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The House of Whispers IOUNSTON 01ht Uvtl Browa*", (Continueq from 1st page, this section) 1m1paicttle luil II your crime," she ejac ulated. "It's abrmurd for you I try to question ame this way." "Lady.," Interrupted the keeper, "you'll have to lie going now. Time's uip." "l'rotise mile," she begged hastily in n undertone, I's she deirted, "vhatever you think about te, you'll keep tmty sister ouat of it." "I'll promise nottinag, inless you eon fes;s everything,'" I repeated. detetL. imined. if I cuthil. to drag her secret froint her, even thiough I., as well as she. was eager to shield Hlarhara's 1linl;i. Chaire Bradaeford's attituade, I must confess. puizzled ile grat ly. 11er de nill that she had seen the revolver, or that she iad been working in con .ucttitona with Wick seetnled to ring true. 11n)d I was also incliied to he lieve her statement that she knew nothiig of her fornier hushmaid's pres ent wheranhouts. While I was pon dering over her statements. nay cell door opened ai 1 Gornan was let In. "Well. young fellow." lie akli. "this sleuthi ing busIness didn't tuirn oit ex actly 1he waiy we expected it to. did it?" "1% .a do't hink I'm guilty, do you?" I waited in 'gony for his fuswer. If he failed me, there was no one absolutely no one, to whom I could turn. "It looks like you were guilty from reading the morning papers," he an swered with a grin. "But I don't be lieve all I renL They've made out a strong case against you, though." "I didn't do it I" I cried passion ately. "If you didn't, who d1d?" "It mast have been Mr. Wick." "There you go, jumpinpig at conclus Ions. Why not Claire Bradford?" "Why d1o You mention her? Do yon suspect her'," "If she didn't do It, vh.' (11d she Comie down htere to see yiu ?" "Ilow did you know she1 was here?" "I was watc'hing you till the time SCuit IO tulking to eaa ir. " "6B11t how did You know~m who sit(. was'" "I saw the other one tls, morning. They look alike." "Flat howv did y-oul know which sigler it was'?" "You didn't s to:n It g't :v-oil enouighI inl Yourv I :Ik for it to lo1. Palt It ain uI'.ni ni been my ' h ei n to r, v'enl iave to himia ('hinir.' Iti'a a secondti ili to mya' aig:mona', hmI' I saw howu fohit w nh! I i 1.1a tubXi ia'Iii Iilumainrtaion from 'si'u a shio'wd uih W'ithut rewrt'ivC' .aiul w~i th the it mIost deutail Iui(rc('lh l t-u ielate IieV erythaiig that luul haiial sincle I hadl Seen hiina Ih af' l ternouui on befor. I tobi1 of ray discovery' (of the seci'et panel ina any roini tul iiif t In- blindu passaigwayv int o whliuih It appua runtly. perilous jiitrney' ('Oer the wituI'iw hIleri to ispec't iiiy fil.l iih the s eenmts we' laid haenrui, folliowed byv the slat, of howv Ilaaamrharnul flied back byv lii- wvay sihe 'nmie,a ad I hadliim run downstairsl anid wvih WleIuk lad discouveredi the body,,. I lohl himt ever'y iletail so far inag iy aipma'rtntist before mOy tr rest and the tihal ing of thle revoldver. "You dlon't think the (letectlives thenmselvyes phim ed the gun on you ?" he asked. "I've hard i( of them doing things like that." Hie spouke with such an air of inno coc that I haul to smile. I doubat if therie weie nim iy trks ofi uletect Ives that Gormtan uiI not know all a bout. "They hadl no opuportuniitIy whoateve'r. Nei thei' of t hemn hadl bieen near the diresser before, antd I wais watchinug thuelr (every ntmiment." "Well, who dhu hide the revolver there, if they didn't ?" "I don't know." "Coaudn't Wick hiiave done if ?'' "I was with Im a every miomenat after we dlis.covered thbe body.'' "Maybeli It wvas Clanire Urndt~for'd?" I shook my haendi. "I thbought at first it might havie been s-be. hbut I'ma convinced slice tallt ing wIth her that It was not. Shie's eIther entirely innocent or else the mnost wiondlerftul act ri'ss in the wiorl." "I think we ian leave her otit of it," Ventured German. "Tlh~t leaves only Wick." Gorman shook hIs head positively. "No, Wick idin't (10 It. H e's a had oneO all right, and he lasg done time, buit he's only a tool." "'Wick has~ done time I" I exclaimed. "How dlid yout find that oiat? What have you learned about him ?" Gorman ririnnedl at my engm, onne "I don't ow much :about :him yet, but I'm sure 'he's an er-con. While you were in -court this morning," he explained, "I went up to the Grand deck to take a 'look at things for my self. Wick showed -me through the Lutan apartment, thinking I was from the coleyner's oflice. I spotted him at once. A crook that -has done time is always sure to give hinmself away."' "Iow?" I asked. "Well," said Gorman judicially, "inen's businesses. 