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THE

MASTER

MYSTERIES

BANCROFT
LIBRARY

•o

THE LIBRARY

THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA

Gift of

Joseph K. Bransten

,\rllM

.hW

I'd know then just what you were to me — alone in the dark."

THE
MASTER OF MYSTERIES

BEING AN ACCOUNT OF THE PROBLEMS

SOLVED BY ASTRO, SEER OF SECRETS,

AND HIS LOVE AFFAIR WITH VA-

LESKA WYNNE, HIS ASSISTANT

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY

KARL ANDERSON AND GEORGE BREHM

INDIANAPOLIS
THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY

PUBLISHERS

BRAUNWORTH & CO.

BOOKBINDERS AND PRINTERS

BROOKLYN, N. Y.

CONTENTS

it. PAGE

MISSING JOHN HUDSON ...,..,.. 1
THE STOLEN SHAKESPEARE . . ... .23

THE MAcDouGAL STREET AFFAIR . . . . .44

THE FANSHAWE GHOST ...... .65

THE DENTON BOUDOIR MYSTERY ..... 83

THE LORSSON ELOPEMENT ...... 103

THE CALENDON KIDNAPING CASE ..... 128

Miss DALRYMPLE'S LOCKET ...... 148

NUMBER THIRTEEN ........ 165

THE TROUBLE WITH TULLIVER ...... 186

WHY MRS. BURBANK RAN AWAY . . ..; > . 203

MRS. SELWYN'S EMERALD . . >: .... . . 225

THE ASSASSINS' CLUB ....;... 247

THE LUCK OF THE MERRINGTONS . . ... . . 271

THE COUNT'S COMEDY ..... . 291

PRISCILLA'S PRESENTS . . . ,.; . . .311
THE HEIR TO SOOTHOID ..... ... • 326

THE Two Miss MANNINGS ...... 344

VAN ASTEN'S VISITOR ...... . 365

THE MIDDLEBURY MURDER . . . . .384

VENGEANCE OF THE Pi RHO Nu .:.... 407

THE LADY IN TAUPE . . . . . .428

MRS. STELLERY'S LETTERS . ,: > x . . 443
BLACK LIGHT . •»• . . >: -. . . . 465

INTRODUCTION

Astro put The Great Cryptogram back upon his
book-shelf among the other attempts to solve the im-
mortal Shakespeare-Bacon controversy.

"Valeska," he said, turning to his pretty assistant,
"it's queer that there appears to be no other book con-
taining a secret message except the Shakespeare folios,
isn't it ! It seems to me that I have heard it said that
Chatterton had a cipher in one of his books, though ;
that's the only other one I know of. Strange more au-
thors haven't done it !"

"Why?" Valeska asked, looking up from her cata-
logue. "Why should a writer put anything in that
can't go plainly in the body of the book, or, at least, in
an introduction?"

"For many reasons : He may be ashamed of the book,
or have some other reason for not acknowledging its
authorship. It may describe his friends too accurately.
It may reveal important secrets. Even if his name does
appear on the title page, I can imagine of a number of
secret messages he might want to insert for the benefit
of those able to understand it."

"Perhaps it has often been done," Valeska suggested.
"One wouldn't know, unless one had a reason to sus-
pect the existence of such a thing — and then one would
have to be clever enough to read the cipher."

Astro thought it over. "By Jove !" he exclaimed at
last, "you're right ! Now I think of it there's one par-

INTRODUCTION

ticular book, published anonymously, that I've often
been curious about. Clewfinder, — I think I'll take a
look at it."

He went to his book-shelves again and took out the
volume, opened it, and ran swiftly over the pages.
"Let's see," he said; "if the author wanted his true
name known, he would put it in an easy cipher,
wouldn't he ? But if he didn't want it found out easily,
it would be something more complex. This book has
had a great sale — it could hardly hurt the man to be
suspected of writing it. Let's try the easiest possible
method first."

He ran swiftly over the pages. "Well, what d'you
think!" he said, looking up. "I knew the man was
pretty clever, and fairly versatile, but I never thought
of him as the author of such a novel as Clew finder!
Just look at it, Valeska."

"You say it's the easiest possible method he has
taken ?" Valeska said, as she looked over the pages.

"The very easiest."

Valeska studied on it a few minutes, then her face
lighted. She hurriedly turned the pages, stopped here
and there, and then smiled. "Well, that is a surprise,
isn't it ! But why didn't he put his name on the title
page ? I can't understand that !"

"Give me the book !" Astro said, eagerly. "I believe
he would be likely to tell that, too !" He took the vol-
ume again, and again he ran hurriedly over the pages.
"Yes ; as I thought," he said, finally. "He has the best
of reasons." He handed the book back to his assistant.

"The second cipher, surely, would be written in the
second easiest way, shouldn't it ?"

Astro nodded. "Naturally."

INTRODUCTION

Valeska sat for a while at her table, her head resting
in her hand. Then she slowly turned the leaves, think-
ing. In a moment she went faster, stopping as before,
for a second, occasionally. She went back once, made
sure, and recommenced. Finally she smiled. "Yes!"
she said. 'Tie's right, too !"

"It may have a third cipher message, too," she sug-
gested, looking at the volume curiously.

Astro thought it over. "Possibly, but that would be
for the few, not for the ordinary 'smarty-cats.' I'll see
when I have leisure for it. It will probably take a little
more time to read it."

"Well," said Valeska, "if other books have contained
any such secret messages, it's strange that some one
hasn't eventually discovered them."

"That's no doubt because they didn't have modern
publishers, who understood the practical psychology of
advertising," said Astro.

And he turned to play with his pet white lizard.

THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

The Master of Mysteries

MISSING JOHN HUDSON

THE Master of Mysteries bent over the onyx lec-
tern for a moment to gaze at the monograph, and
then chuckled derisively. "Oh, these German Symbol-
ists !" he said half aloud. "For unadulterated humor,
give me a Teuton that has joined the ranks of the meta-
physicians. It is hardly to be wondered that ninety per
cent, of them have died in madhouses, and that Max
Nordau has scheduled the rest of them for suicide !"

He paused again to give a final glance at Ehrenfeld's
little book on tone color in vowels. "The letter A,"
he translated rapidly, "suggests at once bright red, and
symbolizes youth, or joy ; the letter I is suggestive of
sky-blue, and symbolizes intimacy, or love — et cetera,
et cetera" He stopped from sheer exasperation. "Poor
Arthur Rimbaud ! Poor old sodden Verlaine ! What
crimes are committed in your cause !"

The door opened softly, and he turned to greet a
beautiful blond-haired girl who entered.

"Valeska, if I were making up a list of the tonal es-
sences in vowel sounds, I should say the A was yellow,
in disagreement with our friend here, Mr. Ehren-

THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

feld. The U would be purple, verging on maroon.
By the way, did you happen to notice that woman who
was here this afternoon?" He gazed abstractedly at
the floor. "It seemed to me," he went on after a few
moments' thought, "as if she possessed distinctly pur-
ple vibrations, denoting unrest."

"Which one?" was the quick reply. "THe one in
black satin, with jet ornaments, who wore gold-bowed
eye-glasses, and limped ?"

"Of course; but I should describe her as a woman
who was worried and was jealous of her husband ; very
suspicious of him ; also abnormally anxious for money."

"I didn't talk to her ; I was too busy."

"You must do a few palms some day, just to see how
you are getting along in your study of the science of
human nature. You noticed nothing else about her?"

Valeska put the end of her pencil to her lips and con-
sidered it abstractedly for a few moments. "Let me
see — " she began. "She carried two books, didn't she ?"

"Precisely. One was a Baedeker's Northern Italy,
and the other was a church report, — Park Avenue
Presbyterian. But the point is that she's coming here
again, possibly this evening or to-morrow. She was
literally perishing with the desire to ask me something
which she did not dare to at the time."

At this moment there came a ring at the office door-
bell.

"There she is now," went on the mystic. "Did you
notice that was a nervous ring? It came twice. She
wasn't quite sure the first time whether she had pressed
hard enough. Show her in, Valeska."

A few minutes intervened before his visitor ap-
peared, pausing undecidedly on the threshold. "Could

MISSING JOHN HUDSON 3

I see you for a short time about something of impor-
tance ?" she questioned.

"Have a seat, madam." Astro had risen, and placed
a chair, apparently innocently enough, where the full
glare of the drop electric light would illuminate her.
His eyes did not appear to survey his client ; but under
his long lashes they were busy noting detail after detail.
She sat down and again hesitated to begin.

"I — I suppose that what I am about to say, sir, will
be kept in perfect confidence ?"

"Assuredly, madam. You are worried about your
husband, I presume."

She started in surprise, looked curiously at him, and
then said, "Yes," in a faint tremulous whisper. At
once she added, "You told me things this afternoon
which were so wonderfully true that I thought I
might trust you to give me some help on a far more im-
portant affair which has been worrying me for some
time. The fact is, Mr. Hudson, my husband, has dis-
appeared. I haven't seen him for over a week."

At this Astro manifested no surprise, and merely re-
marked, "I was aware that he was away, madam, when
I read your palm this afternoon. No doubt I can
find him, if that is what you wish; but it may take
some time ; for I shall have to gaze into my crystals and
go into a trance. It will also be necessary for me to
go to your house — into his room, in fact — in order
that I may first take his atmosphere."

"Oh, I understand," she exclaimed. "To tell the
truth, I'm very, very much worried, and anxious to
have you go to work as soon as possible. I daren't go
to the police ; for, after all, there may be nothing seri-
ous the matter, and it would cause a lot of talk ; and I

4 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

shouldn't want him ever to know that I'd employed a
detective for anything like this. But of course you are
different."

"I am 'different', as you say," responded Astro, smil-
ing. "I shall be able to trace him, no doubt, without
any one ever suspecting me. Just when did you see
him for the last time ?"

"On Tuesday, the tenth."

"And now it is the twentieth. He has had no busi-
ness troubles ?"

"On the contrary, he was doing remarkably well in
his real estate business. We've been saving up to go
abroad, you see ; it has been a plan we've had ever since
we were married. It's a sort of delayed honeymoon, I
suppose. We hoped to live in Italy for a year." She
sighed.

"You are a church-member, I presume ?"

"Yes, I go to the Park Avenue Presbyterian church.
Mr. Hudson is a deacon there."

"I see. He is well-off, you say?"

"Oh, no ; not that. But we have been quite encour-
aged of late. Mr. Hudson was quite hopeful about our
European trip."

"Very well, Mrs. Hudson ; I shall be at your house at
nine o'clock to-morrow."

Valeska entered the room again as soon as the vis-
itor had left, and looked at the palmist, with a question
in her eyes.

Astro waved his hand carelessly. "As I thought,"
he began, turning to his narghile, lighting it, and blow-
ing the fumes through his nose luxuriously, "John

MISSING JOHN HUDSON 5

Hudson has disappeared. She asked several pointed
questions about him this afternoon, although she
thought that she guarded herself well. They are both
church-members, and their ambition is to go abroad.
He is in the real estate business. Can you put two and
two together ?"

Valeska's pretty eyebrows creased themselves in
thought. "Let me see. Judging from her appearance,
they can't have been making very much money in the
real estate business. You say they wanted to go to
Europe, — wanted to stay a year in Italy, wasn't it? —
and wanted all this badly. He'd naturally try to get
the money in other ways ; perhaps illegitimately. It
might even lead him into crime. Being religious, he
would naturally want to hide this from his wife. Per-
haps he has been suspected and has escaped." She
looked up at him anxiously.

"You're improving," said the Seer impassively. "In
fact, that's just what I've been thinking myself. What
we must find out is, what crime, if any, he has com-
mitted. Perhaps he is dead ; perhaps he has run away
with another woman. We must consider every possi-
bility. Now, I can't very well take you up to the Hud-
son house, as this is a delicate case ; so I wish you'd go
over all the newspapers since the tenth and see what
you can find that will help us."

At ten o'clock next day Astro appeared in his psychic
studio, where appointments with his fashionable clients
kept him till two in the afternoon. At that time he
called Valeska into his favorite corner of the studio
where he did his lounging and studying.

6 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"Well," he asked, "what did you get out of the news-
papers ?"

"I found so much that it's worse than if I'd found
nothing at all, — several murders, an elopement, and a
bank robbery. I don't see how any of them help,
though. The criminals all seem to be known. Per-
haps Hudson was an accomplice."

"My dear girl, never go on general principles ; gen-
eral principles are the refuge of the hopelessly incom-
petent and inane. If you will follow general principles
long enough, you will find yourself in a class that is
unlimited in its generalities and hidebound in its prin-
ciples. If there is no significant detail that dovetails
into Hudson's disappearance, we'll simply have to go
about it in another way. You will be better able to
judge when I tell you what happened this forenoon be-
fore I came down to the studio here.

"Mrs. Hudson was ready for me with the news that
she had found her husband's check-book, and that it
showed him to have an unexpected deposit in the bank
of some six thousand dollars. Then she showed me
into the bedroom ; but as they shared this apartment I
thought it unnecessary to look there for anything sig-
nificant. Hudson's own den was a bare office-like sort
of place, small, and furnished with a leather couch, a
bookcase, and an old office desk. In this, all the
drawers were unlocked except one. I got Mrs. Hud-
son's permission to pick that lock, and here is what I
found." He smiled. "Of course, you understand these
were absolutely necessary for me to get my vibrations."

They both laughed at the remark, and he took from
his pocket several articles, which he laid upon the table.
There were, first, two advertising pictures posed by a

MISSING JOHN HUDSON 7

pretty woman; evidently the same model in each in-
stance, though used in connection with different prod-
ucts. In one pose the girl held a loaf of bread in her
hand; in the other she displayed her gleaming teeth
whitened by "Dentabella," a new proprietary tooth-
paste. She was pretty and quite young. Next was a
card, curiously covered with an intricate series of in-
terlaced curves in purple ink, — a beautiful, symmetrical
pattern, as accurately drawn as the lathe engraving on
a bank-note. Last, there was a small printed page con-
taining a calendar with all the months given. Oddly
enough, the year was not printed at the top ; instead,
above the calendar proper appeared the caption, "Num-
ber fourteen/'

Valeska looked at the collection curiously. "Well,"
she said at last, "I can't make much of anything except
the girl's picture. It looks to me as if Hudson must
have some special interest in her, to have two pictures
of the same woman. We might find out who she is."

"That's important, surely ; unless, of course, we can
get hold of a better clue. But do you know what this
is ?" He held up the card.

"No, it looks to me like a fairy's lace handkerchief
design or a sea-shell."

"That is a harmonic curve," said Astro. "Sometimes
it's called a vibration curve, and it is traced by a com-
pound or twin elliptic pendulum."

"What's that? I am getting farther away than
ever."

"Suppose," continued Astro, "you tie one end of a
string to a nail in the ceiling, while the other end is
looped up to another nail, also in the ceiling. Now,
from the lower point of this V, hang a string with a

8 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

weight on the end. You observe, the weight will be at
the end of a Y, and if you give a rotary motion to the
compound pendulum so formed, the weight will travel
in an intricate but regular curve, dependent on the
relative lengths of the two parts of the pendulum as it
swings forward and backward and right and left at the
same time. This curve was made by such a one, only
more complicated, and arranged so as to trace a line on
a plane surface. The curves so formed, curious to say,
correspond actually to the musical vibrations of various
chords."

"It's interesting, but rather intricate, and I don't see
how it helps us much with Hudson," said Valeska.
"How about this calendar, and what's the 'Number
fourteen' for?"

"That," said the Master of Mysteries, "is a page
from a universal calendar ; that is, a calendar that can
be used for any year. This is the last page of the pam-
phlet, as it takes just fourteen different diagrams to in-
clude all the calendar possibilities, — seven different dia-
grams* in which the year begins on a different day of
the week, and another set of seven for the leap years.
There's a list in front, probably giving the number of
the diagram to be used for each individual year."

"Oh !" exclaimed the girl. "That reminds me, now.
I did see something about a 'two-hundred-year calen-
dar'. Where was it? Let me think. Yes, I have it.
It was in an account of a body that was found drowned.
Stupid of me to overlook that ! I'll see if I can find it."

"Get it," Astro said, "while I think this over."

She flew to her file and began to go hurriedly
through the sheets of paper. "Here it is ! Here it is !"
she cried. Then she read breathlessly :

MISSING JOHN HUDSON 9

"The body of an unknown man was found this
morning floating in the East River near Thirty-
eight Street. The corpse was that of a man of
fifty-five or sixty years, and had evidently been in
in the water some ten days. The lower part of
the face was completely covered by a full beard.
The body was dressed in a black diagonal cutaway
coat and striped trousers, and was doubtless that
of a gentleman in reduced circumstances. In the
trousers pocket was found a bunch of keys, a
small sum of money, and a two-hundred-year cal-
endar. No marks indicating foul play were dis-
covered on the body, which is awaiting identifica-
tion at the morgue."

