Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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The House of Whispers WiLLiaM JOHNSTON mlastrations by IRWIN MYERS Qopyright by Linlo, Brown a Co, (Couin u cd,-Fro~i Page One.) 11iif wri ttuenitine wiere his :U(dre.-;s will ble." I had not Intended to niention1 tie Gaston pearls. I hadfl. slipped . that llilrse In on the ofpr o l noiniil t, but little was I prepa red for the as itounding effect mlly Words had upon S1er. L "Tho pearls " she gasped, turning W. M. NASH SURVEYOR Terracing Leveling NOTARY PUBLIC Gray Court, S. C. 0. Langdon Long ATTORNEY AT LAW Enterprise NationaliBank Building All Legal Business Given rrompt Attention GASOLINE SYSTEMS Oil Tanks and Pumps, AIr Com pressors, Computing Scales, Floor Scales, Show Oases, Account' Reg isters, llebuill Cash Registers. Safes, Store Fixtures.I TlE HAMIfTON SALES CO. Columbia, S. C. C. C. Featherston't W. 15. Knight FEATHERSroNEi A KNIGHT Attorneys at Law Laurens, S. C. All Business Intrusted to Our Care Will Have Prompt and Carefui Atten. tion. Ofice over l'almetto Bank Mr. Featherstone will spend Wednes day of each week In Laurens. The Laurens Drug Co., Laurens, S. C. Dr. T. L. Timmerman DENTIST Laurens, South Carolina Offlee fin Peoples Bank Building UNDERTAKING C. E. KENNEDY & SON Undertakers and Embalmers .Ctails answeredl any hour day or night Simpson, Cooper & Babb ,Attorneys at Law. Wilil Practiee in all State Curts Prompt Attention Given All Business Blackwell & Sullivan ATTORNEYS AT LAW. Prompt Attention Given All Business Money to Loan on Real 'Estate Telephone 850 Offlee ia Simmons Building CLYDE T. FRANKS Agent For Ashepoo Fertilizer Few Equals and No Superies' Also Few Farms for Sale Farmners!I See Me at SFARMERS 'NATIONAL BANK Lauren,, S. C. white. "You'i'e going o send him the Gaston pearls 1" There was a note of mnzelenent, of incredulity in her tone. "Ex'use me1c," silo said. rising un' expectedly, "I- gotta telepllole." Before I could gather my wits to gether she hild vlillsled, leaving me sitting there, staring after her in dis may. What did sle-the telephone girl-know about the (haston pearls? flow could she possibly know that they were missing? I had told 'no one -110 On1e exCept Barbara Bradford about the rilled wall safe. Ilow could her excitement and perturbation be ficcoulited for except by the fact that sei knew of their Ioss' I was titting there, puzzling over her myster ous condlct, whln I became aware that a Imit wis standing beside lly table, glaring down lit me. I looked 111, ex Pecting to see the Walter, or head wailter. Instead it was a 1111111 li a ditmer jacket, n stocky, brand-shoul dered chlla) with a close-cropped gray mustache. "You're got your nerve." he sneered "You've Got Your Nerve," He Sneered at M e. nt me. "Bringing a woman of that sort hore." "A woman of what sort?" I asktd eagerly. surprised to find solcole ill a place of this sort who know the Granchleck's telephone girl. "Why, Lefty Mooru's wife, of course." "I don't understand," I replied, "I'm here with Miss Kelly." "Oh, she told you that was her 1name. did she?" "I know it's her name. She's the telephone girl lin the apartment where I live-the Granddeck." T could see his manner toward me cAllinge at tile mention of my abode, but he was still insistent nlholt the Identity of mily compnlllioll. "Ilow well do you klow her?" he asked. "Well"-I am afrail I colored, an; I reilized that mily nequaintance with Ihe girl was ltmitedl-"i'e beel living there for a week or so, and I've tilk ed with ber two ortirce times nruil--" "I '.,ab so," Sold 'iry inquheiltior. "T'i'h 're's lnotinlag to it. She's 7,efty Moore'si woman all right. If I'd seeu you- come in with her. you'd never have got ,t tadblo Inl thiN pince." "Whai t is the matter wvith her? Who is Lelty Moore?" All vxpresslon of anmazement came linto tile Itmnl's face. "Did you never hear tell of Lefty Moore, tile cleverest thr-ee-tlime hurW glfar there is inI or out of SIngj, SIng?. I~ourlteenl years he got the last timne, ami1( it was qutite a wrIte0-iup the papers gave mie for catchIng Im1."' It begatn to dhawn 01n me1 then1 who tihe man was. ItoIlimust he0 anl ex-pO licemlan emlployed as thte restauraint bounce olC~(r house5 dletectivye. "You're sure Miss Kbhly and Lefty Moor-e's wife are tile stame person?" "I've realsons for not forgetting hecr. Sho was witht him1 that time when I took hIm. I'v'e got tihe marks of her nails in my face yet. It's her all riht, Oeen if shie ha1s gonie to work as