14hvy their inarks on them. A' clergynnin don't hav'e to be wearing a high vest for you to spot him, and nobody ever took g ,dancing teacher for a pugilist. A man that has looked at as inany crooks as I have knows them by instinct, and then there's little ways you can tell. As I was going up to the apartment with Wick he just naturally fell Into step with me, showing.he had been used to marching with other prisoners. He talks, too, without moving his lips. That's a sure sign. They learn tiat in prison so they can talk without the guards knowing it." "That's so," I cried. "It struck toe that there was something funny about the way Wick talked, but I couldn't. have told just what it was." "Wick's a crook, all right, "but I think he comes from somewhere up state or maybe out West, but he hasn't intelligence enough to be any thing more than a runner for the gang." "Well, what's your theory?" I usl:ed. "If Wick didn't murder Miss LutUn, who did?" "I don't know yet. Wick Pin't big enough. Big jobs tnke big men to plan theim. This whole thing is a big affair. carefully planned out. It takes more brains than Wick ever dreamed of having to plant anony nious notes and terrify people nearly out of their senses with mysterious whispers and then to steal the Brad ford papors and the Onston pearls and then wlien things get hlot to have you already framed as the gont to blame things on." "Tten you think my discharge from the office was part of the plot?" "Sure it was. You butted in on their h.:.ekmnail plans, and they want ed to get square with you, and a youmg fellow out of work and discharge4d in disgrace Is always an easy mark fw sispicion." "And was it part of rthe plot to blame Miss Lutan's iurder on me?" "I don't think so. The Lutan niur der was an accident. Even the big gest crooks seldom deliberately plan murder. They're all afraid of the chair. She came In and surprised some one of the gang in the apart ment. Ie had to shoot her in make his getaway. It was quick thinking oil somebody's part after the murder to ptnt tit gun in your rooms. That sort of schetming takes branl4, and WVIck hasn41't got thlem." "Who wa-s It, th11en?", "We've got to find," aid (orman, speakitg slowly and with emp llsis. I ill r..,. "We've Got to Find the Crook That la Back of All Thio,-the Mauter Mind." "thei" big croo1k that is back of tall this "The'l runst er-lunind(," I echuoedl. "Ye ls,"' hei. sabl, "I heIre's a big crook ('( brinI somlhewhlere Ilthati as(been dI ph14one girli, an may ii~ be of CiaIrme Brnd ford, t'oo." 'I Vonder if it could he itr ex-hus hand. She toh me, thboluhi, a few mmaenits ago, thant shue laid not herd of hinm for yieari', amd she semied to me1 to be telling thle truth.'' "'I dlon't think It was' him,'' satid Gormani. ''le was only a chnuthiir. If ho's in it lit all, he's only one oft the gang, ie's noit the masti'r-mimd."' "'I hope wel ennl keep the Bradfords out of It altoigether4,"' 1 said(. "You see, Goru!tnm-'" "I ule(rstalnd," lie I nterrupltedl. "I know how the land lies. You need nlot wori'y atbout that. It' Claire Brad ford had aiiy part in the plot, you can het she was forced liuto It amId driven to (do what she dlId. I lave you seen1 11Cr sister?" "No, and1( 1 hope she'll muake no etf fort to see me. Shie iurtn't. You'll see her, won't you?" "Leave it to mle," said thie detective. "I'll tmnige to) reach her without even her own famidly knowing any thing about It. I'll make her undier standi~ that if she tr'ies to see you or says anything, Shle'll only be tnamag lng your case. D~on't wor'ry about her."' "There's one thing, though," I said, "that I wishl you could do." "What's that?" "Ca~n you find