Argosy All-Story Weekly, August 9, 1924 — page 83: what you’re looking at

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

THE MYSTERY “Tt might be a certain young woman,” Ropes suggested. The eyes of the two men met. “I’m beginning to have some doubts,” said Bul- Jard, ‘“‘ as to whether Jacob Cushing was a real Sunday school hero.”’ ‘““G. Clement doesn’t exactly fit the role of the poor, hard working young female,” said Ropes. ‘And another interesting fact is,” went on the attorney, ‘that none of the pay- ments listed in this book seem to have been made by check. At least there are no can- celled checks for such payments. Possibly Cushing preferred to keep all these chari- table transactions on a strictly cash basis. That’s understandable, too.” “T’d like to go over to his house and ask his servant if Cushing had a flash light like that one,” said Ropes. Bullard reached for his hat. “I'll take you over.” And imitating the pompous manner of Mr. Charles Beddoes, he added: ‘‘ My present concern is to see Strict justice done.” Swan, who, with his wife, was still stay- ing at the Cushing house, answered their ring at the door. When Bullard showed him the flash light that Ropes had found the servant said that his master had pos- sessed such a light, but he couldn’t be sure that this was it. “Very well,” said Ropes when Swan had looked about the hall and found no such light. ‘‘ Now everybody has a place where they store old trunks and such things. Usu- ally it’s the attic. Could I have a look around that place?” Bullard, dismissing Swan, led the way up- stairs. There was a large attic filled with odds and ends of furniture. ‘‘ What do you expect to find here?” Bul- lard asked, glancing about the room. ‘“T don’t know exactly,”’ Ropes admitted. ‘“‘1’d like to learn something about Jacob Cushing’s past. He doesn’t seem to have talked much about it, and yet I’ve an idea it must have been an interesting one.”’ He walked about the attic, poking into the corners; and presently he pulled a small, weather-stained leather trunk from behind some packing boxes. ‘““That’s a sailor’s trunk,” he said. “I OF THE OPAL. 233 shouldn’t wonder if that had seen a good bit of travel.” Unbuckling a strap, he threw the lid open. There were only some papers in the trunk, and he turned them out on the floor. He picked up some newspapers and read their names and dates aloud. ‘“‘ Melbourne, Ade- laide, Brisbane; all more than five years old. Cushing traveled considerably in the Far East,” he mused. “ And yet he was very reticent about talking of his voyages, even to such a friend as Mr. Dalton.” Under the newspapers Ropes came upon a folded, linen-backed document, which, on investigation, proved to be a sailor’s chart. ‘““Oceanica,” he read. ‘“ Polynesia, Ma- laysia. Here’s Borneo, Sumatra, and Java. And here between Borneo and Celebes is Macassar Strait. Interesting, isn’t it, Bul- lard? Yes, a very interesting map.” ** Well, if Cushing was a sailor, one would expect him to have maps like that,” ob- served Bullard. ‘I dare say you could find dozens of similar ones in attics in this town.” “Very likely. And yet you observe that there is nothing in the downstairs part of this house to show that Jacob Cushing had been a sailor or had traveled in the Far East. Only up here in the attic, in an old, abandoned trunk.” ‘* He had retired from the sea.” ‘‘ But without keeping a picture of a ship, or a ship’s compass, or anything to remind him of his voyages, voyages that appear to have brought him a comfortable fortune. Didn’t he want to be reminded of them, or didn’t he want other people to know about them? Now that is a bit odd, isn’t it?” Bullard laughed. ‘ What are you eying to make out of Cushing, Ropes?” “Nothing more than what the facts say for themselves.” Ropes picked up a slip of paper that had fallen from a fold of the map. “A list of names.” He studied the slip a minute, then handed it to the lawyer. “This doesn’t mean anything to me,” said Bullard, with a shake of his head. , “It might be a list of the crew, taken from the logbook. But I don’t see how those names would help us. Names are so easy to change.” “You taik as if Jacob Cushing might CoOMmiicloookks CO