Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 123, No. 3 — page 14: what you’re looking at

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

296 central office already on the job, but they concealed their chagrin with what diplo- macy they could muster. ‘‘ Nothing doing-up here, inspector,” the senior of the twain announced. ‘ We've looked in every hole and corner to the very roof and there isn’t a soul about, living or dead. Nothin’s been disturbed, either, and except for two or three of the servants’ rooms it doesn’t seem as if any of them had.been occupied for some time, not even the master’s own apartments.” *“* Mac, here, and I will just have a look around, anyway, and join you and Sam and Clancy below, Pete,’ Inspector Druet responded. ‘‘ The commissioner has put me in charge, but I may need you both.” “Did you send the young crook off in the wagon, sir?” asked Clancy. . _ “Yes. He'll be taken care of, and I'll want your report on him later, but I un- derstand you and McCarty are agreed that he had nothing to do with the main crime, the murder. - Come, Mac.” As the rest descended to investigate the lower zegions of the house, McCarty and ‘the inspector crossed the wide corridor and entered the first room of a spacious suite on the left. It was evidently that of the mistress of the establishment, for the deli- cate lines of the furniture of the First Em- pire, the fragile ornaments and soft hues of the priceless rugs all betokened a femi- nine influence, although the toilet articles and similar objects of intimate daily use were missing and a slight smudge of dust lay here and there as if the effort to keep the rooms in order had of late been merely perfunctory. ED CHAPTER III. A VOICE OVER THE WIRE. “Ww OOKS as if the missis had been away, all right,” McCarty observed. “I don’t read the society columns as reg- ularly as I might, not having moved in such circles as this before, but I guess we'll know where she is when the boys of the press get hold of this for an ‘ extra ’.” The tooms across the hall were no less richly appointed, but as unmistakably mas- ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. culine in appearance as the first suite had been feminine. The furnishings were mas- sive, the color scheme of walls and rugs and draperies dark, but boldly vivid, and de- spite its unstinted luxury the apartment bore an air of studied simplicity. Its rigid orderliness proclaimed that it, too, had not been occupied recently, but it was well aired and dusted as if in preparation for the immediate return of the owner. - In the lounging-room which opened off the bedchamber Inspector Druet ap- proached an antique mahogany desk which stood. in one corner and opened one drawer after another, while McCarty watched spec- ulatively over his shoulders. They seemed ‘to be filled with account books and mis- cellaneous correspondence mostly of a finan- cial nature, and the latter was turning away when his superior paused with his hand upon the knob of the small drawer. “Locked,” he remarked _ succinctly. ‘‘ And there isn’t any keyhole.” ‘Then it works with a spring,” McCarty. — suggested. ‘“‘ Million-a-month Creveling may not have dropped all his old phi- landering ways when he married, but he’d. scarcely be likely to leave anything of a confidential nature in the place where his wife would first of all be looking for it, granted that she was of the looking kind.” “We have no time to bother with it now, at all events,” the inspector remarked after several futile attempts td open tke drawer. I’ll have an expert up here the first thing in the morning, but we had better be getting on through the house now; it’s almost four o’clock.” Together they continued their inspection of the upper floors, but found nothing even remotely bearing on the investigation until they came to the topmost one, where the servants’ quarters were evidently located. Here two connecting bedchambers and a third across the hall bore mute testimony, not only of occupation, but of hurried de- parture. In the first room dresses and aprons of a plain, serviceable quality were scattered about, and in the adjoining one the half- opened closet door and drawers of the bureau revealed the habiliments of a butler dragged forth in obvious confusion. jaoU. S