some way of getting to thn Onhuinn uno trimant nnrl ovniin'. iuiw Wt*teet bidlmiVrg~46 vndt it leads?" He turned savagely on me. "Say, young fellow," he said, "It I did4't know that you were innocent, I'd swear that you were a dope fiend with this tale of a secret passage. You've been reading too many thrill ers or going to the movies too itich. They don't have secret passages in modern apartment houses. You bet ter keep quiet about that. You can't get 'anybody to believe you, and you'll only hurt your case." "But I know there's a passageway there-along the hall. I found the opening, a panel in my bedroom. The'e's a place there big enough for a ntan to walk in. I saw it." He looked at me pityingly, and I could see that he did not, believe a word I was saying.. "All right, there's a passage there, and we'll leave it there. A young fel low in love is apt to imagine all sorts of things." I saw there was no use in my insist ing' further about the passageway. Ills iind was stubbornly made up that it could not exist. ' was the only friend I had in all the gi'eat city, and I must leave it to him to work the thing out in his own way. "What about a lawyer?" I asked. "Didn't the court assign you one?" "Yes, but he took it for granted that I was guilty, so I got rid of him." "Weil, there ain't auich a inwyer could do yet. I'll dig up one when we need him. Balil is not Issible in a murder case, so there is nothing for you to do but to sit tight and take it as easy as you can. Ity the way, have you heard anything from old Gaston since you were arrested?" "Not a word." I answered. "I have not the least idea where lie is or how to reach him." "Ilusph, that's funny." said Gor mani abstractedly. "Good-by, I'll see you again tomorrow." Ile pounded on the cell door, and n guard released him. leaving mie alone to ponder over my plight, and espe cially over his last question. What had he meant by it? Where was old Mufus Gaston? Once more uiid0on of my aged relat'e :,not through may brain. Was it possible that his was the master mind behind all this plotting? Gor. man had insisted that the arch crim' inal behind Wick and the others must be some man of intellect. My aIreat uncle Rufus had brains. Out of a clear sky lie had summoned me to live in the Granddeck and then had mys teriously disappeared. Certainly lie had had opportunities for knowing Wick and the telephone girl. Bar bara had reen!!ed onte having heard her fathor speak of hin in disparag Ing terms. Had it been he who wag plotting ngainst the Bradfords and had brought me into the case as a scapegon t ? Was old Rufus Gaston the masttz mind? Where was he? CHAPTER X1. Fortunately for me, there had re. cently been a wave of public criticism of the (courts for the long delays ini bringing criminal cases to trial, and tho district attorney was moving With all (ielrity to bring my ease to a (on elusion. An indietieit agaiist iime for* thie Iiiure5-r 1-f Daisy Luttan ihal hieen guilekly fomund and thle date hadl heeri ailreadt~y set for thle t riat-one week htete-so that the periodl of my1 inareaiIon antd doiubt as to may ulff nuat' faute seemiedi likeiy to be verb birief. t'tterly abe~surd as t he si tutio iwas. accusedt of imurdrhn g ai woman wh vloni hearsd ofm until I saw' heri lying deadi~ ini her~s atlt rtmsenits, (onlou~~tts ats I was of miy enitire. ininocenci n the lin titerot srili, ais in the s''ltitl of moy 'eli I r'e 5'viewd te (last, I fotsiun yself' fae lug tlwi ''rdetal of a trilI for murdsiem withi consihidrab app'lrt'hi'nison's. 'irui stnces (cerltainly3 lootked much2.