The Argosy, Vol. 75, No. 4 — page 49: what you’re looking at

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

MESQUITE RANCH, but he rose slowly and started along the brick pavement to a flight of steps that descended to the lawn. Bess fol- lowed him, the horrible fascination of fear and morbid curiosity on her. She saw him go to the wall and look over. She heard him exclaim. He leaned against the marble bulwark as if his strength had deserted him. Bess, a bit more used to the awfulness of the af- fair, could see that he was even more overcome than she had been. He turned and glanced toward the house, and she fancied that the horror of having his wife know what had oc- curred beyond the marble banister filled him with dread. ““I—TI can’t believe it!” he came to her and whispered hoarsely. “Well, it’s true,” Bess said sharply, feeling that he must be stimulated to assume command of the two men, who were looking up expectantly from their post beside the body. “ You'll have to let the police know—the officer who looks after things of this kind.” “Yes, yes—the coroner. It’s unbe- lievable!’’ he replied, still returning to the thought that seemed to hypnotize him. “ Tt—isn’t it possible to do it quiet- ly? It will make such an amount of talk! Mrs. Barrington—’’ Bess stopped, too much overcome to go on suggesting that the man’s death might be accounted for in some way that would prevent investigation. “Tl see about it,’ Barrington re- plied, dragging himself together with an effort at the mention of his wife’s mame. ‘‘ Tell the men to stay till the doctor can get here.”’ He walked toward the house with firm step and a reassuring return of his accustomed manner. Bess instruct- ed the men and dragged toward the house. She moved as if her young limbs were impeded by heavy weights. As she reached a point opposite Mr. Barrington’s office the butler came hur- rying out. One glance at his face told her that he had heard the news of the ghastly find beneath the terrace. 751 “Mr. Barrington told you—” she began, so surprised at the random re- tailing of the dead man’s proximity that she could scarcely believe that her host had actually communicated it. “Yes, Miss Hetherington. It just proves what I told him,” he answered, excited out of his formal manner. “What was that?” she asked quick- ly. “ About the burglar.” Bess’s eyes opened wide and stared her question at the man. “Yes, Miss Hetherington, there was a burglar. He was in Mr. Radford’s room, and when I went to wake him, Mr. Radford mistook me for him and nearly killed me, ma’am.” Bess listened to the somewhat con- fused information with her lips so dry that she could not speak. “T told Mr. Barrington, as Mr. Radford said I should. Now they’ve found the burglar. He was likely get- ting away, Miss Hetherington, and mistook the balustrade for a fence. He must have climbed over, then fell in the water, and drowned.”’ Bess listened to the butler, who had amateur detective instincts, with one part of her brain. The other was go- ing over the facts that Radford had been out of his room in the night, had been surprised in the hall by the butler, and had said that he was looking for a burglar. “Was nothing of Mr. Radford’s taken?” she asked. ““No, Miss Hetherington. Nothing was even disturbed. The burglar must just have come in when he waked up and scared him away,” the man re- plied. Bess Hetherington’s whole heart voiced a strange cry at the sound of the butler’s words. If Ted had only not persistently disguised the truth, if he had only trusted her a bit, 1f he had given her a chance to believe the best of him! But her mind now instantly leaped at the conclusion that Ted’s explana- tion of the burglar — who disturbed CORMIELOOOKS (C@)