Argosy, Vol. 111, No. 1 — page 144: what you’re looking at

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

134 ‘‘ Out with it, girly,” urged Wise. “ Tell your old Penny what’s the matter.” “Will you do what I want?” she asked, her voice tense and thrilled with strong feeling. ‘Yes; to the limit.” “Then look at that snow crystal!’ “Yes, I’ve looked,” and after a mo- ment’s close scrutiny, Wise turned his eyes again to the eery face, so vividly emotional, so white with that unnamed fear. : “You look, too, Mr. Brice,’ and I did. ‘“‘ Note the design,” Zizi went on. ‘See just how the fronds are marked.” ** Oh, come now, Zizi,’’ and Penny Wise patted her arm. ‘“‘ You're putting up a game on us. We know Rivers draws those things beautifully. Why act as if you never knew it before?” ‘“‘ Come with me,” and Zizi rose and be- gan to put her long black cloak round her, shivering with excitement as she did so. ‘“‘’You come, too, Mr. Brice.” We obeyed the strange child, for I re- membered how Pennington Wise respected what he called her ‘‘ hunches,” and before going down-stairs she directed that I call a taxicab. In the cab, she said nothing, having al- ready bade us go to Amos Gately’s office, and arrange to get into the rooms. And then, when we were there, when I had obtained the key from the bank people and entered. the dim, quiet rooms, Zizi went straight to the middle room, straight to Amos Gately’s desk, and lifting the tele- phone from where it stood on the big desk blotter, she disclosed the exact counter- part of the snow crystal we had seen drawn at my desk by Case Rivers! CHAPTER XVI. THE SNOW-FLAKE. | LOOKED at the design with interest, but without, at first, grasping its true significance. Pennington Wise looked at it, aghast. ‘“‘ Where did it come from?” he exclaimed. “Tt’s always been there,” said Zizi. “ I mean, I saw it there one day when I was in this room with Mr. Hudson. I—I—” THE ARGOSY. ‘“Didn’t know you’d ever been here, Ziz,” and Wise smiled at the earnest little face. “Yep, I was; and I happened to move the telephone, and under it was that draw- ing. I didn’t think anything about it, as evidence, but I looked at it ’cause it was so pretty. And I put the telephone back over it again.” ‘But I searched this room,” and Wise looked mystified. ‘You probably didn’t lift the telephone, then,” Zizi returned, shaking her elfin head, while a deep sorrow showed in her’ black eyes. ‘“T don’t believe I did,’ Wise mused, thinking back. I did pick up most of the desk fittings to examine them, but I sup- pose I didn’t take hold of the telephone at all. There seemed no reason to do so.” “Course not!” Zizi was always ready to defend Wise’s actions. ‘‘ How could you know there was a picture under it? But, oh, Penny, what does it mean?”’ ““Wait—let’s get at it carefully. On the face of it, it would seem as if Case Rivers must have drawn this figure of a snow crystal. Everybody has some pe- culiar habit, and especially, lots of people have a habit of drawing some particular thing when waiting at a telephone. ‘“T’ve asked half a dozen men of late, and every one says he scribbles words or draws some crude combination of lines. But each one says he always does the same thing, whatever it may be. Now, I im- agine, very few men draw snow crystals —and fewer still draw them with this de- gree of perfection. Again, granting they did, would any other individual draw this identical design, with this accuracy of draw- ing, that Case Rivers drew on the desk blotter at your house, Brice?”’ “TI should say it would be impossible that any one else could have done it,” I replied, honestly, though I began to see where our investigation was leading us. ‘It zs impossible,’”’ declared Wise. ‘‘ Two men might draw snow crystals, but they would not both choose this particular one.’’ “It’s exactly the same,” Zizi murmured, “for I brought Mr. Brice’s with me; here it is.” GOMIIGIOO SS (CO