~t a ist rite. Th'ere wats abso-0 hitt'ly ii' way~ in whtlih I c''ubl retfute Ithe test imnony of t h' twvo dett'ect Ive' that they hadui found thei rev'olver wifh toiine s hame d ischa rged( ini te drawerv of 111y dre*issi'r. I mlyS elf hadl seen thernt fid It. W~hile (l'tnans still held thatiI tere was a1 pt'ssibl'iity thaet t hey themtse'lv~es had' put it there, I kuimv thait neJi(ithler of themci hado beeni niea thte dhresser afteor I had c astaittIed theta to miy riooms. T1hse oinly peson whomtis I hatd the slightest groundio for' sus lpecting ' uns Claire Blradfortd, yet what mlot ivoe coulod slie hiave hasd?7 W'iek undoubtedly wvousl testify that lie liad me~t me at the door of thti Lti ispa rtsment dirsectly aufter lie hadi hteard te shot, ie msighit say thaet I appeared to be gretatly excited. Th'lis would ho the exact truth. Thtere was eveni the possibility that lie might swear that lie hadi fousnd tme comiiing out of Miss Lustan's apartmoent. Even if lie did not make thte statemnent dIi reet, shrewd qunestiosinag on the part of the district tattorntey couild easily mtake it appear tht I hind just left the Lutan aupartiment. IHow could we possibliy cosntrovert hlfi testimonty? Then, int addition, there wer'e the dlamaging statemeats that would lhe offered by Nellie Kelly. She would swear that the evening before I had taken hier out to dilnner asnd hiad been questioning her about the other ten ants In time house. Even though we knew that she wvas a tool of Wick and was the wife of Lefty Moore, the lhur glar, unless (Gormnan was tle to (11s cover thant she herself had a criminail record, it seemed utterly hopeless to attempt to cogfuite her statemuents. It would also militate against me that at the time of the murder I was out of a job and almost without ftunds. Theyv were likely.-ton. to ht not ebae =XIT'5" 1* 0911 0001111 UiteOlby de Uwa W fter tne testnmoay -~ .0 4ischarged from the only positi6 I y charactw trgo and Profane Expression. had held in Now York. The only man Rolier, my classmates With whom Iliad Do not think you are profane wheq who knew anything about the matter, roomed ever since I had come to Now you say tha .%ou "don't .-are a dam." Mr. Wood, the head of the firm, had York, were "somewhere In France" The truth Is that a dam was the small been suddenly called to France in con. wit the American troops and could eat Uindu coin at a time when the nection with an order for munitions, not possibly aid me. Englisn were Invading india, and the and was not expected to return for expression that one "didnt. give a dam" several months. The fact would (To be continued.) natur san n to n tatce weigh against ing. too, that L. would mte a fnx on mottc How carte ny Meiles From a %Cord Tire? Mfen arc everywhere telling remnarkable tales Tueli 7'rirdo Stage Co. of Log Angeleg, about mileage fromo Miller Cords. sater lon g comparisons of 22 makes, say that But remember that ileage varies ith co- c illers excel all. ditions. Size and load, roa wi hn carc affect itrc Onc mail who has sold an watched many d m iller factory tests, which are evere, last thousand 'Miller Tircs says this: ven showed a rear-wheel average of 15,000 "I find that Mlilirs execl othcr tires in sDrv- miles on Cords. They proved that youMillers, with ice from 50 per cent to 75 rare cxceptions, outwore every tire compared. per cent." They proved the new Miller tread the best l -Itidson Taxi Co. of of all treads by 25 per ccent. Detroit reports a 15,000-mile a average onl rather lieaey taxis. Test one for yourself. It will give you new a ideas about tire mileage. It will, in all proba TedPatented bilit)', break all records on youir car. weighe agaens smno, too. thatio Lwoul forfini ol onatashtit.Goaed hillr xpetsinten yashave done much o n ideted lk tosrynar own sake, learn what cocajgre to dirt they. hav dne How Manyilss Fro M Talked About Tire in America ot Cords or FabriC o Geared-to-the-Road dictoen's Name and Address Vincent Motor Car Co. Laurens, S. C. ThA udo LeadC.o faltd y2er cen Dbwletromtnreort, 1,0-ml ti average thi frther heavy ta inTestnl poriyoursef tht kwil iume yong atlavs imfretopusu ides aout t mind Itwu nldeba. Tii nrg nmred tne iiy ra alrcrso orcr cuch halt res outofththeustion for, iile- exrs on ten youarae onsti-c pated, Ain d laxtiv an cta they pills onagaae.n ofr th osiainhbtheM akdAou iei mrc Instea of frcing o rittn h ytm tsml FarcsGae-oftsthe-R o od wast. Ths eable th man tiy mucle in he allv~ts o h n tes tinsconratin a depanding's Name anoradt squeess Nacko his energtey hamssn het, and attbake Try hishat. ssef dic 0n thoatwy Nprov ork for betglarty noebt of an tig, eecsn -bowelIelimination. It is lely thisfredm rminetna oiosthtkep i