Marion Marlowe's Cleverness, or, Exposing a Bold Fraud — page 21: what you’re looking at

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

MY QUEEN. i mind, this creature was a dark, designing plotter ; one who would stoop to any crime, if she had aught to gain by it. _ With this precaution in mind, Marion made a tour of the premises. ‘There was no one to be found—the apartment seemed wholly de- -serted. - She paused at Nannie’s door and spoke to t e girl, There was no reply. Nannie, too, had vanished. A great wave of horror swept over Mar- jon’s soul a& she turned the knob of the door and found that some one had unlocked it. _ The room was in disorder, showing that the girl had left hastily. Marion could readily imagine who had liberated her pris- ner. “Oh, how dreadful!” she gasped, as she realized the full portent of the situation. “How stupid of me to leave her! I should | av re watched her every minute!” She ran hastily through the other rooms, t there was no one to be seen; then she oD Dace her aunt’s door and looked in eagerly. “Oh, Marion, do come and tell me what & think of this collar,” cried Mrs. Stanton, aS she caught sight of her niece; but the oung girl had already fled, closing the door shind her. “Gone, all gone, and my bird has flown,” she whispered, wringing her hands in agony. of d just when I was on the verge of solv- ing the whole mystery.” Without a moment’s hesitation she hurried to her uncle’s door. She knew that his body | was there in its casket, but that did not deter _ Iman instant she had turned the knob of the heavy door. It opened without a sound, and Marion stood facing a monstrous pier ” ss’ She was about to advance into the 90m when she saw something that held her pe pellbound with amazement, her .reat eyes ave reted on the mirror before her. he room had been darkened, but there fas still light enough for her to see plainly. Mts. Gregg was in the room tucking some- rar pet ; the whole scene being reflected in the glass, Marion watched her breathlessly for a sec- nd, then, as she saw that the woman was pie: ? ae a *, Ae oey 7 ir : * Alice 4 . ais. ming careiully away under one corner of the 19 about to rise, she closed the door as softly as she had opened it. In another minute she was in her own room—the small, cozy apart- ment that her aunt had asked her to occupy until after the funeral. As she reached this room, she locked the door behind her. She was trembling with excitement and wished to calm herself a little. “Oh, I must see Mr. Everett ! must!’ she whispered, desperately. IT must! I i | shall have to see him, even if I go to his apart- ments.” She bathed her face and smoothed her hair, and in a short time she had conquered the violence of her emotions. She felt that she Was on the brink of an awful discovery, but her heart was heavy at the loss of Ndnnie, for it was this girl’s information that was needed to back up the revelation that was coming. There was no one in the wide hall when Marion stepped out into it for the first time since she_had entered The Norwood on her peculiar errand. Not even a chambermaid or a bell- boy was in sight. The house had evidently been dis- ‘ciplining its employees and had wisely deter- mined to put an end to all gossip. Marion crossed the hall with a firm, de- cided step. She was desperate now, and nothing could dissuade her. : Just as she reached the door, it suddenly opened from the inside and Howard Everett emerged, attended by two strangers. As he caught sight of Marion his face grew pale, but his eyes were quick in tele- graphing to her a message. “Oh, Mr. Everett!” Marion began, and then stopped suddenly. In the flash of a sec- ond she had understood him. “How d'’ye do, Miss Marlowe! Does your aunt wish to see me? Please tell her I am sorry, but can’t come in just now, for, the fact is, | have been arrested and am on mv way to Police Headquarters.” CHAPTER XI. THE FINDING OF THE MOTIVE, _This was, perhaps, the most trying moment of Marion Marlowe’s life, but one elance CoOnnicboooks (C©) im