Argosy All-Story Weekly, May 3, 1924 — page 122: what you’re looking at

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

912 Ananias!”? George eyed her with grim sus- picion. “ We don’t want to pry into your affairs, if they are your affairs, but we feel responsible for you.” “To whom?” Ethel asked coolly. “ I’m not under probation, am I? There wasn’t anything much for me to do around here, for Mr. Nichols told me on Saturday that you all thought Mr. Monckton killed his father himself. You were doped, weren’t you, Mr. Roper, and Mr. Howe was tied up and gagged—”’ “How do you know that?” George inter- rupted, his long countenance reddening. “We never told—I mean, it didn’t happen to Phil before Sunday, and you were gone by then! I knew it! You’ve been up to some mischief!” “A fat chance we have of making her tell if she don’t want to!’? Henry Corliss remarked sententiously, but his small eyes twinkled. ‘‘ She’s back, anyway, and evi- dently none the worse. You haven’t an idea when Cliff is going to show up again?” “No, I haven’t!” Ethel for the first time in her life was relieved that she could tell the truth. ‘“‘ Has anything happened that you wouldn’t mind telling me?” ‘“‘ There’s one thing, as long as you still appear to take a little interest in the case, Ethel.” Rex spoke with a note of grave reproach. ‘It was Mr. Monckton’s own father who was trying to ruin him! That shows how deep the bitterness was and makes the case against him fairly complete. The old gentleman paid detectives to follow him and queer his attempt to enlist any out- side capital Mr. Roper found that out from the chief private detective himself.” “ The old wretch!” Ethel exclaimed, in- dignantly, adding in a quick afterthought: ‘But Richard Monckton didn’t know that! He didn’t dream it was his father!” Her hearers glanced at each other, and George coughed. ‘Shall we finish our talk?” He waved toward the council room. ‘“ We are all at rather loose ends till Cliff reappears.” ‘“‘T shouldn’t be surprised if you’d hear from him soon,” Ethel remarked with elabo- rate carelessness. ‘ The last time I saw him he said something about writing to you if he was too busy this week to come in.” ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY, Henry and George Roper had filed back into Rex Powell’s office, but the leader him- self lingered and bent over the secretary's desk. ‘‘ The last time you saw him?” he echoed in a low voice. ‘“ Ethel, when was the last time?” She smiled quietly; then her face grew grave. ‘“T have a message for you alone, Mr. Powell. I’m afraid you may not like it and I don’t want you to think I’m scared or any- thing, but I’ve got to tell you. Mr. Nichols would like it if you could arrange to—to go home with me from the office every night till you hear from him, and call. for me in the morning. Just you, he said; none of the others.” | “Good Heavens!” he murmured in a shocked undertone. “ Is it as bad as that? I might have known you didn’t desert us, my dear, but tell me, have you been in any actual danger? JI shall never forgive Cliff—”’ ‘“No, I haven’t, and, anyway, he—he didn’t sen 1 ne!” she interrupted with quick loyalty. ** Please, I can’t tell you any more, I—I’m obeying orders! He didn’t say any- thing about lunch time, though, and per- haps I’d better go now while you are here?” ‘No! I'll finish my talk with the others and take you myself,” Rex declared with decision. ‘‘ You must not leave this office or your home without me, Ethel, till this case is settled. Can it be that we’re mis- taken after all, and the woman did arrange to have Monckton’s town house robbed?” ‘The woman?” She caught him up, and her quick mind traveled back to a question which Cliff had asked little Bessie that morning. “Do you mean Mrs. Regnier?” Rex looked startled, but shook his head with a laugh. ‘That remains to be seen, my dear!” he declared. ‘“ Remember, no stirring out without me!” Cliff Nichols had crossed the ferry and at that moment was boarding a trolley car near the Palisades. He recalled vaguely when the child Bessie had mentioned ‘ Brookfield” that it was somewhere in northern New Jersey, and consultation of a road map showed that it lay half an hour’s TA COMG DOO! S (CO) nn