"That corresponds in a general way with the descrip-
tion of Hudson that his wife gave me," said Astro.
"She had no photograph of him taken within the last
twenty years. There's a chance that it may be he, in
which case it looks to me like murder ; but I'll have to
go down to the morgue and see, anyway, on account
of the calendar. I think you'd better let me do that
alone, while you try to discover something about this
'Dentabella' girl. Come back here as soon as you have
located her."

No one would have recognized in the smart, stylishly
dressed man who emerged from the studio a half-hour
later, the languid picturesque Master of Mysteries,
Astro the Seer. He walked briskly along, his eyes
eager and alert to every impression. At the morgue
he had no difficulty in obtaining permission to view the
remains of the man he sought, and to inspect the cloth-
ing and the articles that had been found in the pocket.

The body was that of a middle-aged man of benevo-

io THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

lent appearance, the face showing weakness rather than
resolution in its features. The hands were delicately
shaped, with pointed slender fingers. He had been
apparently a dreamer, a mystic, rather than a man of
vigorous life and practical affairs. Astro turned to in-
spect the articles displayed before his gaze. The two-
hundred-year calendar which had been mentioned in
the newspaper corresponded exactly to the page found
in Hudson's desk; and on opening it he found that
page twenty-nine, containing table number fourteen,
had been torn out. What was more remarkable, how-
ever, was the fact that with it was a collection of water-
soaked, purple-stained cards. Each contained a "har-
monic curve", such as had been found in Hudson's
drawer. One such coincidence was unusual. Two
pointed conclusively to some connection between the
two men ; if, indeed, the corpse were not that of Hud-
son himself.

This point, however, was soon settled. Calling up
Mrs. Hudson, he found that her husband's hair was
scant and brown. The hair of the dead man was strong,
slightly curly, and reddish. It was not Hudson.

Astro walked slowly home, plunged in thought, and
looked neither to the right nor the left as he advanced.
A block before he reached his studio he stopped stock-
still for a moment, gazing in front of him ; then, with
a quick turn, he walked rapidly back, took a cross-town
car, and got off at Second Avenue. Along this he hur-
ried till he came to a second-hand bookstore, where on
one of the stands outside the window, there was a col-
lection of pamphlets and magazines. He ran his eye
over tKe names: The Swastika, Universal Brother-
hood, Vibrations, The New Wisdom, and Cosmos. He

MISSING JOHN HUDSON 11

took up one of these and turned to the advertising
pages in the rear ; then he tried another. It was not
till he had read through the Swastika that he was sat-
isfied and smiled. He paid for the copy, hailed a pass-
ing cab, and was driven to his studio, where Valeska
was already waiting for him.

He announced to her at once that the dead man was
not Hudson, and gave a brief description of the latter,
whereupon she told Astro the story of her own search.

"I didn't find the girl ; but I traced her antecedents.
First I went to the advertising manager of the 'Denta-
bella' company, and told him I wanted to get hold of
the model he had used in the ad. Finally I wheedled
her name out of him — it was Agnes Vivian — and went
up to the Harlem address he gave me. The young
lady, however, no longer lived there; but I got the
woman of the house to talking and found out that our
little friend had left without settling her bill. So I in-
timated that I was looking for Miss Vivian to pay her
some money I had borrowed, and in this way got the
landlady to tell me everything she could that would
help me to locate the missing girl. She had been pos-
ing for photographers ; but now it seems as if she had
got another job. At all events, a gentleman answering
to Hudson's description had called on her several times,
with the result that one day she had left and had never
come back. She had sent for her trunk next day ; but
the landlady would not let it go, and could not ascer-
tain where it was to be taken. She had an idea, though,
that the girl was working on East Thirty-ninth Street
somewhere; for she had overheard her telephoning
one day previous to her departure. So you see," Va-
leska concluded, "our friend Hudson has probably left

12 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

his wife for good and all ; or rather for evil, perhaps."

"We'll soon find out," said Astro. "We'll go up and
call on him this afternoon."

"What ! Have you found out where he is already ?"

"I'm inclined to think he's living, temporarily at
least, at 198 East Thirty-ninth Street."

"With that girl ?" Valeska's eyes blazed.

"Not at all. The only trouble with him is that he
loves his wife too much."

Valeska still stared. "That isn't likely, — there are
very few men like that nowadays. But I'm very much
relieved ; for I rather liked the Vivian girl's face ; it's
attractive."

"Yes," Astro assented, "and Hudson is paying her to
be attractive. He has a good business head, this man
Hudson. But we must find out first what is the cause
of the death of Professor Dove."

"Why, who is he?"

"He is the man whose body is now lying in the
morgue."

"How did you find that out?"

"Look at this," said Astro. He pointed to an adver-
tisement in The Swastika:

LET ME HELP YOU!

Get into your own Vibration; develop your
latent faculties, inherent possibilities; and develop
your power, health, success, beauty, and love.
Send 50c with name and birth date for trial read-
ing and Vibratory Curve. Prof. Dove, 198 East
39th-St, N. Y.

"And that's what those curves are for, then?" Va-
leska asked.

MISSING JOHN HUDSON 13

"Well, that's what Professor Dove used them for;
to mystify his dupes; or, by the looks of him, it's
more than likely that he believed in them himself."

"Hudson must have believed in them too, then," she
remarked, "or he wouldn't have been keeping them in
his desk drawer. Was he a dupe, do you think ?"

"You'll recall that Hudson had several of them in his
possession. If he had had only one, I'd say he might
have been a dupe."

"But what if he did have several ?" queried Valeska.
"Do you think Hudson murdered the professor ?"

"Ah, my dear, that's what I'd like to know myself. I
propose that we call at the Vibratory office, or what-
ever they call it. You see, I doubt if Professor Dove
ever had six thousand dollars, or even six thousand
cents ; he was not worth murdering for his money. One
thing is certain, Hudson didn't murder Miss Vivian;
and I'm glad of that, for I'd really like to see her. Sup-
pose we go up to Thirty-ninth Street and find out
what sort of place it is."

As they walked across town the Master of Mysteries
said, "That's a very clever graft, that vibration curve
business. The more I think of it, the more I like it.
You see, as there are two adjustments, — the length of
the upper and the length of the lower pendulum, — you
can get an infinite number of vibrations, and conse-
quently an infinite number of curves. Therefore, you
can attach any significance you please to the ratio be-
tween the two. Suppose, for instance, you divide off
the top arm — that corresponds to the upper part of the
Y — into inches, and call each inch a certain year. Then
divide the lower arm in a similar way into days ; say
these are eighths of an inch each. If you set your com-

14 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

pound pendulum to the two marks — any day and any
year — you can produce a curve for any birthday you
please, and you can always reproduce it to order. It's
a very good plan to have some sort of scientific basis
for this kind of thing, on account of the inquisitiveness
of the post-office authorities. If you simply have a set
of form letters for answers, the chances are that you'll
have a fraud order against you and you'll not get your
mail — with its desirable money-orders and stamp en-
closures."

"And the calendar?"

"Merely to tell easily what day of the week any
birthday fell on. For instance, December 22, 1883,
was on a Saturday, and so on."

"What I am most interested in is the life readings,"
said the girl, "and the advice on how to acquire
beauty."

"Or love?" Astro added, with a smile.

"I'll try to do that myself. It's more exciting."

From across the street the two now reconnoitered
number 198. Below, at the musty stairway, appeared,
among other signs, the legend, "Prof. Dove, Astrolo-
ger." It was already growing dark, and above, in a
window on the third floor, a dim light appeared. The
shade was drawn.

"I'm going to investigate more closely," said Astro.
"You wait outside here and watch the window. If I
raise the shade, come up !"

So saying, he crossed, and ascended the stairs. As
he reached the landing, however, he met a young
woman coming down, who, at a glance, proved to be
the Miss Vivian of the "Dentabella" advertisements.
Astro stood still in front of her, barring the way.

MISSING JOHN HUDSON 15

"Would you please tell me where Professor Dove
is?" he inquired.

"Why, I— I don't know, I'm sure." She looked
him up and down curiously.

"Then would you mind telling me where I can find
Mr. John Hudson?"

Still she showed no sign of surprise ; but drew her-
self up proudly. "There's no such person in this build-
ing that I know of," she asserted.

"I thought I had seen you in Professor Dove's of-
fice," continued the crystal-gazer suavely.

Something in his manner now seemed to alarm her.
"Indeed ! I'm a stranger here. You must be mistaken,
really."

"You have never heard of Mr. Hudson ?" he went on.

"What right have you to question me in this way ?"
she demanded boldly; and yet, oddly enough, she did
not try to pass him.

"I have the right for two reasons. First, because the
post-office is very curious as to the nature of concerns
doing a mail-order business, and second, because the
police would very much like to know something more
concerning the death of Professor Dove."

She scarcely stopped to hear the rest of the sentence
before she turned and ran up-stairs. Astro, though he
bounded after her in a moment, was a moment too
late ; for the door was slammed and locked in his face.

"The police!" he heard her cry, and at once there
was a commotion in the room. A window was thrown
up hurriedly; then all became still. He waited in pa-
tience, listening intently. The first sound audible, how-
ever, came from the stairway beneath him. Assured
that some one was coming up, he turned and saw Va-

16 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

leska beckoning frantically. He tiptoed to her, and she
whispered :

"He climbed out through the window into that of the
next house ! Can't we catch him there ?"

"We'll have to, or lose the whole game!" he cried.
"It was a bit premature ; but perhaps it will be as well,
after all. Come along, and — look out for trouble. I'll
have to bluff it out now, though I have no desire to im-
personate a police officer, — that's a dangerous game.
But we must hurry."

In an instant more they were down-stairs and hidden
in the entrance of the next building. They had not
long to wait. A man, bareheaded and excited, came
running down, and would have dashed by, had not As-
tro's hand immediately clutched him.

"I beg your pardon, Mr. Hudson," said the Master
of Mysteries, "but I wish to ask you a few questions."

"Who are you?" The man's voice was full of anx-
iety.

"A friend," said Astro.

Valeska put out her hand and took that of the fright-
ened old man. "Don't be alarmed, Mr. Hudson.
Really you are quite safe with us."

He gazed at her in dull astonishment. "What do
you want, anyhow?" he exclaimed peevishly, attempt-
ing to recover a bold front, though his face was hag-
gard with terror.

"I've found all I really want," Astro replied quietly ;
"but at the same time I'd like to have my curiosity grat-
ified. What, for instance, do you know concerning
the death of Professor Dove?"

Hudson started, and stared in the young man's face.
"What! Is he dead? When did he die ?"

MISSING JOHN HUDSON 17

"He died at about the same time you disappeared
from home."

Hudson turned white. "Great God ! You don't sus-
pect me of — anything ?"

"I'd like to have you explain a few things, that's all,"
was the quiet response.

"Who are you?" The old man had pulled himself
together now, and was more defiant.

"My dear sir," said the Seer calmly, "I am one who
has been sent by your wife to discover your where-
abouts. As I said, that mission is now accomplished.
At the same time you must admit that the circum-
stances in which I find you are suspicious. You have
just escaped from Professor Dove's office, and Pro-
fessor Dove now lies unidentified in the morgue. You
are in possession of a considerable sum of money, re-
cently acquired. You are, moreover, found in the com-
pany of a very pretty young woman. Surely all this
will interest Mrs. Hudson. It remains for you to say
how much of it I shall report."

Hudson trembled violently and put his face in his
hands. "Oh, my God! you mustn't tell her! You
can't! I'm innocent of any crime, so help me God!
Wait ! Come up to the office, and I'll explain it all."

Astro and Valeska retraced their steps in company
with the fugitive, and soon found themselves before the
office door. All was dark. Hudson gave three knocks,
paused, and then delivered another. The door was
opened silently. Miss Vivian stood before them in a
dim light. At sight of the two strangers she staggered
back.

"Oh!" she cried in alarm. "Are you arrested, Mr.
Hudson?"

i8 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"I don't know," he answered childishly as he turned
up the light.

There was a litter of papers strewn upon the office
floor. A long table was piled with letters opened and
unopened ; there was a typewriter on a stand, a copy-
ing-press, a high desk with ledgers, and in a corner,
suspended from hooks in the ceiling, the compound
pendulum that Astro had described. On the horizontal
shelf, fixed to the end of the pendulum, was a white
card; and, extending from a table near by, an arm
carrying a glass pen projected so that, when the pendu-
lum was swung, a curve in purple ink was traced on
the card. A heavy weight depended from the bottom
of the instrument.

Hudson sunk into a chair and groaned. The girl
waited without a word, watching him.

Then Valeska approached him. "Mr. Hudson," she
said gently, "pray don't take, it all so hard. I'm sure
that you are innocent, and we'll both help you. If you
tell us everything, we can find some way of saving
you."

He raised his head and looked at Astro, who nodded
in confirmation. Hudson took courage. "The first
thing, the most important thing, of course, is to explain
about Professor Dove's death. I have no idea how it
occurred. Indeed, I didn't know he was dead until you
told me. I suspected that something fatal had hap-
pened ; but I knew nothing definite."

"When did you see him last?"

"Two weeks ago, but Miss Vivian has seen him since
then."

The girl took it up. "It was here in this office that I
saw him. He was intoxicated, and he frightened me ;

MISSING JOHN HUDSON 19

so I went out and telephoned to Mr. Hudson about it.
Then, when I got back, the professor had gone."

"You will understand," hastily explained Hudson,
"that Professor Dove, when in his right mind, was a
most gentlemanly and kind-hearted man ; but when he
was drunk there was no doing anything with him. I
have had several unpleasant experiences with him be-
fore. He'd go out and wander all over the town in a
sort of daze, talking aloud to himself about his psychic
beliefs and all that. He was especially fond of the
river, and once we found him sitting away out on a
pier and gazing into the water. But I know absolutely
nothing about his death, sir, I assure you. Now, about
my being here. I'd like to explain — " I

i "That is not necessary," interrupted Astro, "I know
everything I wish to, now."

"What do you mean ? What do you know about my
private affairs ?"

"I'll tell you, Mr. Hudson. First, for a long time you
have been anxious to discover some way of making
more money than you could in the real estate business.
You and your wife wanted to go abroad ; and you are
very fond of her and naturally wished to please her.
Thinking it over and watching the advertisements, you
saw that the quickest way to make money was to go
into some sort of fortune-telling business and play on
the credulity of fools. Knowing of the compound
pendulum and the curves it traces so mysteriously, you
decided to adopt that as the basis of your graft. You
found a willing helper in Professor Dove, who was —
well, just a little cracked, and inclined to believe thor-
oughly in his own psychic powers. You backed him
in this enterprise," Astro waved his hand round the

20 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

room; "but, being a church-member, you naturally
couldn't afford to let any one, your wife especially,
know of your being engaged in a business that was so
undignified and of such dubious morality.

"You advertised, and did so well that you needed
more help. You couldn't afford to be known in the
matter, and so, when Miss Vivian, here, came to your
office to get work, you selected her as assistant. Not
wishing to be seen too much in her company, you went
to call on her, and finally induced her to help the pro-
fessor. Then the professor went on one of his periodi-
cal debauches, she telephoned to you, and you came
down here to straighten out the correspondence, which
was becoming larger and more profitable every day.
There was more work to it than you at first thought.
You had to stay here that night; then you became
afraid of Dove's disappearance and of the post-office in-
spectors. So you buckled down to a night and day job
of it until you could clean up the money before you
were caught. You are now about ready to quit the af-
fair altogether. Is this correct?"

The old man, who had been listening in great aston-
ishment, assented. "But are you going to report all
this to my wife, sir?" he faltered. "It will simply kill
her. Can't you keep this from her ? I promise to give
up the business right now."

Astro drew a telegraph blank from his pocket. There
was a message already written on the yellow slip, and
he handed it over to Hudson. It read :

"ROCHESTER, Oct. 21, 4 p. M.
"Why no letter? Did you receive mine? Re-
turning Empire State Limited to-night. JOHN."

MISSING JOHN HUDSON 21

"Ring for a messenger boy and send this," continued
the Master of Mysteries. "She will not know that it
isn't a genuine telegram. A woman in her state of
mind won't notice anything, I'm sure; and I think if
you turn up at the Grand Central, appearing to have
come in on that train, she will be there to meet you
with open arms."

Tears appeared in the old man's eyes. "I'll do it !"
he said. "And to-morrow I'll buy a couple of tickets
for Naples. God bless you, sir, for your kindness !"

"And what's to become of me?" spoke up Miss
Vivian.

Astro looked at her indulgently. "You may go on
with this work here, for all I care," he said. "It's a
very tidy little business apparently, and none of my
affair. But I advise you rather to apply for a position
in Mr. Hudson's office. I don't think, however, that
with your face and figure you will have much trouble
in getting employment."

