Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 23: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

ANNIHILATION, not have remained an hour in my service. He was fully aware of this, and although {I am convinced that he occasionally drank to excess, he was careful not to enter my presence in such a condition. Had he been drinking when you went to his assistance?” McCarty ignored the question. “You don’t ask where that was, Mr. Orbit. Have you any notion where he could have been going to-night?” “Not the slightest.” Orbit shrugged. “‘T have told you that I am quite ignorant of his private affairs, and now that poor Hughes is dead I have less interest in them than ever.” “Still, he’d been your personal servant for a matter of twenty odd years,” McCar- ty insisted. ‘‘ Wouldn’t you want to know what he was up to if you learned he’d left your house to go down along the water front, in one of the toughest districts in the city?” Orbit stared in genuine amazement. “The water front?” he repeated. “TI cannot imagine what he could have been doing in such a district as you describe. Even in his dissipations Hughes was never attracted by anything sordid, to my knowl- edge, but aped even the vices of men of a higher station than he.” “T was coming to that,” McCarty re- marked. ‘ You spoke a while back of trouble he’d got into more than once; what sort of trouble?” “Gambling debts and indiscreet affairs with women; upper servants like himself or the wives of upper servants. When monetary settlements were in order he came to me for an advance on his salary, and that is how I learned of his difficulties.” Orbit paused and then added reflectively: “He has been in none of late, however; at least, none which required assistance from me.” “About what hour to-night was the last time you saw him alive?” McCarty revert- ed to the more immediate line of inquiry. ‘“‘ At a little before seven, when he laid out these clothes for me.” Orbit gestured to his attire. ‘‘Some guests were dining with me—three gentlemen, all near neigh- bors—and I was preoccupied; but Hughes’s appearance and manner must have been 813 quite as usual, or I would have noted a change. My guests are still here.” _ He paused significantly, and McCarty replied directly to the hint. “We're sorry to keep you from them, but we’ve got to know what your man was doing down in that neighborhood. You don’t know his own friends, maybe, but you might know which of the servants em- ployed by your neighbors he’s been most friendly with, and if you don’t, maybe your neighbors themselves would know.” “Really, is it as important as that?” There was still no trace of annoyance in Orbit’s voice or manner, but merely a dig- nified protest. ‘‘ You can understand that any notoriety in connection with the death of my unfortunate valet would be highly distasteful to me, and to have my friends subjected to it would be doubly so. My guests this evening are Mr. Gardner Sloane and his son, Mr. Brinsley Sloane, Second, who live across the street at Number Five, and Mr. Eustace Goddard, from Number Two, the corner house next door to me here. I have no idea whether Hughes was even acquainted or not with any of the servants in either the Sloane or Goddard households, but I will go and make inquir- ies.” He rose and left the room, and the in- spector turned to McCarty. “Ts all this necessary, Mac? I know I said this looked big, but that was when I thought the man dead down there near the river was the millionaire Parsons. If it’s just a dissipated valet, we can let it slide, at least unless the autopsy discloses foul play of some sort.” ‘““When you asked me if I’d seen more in this than you, inspector, I told you I’d , seen the corpse,” McCarty reminded him quietly. ‘“‘ Now you’re asking me if it’s necessary to find out even before the au- topsy who this fellow Hughes was friendly with, and Ill say it won’t do any harm, because I saw him before he was a corpse! Heart disease he may have died of, or apo- plexy, but it may be a good thing for us to know what brought it on him so sudden to-night, even if he was just a valet!”’ There was no mistaking the earnestness in his firm tones, and the inspector started Copmicoooks (©)