Argosy All-Story Weekly, January 13, 1923 — page 75: what you’re looking at

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

THE LEDBURY FIST. Evelyn Harland stared at it, scarcely be- lieving the evidence of her own eyes. CHAPTER X. FOR THE WOMAN’S SAKE. One knew, of course, that a murder had been committed; that murders are committed. But they lay so outside the ordinary person’s experience as to seem unreal. Warm as it was, Evelyn Harland turned cold from head to foot. The clover-scented breeze blowing from Ravenstoke meadows seemed like an icy blast. That missing pendant—eight large pearls and eight dia- monds set in a cross of ebony—it stared back at her from the newspaper literally as large as life. That was the ornament which had come to her with Dick’s card, the wed- ding-gift as she had assumed, and which he had demanded back, saying it had been sent “ by mistake.” She remembered that Dick had shown considerable agitation over it; that jimmy Creigh, apparently, had known _ nothing about it. It was impossible to imagine that it was anything but the same pendant. Evelyn had examined her supposed gift too closely not to recognize this detailed de- scription. She was suddenly afraid. What did it mean? How had Dick got ‘hold of that cross? He was in the bogus (& such things be? marchesa’s house the night she was mur-, dered. But, of course, he left, he and Mr. Charles, before any of the others. Murder! A terrible word. To slay a fellow creature, a helpless woman at that— what fiend could have done such a thing? The butler, probably. But Evelyn could not bring herself to read about the capture of the butler and his long-winded statement. Her attention, her whole and horrified at- tention was only for the drawing of that jeweled cross which in some way had come into Dick’s possession, and which the police had not yet traced. Dick had it. Why hadn’t he explained? The sense of horror increased. She dared not let her thoughts run to speculation. There were some things which would not bear thinking about, and could not possibly be true. One of the maids came across the lawn with a pitcher of lemonade. “Mrs. Morley thought you might be thirsty, miss,” she said. “Oh, thank you very much,” Evelyn re- plied. The maid set the tray down on the sum- mer-house seat. “Mrs. Morley wonders if you’d like a few sandwiches or biscuits?” “Thank you, no. delicious. Tell Mrs. Morley it was awfully kind of her to think of it.” Evelyn drank some of the lemonade. It was as delicious as it looked. Never had she felt so thirsty. There was the rumble of a vehicle ap- proaching as she set the glass down, and presently one of the station cabs hove into view. With this new knowledge upon her, this horrified sense of fear, she wondered what she could find to say to Dick. So much would depend upon his own manner. He jumped out, paid the driver and the’ old cab rattled off. Then he saw her stand- ing in the entrance of the summer-house, and hurried across the lawn to greet her. “Evelyn! How did you know that I was coming down to-day?” Jimmy Creigh had asked her not to men- tion his letter. ‘ ‘““Mrs. Morley said she had a telegram,” she replied breathlessly. Yes, there was a decided change in Dick. Could it be due only to his illness? He was ghastly white and seemed to have aged incredibly. She felt that an immense bar- rier had reared itself between them. His restless gaze fastened on the news- paper she had left on the seat. Then their eyes met and he realized what was in her mind. She could scarcely have helped rec- ognizing the description and sketch of that unique pendant. “Well?” he asked quietly. “Did you come over to ask me if I killed Alma Stern?” “No—no, Dick. I came for quite an- other reason. Because I wanted to tell you et ee we i s Sea bee BN ge 537 | That lemonade looks ~ Gomichbooks ~~ a : a ee ee ee pe *