"Oh, I'll see to that," said John Hudson.

"Well," Valeska said with relief, as she and Astro
left the office, "it's all over now."

"Not at all !" remarked her companion bruskly. "I
haven't earned my fee yet. Come into this drug store
with me a moment."

He went to the telephone and called up Mrs. John
Hudson. "Mrs. Hudson," he said, "I've been consult-
ing my crystals, and have just seen your husband in
Rochester. He was taking a train for New York. He
had just consummated a real estate deal there which
had been very profitable, and I think you will see him

22 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

safe and sound again to-night. Kindly send my check
to the studio. Thank you. Good night."

"My crystals are certainly wonderful," said Astro,
laughing.

"Yes," said Valeska, "and I think you're rather won-
derful yourself."

THE STOLEN SHAKESPEARE

HESITATING at the door of the studio long
enough only to send to Astro a quick surrepti-
tious message with her eyes — indicating, apparently,
contempt for the visitor — Valeska announced, "Mr.
Barrister," and left the two men alone in the room.

The newcomer looked about a bit foolishly, and then
turned to the palmist. "You're Astro, I suppose ?"

Astro, in robe and turban, bowed gravely and his
glance slumbered.

"Eh — ah — the fact is, sir," continued Barrister,
"that I have come here about a peculiar matter, and
solely, sir, to please my wife. She has a woman's weak-
ness for anything occult, — anything full of folderol
and fake. You see, I don't take any stock in it my-
self ; but— "

"I understand perfectly," said the Master of Mys-
teries without apparent annoyance. He seemed, in
fact, to be bored already.

The other teetered affably on his toes and heels, con-
descension in his manner. "She had heard that you
professed to be some kind of fortune-teller, besides do-
ing this palmistry business. Is that so ?"

"I have had occasion at times to use certain powers
which are — ah — supposed to be occult. I say 'sup-
posed to be', out of deference to your manifest feelings
in the matter, Mr. Barrister."

24 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"Hum !" said the prospective client quickly. "Well,
whether they are or not doesn't matter in this case, as
I'm here simply to please my wife. If I didn't come,
she'd come, you know. However, if you are able to
locate what we want, I'll be willing to acknowledge
anything you wish, and pay you accordingly. I sup-
pose you are a medium, then ?"

"Some call it that," acknowledged the reserved
young man. "I myself assert that I have merely done
a few things that others find it too hard to do."

"Such as—"

"Kindly let me look at your hand."

"Bosh!" said Barrister; but he gazed at his own
palm, nevertheless, with a new air of curiosity, and
after a moment stretched it toward the palmist. "Well,
see what you can find in it !" he said.

Astro looked at it negligently ; then, under his half-
shut lids his eyes sped rapidly over his client's person,
the neat business suit beneath the black dress overcoat,
the daintily tied scarf, the highly polished shoes, and
the general air of careful grooming. Then they re-
turned to the hand before him. Finally, the Seer leaned
back listlessly and smiled.

"You went to see Anna Held last night, and were
bored. You once had your pockets picked, and will
probably have it happen to you again. You are inter-
ested in Egyptology — and, apropos, I wish you'd look
at my porphyry sphinx there and give me some idea of
its age."

Barrister stared, and grew a bit uneasy. Then, ap-
parently to hide his embarrassment, he turned to the
carved image and surveyed it with the air of a connois-
seur. As he presented his back to the Seer, the latter

THE STOLEN SHAKESPEARE 25

swiftly stooped over, picked up a return check of a
New York theater, good the night before, and slid it
into one of the pockets of his silk robe.

"That's about 1400 B. C," said Barrister easily.
"Where on earth did you get hold of it?"

"From my godfather, in Cairo," said the palmist.

"Well," said Barrister, returning, "I've no time now
to examine it closely."

"And the matter which worries your wife?" Astro
inquired.

Again his visitor hesitated, looked about the room,
and gazed again at the sphinx. "Well," he said finally,
"I'll tell you." He seated himself and went ori : "I have,
or rather did have, a First Folio Shakespeare, one of
the few good ones of the thirty-seven copies extant.
It was stolen from my library yesterday. That's what
I want to find—"

"That, and the one who stole it also, I suppose ?"

"Er — yes. Yes, certainly."

"An interesting sort of quarry, and rather unusual.
Have you been to the police ?"

Barrister pursed his lips and shook his head.

"No. You see, there wouldn't be much use in that,
would there ? I'm afraid the thief, if he found he was
suspected, would destroy the book. He can't sell it,
anyway ; for these folios are as well known to collectors
as good race-horses are to touts. He can't get away
with it ; for every bookman in the world will soon know
it if he offers it for sale. I want it back, of course;
but it is my wife's idea, this coming to you about it.
She gave me the book when we were first married, and
so, naturally, I value it at even more than its own great
intrinsic value."

26 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"Have you ever had any offers for it ?" Astro asked
carelessly.

"What? Offers? Oh, no; no indeed; no offers at
all. Why should I want to sell it ? No, sir ! It would
be useless for any one to attempt to buy it."

"But nobody is harming you by offering. When did
you miss it ?"

"Last night, after I came home from the theater. I
went to see Anna Held, as you said, though how the
mischief you knew it I can't see, and we came home
early, disgusted. We happened to be talking about the
Folio, and my wife walked to the case and looked for
it. It was gone."

"Had the lock been tampered with?"

"Yes, forced. The window had been pried open
with a jimmy, too. It was evidently done by a burglar
who knew just what he wanted. But it doesn't look
like a professional's work; for the book would be too
hard to dispose of."

"I see," said Astro. He gazed away into space and
puffed at his water-pipe meditatively. "Mr. Barrister,
I'll try to find it for you. If I succeed in getting the
book or the person who stole it from you, my charge
will be five hundred dollars."

"All right," said Barrister, rising. "Will you want
to come up to my house and look over the place ?"

"I think I can put myself more en rapport with the
case, if I do ; I want to feel the vibrations, so to speak,
and no doubt I shall get an impression of the aura of
the culprit if I am on the spot. The rest I shall do with
the crystals."

Barrister did not conceal his scorn. "Oh, very well,"

THE STOLEN SHAKESPEARE 27

He said, "I suppose it will at least satisfy my wife.
When will you be up ?"

"To-morrow morning, early. I'll ask you to disturb
nothing, and even to keep away from the room until
I come."

"There's nothing to disturb," Barrister commented ;
"but I'll see to it that nobody interferes with your
magic." And so saying, he took up his hat, gave the
sphinx one last glance, and left the room.

When he was gone the palmist doffed his regalia
and yawned. A moment later Valeska reentered the
studio. Astro gazed at her reflectively.

"Did you notice that man's watch-charm ?" he asked.

"Why, there was something funny about it; but I
couldn't make the thing out exactly."

"Did you ever see an Egyptian scarab?"

"Why, yes. But he didn't have one, did he?"

"He used to have one. You know how they mount
them, — with a pin through the beetle so it can revolve ?
The setting and the pin were there ; but not the stone.
You must look closer next time."

"What else did I miss ?" she asked, pouting.

"You didn't say anything about his carrying his
purse in his outside overcoat pocket. He will always
be an easy mark for the light-fingered gentry if he
keeps that up. It's lucky for him that he's rich."

"Oh, he is wealthy, of course ! I got that much right,
anyway. He looked as if he were very well-off, in
fact."

"I should imagine he was, with a First Folio Shake-

28 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

speare lying loose in his library! That's what we've
got to find."

"It's interesting?"

"Interesting ! I should say so ! It's a regular kid-
naping case. Talk about diamonds! Why, they're
stupid things. Every one likes diamonds, and they can
be cut up into smaller stones and readily disposed of,
if you're careful about it. But you can't cut a page out
of a First Folio, you can't even hint that you'd like to
sell it, without all the world knowing about it. Book-
hunters are the most determined and interesting col-
lectors in the world. I know of no passion to equal it."

He walked over to the telephone and called up a
leading dealer in rare volumes.

"I wish to ask about a First Folio Shakespeare. Are
'there any bidders in the open market for a copy?" He
wrote down rapidly on a tab as he spoke into the re-
ceiver,— "William A. Hepson. Oh, yes, the million-
aire. Ah, thank you."

He slammed the instrument down vigorously,
snatched up a telegraph blank, rapidly wrote a mes-
sage, and handed it to Valeska.

She read it aloud :

"WILLIAM A. HEPSON, Chicago, 111.— Will you
give four thousand dollars for a guaranteed First
Folio Shakespeare? Wire reply to Jane Gore,
181 East 18th Street, New York."

"Why!" she exclaimed. "Have you located it al-
ready?"

"Not quite. But I have an idea, and this will help,
if we get an answer by to-morrow morning"."

"Who is he?"

THE STOLEN SHAKESPEARE 29

"He's a Chicago beef packer who offered four thou-
sand dollars for the book a while ago; but, curiously
enough, he was in town this week."

"Is he in the city now ?"

"That's what I should like very much to know my-
self. In the meantime, send this, get the answer at
your place, and bring it to me in the morning. Then
we'll go up and see Mrs. Barrister."

Valeska appeared next morning with a yellow en-
velope. "He refuses your offer," she said.

"Good !" exclaimed the Master of Mysteries, rubbing
his hands in satisfaction. "He has the Folio, then, as I
suspected. Now, to work! This case already begins
to offer delicate little labyrinths which are nothing short
of delicious to the analytical mind. We'll lose no time
getting out to Mrs. Barrister's, and I want you to use
your eyes better than you did last night. I expect you
to see everything that I don't. Remember to watch me,
though, and be ready for instructions. Notice any sig-
nal that I may happen to give you. For instance, if I
raise my .eyes to the ceiling, my next look will be at
what I want you to notice. If I touch anything, you're
to take it and look at it carefully, and follow what I
say next. If I cough, you're to create some diversion
so that I shan't be noticed for a few moments."

Valeska laughed. "You'll be doing a trance next.
Funny how well the bluff always works, isn't it ?"

Astro frowned. "My dear," he said pompously,
"there are waves of the ether, — N-rays, X-rays, actinic
and ultraviolet vibrations, to which I am exceedingly
susceptible. I have an inner sense and an esoteric

30 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

knowledge of life and its mysteries that is hidden from
all who have not lived for cycles and eons in solitude
and contemplation with the Mahatmas of the Hima-
layas!"

Valeska, instead of being impressed, broke into a
rippling laugh as they went up the avenue.

The Barristers lived in a large, solemn brownstone
house off Fifth Avenue, one of a hundred similar domi-
ciles, heavily furnished, dim, close, lusterless, quiet,
warm. Astro and his assistant waited in the reception-
room till Mrs. Barrister appeared. She was large,
plumply built, with gray hair artfully pompadoured
and undulated, and a pleasant, though not very intelli-
gent smile; a woman that still kept herself well and
carried herself well, treasuring the last remains of what
had been a comfortable prettiness. She greeted them
cordially.

"I'm so glad youVe come !" she announced. "Seems
as if I couldn't wait any longer; for I felt sure that
you could help us if anybody could, and I do feel so
terribly about this robbery ! You know it was my wed-
ding gift to Mr. Barrister. My husband agreed with
me that it wasn't exactly a case for the police, and we
don't want any more talk about it than is absolutely
necessary. I've heard so much about you, Mr. Astro ;
for a great many of my friends have gone to you, and
you told them such remarkable things ! Then that case
of your finding the Sacarnet sapphire gave me consid-
erable confidence in you. Why, my own mother once
recovered a purse she had lost, by going to a medium
about it !" She bustled about amiably.

"Now, I suppose you want to see the library, don't
you? You know Mr. Barrister doesn't believe in any-

THE STOLEN SHAKESPEARE 31

thing supernatural, and he wouldn't stay. But I'll show
you in."

During this long speecH, Valeska's eyes traveled over
Mrs. Barrister's portly person ; but the Master of Mys-
teries seemed rapt in thought, abstracted and inatten-
tive. He rose now, however, and followed through the
folding doors into the library beyond. The shades had
been drawn as if a death had occurred ; she raised them,
showing a square room, every wall lined with glass-
covered bookcases. She went up to one, beside a win-
dow, and threw open a door. It was as if she were
displaying a rifled tomb.

"Here is where it was kept, — right in there. You
can see the marks of a chisel or something near the
lock. The frame was pried open. Isn't it dreadful?
That book was like an only child to us !"

Astro apparently gave it scarcely a glance. "Mrs.
Barrister," he said, "I'll ask you kindly to leave me
here alone for fifteen minutes. I am extraordinarily
sensitive to vibrations ; but I must be undisturbed while
I concentrate my mind sufficiently to induce the proper
psychic conditions. Meanwhile my assistant will stay
with you."

Mrs. Barrister was impressed, and withdrew with-
out further questioning. The door of the library was
shut, and the two women sat down by a window in the
reception-room. Valeska immediately began her own
line of investigation.

"When did you last see the book ?" she asked.

"Thursday afternoon at about four o'clock I showed
it to a caller, and then locked the case as usual. We
got home from the theater that night a little after ten,
and went almost immediately to the library, as we

32 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

had been having a discussion about one of the lines
in Macbeth. Then we saw that the book was gone." t

"Do you know of any one having entered the room,
besides yourself and Mr. Barrister, between four and
ten?"

"Mary, my maid, was in with the tea things ; that's
all I know."

"And you don't suspect her?"

"Oh, no ! She has been with me for years."

"And the caller?"

Mrs. Barrister thought for a moment before an-
swering. Then she said, "It was a Mr. White. I con-
fess I don't like him very well. But he's more a friend
of my husband's than mine. In fact, my husband came
in before Mr. White left ; so I went up-stairs and left
the two men alone. I had an idea there was some
trouble between them."

"Does your husband belong to any club?"

"Yes, the Booklovers, and the Stage Club. So
does Mr. White. Why?"

"Oh," said Valeska carelessly, "Mr. Barrister
seemed such a man of the world, — just the man to be-
long to clubs, you know. But who showed Mr. White
out the door?"

"Why, Mr. Barrister went with him himself. You
see, it couldn't have been possible for Mr. White to
have concealed the book ; it's quite large, you know ?"

"You have looked -everywhere, of course ?"

"Oh, yes. We went immediately to work, searched
Mary's room at her request, and then everywhere else
in the house. It simply isn't here."

At this moment Astro opened the door and walked
silently into the room.

THE STOLEN SHAKESPEARE 33

"Oh," Mrs. Barrister suddenly exclaimed, "I quite
forgot to tell Mr. Astro something that I'm sure is
important! It's a clue we discovered while we were
searching the library after we had found the scratches
and the broken lock of the case. Here it is!'7 She
drew a scrap of paper from her purse and handed it
to him. It was evidently the corner of a letter, and
bore a few words written in violet ink.

The palmist held it lightly in his hand for a mo-
ment, then asked, "Has any one else had this, except
you ?"

"Oh, yes. Mr. Barrister himself found it, and, of
course, he examined it carefully; but he could make
nothing of it."

Astro cast his eyes to the ceiling, and then down
on the paper again. He pressed it to his forehead,
then handed it to his assistant.

"I shall have to wait until the last influences are
evaporated, leaving the original personality of the
writer to assert itself." He whirled quickly about,
placed his hand to his lips, and coughed.

"Oh, Mrs. Barrister!" Valeska exclaimed. "Look
at this paper again for a moment. Come to the light
by the window here. It seemed to me I saw a water-
mark that showed through when I held it to the light.
See if you can see it." As she spoke she drew the
woman into the bay-window so that she stood with her
back to the room.

Astro stepped quickly over to a bookcase against
the wall, and, keeping his eyes carefully on Mrs. Bar-
rister, reached to the top of one of the shelves. Four
or five books protruded about an inch from the rest
of the line. Astro's hand curved over these and down

34 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

behind until it touched the shelf. Before Mrs. Bar-
rister had turned again, his hand was withdrawn. He
spoke sharply.

"Could you lend me a screw-driver?"

"Certainly." She rang for the maid, who appeared,
and was sent on the errand. In a few minutes she re-
turned.

"I'm very sorry, Mrs. Barrister, but I can't find it.
We always keep it in the kitchen closet; but it's not
there now."

"I thought so," said Astro. "But one question,
Mary, before you go. First, let me see your palm."

The girl held out her hand timidly, with wonder in
her face.

The Master of Mysteries felt of it tentatively, then
looked directly into her eyes. "Mary," he said, "where
were you after dinner-time on Thursday; from then
until Mr. and Mrs. Barrister returned home?"

"In the kitchen with the cook most of the time, sir.
I went up into the dining-room beside the library once
or twice, though."

"You heard nothing unusual?"

"Nothing at all, sir."

"How did you get that violet stain on your finger ?"

Mary looked at it calmly. "It was from writing a
letter the other day. I couldn't get it all off."

