She who was Veronica Moore. She has visited this haunted bouse of hers for the Inst time." "Last time!" Either lie could not or would not understand me. "What has happened to my niece?" be cried, rising with an energy that displaced the great dog and sent him, with hanging bead and trailing tall, to bis own special sleeping place under the table. "Ha? she run upon a ghoxt in' those dismal apartments? You Interest me greatly. I did not think she would ever have the pluck to visit this house again after what happened at her wedding." "She has had the plack," I assured him, "and, what is more, she has bad enough of It not only to re-enter the house, but to re-enter It alone. At least, such is the present Inference. Had you been blessed with more curiosity and Uncle DtvviS kcin f hia nieee'a death made more frequent use of the chair so conveniently placed for viewing the opposite house, yon might have been In a position to correct this inference. It would help the police materially to know positively that she had no companion In her fatal visit." "Fatal?" he repeated, running his finger Inside his neckband, which suddenly seemed to have grown too tight for comfort. "Can it be that my niece has been frightened to death in that Id place? Yon alarm me." He did not look alarmed, but then he was not of an Impressible nature. Yet he was of the same human clay as the rest of us. and, if he knew no more of this occurrence than he tried to make font, could not be altogether Impervious to what I had to sav next. (To Be Continued.) B.OTOHXA. Saantltt Thi lai Yw Hm Ahraw Bx1 3ifBatue cf Palladium Want Ads Pay.