Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 110: what you’re looking at

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

740 departure. Forget it, even for a minute, with Richard Monckton’s worn, anguished face before her, his pathetically hopeful, brave voice still ringing in her ears? Let twenty-four more hours pass while he waited, and Cliff Nichols watched for a man who would be suspicious of overtures for many a long day to come? Could she close her ears and keep her twitching fin- gers from meddling with the case, as she had with the others? She pursed her lips and a slow, unmistakable light dawned in her eyes. The next morning when Lucian dropped into the office he found Rex Powell there before him. His face was very grave, al- most stern, and he held two notes in his hand. “ Cliff here?” Lucian Baynes asked. “I haven’t succeeded in arranging an introduc- tion to Miss Barbara Norcross, but I’ve got the next best thing, although it’s highly distasteful! My old steamship acquain- tance presented me to young Chester Nor- cross, her brother, at his club last night, and although he is an unmitigated swine, I’ve accepted his invitation to play a round of golf with him this morning out at the Willowmere Club. I'll let him beat me -with just enough trouble to make it inter- esting. That ought to be good for an invitation to meet his sister. Have you been busy?” “Very much so, but I’ve only succeeded in having general rumors corroborated and in discovering that our client’s associates and even his friends from university days have unanimously taken the police view of the case.’ Rex held out one of the notes. “Ethel left this last evening, evidently under instructions from Cliff. He'll be here this afternoon and wants all of us to meet him if we can.” ‘“ Ethel left this last night?” Lucian read the slip and frowned. “Isn’t she coming here to-day? That’s odd; never could keep her out of things before when we had an investigation on!” | “ Ethel will not be here,” Rex Powell replied slowly as he extended the second sheet of paper. It was not typed but care- fully written though under some stress, as the erasures showed. ‘‘I am afraid that ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. this time we have really lost our secre~ tary!” There was a deep note of pain in his voice, but Lucian Baynes did not heed it as he stared at the words beneath his eyes. DEAR SHADOWERS: Hope you won’t mind, but I’m going away again for a little while. There doesn’t seem to be any way I can help you now and you don’t need me. Maybe you won't want me to come back, but I will have to take a chance on that. Don’t worry about me, I shal] be quite all right, and I hope you'll forgive me. Please don’t go to Mrs. Gordon. I told her Mr. Powell was sending me away on business ° for him, but it’s really my own. With best wishes for success and good luck, ETHEL JEPSON. “So she’s had enough of us!” Lucian exclaimed. ‘‘ That taste of society life has spoiled her for the work here and I can’t blame her, but by Jove! how we shall miss her!” “You think it’s that?” Rex asked.“ You don’t think that perhaps she didn’t leave of her own accord? She wasn’t coerced?” “Only by her own desire, old man!” Lucian laid his hand affectionately on his chief’s shoulder. ‘‘ That hits all of us pretty hard, but—remember that toy dog and the fresh corsage bouquets every day? Ethel’s only a woman and when it’s a ques- tion of her work or the man—well, what could you have expected? It isn’t like her, somehow, but Ethel has deserted under fire! CHAPTER XIX. ; THE GIRL ON THE STAIRS. LIFFORD NICHOLS, Rex Powell and Henry Corliss met at two and the varying aspects of the investigation themselves paled into insignificance before the fact of Ethel’s evanescence. Rex was still deeply troubled and Henry openly disconsolate, but Cliff himself ac- cepted the news quietly, with a silence that was almost defensive. “Tucian thinks Ethel has a—a senti- mental affair on her mind,” Rex observed. “Tt is ridiculous, of course, but then he cites the Pekinese, which she admitted was CORNICGOOOKS. COm