"I think I have stayed as long as is necessary," said
Astro, turning to Mrs. Barrister, "and now, if you'll
excuse me, I'll go. I shall report to your husband as
soon as I find anything."

iLeaving with his assistant, he walked slowly down

THE STOLEN SHAKESPEARE 35

the front steps. As soon as they were out of sight of
the windows, he said, "Well, what did you find out
while I was investigating, Valeska?"

She narrated the conversation while Astro walked
thoughtfully beside her, his eyes roaming from side to
side, until they lighted upon a line of ash barrels near
the curb. He stopped.

"See here, Valeska!" he exclaimed suddenly. "I
wish you'd go into this house and find out in some way
how long these barrels have been standing here. It's a
shame the way the Board of Health neglects its duties.
Do you see ? Tell them you have been sent by a Civic
Reform committee to find out if there's any complaint."

He walked on, smiling to himself. "Entirely too
clever," he murmured; "so clever that it's positively
stupid!" He approached the ash cans and surveyed
their contents. From the top of one he gingerly drew
out a torn sheet of paper. Another barrel showed,
among its overflowing contents, several tin cans, a
shoe, a lot of broken bottles, and a mass of sawdust.
He gave them a hard look, then sauntered on till Va-
leska caught up with him.

"Those barrels have been out since Thursday," she
said.

He smiled and made no comment. "Now," he said,
"what I want you to do is to call on this Mr. White.
You had better be getting subscriptions for a book.
Get one for a sample at some shop, — something rather
silly too — Bibliophiles and Their Hobbies — and you
are to find out White's private opinion of Barrister.
Barrister, you understand, has already subscribed. You
may work it up any way you like, only be sure to get
some expression of opinion."

36 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

It was almost noon before Valeska returned from
her errand, and, as by this time the palmist's outer of-
fice was filled with waiting clients, it was the lunch
hour before she could speak to him.

"I shall have to raise my fee again/' he said. "Ten
dollars a reading doesn't seem to stop them at all. I'll
make them come only by appointment after this. But
what did you find out?"

The girl's eyes sparkled with news. "Hepson's our
man, — Hepson via White, I guess. Hepson saw Bar-
rister, too, at the club the other morning. Hepson's
gone ; but White—"

"Hepson, Hepson, Hepson!" mimicked the Seer,
with a smile at her eagerness. "But pray give us more
news about White."

Valeska laughed. "Well, he's awfully sore on Bar-
rister for some reason. He believes Mr. Barrister's a
fool, I gather."

"He isn't in love with Mrs. Barrister, is he ?"
1 "No ! He's in love with himself, I think. He said,
for one thing, that Barrister knew no more about books
than he did about poker."

"Poker! How's that?"

"Why, I told him I had sold several copies to mem-
bers of the Stage Club, — I got their names out of the
Blue Book, and knew they played pretty hard there, —
so we got to chatting about our luck. You see, I told
him I liked to play myself, and he began telling me how
successful he always was. Then he said he had hard
work with some of his friends to collect the gambling
debts they owed him."

"I see." The Master of Mysteries turned into his
den, and Valeska followed him.

THE STOLEN SHAKESPEARE 37

"Why, what's this?" she asked, pointing to a large,
flat, heavy parcel on the table. "Why, it's addressed to
Mr. Hepson in Chicago! Oh! have you found the
Folio already ?"

Astro smiled. "I told you some time ago that Hep-
son already had it. But this is getting warm."

Valeska fingered the package. "It looks just like a
big atlas wrapped up."

"It is," said Astro. "I bought it at a book-shop after
I left you."

"What in the world do you want to send it to Hep-
son for, then ?"

"I don't particularly. But I should like to show it to
the clerk at a certain branch office of the Adams Ex-
press Company here."

"Oh, I do wish you'd explain !" Valeska exclaimed.

"I'd rather let you do a little thinking for yourself.
You have seen White. You know that Hepson was in
town. You have heard Barrister's story. Nothing
could be simpler. For instance, how about Mary the
maid, and the violet ink stains? What would you
make of that?" He stopped a moment, smiling. "I
will tell you, however, that I found the screw-driver
that was used to open the bookcase with and to force
the window with; for it wasn't a jimmy at all."

"Where was it?"

"You recall when I gave you the signal to distract
Mrs. Barrister's attention? You did it very cleverly.
At that moment I was more interested in the appear-
ance of several books in a case in the library than
I was in the scrap of paper. The instrument, badly
bent and twisted, was behind those projecting books."

"Oh!" Valeska studied at it. "No wonder Mary

38 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

couldn't find it ! Then it must have been Mary, after
all. But why didn't she throw the screw-driver away ?
Perhaps she thought it would be missed, and wanted a
chance to have it straightened out."

"Perhaps so," said Astro dryly.

"But what about the scrap of paper, then?" asked
the girl. "Have you made anything of that ?"

"A good deal," replied the Master. "For instance,
here's the rest of the sheet," and he took from his
pocket the portion that he had removed from the ash
barrel. "Does that give you a clue ?"

She studied a moment. "Now, wait ! Don't tell me,
please ! Your rule is, 'Ask yourself what there is about
this crime that distinguishes it from others. How is
it different from the ordinary run of things? Then
seize upon that difference, be it great or small, and
proceed logically and analytically in any direction it
offers/ But what is different? It's all different, it
seems to me."

"Well, you work it out, and I'll go down and try to
find an express ofHce in which a flat parcel addressed
to a Chicago millionaire will have been noticed. You
may turn away any people who come for a reading.
This is going to bring in more money than I thought,
and it will pay to follow it up while it's hot."

Valeska met him at the front door when he returned,
and said in a low voice, "Mr. Barrister is here."

"Certainly," said Astro. "I telephoned him to be
here at four o'clock."

"Then you are finished ?"

"You'll see."

THE STOLEN SHAKESPEARE 39

"I found out that White had left town to-day," she
announced.

"Aha !" said the Seer cryptically.

He went in and bowed gravely to Barrister in the
reception-room. Valeska busied herself at her desk
and watched under her brows. Astro took his accus-
tomed seat on the divan.

"Mr. Barrister," he said, after a pause, "I am sorry
to say that I have been unable to find either the Folio
or the thief."

The other immediately rose, shaking his head em-
phatically and triumphantly. "I thought as much," he
said. "This is what all this charlatanry usually amounts
to. You're all alike, — you can impose upon credulous
women; but when it comes actually to accomplishing
anything, you can't deliver the goods. However, I've
satisfied my wife, at any rate. I suppose there will be
no charge in these circumstances, Mr. Astro?"

The Master of Mysteries twirled his thumbs and
spoke dreamily. "On the contrary, Mr. Barrister, my
services on this case will cost you just one thousand
dollars."

His client stared at him indignantly. His brow drew
down. "What in the world do you mean, sir? One
thousand dollars !"

"One thousand dollars is my fee. I can give you a
blank check if you haven't your book with you."

"But you've discovered nothing."

"I said that I had not found the book or the thief."

"And yet your fee, if you had found either, was to
have been only five hundred ! I don't understand what
you are driving at, sir !"

Astro recrossed his legs and gave his client gaze for

40 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

gaze. He spoke now very deliberately. His languor-
ous tone had given place to a crisp hard enunciation.
"Mr. Barrister," he said, "what you say is true. You
understand me perfectly. If I had told you the name
of the thief and the location of the book, I should have
charged you only five hundred dollars. My price for
not telling is one thousand. Do you understand me
now ?"

He took up a crystal sphere and began to regard it
fixedly.

Barrister's face had changed from perplexity to an-
ger, and then to a sudden comprehension. He dropped
his head and gazed at the carpet, standing for some
moments irresolute and dismayed. Finally he walked
to the desk, took the blank check that Valeska handed
to him, and dipped his pen into the ink. He looked up.

"You never expect to find the culprit, I suppose ?" he
asked, with a strange expression on his face.

"I never expect to," answered the Seer.

Barrister signed his name and handed over the
check. "You are a most extraordinary young man,
sir !" he snarled, and left the room, slamming the door
behind him.

Valeska stared, her brows knitted. "Wait a min-
ute ! I've almost got it ! It was Barrister himself who
stole the book — his own book — "

"Which his wife had given him when they were mar-
ried ; don't forget that," said Astro.

"Yes ; so, of course, he wouldn't want her to know he
had been mean enough to dispose of it. She is still in
love with him, I could see that, and she's a sentimental

Barrister signed his name and handed over the check.

THE STOLEN SHAKESPEARE 41

old thing, too. So he had to mimic a burglary, did he ?"

"And very stupidly he did it, — with an ordinary
screw-driver which he didn't have sense enough to de-
stroy."

"But why did he want the book? What did he do
with it?"

"Made arrangements with Hepson that morning;
stole it that afternoon. Gambling debt. You found
that out yourself from White, who had been forcing
Barrister for the money, and was sore because he
wouldn't pay up. Barrister is sadly in need of ready
cash; I found that out from his bank. And Hepson
offered him three thousand for his Folio."

"Then Hepson has the book now ?"

"Or it's on its way there. That's the reason he turned
our telegraph offer down. He wasn't interested, be-
cause Barrister had already sold him his copy."

"How did you know that ?"

"Let me ask you one question. What was there
about this case that was different from most affairs
like it?"

Valeska pondered. "Why, it seems to me strange
that Barrister didn't call in the police at once."

"Precisely. If he had, he was afraid he would have
trouble, and Hepson might be investigated. It's easy
enough now for Barrister to keep his wife from know-
ing anything of the sale; and Hepson will be glad
enough at getting the book to say nothing about it for
a year or two. There was my start. It seemed queer
that Barrister, losing so valuable a treasure, shouldn't
report it at once and have it traced, and all the dealers
notified. His wife's belief in the occult was what got
him safely over the necessity of calling in the police. I

42 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

didn't like the way he protested so much that nobody
had offered to buy his Folio. It seemed to back up my
suspicion."

"I rather suspected Mary," commented Valeska,
"when I saw the violet stains on her fingers just like the
ink on the scrap of paper. By the way, where did you
get the rest of that paper, and what does it mean ? It
quite led me astray."

"Which was precisely what it was intended to do.
Our friend Mr. Barrister tried not only to hide his own
tracks, but to create false ones in order to befuddle any
detective who tackled the job. I noticed the violet
writing as we came past the ash barrels. So, I pre-
sume, did Barrister when he came home after commit-
ting the robbery. 'Aha!' he said to himself, 'here's a
chance to fool any detective that comes hunting for
clues. I'll give him clues !' So he took the piece, tore
off a part, and carefully left it on the floor. I confess
that was clever ; for as his finding of it in the ash can
was entirely accidental, no one knows where such a
trail might have led to. But the trouble is that such a
man always goes too far, especially when he has to
work in a hurry. Now, there's the case of the boots,
for instance."

"But I didn't see any boots."

"I saw one in the ash barrel, — a left shoe. When I
looked out the window that was supposed to have been
forced, I saw the prints of a right boot; but it had
nails in the heel arranged just as its brother in the bar-
rel had. Of course Barrister took the shoe out of the
barrel and used it to make the footprints of a suppos-
ititious burglar."

"Why," exclaimed the girl, "it's just as wonderful as

THE STOLEN SHAKESPEARE 43

if you had really done it with crystal gazing! But I
don't see how you could be sure, after all. There was
White, who might have been Hepson's tool."

"Yes, I had two lines I might have worked on, —
White as well as Barrister, — but White had been win-
ning plenty of money, and is well-off, anyway. He
wouldn't go around jimmying windows to get things,
either."

"Still, I insist you had nothing that absolutely con-
nected Barrister with his own misdeeds."

"Hadn't I ? If you had gone into about ten branch
express offices in the down-town district as I had, you'd
have found out. You recall my package? It was just
the same size as the Folio. I finally found the office that
I was looking for, and said to the clerk, 'I sent a pack-
age to Mr. Hepson two days ago, and he telegraphs
that it hasn't been received. So I'm sending this. I
wish you'd look it up and see what's the matter. It's
from Renold M. White.' Well, the clerk looked over
his record of carbon duplicate receipts, and said,
There was a package sent from a Mr. Barrister to a
Mr. Hepson in Chicago ; but none from White.' So I
said, 'Never mind,' and left."

The two sat in silence for some time. At last the
Master of Mysteries spoke :

"There is just one thing I don't like about this case
of the theft of the First Folio Shakespeare."

"What's that?" asked Valeska.

"This is the first time I go on record as not having
run down my quarry; but it has paid fairly well — for
two days' work." And he smiled as he took up an an-
tique volume of the Kabala.

THE MACDOUGAL STREET
AFFAIR

ENTERING the room slowly, grave and distin-
guished in his flowing silken robes, Astro did
not glance at his visitor till he had seated himself in a
picturesque pose upon the divan. Then, taking up the
silver mouthpiece of his water-pipe, he gave a long
sober look at the stranger.

"It's a pity you are unhappily married," he said,
gazing languidly at the red and gold ceiling above him.
He semed to pay little attention to the thick hairy
hand of his client, which lay limp on the velvet cushion.

Opposite him the bull-necked, red-faced man sat star-
ing in amazement, no longer wearing the contemptu-
ous, amused expression with which he had entered the
astrological parlors of the slim, romantic-looking,
young man in the turban. Like many another unbe-
liever who had come to test Astro in that very room,
his look had changed gradually from scorn to interest,
until now his eyes were fixed on the palmist with eager
curiosity and perplexity.

"No doubt it's her fault," Astro continued ; "for she
is indifferent and selfish. It might be better if you
were to let it come to an actual quarrel, and be sepa-
rated." He reached for his narghile, and took a long
bubbling whiff of perfumed smoke, as if, as far as he

THE MACDOUGAL STREET AFFAIR 45

was concerned, the matter had been weighed and set-
tled.

There came at this moment the sound of a muffled
electric bell. His client still gazed stupidly in front of
him, but said nothing. He did not seem to notice the
signal.

Astro, however, rose and went to a pair of black vel-
vet curtains hanging at one side of the wall behind his
visitor's back. There was a mirror hung above which
reflected the stocky form of the man at the little table,
the bulge of a revolver in his hip pocket, and the round
head with its short cropped hair. The head did not
turn. Astro parted the hangings deftly and peered
within. On a level with his eyes was a small square
window, lighted from behind. Against the glass a
sheet of paper was fastened, and on it was written in
a feminine scrawl, "Plain-clothes man. Working on
the Macdougal Street dynamite case."

Valeska smiled at him from the secret cabinet.

Astro picked up a magnifying-glass, dropped the
curtains, and returned to his client. Seating himself,
he looked carefully at the lines in the detective's palm ;
after which he took a small crystal sphere from a draw-
er in the table, set it on the cushion, and seemed to lose
himself in prolonged contemplation of the mysteries
hidden within it. His vis-a-vis fidgeted restlessly.

"You are a busy man indeed," commented Astro,
half aloud. "Not only are you keeping your eye on the
crooks around the Rennick Hotel, and investigating
several pool-room layouts, but you come up here in
reality to see if my place is, as you would call it, 'on the
square'. How on earth you have time for all this, when
you are so puzzled about the Macdougal Street busi-

46 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

ness, is more than I can see. You must be a man of
extraordinary resource."

The officer stared like a child at the dreamy-eyed
Oriental before him. "Gosh!" he said almost plain-
tively. Then he rose and thrust his big hairy hands
into his pockets. "Say, what do you know about that
dynamite affair, anyway?" he asked.

Astro smiled. "Nothing. I'm too busy to trouble
about things that are not any of my business."

"But what if it was your business?" continued the
policeman eagerly. "What if I made it an object to
you?"

Astro assumed a dramatic air of omnipotence.

"Ah!" answered the Seer. "No doubt I could tell
you anything you wished to know."

The man drew out a pocketbook. "See here," he
said, tapping it, "I ain't rich by any means ; but I'm up
against it on this case, and if you can look into them
glasses and give me a tip, I'll make it worth your
while."

Astro laughed. "Oh, it's not quite so simple as that.
You must understand, my dear sir, that I can do abso-
lutely nothing without coming into direct personal con-
tact with the vibrations emanating from the scene or
from the individual. I can tell about you, because you
happen to be before me ; but I should have to be pres-
ent at the place in order to become sensitive to the oc-
cult influences that have permeated the vicinity of the
crime. Do you understand?"

The officer evidently did not understand ; but he was
in nowise deterred from making use of this power that
had so impressed him. "I'll take you up there," he
offered.

THE MACDOUGAL STREET AFFAIR 47

"Very well," said Astro. "I'll help you on this case,

Mr. — "

"McGraw."

" — Mr.Graw, with tHe distinct understanding, how-
ever, that I am to be left to do what I like, undisturbed
and unwatched. Utter abstraction, my dear sir, the
harmony of the Tatvic Rythm, is in all instances abso-
lutely necessary. I see the invisible ; I hear the inaudi-
ble; I touch the intangible."