Miss Kelly whIle Lefty's dloing his stretch. She's al bad1 one, she is." "Is site a crook, too?" I asked ex citedliy. I was trying to measure utp the importance of tis astoundIng bit of information. Already m~y deduc tionls had coniniced me1 that some hand qf crImnInals was in collusIon wIth someone In the alpartmnent who was carryIng out their plots aigainlst tile Blradfordls and meo. I hand been thtinkting of an apartmlent surrepti tiouisly tetnanted by a crImInal ganlg. Iro' mu~ich morem likely that an em pl0oyee of the lplace was in tile pay of the plotters I And now to learn thlat tile telephlone girl was, If not a criminal herself, at least the asoc. ate of crimlinals. "Shle's got no record that I know of," the detelctiv'e admitted, "bult she could~n't be fty Moore's wife with Out being a crook herself." "Thant hlips explaIn tlhings," I sald more to mlyself tihan to hIm. "E~xplaIns whalt?" lie asked suspiel Ollsly. "Look hlere," I said withl a newv de termination. "Thlere have been someI mysterlitus happenIngs In tile Grand deck, and I brought thIs, girl hlere to try to pump her. I asked hecr a ques tion or two, and she b~ecamel much embarrassed aml conifusedI. She jumlp ed up and saId she was going to the telephlone. Do you suIppose that she saw you and recognized you?" "Not a chance," Bald the detectIve. "WVell, I'd like to find oult t'o whom she telephloned.I Can you find out for me?" "Sure I can, but you got to get her out of here." "All right," I replied. "As soon as she rein ~n i m enjhon. 1'nl nny mp check ami we'll leave. VII be back 1' and by an1(d see if you've learned anything." "Here she comes now," said the do tective, hastily taking his departure, but I noticed that he had stationed himuself behind sote palms where ho COild watch the girl without being seen. "Who was the fellow talking to you as I caie up?" asked Miss Kelly curiously. She was cool anlid collected now. 11er telephono iessage-if she had been really phoning-seetmued in some way to havo fortified her. "Oh, that fellow," I replied with as sumied carelessness, "that was the lanager of the jace." "What'd lie want?" "Nothing iII particular. lie just asked If everything was all right. Why?" "Hie looked to ite like a bull-like a detective I used to know," she hastily Corrected herself. Ier stip in using the thieves' slang phainse served to ahl ii convincing me that my informint had been correct in his identiflcation. I was as anxious now as the house detective to get her out of the restatirst'' oml 'tyim1ph(l the waiter I hastened to pay my check. "Let's stay for i couple of dances," she suggested. "Sorry," I said, "but I can't dance" -mentally ndding the words, "with you. "Let's go then," she said disappoint edly, and to iy surprise on the way out she renewed the subject of MI. Gaston. "You were asLing if the old gentle inan left a forwarding 'address. lie (ldin't leave any with ie. If you find out where lie is. vill you let me or Ar. Wick know? Air. Wick wants to get in touch With h11im." Somuething told me then it mtist have been Afr. Wick she had telephonled to. Probably she la1d informed 11hm I had beeni ausking nhout the Gastonts' ad dress and had colsulted him as to wiat .answer lo give. I'lit lng the ;ir lito a taxi I inth1 ir driver to take her imle and hu1irrie4d back intio ilt hotel. I found the house detectIve .hiie GiIriunn, I lan'ei d hlls name11110 waIS-wlitilig for Ine Inl thle lobbly. "Wais It to the Griandileck sue tele phoned ?" I alsked ne;rly. "It was 0000 I'htza1. That's a Ir - Vile nutnhber. I called Ily infrornmti onl. 11nd4 shei wouhdn't teIll mue whiere It was. I'll filtl Omit toiniorrow. t hough. Th(eire's tioni.'" It' you find (lit yeu'll phonle tme right away, wont't yI?" I asked himt. giving himl mly enrd,4. "Alid have Lefly Aloore's w\ife is tenig in" h suggested. ".Notinu din, lsnl. You'd better call me irom a pulit. pay Station." "Yo 're rig t 11hott tlu-tt," I re l . "and "y, look lire. Why Cnt Yw' .14n11et .n snwhotr.e tomorrow of1*1r noon11. TI'n-ro nro it lot ofr y tro~ ings inptoiinilg in thle G l.bleeki1l'*i .\ . 11 y 1-: 1nn help me in trlyiig Il clear :1.1-1 1m1u.." "It's a 47u(. I'll be in the hi,1 r.10 t of .it .i -oln or's rlince overl in T.-' ir tvenuie at 1thre1e C'clock waiting for you." "I'll he there," I snod, as I hi4le imt onod night. "Ilod o il it Inulte'." he said. "Io you kllt()\ where Lefty AloWre's wife lIve.s now?" I reno Iled the nuttuber she hniid told mie toi give the0 taxi man11 and~ re'penited it to himc, art addreltss way, oven ont lst Sixity-secondt stra"~t noar th le rive'r. "I like to krimv them sort of thIngs," lie exline icd.' "in otur biusi ness you never kntow whlen you'll be im'edity themrt." Oin my way homie. after' I heft him, I congiratula11ted mtyselft ont having madte fletectiv'e exp~'eice. 