Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 111: what you’re looking at

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

THE HANDWRITING ON THE. WALL. a gift, and the flowers she wears. I can’t believe it possible—that child!” ‘You mean she thinks her young man would be disgusted if he found out what kind of work she was doing?” Henry Cor- liss shook his head dolefully. ‘ That’s not Ethel! Maybe she’s hurt because Cliff hasn’t let her get in on the investigation?” Cliff Nichols’s face was a study at this sug- gestion but he remarked noncommittally: ‘“ Personally, I don’t believe either of you are right, but I really feel that we ought to find her, just to assure ourselves that she isn’t doing anything foolish. I don’t mean getting engaged; that is her own affair if she is contemplating it, but we can never tell what she is going to do next. Rex, we don’t need any more data on Monckton, and Talbot Gordon’s widow, who is chaperoning Ethel, knows only that She is the private secretary to Mr. Powell. You read this note first and you see Ethel says she has told her she is going away on business for you. If under another name you could manage to meet Mrs. Gordon and some of the set Ethel is traveling with, through her we may find out where the child is. She might have dropped a hint to some one of them as to her plans. This has nothing to do with our work, of course, but it is still more important.” : “Tt is,’ Rex Powell commented with a certain grimness. ‘‘ She has asked us not to go to Mrs. Gordon. That is the one reason why I think it is through that lady we may unearth some clew to her disap- pearance, for it amounts to that. I—l couldn’t work with any degree of concen- tration till I knew all was well with her.” “ All right, then; cut along Rex, and if you ring here and no one answers, come yourself and leave a note.” Cliff turned to Henry. ‘“‘ Did you go to Judge Francis and Dr. Kibbe and Waldron Ingram?” ‘Yes. I went to the judge first. He’s a fine old white-haired fellow of the old school with a pretty keen mind and he got like a shot what I wanted. But when he summoned his valet, that Isaac, I knew I couldn’t get any dope from him about the servants at the Manor. Isaac is as old as Noah, and his kinky hair’s as white, too, as cotton. He’s been with the judge TAL for nearly fifty years and all he could tell me was that the help employed at the Manor all ‘ treated him fine,’ and it seemed like they were all the kind that ‘ quality folks’ would want around them.” Henry paused, clasping his hands about his rotund knees. ‘ The next one I struck was Dr. Kibbe. His chauffeur, Paolo Galli, had the car just outside, and he’s a smooth article. I got it from him finally that there is one maid in that household who is mighty attractive and had phone calls and occas- ional visitors who would bear watching. It may be acase of sour grapes, but I got her name anyway—Lucy Regnier. “Then I saw Ingram, the president of the Citizens’ and Aliens’ Bank. He wasn’t so easy to handle; didn’t want himself or his servants mixed up in the case. How- ever, when I showed him it was a question of us or the police he produced his valet, Hugh Brinsley. Nothing much doing, though, except that Brinsley got from De Puyster Monckton’s own valet, old Jim Ricks, that Mr. Monckton was grieving himself to death about his son. For the love of Pete, Cliff, give me a new line! I’m no cross-examiner! ” | “All right!” Chff Nichols bent toward his stout confrere. ‘‘ This is rather more in your line. The valet you just spoke of, Jim Ricks, had what was described to me as a ‘sort of fit’ late Friday afternoon at the house where the murder took place and was taken to the hospital. Find out if he’s able to talk and get all the little intimate details you can from him about the old gentleman’s manner during the past few months. He doesn’t like Richard and he’s almost fanatically loyal to the memory of the father, but you may get some informa- tion that you can look at in an unprejudiced way.” ““* Unprejudiced!’ Huh!” Henry snorted. “You make me just naturally tired, Cliff! Just because of that handwritmg, you’re stil—Gosh A’mighty! Look at Phil!” The youngest member of the Shadowers sauntered in with a fair assumption of his old debonair manner, but it was slightly marred by the deep circleS under his eyes and the drawn look of pain about the mouth. COMIC DOOKSsEO©