The detective stood like a cow gazing on an eighth
wonder of the world. "All right," he said, lamely.
"When'll you come?"

"At three this afternoon. Meet me in front of the
place — number 950, isn't it? That's right. But first I
should like to know what you have learned about the
matter."

"Well, it's just this way. There's a chap at number
950 named Pietro Gallino. He has a wholesale wine
and grocery shop, and does a considerable importing
business ; he also acts as a sort of local banker. Two
weeks ago he got a letter that was made up of words
torn out of a newspaper, telling him to leave a thous-
and dollars in ten-dollar bills underneath a certain
bench by the arch into Washington Square. He was to
put it there the next night, or else his place would be
blown up. He went dippy about it, of course, and re-
ported it to the police right away. We told him to put
up a dummy package and carry out instructions. He
did that and the place was watched. Nobody came, of
course. The next day there was an explosion in front
of his store, and it smashed up the windows and doors
good and plenty. Then he got another letter, some-
thing like the first one, only he was to put the money in

48 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

a certain fire bucket on the third floor of a building at
231 Vestry Street. Somebody came that time! but,
with three exits to the building and us watching every
one of them, we couldn't nab our man. The next day
there was an explosion on top of Gallino's building, and
then came this last letter."

He took from his pocketbook a sheet of paper, folded.
On it were pasted irregular fragments from the adver-
tising pages of a newspaper. It read as follows :

"Have a thousand dollars with you, day and
night. We will tell you how to pay before the
twelfth. If any more tricks, will blow you to
pieces sure I"

It was signed with the dread insignia of the Black
Hand, — a skull and cross-bones and a rudely drawn
hand.

Astro looked at it carelessly, pressed it to his fore-
head, fingered it sensitively, and then put it in his
pocket with composure. "Very well. I get from this
letter, even now, a subtle impression, and when I en-
counter these vibrations in the flesh I shall immediately
recognize them. The criminal has a violet soul, tend-
ing toward purple. Purples are malicious and very
dangerous. This aura distresses me." And he fop-
pishly sniffed at a bottle of smelling-salts.

The effect of this was not lost on McGraw. "I don't
know how the mischief you get wise," said the dazed
officer; "but it don't matter how you turn the trick,
just so you deliver the goods. I'll see you at three
then. And be mighty careful of that paper !"

Astro nodded impassively as his visitor left. Then
he pressed an electric button, and Valeska Wynne, his

THE MACDOUGAL STREET AFFAIR 49

young assistant, entered the room with" a free and easy,
graceful, girlish stride. She smiled quickly, and lifted
her eyebrows at the departing plain-clothes man.

"Easy enough to tip you that time," she remarked,
"I passed him on the stairs with a policeman, and
caught a few words. Anything in him ?"

"No money; but it's a good advertisement, and it
g-ets me in with the police, so that I shall be able to rely
on them for help from time to time. Did you notice
the chalk on his sleeve ?"

"Sure ; but I didn't have time to tell you, and I knew
you'd get that. Billiard cue, I suppose?"

"Hardly — not in this Broadway neighborhood;
though it's possible. Billiard-cue chalk hereabout is
generally green in color. That white stuff probably
means a bucket-shop. He's been nosing round illegal
race-track, gambling places, I imagine. At least I told
him so, and it took. Notice the dab of gilt paint on his
vest?"

"No," answered the girl.

"They're rebronzing the furnishings and decorations
in the Rennick lobby to-day. Inasmuch as that is the
notorious hotel for crooks of all descriptions, I saw at
a glance that he had been there. Did you observe his
handkerchief?"

"Oh, yes," said she eagerly, glad at last to have
caught one point in the train of the master's deduction.
"It was a small one — a woman's, of course."

"And the top button of his coat?"

"No." Valeska's face fell.

"Sewed on with fine copper wire instead of thread.
What do you make of that ?" • He surveyed her quiz-
zically.

50 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

She puckered her pretty face for a moment, then
raised her fair blue eyes interrogatively. "They seem
contradictory, don't they? The handkerchief would
suggest marriage ; unless it's a souvenir — "

"No. He used it too strenuously, I'm afraid, for
any sentiment to be attached to it; his only emotion
seemed to be disgust at its size — or lack of size. His
wife's, of course. She's alive, and with him, or her
handkerchiefs wouldn't be where he'd pick one up in a
hurry; probably mixed in with his when the laundry
came home."

"It might be his sister's," suggested the girl.

"Why didn't she sew his buttons on for him, then?
Oh, it's simple enough. But your tip was what really
helped me most with McGraw — that's his name — after
all. He wants me to help him solve the Macdougal
Street mystery."

In a few minutes Astro went over the history of the
affair, and laid the last threatening letter on the table.
Valeska inspected it carefully.

"The pieces are all cut from the advertising pages of
The Era," she said finally.

"Good! Except these two, which, you see, instead
of being cut, are torn along the edge. Not much of a
clue, but worth remembering."

"What do you know about the Black Hand?" Va-
leska asked.

"As much as any one, and that is — nothing. Even
Petrosini, the greatest of metropolitan Italian sleuths,
said that there was no such thing. Warburton, on Im-
migration, has some very interesting chapters concern-
ing the bloodthirsty Sicilian and his criminal organiza-
tion, all of which have been corroborated in the recent

THE MACDOUGAL STREET AFFAIR 51

Camorra and Mafia trials. But here in America there
is really no Black Hand ; although the rather melodra-
matic name is made use of from time to time by indi-
viduals bent on extortion. It is a great terrorizer. In
this instance, the work is clearly that of one person.
The affair looks simple. I'll get my vibrations easily
enough ; you just see if I don't ! It isn't half so difficult
as that interior epicycloid I was at work on last night.
Be ready at three o'clock."

Until that time Astro the Seer was characteristically
picturesque. Curious women listened to his talk about
them in delight, men came with ill-disguised scorn and
left the studio in admiration, and through it all he
gazed into crystals, and intoned cabalistic words.
When the last client, however, had disappeared, Astro
threw off his turban and robe, yawned prodigiously,
and became his real, alert, keen-eyed self. With Va-
leska Wynne he walked rapidly down Fifth Avenue,
across Washington Square, and along Macdougal
Street to number 950, where he found McGraw await-
ing him in some impatience. At once the mask fell
again over Astro's handsome poetic face ; no summer
saunterer seemed ever more idle or indifferent.
I "Ah, here you are, sir," said the detective with evi-
dent relief as he tipped his hat to Valeska. "And here's
the joint."

The house still showed signs of the recent outrage.
The broken frames of the front windows were boarded
up, and several beams held the tottering lumber in
place. The sidewalk was not yet repaired, but had been
hastily covered with loose planks. Evidently the bomb

52 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

thrower had created a terrific disturbance. Every pane
of glass in the building was shattered. As a result of
the latest attempt upon Gallino's life, the whole top of
the store was a mass of broken timber in front; the
back part of the roof seemed not to have been dis-
turbed. A small group of silent wide-eyed Italians
hung about the place, eying the evidences of destruc-
tion in awe.

Astro scarcely gave the place a glance ; but, accom-
panied by McGraw and Valeska, entered the store and
spoke a few commonplaces to the proprietor, who, with
hunted face, gazed anxiously at the officer. Valeska's
eyes roamed vivaciously about the interior, taking in
everything.

"Don't you suspect any one?" she asked Gallino at
length.

"Yassa, ma'am, I do. I say it ees Tony, my ol' clerk.
He ees no good, that-a boy. I fire 'im. That ees-a
one week ago. I tell-a da cop; he say-a no. Tony,
he live across da street right-a now. He blow me up-a
for sure. You wait teel I catch-a heem !"

McGraw laughed easily. "The old man's nutty
about it, that's all. We looked up Antonio's record.
He had good alibis, too. Nothing to that theory."

Astro seemed to come out of his daze and began to
take an interest in the chatter about him. "Well, Mr.
McGraw," he announced, as he picked his way daintily
among the debris, "I've seen what I care to inspect in
this part of the building ; now, if you will kindly leave
me to wander about the place as I like, I may get those
influences and manifestations that will enable me to use
my crystals to good advantage."

The bulky officer immediately looked disappointed.

THE MACDOUGAL STREET AFFAIR 53

He had evidently expected the Master of Mysteries to
announce the author of the crime at once ; and there-
fore it was with an unwilling nod that he withdrew.

"I'd like to go up on the roof first," said Astro to the
Italian merchant. "It was there, I believe, that the
latest explosion occurred."

Gallino showed the way up to a trap-door in the rear,
and left Valeska and her companion on the ruined
roof.

"Ah, this is more like business !" he said. "Valeska,
see what you can find around here that's interesting."
Then he walked directly toward the blank wall of the
adjoining building. This rose three stories above Gal-
lino's roof, and against it lay a number of pieces of
scantling, untouched by the explosion. Over these As-
tro bent in search, while Valeska, left to herself, in-
spected the hole that the dynamiter had torn in the
middle front of the roof.

"Here we are !" came his voice enthusiastically a mo-
ment later. She ran over toward him in surprise, to
find him gazing across at the buildings on the other side
of the street. Between his thumb and forefinger he
held a tiny object.

"I've got it!" he announced, and continued his in-
spection of the house across the way.

"Got what?" she asked.

"The whole secret, as far as that goes. But spe-
cifically, I've got what I came up here for. What did
you come up for?"

"Because you did," she confessed. "And, too, on
the chance of finding something."

"One doesn't solve mysteries that way, Valeska.
There is no use looking for something unless you know

54 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

what that something is. Have you decided how a bomb
was exploded on top of this roof in broad daylight,
with people watching the house? Until you've got
that, you are nowhere."

"It might have been thrown from the top of a build-
ing up there."

"And anybody could have seen it. No. There was
only one possible way, besides electric wiring, and here
it is." He opened his hand and disclosed a small
twisted bullet.

"Oh !" cried the girl. "They put the bomb there and
then shot at it."

"Yes. Shot at it — and missed the first time. Now,
here we find the place where the first bullet, going
wild, hit this piece of scantling. This makes it merely
a matter of surveying. If you will stand with the back
of your head where the indentation of this bullet is,
then sight across the approximate middle of the hole in
the roof caused by the explosion, you will probably get
some idea of where the bullet came from. What do
you see?"

"Well, it might have been aimed from any one of
those three windows over there, in the building next to
the shirt factory. I should say it came from the sec-
ond one, where the potted plant is."

"One of them, certainly," answered Astro. "But
we shall have to investigate them all, if we are to be
conscientious about it, and for that purpose I suggest
we look up McGraw again."

'f As they went down-stairs, Valeska asked, "When did
the first explosion occur ?"

"At night."

THE MACDOUGAL STREET AFFAIR 55

"Then the bomb was merely hurled from the win-
dow?"

"Presumably. Nothing could be easier, and, of
course, it could not be definitely seen or traced. But
here is McGraw ; so let us take advantage of his office."

The detective, though delighted to accompany Astro,
and especially his pretty assistant, into the house across
the street, belittled the possibilities of finding anything
there. "I've been into every room on the block, and I
saw nothing. But I ain't got the second sight, o'
course. All I can say is, I hope you track 'em."

The party went up-stairs into a cheap lodging-house,
accompanied by a frightened and voluble landlady, un-
til they reached the third floor fronting on the street.
McGraw knocked on the first door; but, getting no
answer, motioned the landlady to unlock.

It was a small room, in great disorder, looking as if
the tenant had suddenly taken his departure. The bed
was unmade, the small bureau was covered with soiled
linen, neckties, cigarette stubs, and the like, and a mis-
cellaneous lot of shoes, magazines, newspapers, and
rubbish were strewed on the floor. McGraw started
to push his way in officiously ; but the slim hand of the
Seer detained him.

"Kindly wait outside a moment," he commanded.
"My assistant and I would prefer to enter alone. The
vibrations, you know," he murmured, with a smile.
The moment the door was shut behind them, two pairs
of eyes ransacked the place, hunting for the things they
had already decided to find. Astro's were- the first to
come to rest on a pile of crumpled newspapers hastily
thrown beneath the unkempt bed. In a flash he had

56 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

seized them and was scanning them one by one. Finally
he separated an Era from the rest of the sheets,
turned it toward Valeska, and smiled. She saw that
one page had been torn out.

"The advertising page," he remarked. He drew out
the Black Hand letter and compared the torn scraps
silently with the journal in his hand, nodded his head
in confirmation, then silently opened the door.

"Who lives here ?" he asked the woman of the house.

"Antonio Soroni."

Astro turned to the detective. "Arrest him to-night
and bring him to my apartments at eight o'clock."

"Did he really do it?" asked McGraw eagerly.

Astro turned away without answering.

"Kindly don't put any questions to him," interrupted
Valeska ; "for he is now getting in touch with the psy-
chic influences of the place."

"Now for the next room, please," announced the
Master of Mysteries, as if suddenly wakening.

"Oh, that's vacant," said the landlady with arms
akimbo. "A young girl had it until last Friday; but
she's left."

Valeska turned at once. "When was the last explo-
sion, did you say, Mr. McGraw ?"

"Thursday."

"And when did you search these rooms ?"

"Friday, miss. The girl was here when I came.
Fine looker, too, she was. A sort of laundress or seam-
stress or clerk or something ; out of work, she said."

"Well, better look her up too, McGraw," said Astro,
"and bring her around with' Antonio."

He walked into the empty room, and Valeska fol-
lowed him. The plain-clothes man and the proprietress

THE MACDOUGAL STREET AFFAIR 57

awaited patiently until they came out again, some
fifteen minutes later. Their faces betrayed nothing
whatever concerning their search.

"Now, the third door!" Astro's voice was sharp
and commanding. The others pricked up their ears in
expectation.

McGraw knocked; but there was no answer. He
knocked again, and the listening party caught the sound
of unintelligible cursing, heavy and befuddled. At
this the officer took the key in haste, threw open the
door, and looked inside, his hand on the butt of his re-
volver. One glance, and he had jumped inside, collar-
ing the man on the bed.

"It's Bull O'Kennery, by all that's holy! Think o'
meetin' you this way, Bull! Get up now, an' come
along with us ; for I've been huntin' you two weeks an'
more! Where've you been spendin' your vacation,
anyway ?"

The prostrate man rubbed his thick knuckles into his
eyes and expostulated brokenly with a maudlin drunken
accent. In a jiffy McGraw had dragged him upright
and placed him against the wall outside, snapping the
bracelets on his wrists as he did so. Then the detective
turned to Astro.

"This here's Bull, one o' the slickest dips in the burg.
There's been a warrant out for his arrest for over two
weeks now. He'll be the man we're after, too, most
likely. Anyway, he'll have to go up and give an ac-
count."

Astro surveyed the disheveled prisoner nonchalantly,
took up his hand, examined the palm, the lower lid of
his eye, and listened to his heart-beats, his head against
the man's chest. "Bah !" he exclaimed with a nauseated

58 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

shrug of his shoulders, "he's been drunk for sixty
hours. Take him away, McGraw. He makes me quite
ill. I'll attend to the rest of this alone."

After the detective had led the wretch shuffling down
the stairs, the palmist and Valeska entered the room
and threw up the blinds. It was a sickening enough
abode, smelling vilely of whisky, stale beer, and staler
tobacco smoke. A sluggish kerosene lamp still burned
weakly on the mantel. Amid the mass of tangled rub-
bish a bureau drawer stood half open. Astro strode
over to it. With a sudden gesture he took out a box
of twenty-two caliber cartridges ; then a woman's pock-
etbook, a ten-dollar bill, a piece of old-fashioned paper
fractional currency of fifty-cent denomination, and a
horn-handled shoe-buttoner.

"I think we're getting at it now !" he exclaimed, his
eyes alight with discovery.

"But, for heaven's sake, which one of them did it?
Antonio ? Bull O'Kennery ? Or the girl ? Or all three
together?"

"Or none of them?" smiled Astro. Suddenly his
mood changed as he weighed the bullet thoughtfully in
his hand. "It's a very pretty piece of business," he
went on. "What was it the old Frenchman said in his
wisdom, — Cherchez la femme? I'm afraid Mr. Gallino
across the street is up against it; unless — hum — well,
we'll see what McGraw gets into his net by nightfall."

Valeska never questioned further than the Master
wished to answer ; for she knew that it merely dis-
turbed the marvelous deductive powers of his brain
while they were at work ; then, too, he preferred her, as

THE MACDOUGAL STREET AFFAIR 59

she was, so to speak, still in her student days, to work
out her own clues. Later, in case she had erred, he in-
dulgently pointed out her mistakes. It was in some
such tacit understanding that they now left the Mac-
dougal Street tenement and made their way back to
Astro's cozy studio.