'iThe fact that lie ho'l a responsible position with a big hotel oughit to he sutiletent Snoucher for his honesty. Of course MIss Brad fordl must lie consutlted be(for'e I mti (Gormnan the next afternoon. I coutld hatrdly tell him my own almost unthe ilevable exper'iences without bringing In the aittemplts to lhakmtail hier sister. Surely Miss Bradford wvould rnot 01). jet to my plnan. We we're mnakiig Rilch poor headway in solving the mys tery Ourselves that I wias cer'taini she would welcome Oormtan's advice. Anad woul it not lie at surprise to Blarbara Bradford to learn that a criminal--or at least the wife of a criml-llt-was employed as a telephone girl 'in the apartmenrt house? I was hoping that shte would 1)0 ait home andl In her room wvhen I arrivedl at the house so that I mright signal her and lell her mty great news at once. I let myself Into the apartment and without bothering to tunl on the lights nmde1 my w~ay back towardo mty owin room. As I reached the end of the hall liy eoa detectedl a scuffling noise hnt seemed to come from my qutar ters. I stoppeCd stock-still tand listened breathilessly. Urnquiesionbly there wits s~li~omeon ini miy rodm. I tiptoed softly forward. As I crept ilong in the darkness, making no tolind, I found myself dlevouitly wish Ing for sonie weapon. Of course It mtight be Barbarn, Wvho had entered by nedns of the hedge to leave seine mes inge for mue, bult if it were not she, I feit certain that I would dliscover w~ho was at thie bottom of the plots iganist us. I gained thue dhoor wvithout my pres mece hainrg bieen discove'redl. In the limn half-lIght that canme from the open windowv I could detect a figure stand! ng on a chair apparently feeling along ho wniil nenr the ceiling,~ I recalled with curiosity thtat it was f'romt that ipot that the wvlhispern I had heard therg was a suppressed scream, fol lowed by a frightened gasp. The figure on the chair turned quickly and faced ine. T saw that It was a woman, a badly frightened woman, with her hands clutching at hor heart. Almost instantly I recognized her. It was not Barbara Bradford, but her sister, Claire. She was clad in some sort of a dark house gown thrown over her nightgown. Ier slippered feet were bare of stockings, and her hair hung in a great braid down her back. As I stared at her she sprang from the chair and made a rush for the open -winldow. 1 grabbed for hwr and though she fought desperately I man aged to hold her fast and to drag her ,away from the window. After a mo iment's futile resistance she suddenly collapsed in my arms, inoaning in a tense whisper: hiu1 seeeil to Colle. Inch by hich I erigtel noiselessly for ward, mny eyes on the ini ruldor 1unti at last my ltingers fou lI the (lectrie lighit button. As the light floodid the room (To b,c continued.) WHITE i II DRESSI 6 .KEEP YOUR SHOES NEAT - - THE F.F. DAILLEY COPPORATIONS.tTO., f'FALO, N.Y. * ORE -A -A '0j7VVA VIy?,7 0 Your Tire Bills Y OU can save the price of from four to seven iner tubes this year. Put this money in your pocket by fitting out with Layer view of Lee Puncture-Proof Tircs-extra heavy, finely made tires, road-proofed with the three patent disc-layers, Puncture-Proof a distinctive Lee feature, absolutely unpuncturable yet pliant and "frictionless." Your saving in tubes alone will bring down the cost of Lee Puncture-Proofs to about that of ordinary tires. Put Lee Puncture-Proofs on your car. Know, in advance, exactly what your tire and tube bills will be for the next twelve iiionths. In addition-you save time, teniper and the an noyance of changing tires on the road. _______e - Z&N u W. P. HUDGENS Laurens, S. C. Cord or Fabric PunctureP-Proof Tirese" "Smile at Miles " Costs Money Not to Know 1. It costs your customer money not to know how to take care of his battery. 2. It costs him money not to know wvhat Willard Ser ( ) vice means in terms of motor-car satisfaction. *3. It costs him money not to know what Threaded Rubber Insulation is and what it does. Make a point of nuggesting to each friend that he :get acquainted with Willard Service. It will help him to get better lighting and starting at less expense. Laurens Storage Battery C. Laurens, S. C. Rear Moseley & Roland Old Stand Telephone 446