Argosy All-Story Weekly — "The Purple Limited" — page 138: what you’re looking at

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

Isabel Ostrander Author of “ Ashes te Ashes,” “ Twenty-Six Clues,” “ Suspense,” ete. CHAPTER XXX. WOMAN FOR WOMAN. “ HO are your” The inspector turned to the huddled figure in the corner. ‘“‘ Ada Hopkins.” The hand holding the handkerchief fell to ther lap disclosing a small, pinched, delicately withered face. “I’m a seamstress, out by the day, and I have the. flat under Mrs. Hildreth’s—Mrs. Hill’s, I mean. I got sick and she took care of me like an angel; nobody ever did anything for me before in all my le! I knew she was sad and in some kind of trouble, but she never told me about it and I didn’t like to ask; if I didn’t mind my own business I never could have kept my customers for twenty years, going from house to house—” ‘“Come, come!’ the inspector inter- rupted. ‘ Get down to cases, Miss Hop- kins. So you hid this woman when we were after her the other night, did you?” “Ves, sir, and I’d do it again!” The little creature flared up suddenly. “She never laid a finger on anybody’s jewelry, and as for accusing Mr. Hill of shooting that man—why, he was home from a little past eleven o’clock Thursday night until nearly three in the morning! That’s what I’ve come down here to tell you and I don’t care what you do to me for helping Mrs‘ Hill! ‘So you knew she had skipped her bail, did you?” asked the inspector. “Not till Friday night, but it wouldn’t have made any difference to me; she was no thief, no matter what that rich family said about her! I’m working extra, nights, mak- /ing a wedding-dress for one of the girls in the neighborhood and I ran out of white silk thread on Thursday night. I went around to a little shop on Third Avenue that I knew kept open late to get some more, and when I came back I met Mr. Hill in the vestibule and we talked real pleasantly all the way up- -stairs.” “What time was this?” . “ Twenty ‘minutes after eleven by the clock on my mantel when I got back into my rooms,” Miss Hopkins responded promptly. ‘I know, because I looked par- ticular; I was timing myself on that dress and I knew I’d have to work until near morning. The floors and ceilings in that Lanahan house are as thin as paper and I heard Mr. Hill go into his flat and the sound of their voices talking for hours while he tramped back and forth, shaking my chandelier. I was sewing away so hard that I never realized how late it was get- ting till I heard him go out again. It sur- prised me and I looked at the time to find it was five minutes to three. I put away my Sewing then and went to bed.” There was a pause, during which the in- spector’s eyes slowly met those of McCarty This stery began in the Argosy-Allstory Weekly for July _ 704 8A ANT 6)(0)©) (C(O) @ S (C(O) ad