Once there, she could see from the way in which he
donned his turban and robe, lighted his water-pipe,
and disposed himself on the cushioned divan in his fa-
vorite corner, that he had already solved the problem
to his own satisfaction. Above the top shelf a row of
the ancient Toltec, laughing heads grinned down on
him; farther on, brazen implements and slabs of mar-
velous jade wrought with hieroglyphics gleamed dully,
adding their touch of mystery to the man beneath.
On the table were the sheets of paper and the dividers
and rule with which he had been plotting an intricate
curve, and this work he again took up immediately.
Valeska withdrew. After an hour's work, heedless of
the passage of dinner-time, he smiled, carefully laid
aside his instruments, and turned to a plaster cast hung
against the wall.

"It is true, then, as I thought, about you, Monsieur
Voltaire," he murmured, half aloud. "The line of the
upper half of the perimeter of that right ear of yours
is a logarithmic spiral, of which the equation is
x* = 2ab + y." He threw back his head and yawned.

Valeska glided in. "McGraw has come with An-
tonio," she whispered, "and has been waiting half an
hour; but I wouldn't interrupt you until you had fin-
ished your calculations. Shall I let them in now ?"

Astro yawned again, luxuriously. "You are too in-
dulgent of me, my dear girl, I'm very much afraid.

60 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

The delay may cost Signer Gallino a thousand dollars,
possibly his life. Yes, you may show them in."

In another moment the officer appeared, leading by
the sleeve a very badly frightened Italian. The mo-
ment the latter perceived the gorgeously picturesque
figure of the palmist he rushed across the room and
sank on the floor, clutching Astro by the knees.

"I no t'row-a da bomb !" he screamed. "I no t'row-a
da bomb ! Sacrament' ! I spika da trut' ! I no t'row-a
bomb, signor! Gallino he give-a me da bounce, si! I
shake-a-da fist in da face ; bot I no t'row-a da bomb !"
At that the tears streamed from his wild eyes.

Astro waved his hand impatiently, took up Antonio's
hand, and began reading the palm, only to let it drop
in a few moments.

"This young lady who roomed next to you," he said
gently, — "you liked her, Antonio?"

The accused's eyes beamed. "Ah, si, signor! She
the fine-a, nice-a girl. She speak-a to me, nice !"

"Very of ten?"

"Ah, no, signor ! She lock herself in da room all-a
da time. Some eve she come-a in, get-a da match. Da's
all. Read-a da pape', maybe, sometime."

Astro cast a quick significant look at Valeska under
his dark brows. "When did she come in and tear out
a page from The Era, Tony ?"

Antonio scratched his head, laboring to remember.
"Sometime dees-a last-a wik, early. Si. One night she
come in, she say, Tony, I like-a get-a da posish. You
lemme take-a do pape'. I brink 'er back.' I say 'No, I
wanta-da pape' for read-a to-night/ She say, 'All-a
right ; I tear off da one piece/ "

I no t'row-a da bomb ! " he cried.

THE MACDOUGAL STREET AFFAIR 61

Astro turned to McGraw, "You'd better turn this
poor fellow loose, I think. He's innocent enough. I
know what I want to know now."

"What do you know?" said the detective peevishly.
"Seems to me it's time I was put wise to some of this
game, ain't it ?"

"I'll tell you in ten minutes, if you'll telephone a
question to headquarters, or to the proper precinct, and
find out if there has been any complaint made of the
loss of a pocketbook containing a ten-dollar bill, a fifty-
cent piece of the old-fashioned paper currency, and a
horn-handled shoe-buttoner. If there has, you'll want
your friend Bull O'Kennery for that piece of work,
too."

McGraw rose wonderingly and went to the tele-
phone.

Astro called after him, "Tell them that if any one
does appear with that complaint, to arrest him imme-
diately and disarm him."

Valeska waited till the detective had gone into the
hall. "It was the girl, then. I see !" she cried. "But
how in the world did she ever expect to collect the
money without being caught ?"

"That's the cleverest part of it," answered tHe Seer
meditatively. "You remember that she sent word to
him the last time to have a thousand dollars with him
night and day, and she'd let him know how to transfer
the money ?"

"Yes ; but she hasn't let him know, so far."

"But she will to-night. You forget that to-morrow
is the twelfth, the last day."

Valeska, extremely puzzled even yet as to how a

62 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

lone girl was to accomplish her design, sat studying
the matter over. Before she could reply, however,
McGraw came back with an astonished look on his
face.

"The girl called at the Mulberry Street Station yes-
terday and reported that her pocket had been picked.
She described the money and the button-hook all right ;
and I guess if you say so it must be one of Bull's jobs.
But it's too late to catch her, I'm afraid."

"What did she look like?" asked Astro.

"Why, that's funny. This Gallino happened to be
there, talking to the sergeant about his place bein*
blown up, and he recognized her as a girl that used to
work in the corner drug store near him. She spoke to
him a few minutes, and then left ; and Gallino told the
sergeant about it."

Astro clapped his hands. "Selah!" he exclaimed.
"The ether waves have met at last ! Wait five minutes.
I must consult my crystals."

The two watched him carefully.

Finally he looked up. "We must hurry!" he ex-
claimed sharply. "To-night a man will come to see
Gallino, and as soon as he's alone will demand the
thousand dollars."

"A man?" queried Valeska. "I thought it was the
girl."

"The girl!" said McGraw in bewilderment. "Well,
never mind. Whoever it is, we'll get him — or her. The
house is watched."

"Watched!" sneered the Master of Mysteries.
"From the outside, I suppose ?"

"Certainly," answered McGraw hotly.

THE MACDOUGAL STREET AFFAIR 63

"Fools !" answered Astro. "Anybody can enter. You
can't keep innocent people out of the house. This man
may go in, present a pistol at Gallino's head, get the
money, and walk out. Who's to suspect a casual vis-
itor?" He paused a moment to don his street coat.
"Gallino may even be chloroformed. We've got to get
there at once. Hurry !"

As they hastened along to the cab-stand, McGraw
grunted in ill temper, "But who's the man that's after
it, I'd like to know?"

He received no answer ; nor was a word spoken all
the time that they were being driven to Macdougal and
Fourth Streets. When they had alighted there, paid
their fare, and looked down the dark sidewalk, no
one could be observed. Number 950 showed no sign of
life. They started to walk briskly toward Gallino's,
when suddenly a person emerged from the Italian's
doorway and hastened down the steps.

Instantly Astro drew his revolver and shouted! to
McGraw, "That's the one ! Get him !"

At the exclamation, the figure turned on the bottom
step, shrank back in surprise, and becoming entangled
in the long coat, fell across the balustrade to the stone
sidewalk. Instantly, with a frightful roar, a terrific ex-
plosion rent the air. Astro and his companions stag-
gered back, and above the crash of falling debris the
Master of Mysteries could be heard shouting :

"That's what was meant for Gallino if he hadn't
paid to-night!"

Then the three rushed anxiously forward to where
the limp figure lay in a distorted knot on the flagging.
The clothing had been torn to shreds, and a pool of

64 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

blood encircled the prostrate form. The body lay face
downward; so that the detective had to turn it over.
He struck a match and cried in bewilderment :

"Why, it's a girl in man's clothes !"

Astro turned slowly away. "There will be no more
bombs exploded in Macdougal Street for a while," he
said. "You'd better telephone to the hospital."

THE FANSHAWE GHOST

A5 it was nearly time for his first client of the day
to arrive, Astro the Palmist ended the little les-
son in optical anatomy he had been giving to Valeska.
He closed the transparent doors of the huge model
of the human eye about which he had been talking,
and replaced it on a shelf in his laboratory, where it
remained, a large livid ball of glass and porcelain,
veined with red.

"It's simply wonderful !" Valeska said, staring at it
hard.

Astro laughed, and passed into the great studio for
his morning consultations. "And yet," he remarked,
"Helmholtz says, 'Nature seems to have packed this
organ with mistakes/ I'll explain that sometime.
Most people do think that the body of man is the con-
summation of the Maker's skill and wisdom. In point
of fact, it is far from being perfect.

"Think of the ants and bees," he went on thought-
fully. "Think of their strength and adaptability ! By
a mere change of diet a neuter can become a perfect
female."

"Do you mean to say that men's bodies are not so
good as some of the animals' bodies ?" Valeska asked.

"I mean to say that the human machine is imperfect.
It contains much that is unnecessary, much that is not
well adapted to the struggle for existence."

Astro, now assuming his red silken robe and turban,

66 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

in preparation for his astral readings, seated himself
cross-legged on the divan, and took up the stem of his
narghile.

"Wiedersheim," he continued, "has counted one
hundred and seven so-called Vestigial organs'; the
remains, that is, of similar but more developed organs
that fulfilled a useful function in our simian ancestors.
Some of them are still able to perform their physiolog-
ical functions in a more or less incomplete manner;
some survive merely as ancestral relics ; and some are
actually harmful to the body. Take, for instance,
superfluous hairs; they are no longer capable of pro-
tecting the body from cold and often do serious harm.
Wisdom-teeth are unnecessary to man; their powers
of mastication are feeble, and they often cause tumors
and diffused suppuration and dental caries. We all
know how unnecessary and how dangerous to health
the vermiform appendix is.

"Then there are other organs whose powers are
almost completely lost. The little tail disappears from
the embryo before birth ; but there remain the useless
muscles of the ear, the unnecessary thirteenth pair of
ribs, the weak and imperfect eleventh and twelfth
pairs of ribs, which serve no useful purpose, the
muscles of the toes, and so on. Why, the colon, or
large intestine, the seat of most diseases of the ali-
mentary tract and the nursery of arterial sclerosis, has
been pronounced practically useless by MetchnikofT,
and in London hospitals the entire colon is often re-
moved."

Valeska stared. "But what are they all there for ?"
she inquired.

"I suppose their chief use is to shame our vanity.

THE FANSHAWE GHOST 67

They are undoubted proof of our animal origin, our
descent from the anthropoid apes."

Valeska frowned. "I never like to be reminded of
that."

"Well, then, of our descent from birds, or reptiles.
You have beautiful eyes, my dear ; but you can't con-
ceal that little part near the nose which is called the
'semilunar fold'. That is but the remains of the third
eyelid you possessed as a bird, — the transparent mem-
brane that eagles draw over the cornea."

The bell rang outside. Astro the Philosopher be-
came, on the instant, Astro the Seer, and dropped into
his professional poise, — calm, inert, picturesque, ori-
ental. Valeska retired to another room and began her
work of looking carefully over the papers for news
of anything that might be of use to the Seer in his
conferences. It was her duty to keep in touch with
the doings of the day. '

For some time she read without interest, making
notes occasionally, and from time to time consulting
her card catalogue to look up the condensed biog-
raphies of persons prominent,, in society, politics, or
finance, adding to the data there collected. She cut
clippings, too, and pasted them in a blank book for
Astro to look over at his leisure. In the last of the
morning papers, her eyes fell on the following para-
graph, and she read it with attention:

No small amount of gossip has been occasioned
during the last week or so in the little village of
Vandyke, by the rumors of supernatural visitations
at the well-known Fanshawe farm, now the resi-
dence of Miss Mildred Fanshawe, the last living
representative of a prominent old family in the

68 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

county. While all the servants at the farm deny
the sensational reports, and Miss Fanshawe abso-
lutely refuses to be interviewed, the stories afloat
make the place famous in the vicinity. According
to what can be learned, at least three of the serv-
ants at the farm have seen the "Fanshawe ghost,"
purported to be the spirit of Sally Towers, who
was a well-known belle of New York in the 1830's.
Sally appears, so it is said, in the walled garden
side of the old house, usually with a baby in her
arms. Occasionally she is seen on the roof of the
dwelling. The Society for Psychical Research is
said to be interested, and has asked the privilege
of investigating the apparition; but Miss Fan-
shawe has persistently refused them admittance to
the premises, which are now well guarded from
intrusion.

Of Miss Fanshawe, Valeska could find no informa-
tion in her catalogue. But as soon as Astro was free
she gave him the clipping, and was not disappointed in
his interest.

"It's a case I'd like to handle," he said, when he had
read the story. "If Miss Fanshawe does not apply to
me for a solution of the mystery, I shall certainly vol-
unteer my services. Perhaps you had better send her
a note, anyway."

This Valeska did forthwith, with the result that
Miss Fanshawe appeared a few days later at the stu-
dio. She confessed herself worried about the stories
that had been circulated, because of the unpleasant
notoriety she had gained, and the fact that they might
depreciate the value of the property, which she wished
to sell as soon as possible. The rumors were, she
confessed, based on tales which some of her servants
had been indiscreet enough to relate. There seemed to

THE FANSHAWE GHOST 69

be something at the bottom of the affair, and sEe would
be much relieved to have the mystery cleared up.

Miss Miildred Fanshawe was an aristocratic but
anemic-looking woman of perhaps thirty years. She
was a brunette, with dark hair and eyes, with a lean
narrow face, full of nervous energy. Her hands were
long and slim ; her upper lip was nearly covered with
fine hair, almost a mustache, which gave her a dis-
tinctly Italian aspect. She talked freely with Astro
and Valeska, using gestures like a foreigner.

When she had gone, Astro turned to his assistant.
"Well," he said, "I'm curious to know just what you
noticed about that woman."

"There is something strange about her — I hardly
know what it is," said Valeska. "I noticed, though,
for one thing, that she wiggled her ears. I knew a
boy once who could do that. I've often tried to; but
I can't. Then, her mustache was a great blemish,
wasn't it? It's a pity for a woman to have to suffer
that. Then, her eyes were queer. What was the mat-
ter with them?"

Astro smiled. "And I have been lecturing you upon
the eye for a fortnight! It was the 'semilunar fold'
I spoke to you about a while ago. It was extraordi-
narily large."

"So it was, now I recall it. That was funny about
her being able to pick up a fork with her toes, like
Stevenson at Vailima, wasn't it? I always wanted
to live in a country where I could go barefooted. We
don't half use our feet, do we ?"

"Well — and the ghost? Have you no theory?"
Astro asked.

"Already? Of course not! How can we tell any-

70 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

thing till we investigate the premises and see the ap-
parition?"

"Oh, we'll go down, of course; but it's scarcely
necessary, I consider."

Valeska's hands fell into her lap with a hopeless
gesture. "Oh, dear !" she exclaimed. "I'll never learn
anything! How in the world could you learn the
secret of the ghost story, just by talking to her?"

"And watching her?" he hinted. "But take her
talk, even. What did she say that might be signifi-
cant?"

"Do you mean about that operation she had for ap-
pendicitis?" Valeska considered it thoughtfully.
"Let's see. She mentioned the fact that she had her
vermiform appendix removed, and it proved to be
abnormally large. But that doesn't prove anything to
me."

"Think it over. See if you can't put it with what
I have told you, and, more important still, read Metch-
nikoff! I recommend to you his Prolongation of
Life; but I won't tell you what chapter especially.
There you'll find the missing link in the argument.
You have already half of my theory, in the doctrine of
'vestigial organs', which you can apply to Miss Fan-
shawe's case. The other half I prefer you to work out
for yourself. It's the simplest kind of deduction, and
needs only corroboration at Fanshawe Farm. Let's
see; she asked us to come down next Friday. That
gives you three days in which to think it over."

He rose and yawned. "I wish you'd buy me some
blue paint and a brush," he added. "Now I must put
in a little time on that new somnoform experiment.
I think I'm getting at it."

THE FANSHAWE GHOST 71

But Valeska had no time to read Metchnikoff that
week. Astro's absences from the studio were long
and often, and Valeska, who had been preparing
herself in palmistry, gave readings to all those clients
who did not insist on a personal interview with the
Master of Mysteries. It need scarcely be said that
most such clients were men. Every moment of her
time was occupied until Friday afternoon.

On that day, at four o'clock, she met Astro at the
Grand Central Station, and together they took the
train for Vandyke village to keep their appointment
with Miss Fanshawe.

"How little I know of you, Valeska," Astro said,
on the journey down. "Do you realize that it is
almost nothing? You applied in answer to my ad-
vertisement for an assistant, and you know that it is
not my habit to ask personal questions unless it is abso-
lutely necessary. But, to me, you are as mysterious
as this Fanshawe. ghost we are hunting down. I have
always had a queer feeling about you, — that I didn't
want to know too much about your history; that it
was a prettier situation to be ignorant of everything
except this very happy present when we are working
together."

"Oh, let's be sure of that, and enjoy it!" she
breathed, turning her eyes away. "I am perfectly
happy ! I only hope that we both shall remain so !"

If Astro had intended by his remarks to give her
an opening for a confession, she did not accept it,
and he did not insist. Their talk changed to the
business that occupied their immediate attention.

Astro carefully reread the newspaper clipping.

"The first thing is, of course, to get the accounts

72 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

of the servants, and then to see the ghost for ourselves.
Finally, we must lay the specter forever."

"I have thought that the phantom might have been
impersonated by one of the servants," Valeska sug-
gested.

"With that hypothesis we should seek a motive," he
replied.

"I admit that's what has baffled me."

"Well, we must follow every clue, that's all."

Miss Fanshawe's man met them at the station with
an open carriage, and Astro, seating himself beside
the driver, immediately began to draw him out on the
subject of the ghost. The man was Irish, and willing
to talk. He himself, however, had not seen the spirit,
though he believed implicitly in its existence. John,
the stableman, had seen it, however, and Genevieve,
Miss Fanshawe's maid. The third witness, an old
woman who had been cook, had left the place, refus-
ing to remain in a haunted house.

Miss Fanshawe greeted them hospitably and had
them shown to their rooms by Genevieve. Before
dressing for dinner Astro and Valeska had the story
from her. She took them herself into the garden and
pointed out the scene of the visitation.

A high brick wall screened the place from the street
and enclosed it on three sides. The garden was laid
out formally, with brick walks along the two axes of
the rectangular space, and a circular pool with a foun-
tain in the middle. The fourth side was shut off by
the brick wall of the house itself, which there rose two
stories in height. Along the south wall was planted
a thicket of high bushes, interspersed with trees. This
wall ran into the side of the house just below Miss

THE FANSHAWE GHOST 73

Fanshawe's own chamber, whose window showed
some nine feet above. The maid's room was next.
The northern wall was flusH with the front of the
house, which was decorated with a portico two stories
in height. Above that was the sloping roof.

"I've seen it walking up and down many a time,
from my window over there," said Genevieve. "It
always disappears in the bushes over there," and she
pointed to the southern wall. "Once I saw it on the
very top of the roof, waving its arms. Yes, it almost
always carries a baby, and it's always in white, shroud-
like. It always scares me stiff ; but I won't leave Miss
Fanshawe for it nor anything like it."

"It's a queer thing that you and John are the only
ones here who have ever seen it," said Valeska, look-
ing at her fixedly.

"Oh, the cook has seen it, many's the time," said
Genevieve.

"But the cook left."

"Yes, and good reason why, too! It came at Her
with a run once, and like to scratch her eyes out."

"It's queer that Miss Fanshawe has never seen it."

"Ah, and I hope she never will, the poor dear ! It'll
be for no good if she does. It comes to warn her,
I'm thinking."

John the stableman's tale was almost the same. He,
too, had seen the ghost on the roof of the house, and
running swiftly along the garden walk, and often with
the baby. In the year he had been employed at Fan-
shawe Farm he had seen it, he thought, at least a
dozen times. He appeared to share Genevieve's super-
stitious terrors and had never dared to pursue the
specter.

74 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

All this, of course, Miss Fanshawe had heard be-
fore, and with Astro and Valeska she discussed the
probability of her servants possibly having conspired
to give the house a bad name. But no motive for that
was apparent, and Genevieve's devotion seemed sin-
cere. The talk had already begun to wear on her.
She showed many signs of nervousness, becoming at
times almost hysterical. Seeing this, Astro changed
the subject, and nothing more was said of his purpose
there.

That night he took his place with Valeska at the end
of the garden, away from the house, to watch. He
had come prepared to spend several days; for the
chances were against their seeing anything the first
time, though the appearances had, according to John,
become much more frequent of late. So, bundled in
wraps, the two took their seats on a bench at the end
of the path. From here, most of the house windows
were screened from them; but a clear vista up the
center of the garden was illuminated by a moon be-
yond its first quarter. Miss Fanshawe, pleading indis-
position, had retired to her room early.
j Beyond the seat there was a small door in the wall,
opening on a path leading to the stable. Directly in
front of where they sat was an old-fashioned sun-dial.
It was altogether a romantic spot, one well fitted for a
tryst, natural or supernatural. Perhaps Valeska
thought it too romantic, for after sitting with Astro
for a while she rose and paced impatiently up and
down. He did not try to keep her with him. Her
nearness seemed dangerous to his concentration of
mind, to his watchfulness.

THE FANSHAWE GHOST 75

At ten o'clock a sound behind him attracted his at-
tention. Valeska was some distance away, and he did
not call her, but stole to the small door in the wall
and looked out. What he saw made him smile. He
returned and, with a low whistle, called his assistant.

"We might learn some things from Genevieve and
John," he said a little sadly, "even if we don't learn
much about the ghost from them."

"Have you seen them ?" she exclaimed.

"They were bidding each other good night at the
stable door."

"Then," said Valeska, "it's my opinion that we'll
see the ghost within a quarter of an hour. Let's sit
down now and watch."

They took their places on the bench again, and her
hand stole into his. Was it the suggestion she had
received from the servants' love-making, or did she be-
gin to fear the specter ? "With all his cleverness, Astro
could not decide.

But suddenly she sprang up, and now there was no
doubt of her alarm.

"There it is!" she exclaimed in a harsH whisper,
pointing toward the shrubbery at the south wall.

There it was at last, indeed, — a seemingly sheeted
form, bearing something that looked like a little child
in its arms, stealing down the path! It approached
them noiselessly. In the shadow of the trees it showed
too indistinct for identification at that distance. Astro
rose abruptly and took a step toward the house, when
immediately the thing sped rapidly away. Astro broke
into a run; but when he came to the house nothing
was to be seen.

He went back to reassure Valeska, who stood, star-

76 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

ing, trembling with excitement, but without fear.
Hardly had he reached her, however, when her voice
rang out again.

"There! On the roof!" she cried.

Astro looked and beheld the figure gliding swiftly
along the top of the building. The vision lasted only
a moment, then disappeared.

He spoke sharply. "Valeska, run up to Miss Fan-
shawe's room and awaken her! Tell her I want her
to see this !"

Valeska ran up the brick walk, passed through a
door in the middle of the south wall, and entered the
house. The halls had been left lighted, and she found
her way easily to Miss Fanshawe's room. Here she
knocked on the door, at first softly, then with increas-
ing vehemence. Trying the door, she found it locked.
No one answered.

She flew down-stairs again, and was about to go for
Astro, when a sound attracted her attention. Down
the hall, toward the back stairs, she saw something or
some one pass and disappear. Her thoughts flew to
Genevieve, and, with a new desire to awaken Miss
Fanshawe, she went up-stairs again and knocked.

This time there was a noise inside the chamber, — a
rattle, a chair being moved, — and in a few moments
the door was partly opened and Miss Fanshawe looked
out. At the same moment Genevieve appeared in the
upper hall.

For a moment Valeska could not decide what to say.
If, as she suspected, Genevieve had been, in some
strange way, impersonating the phantom, she dared
not tell of it before her. She slipped inside Miss
Fanshawe's room, which was not lighted.

THE FANSHAWE GHOST 77

"We have seen the ghost, and Astro wished you to
come out ; but it is undoubtedly too late now. I wish
your door had been unlocked, so I might have
awakened you without making so much noise."

Miss Fanshawe wrung her hands. Her long black
hair streamed over her white night-dress ; the costume
and her aspect of extreme disarray made her figure
almost grotesque.

"It's terrible, terrible!" she moaned. "I don't see
why I should be tortured so. I don't want to see it!
I couldn't bear it!'3 She broke into a violent fit of
sobbing.

Genevieve knocked at the door and entered. "I'll
attend to her, miss/' she said to Valeska. "I'm used to
her when she has the hysterics, and I can calm her
down if you'll only leave us."

There seemed nothing better to do, and Valeska
went down-stairs and passed into the garden again.
Astro strode up to her, a lighted cigar in his mouth.

"Well?"

Valeska narrated what had happened.

"We mustn't be caught that way again. I'll ask her
to leave the door unlocked to-morrow night. Well,
there's nothing further to do to-night. I propose that
we turn in."

"But have you found out who or what it is ?" Vales-
ka asked, still trembling with the excitement.

Astro smiled. "I'll have a trap for the ghost to-
morrow, and if she appears you'll see. It's only a
question of how to do it delicately and safely. But
it's most amusing. I think I was never so enter-
tained."

"Why, did you see it after I left?" she asked.

78 .THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"I should say I did! It was as good as a circus.
But you must go to bed. Good night."

As they went out into the garden the next night,
Astro showed Valeska a nickeled brass cylinder he had
concealed in his inside pocket.

"Here's what an automobilist calls an oil gun," he
explained. "It works like a large syringe, and is
loaded with blue paint. I might also mention that the
lightning-rod running up and down the house wall
side of those windows is already painted bright blue.
If I don't succeed in shooting our extremely lively
little friend the spook with this gun, I expect the light-
ning-rod to streak her up with blue stripes sufficient
for identification."

Valeska gazed at the moonlit house in wonder.
"The lightning-rod !" she exclaimed. "It isn't possible
for any one to climb up there ! Do you mean to say — "

"Wait, and you'll see some of the prettiest ground
and lofty tumbling outside of vaudeville," was his
reply.

"But it runs up beside Genevieve's window ! It isn't
possible for that girl to climb down from there into
the garden."

"It also runs beside Miss Fanshawe's window. It
may be possible for her. I assure you, she's an ath-
lete."

"But how could any human being get on the roof
so quickly?"

"If you'll go round there, you'll see. Once you
climb the north wall, you can almost reach the first
balcony. Up the column to the second is easy enough.

THE FANSHAWE GHOST 79

On the other side there's a stout ivy vine that makes
a practical ladder to the very top."

"But why, why, why?" Valeska almost wailed the
words.

"Ah, you haven't read Metchnikoff."

Then, suddenly he cried, "Look !" and seized her arm.

They were standing beside the central pool now, and
he pointed to Miss Fanshawe's window, clearly visible
from this part of the garden. The moonlight struck
the glass as the sash was raised. A form looked out,
climbed rapidly across the sill, lowered itself till it
hung by the hands, and then dropped lightly to the
top of the garden wall. Quick as had been its appear-
ance and disappearance, something was visible, tucked
under one arm. While they stood fascinated, a white
object appeared on the grass of the garden plot, the
figure of a woman with hair streaming about her
shoulders, apparently carrying a child. She came a
few steps toward them, then retreated swiftly and
made for the bushes by the north wall. In another in-
stant she appeared atop the wall, and swung up to the
first balcony of the portico, still bearing her burden.
A few minutes more, and she reappeared on the roof.

"Quick, now !" cried Astro. "Run up to Miss Fan-
shawe's room and go in and wait for her to return.
I'll hide in the bushes by the south wall and pop her
full of blue paint. If I miss, there's the lightning-rod,
her only way to enter the room."

"But what shall I say— how can I accuse her of it?"

Astro stopped suddenly and looked at her. "Why,
my dear, I forgot. Is it possible you haven't guessed
it yet ? Miss Fanshawe is asleep. It's somnambulism,
that's all. But hurry! Make any excuse if she's

80 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

awake ; if she's not, don't awaken her. Let her go to
bed herself."

Valeska flew into the house and up-stairs. Miss
Fanshawe had kept her promise and had left her door
unlocked. Valeska entered.

The window was still up. There was no one in
the bed. One pillow was missing. On the instant
Valeska understood the secret of the baby that the
specter was supposed to carry.

She slipped into the corner and waited. In a few
moments a form appeared in the window, blocking out
the light. A wriggle and a twist, and it sprang lightly
in, and Miss Fanshawe stood revealed in the moon-
light, in her night-dress, now streaked and spattered
with blue stains. In her arms she still held the pillow,
as a mother holds her babe. Her eyes stared straight
before her without power of sight.

Valeska, more moved by this uncanny vision than if
it had been a supernatural visitation, stole silently
away and rejoined the Master.

"I don't see how it was possible, even though I saw
it with my own eyes!" she said, as they sat down on
the bench to talk it over before sleeping. "A frail
woman like that to climb to the second story up a
rod, to the roof even ! I've heard stories of somnam-
bulists before, but this is miraculous!"

"If you had read Metchnikoff," said Astro, smoking
calmly, "you would have found that such a case as this
is not rare; and you would have discovered the ex-
planation. The fact is that in somnambulism and in
hysteria persons often revert atavistically to the char-

The white form sped down the garden wall.

THE FANSHAWE GHOST 81

acteristics of their simian ancestors. They are often
able to jump and run and climb and even chatter like
apes while in this abnormal condition. Miss Fan-
shawe, as we had already observed, possesses many
still active functions of her monkey ancestry, which in
most men and women have become atrophied with dis-
use. Her appendix was large, like those of the apes.
She bore traces of this also in the hair on her lip, in
her ability to use her ears, in the development of the
muscles of her toes. It was evident to me, at my first
glance at her, that she was, if not abnormal, at least
peculiar. In her waking state, of course, she is a
highly refined and cultured lady. Under the influence
of hysteria, or in this strange somnambulistic condi-
tion, she merely reverts to type. You know that new-
born babies can hang from their hands, like monkeys,
but soon lose that power. Miss Fanshawe loses her
extraordinary agility in her waking moments, and re-
gains it while asleep."

"But why the blue paint?" said Valeska. "If you
knew the secret of the Fanshawe ghost, why didn't
you tell her at first?"

"Would you have Relieved it possible?" he asked
smiling.

Valeska confessed she would not.

"Neither would Miss Fanshawe. And b'esides, it
would have been necessary to explain the origin of my
suspicions. No woman would care to be told that she
resembled an ape, and I don't intend to explain Metch-
nikoff's theory to her or to point out her vestigial or-
gans which are not quite vestigial. No, I'll merely tell
her she walks in her sleep, as is proved by the blue
paint on her night-dress, and advise her either to lock

82 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

the window when she retires or to have a companion
to watch her. I don't think any one will see the ghost
again.

"I wonder," he added thoughtfully, as they walked
toward the house, "if, after all, I hadn't better begin
to investigate the ghost of your past, little girl!" He
took her hand affectionately.

"Well, you won't find any vestigial signs in that,
anyway," she answered, gently drawing away her
hand. "And," she added, "I'm glad I can't wiggle my
ears or pick up things with my toes. I'd rather be a
lady even while asleep. I'm quite satisfied with my
body, thank you, just as it is."

THE DENTON BOUDOIR
MYSTERY

T TNDERNEATH a shaded, swinging, bronze lamp
V-J in his favorite corner of the studio, the Master
of Mysteries sat with half-closed eyes, seeming to
drowse over a huge vellum-bound folio whose leaves
bore lines of Arabic characters. But, though his
dreamy eyes appeared heavy and dull, his index finger
sped with such rapidity from line to line as to reveal
that the palmist was eagerly absorbed in the message
of those antique parchment pages. Behind him
loomed the damasks and embroidered hangings with
which the room was adorned; in a corner hung a
gilded censer breathing its delicate aromatic perfume ;
an astrolabe occupied a small table at one hand, and
near it lay a strange assortment of queer instruments
picked up by the Seer in his vagabond travels, — the
dread "spider" of the Inquisition, the Angoise "pear",
a set of fearsome thumbscrews, strips of human hide,
and other such horrors.

"So," he murmured contemplatively, "Ptolemy was
a Torquemada himself, in a good many ways. That's
interesting ; and it confirms an old theory of mine. To
think that many persons don't believe in metempsy-
chosis— and do believe in the signs of the zodiac!"
His thin lips parted in a smile.

He had turned to his book again, and had read for

84 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

a few minutes, when his whole attitude changed. He
sat upright; his eyes gleamed with interest. Voices
were heard outside in the office, where his assistant
was still working. He listened intently; then with a
quick movement of his right hand touched a button,
and the room was flooded with light. It was the first
sight of a new client that often told Astro more than
an hour's interview.

"Wait a moment till I announce you !" Valeska was
exclaiming. "The Master can not be interrupted in
his work. It is impossible. I could not do it for the
President himself !"

"I must see him immediately ! I tell you I must see
him !" a man's voice replied. "By heaven ! I'll break
in by main force!"

Another moment, and the black velvet portieres
leading to the waiting-room were violently flung aside,
and a -flushed and excited young man of about thirty
years strode into the apartment. Behind him the face
of Valeska Wynne appeared in the doorway, with an
alarmed expression.

Astro sat, in turban and silken robe, reading, appar-
ently unmoved by this interruption. When the young
man stopped in the center of the room, the Seer slowly
raised his olive-hued face to the visitor, and a smolder-
ing glance shot from his dark eyes, in a mute question.
The young man took a few steps nearer, and broke out
again :

"See here! You've got to take this case!" He ex-
claimed appealingly. "I am at my wits' ends. I'll go
mad if you don't help me; no one else can solve it.
You're the only man in New York that can explain
this mystery. For God's sake, sir, tell me you'll do

THE DENTON BOUDOIR MYSTERY 85

it !" He dropped in exhaustion into an armchair, look-
ing anxiously at the crystal-gazer. The ringers of one
hand twitched nervously, while his other fist was
clenched. His forehead was lined with vertical
wrinkles.

Astro, still unperturbed, looked at him gravely, his
quick eye darting from point to point of the young
man's clothing. Finally he said languidly, with an
almost imperceptible foreign accent, "My dear sir, the
Turks have a proverb, 'He who is in a hurry is already
half mad.' If you were in such haste to see me, you
should have taken a cab to come here, instead of a
street-car."

The young man pulled himself together, sat up, and
stared hard at the Seer. Then his face relaxed, as he
said, with a tone of great relief, nodding his head,
"That's wonderful! It's exactly what I did. Oh, I
know you can do it, if you only will ! The police are
all stupid, — there isn't a man with a brain on the
whole force, I believe. You're the man to help me !"

Astro made a graceful gesture with his long slender
hand. "It is not a question of brains, my dear sir.
It is a question of the right comprehension of the
forces of the occult, of undeveloped senses and powers.
Men need sign-boards to show them the way from town
to town. The birds wing their straight paths by in-
stinct. It is my fortune to be sensitive to vibrations
that most minds do not register. Where you see a
body, I see a spirit, a life, an invisible color. All these
esoteric laws have been known by the priestcraft of
the occult for ages. Nothing is hidden from the Inner
Eye."

"I don't know how you get it," the young man inter-

86 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

rupted. "I believe that there are many things we don't
understand yet, and that some men are developed be-
yond their fellows. I've studied mysticism myself,
and that's why I came directly to you. I want the
mystery of my sweetheart's death cleared up, and the
hellish scoundrel that killed her executed. Until that
is accomplished, my life will stop, or I'll go insane.
The police can prove nothing, even on their own sus-
pect. What motive there could have been for such a
crime I can't imagine; it seems so unnecessary, so
monstrous!" He had worked himself again into a
fever of excitement.

Astro rose and walked over to his visitor. Placing
his thumbs on two muscles in the young man's neck,
near the spinal column, he manipulated the flesh for
a few moments. His client's hysteria gradually sub-
sided, and he became calmer.

"Now," said Astro, sinking back into his chair and
taking up the amber mouthpiece of his water-pipe,
"give me the details of your story from the beginning.
You need not mind my assistant; she is quite in my
confidence and may be trusted implicitly."

Valeska had entered, and sat at a table prepared to
take notes of the conversation. Astro's eyes turned
indulgently on the pretty blond head as it bent seri-
ously over the writing pad.

The young man spoke now as if he had the history
already clearly mapped out in his mind. He used oc-
casional impulsive gestures, displaying an ardent and
intense temperament.

"My name is Edward Masson. For three months I

THE DENTON BOUDOIR. MYSTERY 87*

have been engaged to marry Miss Elizabeth Denton, of
Hamphurst, Long Island. That is, I was, until three
days ago, when we had a quarrel, — nothing to speak
of, really, you know, but the match was temporarily
broken off. It would have come out all right, I'm
sure. I intended to make it up with her. I was pre-
pared to make any compromise whatever; for I was
crazy about her. She was my whole life." He paused
and put his hands across his eyes.

Valeska looked across to the Master, her own eyes
already swimming with tears of sympathy. Astro,
however, showed no sign, and puffed tranquilly at his
hookah, waiting for Masson to become more calm.
In the anteroom a great clock broke the silence with a
ringing melodious chime and struck the hour of six
in booming notes.

Masson looked up with a tense face. "That next
day she was murdered !" he said brokenly. "She was
found dead in her boudoir on the second floor of her
house, just before dinner-time, at about dusk. Both
doors were locked ; but the double windows were open.
The police say she was strangled. Think of it ! God !
she was beautiful ! How could any one have done it ?
It seems impossible, even now that she is dead. There
were slight marks on her throat that looked like ringer
prints. I didn't see them, — there was lace around her
neck when I saw her, in her casket. Oh, God!" He
rose and paced up and down the room restlessly, his
eyes cast down.

"What have the police done ?" Astro inquired gently.

"They've arrested Miss Denton's maid. She had
a key to Elizabeth's room, it seems, and some of the
servants thought they heard her talking in the room.

88 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

I think that's the strongest point against her. But I
doubt if she did it. It was too brutal. I must run
down the real murderer and have it proved beyond the
possibility of a doubt. I can't rest till that's done."

He turned almost savagely to the quiet figure of the
palmist. "Can't you do it? You can see things in
crystals ; you know the secret laws of nature ; you lead
a life of study and research with the old adepts. Can't
you do this for me?"

Astro smiled subtly. "My dear Mr. Masson," he
said, "I do not ordinarily concern myself with such
affairs. Those who wish come to me, and I, of my
knowledge of the Laws of Being, can reveal what is
hidden. Such agonizing experiences as yours are
distracting to the student of the Higher Way."

"I'm rich!" Masson broke in. "I'll pay you any-
thing you wish! Make your price — one thousand,
two, anything! Only help me! My God, man! you
were a part of the world once. Can't you remember
what it means to love a beautiful woman and want to
marry her?"

"I remember — only too well. It was partly on that
account that I hesitated. But I'll forget myself and
consent to assist you."

The young man sank into a chair again, with grati-
tude in his poise. "You'll want to go down to Hamp-
hurst?" he asked.

"Certainly. I must get the vibrations of the scene
itself before I seek the murderer. He has left behind
him emanations that will rapidly evaporate. I shall
go down to-morrow if you will accompany me. To-
night I shall go to the Tombs and see Miss Denton's
maid. She, too, must be studied by one who is sensi-

THE DENTON BOUDOIR MYSTERY 89

tive to aura. My friend McGraw will be able to get
permission for that, no doubt."

He shot a glance at Valeska as he mentioned the in-
spector's name. She replied with a fluttering smile
and was serious again.

Young Masson buttoned up his overcoat, and with
an embarrassed, hesitating manner, did his best to ex-
press his thanks. Astro cut short his stammering
sentences, laid his own hand with a friendly gesture
on Masson's shoulder, and guided him out of the room.
At parting it was agreed that they should meet on the
nine-twelve train for Hamphurst.

The palmist walked back to the studio, shut off all
lights but the one in his favorite corner, and sat down
in silence. Valeska waited for him to speak.

"Not bad for two days' work," he said finally, smil-
ing.

"Are you sure you can do it ?" she asked, raising her
golden brows.

"My dear," he replied, taking up his water-pipe
again, "am I not a Mahatma of the Fourth Sphere,
and were not the divine laws of cosmic life revealed
to me while I was a chela on the heights of the Hima-
layas?"

Valeska broke into a silvery laugh. "Do you know,"
she said, "that patter of yours is almost as becoming
as that turban and robe. But, to be serious, have you
any clue as yet?"

Astro did not answer for a moment; then he said
meaningly, "The principle by which muscle reading
can be accomplished is this : The person that is held
moves in a minute circle until he finds the point of
least resistance to his motion. He moves, then, in this

90 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

line as long as his holders unconsciously guide him in
that direction. The same principle is true of any prob-
lem of this sort. Let us wait, until we are guided by
something that seems characteristic of this special
crime. The street-car business was simple enough to
you, I suppose?"

Valeska pouted. "Oh, I'm not altogether a fool.
Why, he had a Broadway transfer in his hand when he
came in here. He was in too much of a hurry to take
a cross-town car for the four blocks."

The Seer chuckled. "But now we'd better go to
work. I'll see the maid first. There's no need of your
going. You'd better get back to your work on the
zodiac. Look up Napoleon's notes on the subject. His
was the biggest intellect the stars ever fooled. It will
teach you how to fool lesser ones. But get a good
night's rest. There'll be something more to search for
at Hamphurst to-morrow. I'll look over the papers and
see what is known about this murder. Masson was
too excited to tell half."

After reading for a half-hour, Astro yawned, shook
himself, and changed from the cynical psychologist
to a man of keen brisk manner and alert glance. His'
green limousine, which was always kept waiting at the
door of the studio, took him rapidly down-town. A
half-hour later he was looking through the cell door
at Marie Dubois, the French maid of the late Miss
Denton.

She was eager to talk and volubly protested her
innocence. Astro let her run on without questions,
until she had finally told all she knew of the affair,
which was little enough, apparently. She had started
up to Miss Denton's room at about half past six to get

THE DENTON BOUDOIR MYSTERY 91

a cashmere shawl which was to be sent to the cleaner's.
Half-way up the side stairs she had stopped, hearing
voices inside the boudoir. She did not, however, rec-
ognize Miss Denton's voice; instead, there was a
higher-pitched voice, exclaiming "Great God !" several
times. This was followed by laughter ; then came a
shrill whistle. She heard something like the fall of
a body, then footsteps. All this so alarmed her that
she ran up and tried the boudoir door. Finding that
locked, she called down ,to the butler, went and got her
own key, and asked him to investigate. The voice
she had heard seemed like an old woman's. The butler
had heard it, and also the chauffeur, who was in the
stable across the yard.

"And how about the letters from Mr. Masson to
Miss Denton, which were found in your room ?" Astro
inquired.

"Oh, Mees Denton, she give me zem zat I send to
her fiance !" the girl protested. "Zat same afternoon
she make ze paquet. Mon Dieu! ze police say I steal
ze letters! It ees not so! Nevaire have I seen a man
so good like Monsieur Masson to me. He ees gentle-
man. Why I steal his letters?" She began to weep.

"Let me see your hand, Marie."

The girl gave him a slender trembling palm.
Astro looked at it for a few moments ; then he said,
"Marie, did Mr. Masson ever make love to you?"

A sudden wave of color flooded the girl's face ; but
she cried out excitedly, "Nevaire! Mon Dieu! non,
par exemple ! Why should he do zat ? Had he not ze
beautiful Mees Denton? Oh, non, Monsieur!"

Astro smiled cryptically and walked out. The rest
of the evening he spent translating certain obscure

92 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

Hebrew texts from the Midrash and comparing them
with the published English versions.

On the train down to Hamphurst, next day, Masson
was morose and talked but little. He was nervous and
impatient to get to the house, watching sullenly out of
the window all the way. Valeska did her best to be
agreeable ; but Astro came out of his reverie only once,
to ask :

"Why was the date of your marriage postponed,
Mr. Masson?"

Masson scowled, then sighed and shook his head.

"Miss Denton, a month or so ago, was not at all
well. The doctors found her heart to be weak. They
thought that the excitement of a wedding and its prep-
aration would be too much for her, and feared a col-
lapse."

Astro resumed his abstracted pose. Valeska bent
her brows. Masson gazed mournfully out of the win-
dow.

Alighting at Hamphurst, they took a carriage and
were driven to the Denton house, an old-fashioned,
two-and-a-half-story, frame building, painted yellow
with white trimmings. It was surrounded with beauti-
ful wine-glass elms which were scattered over the
grounds. A wide lawn stretched in front and on one
side, with a gravel driveway to the residence and a
stable in the rear. The place had an air of quiet
peaceful respectability. It seemed to the last degree
improbable as the scene of such a tragedy as had been
so recently enacted.

The officers had finished their investigations, and

THE DENTON BOUDOIR MYSTERY 93

the funeral had taken place the day before. An aged
aunt of Miss Denton's and the four servants now occu-
ipied the house. Astro and his assistant were intro-
duced to the old lady, then went immediately up to the
boudoir where the body had been found. Here, at
Astro's request, the exact situation discovered at that
time was explained by James, the man-of-all-work,
whom Marie had referred to as the butler.

He pointed out the position in which he had found
the corpse. It lay face downward; the hair was
somewhat disarranged. The square, cheerful, blue-
and-white boudoir was now filled with sunlight
streaming in from the high French windows which
led to a small balcony outside. Many of Miss Den-
ton's belongings still lay about, — a fold of ribbon, a
lace collar, a handkerchief on the bureau; and on a
small table, a book face down where she had left it,
made it seem as if the owner had only just left the
room on some trifling errand.

The old lady silently handed Astro a photograph of
her niece, — a beautiful woman of twenty-three, with
the frank and winning expression of a young girl.
Astro handed it to Valeska, who looked at it in ad-
miration and regret. The aunt explained further that
her niece Elizabeth was in a low-necked, white
mull dress. She had come down for dinner; but,
finding that she had forgotten her handkerchief, had
gone back up-stairs to get it. She had not hurried, as
dinner had not yet been served. Her aunt did not
think it strange that Elizabeth did not return for ten
or fifteen minutes. Then she had heard Marie scream
to James, and she herself had followed him up, and
had been there when he opened the door.

94 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

The old lady was too overcome to go further; But
James corroborated Masson's previous story. Both
doors had been locked and the keys withdrawn. The
windows were open. No footprints or traces of any
kind had been found outside by the police. James him-
self had been in the lower front hall at the time, roll-
ing up some rugs, and had heard the sound of voices
up-stairs, and had wondered at them. One voice, he
thought, sounded much like Marie's. It was about
three minutes, he thought, between the time when he
heard the voice and the laughter — for he had heard
that also — to the moment when Marie called for him
to come up. She had appeared much excited.

He was a simple-faced fellow, with an awkward air
and a generally shiftless appearance, — the ordinary
country youth who has had too little energy to better
himself in any way. Astro scarcely gave him a glance,
but stood gazing at the door in front of him.

He made a sign finally, and all but Valeska left the
room. She shut the door behind them. Then she
followed his eyes about the walls and floor.

"I think," said Astro, thoughtfully regarding the
window-frame, "that Masson regrets exceedingly hav-
ing tried to kiss Marie about four days ago. Poor
chap !" ,

Valeska's eyes narrowed. "Oh!" she said. "That
was what broke off the engagement?"

"I'm afraid so."

"But was Marie in love with him, too?" she asked
eagerly.

Astro's expression was more animated as he replied,
"I love, thou lovest, he loves ; we love, you love, they
love. I think, my dear, that in matters of the heart

THE DENTON BOUDOIR MYSTERY 95

you know the symptoms better than I, although you
were not taught the philosophy of the Yogis by a
Hindu fakir. What do you say, pretty priestess?"

"Masson was sincerely in love with Miss Denton.
He never cared a snap for Marie."

"I believe you. And yet he kissed her — or tried to.
There was no mistaking that blush. It is a common
error to suppose that French girls are a whit less mod-
est than their English or American sisters. In point
of fact, they are often more so, — more ignorant, more
innocent. Marie was carefully brought up ; she is
still a child. But the Latin races have temperament;
they soon learn. Marie is a passionate little thing,
quick at loving as at hating, full of revenges and re-
grets."

"But what has that kiss to do with this murder?"

"That's precisely what I'm here to find out. Per-
mit me to resume my meditation, that my astral vision
may be released."

Valeska smiled, and kept silent. It was Astro's way
of requesting that he was not to be questioned further
until he himself had run down his clue.

It was a quarter of an hour before he spoke; then
to say in triumph, "Ho! I have found it! I have
at least solved half the mystery." He pointed to three
parallel scratches on the frieze, above the picture-
molding.

Valeska shook her head, puzzled.

He shrugged his shoulders and went to the window,
pointing to a tiny spot on the white frame.

"It's blood!" exclaimed Valeska.

"It's blood; and yet Miss Denton was strangled,
and no blood was shed, — none, at least, of hers."

96 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"Whose blood, then, was it?"

"Kindly get out of the window on the balcony, my
dear."

She stepped over the low sill, unconsciously placing
her left hand on the frame to steady herself. Her
fingers touched the paint about two inches below the
bloody smutch.

"Well, my dear, it certainly isn't your blood, at
least," said Astro.

"Marie's, then? She is taller than I."

"She had no wound on her hand. I examined them
both carefully."

"And there was none on James'."

"Nor the aunt's. If you have looked all you wish
to, you might go down to the kitchen and talk to the
cook. It was said in the paper that she had a bad
temper, and had lately quarreled with Miss Denton.
To be sure, all good cooks have bad tempers ; but, as
the police didn't see fit to arrest her, she may possibly
be the murderer. See what you can do. I shall re-
main here for a while. There's much to be done, and
I'm in a hurry to earn my thousand dollars."

When Valeska had left, Astro resumed his study
of the room, going over it inch by inch, looking again
at the window, finally turning to the balcony. The
care with which he worked showed that the Master
of Mysteries was unusually perplexed. After exam-
ining the floor and rail of the balcony, he drew a bird
glass from his pocket and spent a half-hour gazing at
the elm whose branches stretched toward the window.
Off the balcony was another window, from the room
next to the boudoir. This, too, he examined carefully.
Then he smiled slightly, put up the glass, and re-

THE DENTON BOUDOIR MYSTERY 97

entered the room. It was evident that he had found
what he had sought.

Descending to the lower hall, he gave a quick look
at doors and windows, then went out into the yard in
the rear to the base of the tree he had spent so much
time in investigating. He looked now up, and then
down. He gazed up at the two windows of the bal-
cony. His eyes were on the great door of the stable
when Valeska appeared, her eyes shining.

"The cook has a cut on her left forefinger !" she an-
nounced breathlessly. "The second girl says that, just
before they discovered the crime, the cook was away
from the kitchen for about fifteen minutes. The cook
herself says that she had gone out back of the stable
to get a few strawberries for her own supper."
"Did she come back with the berries?"
"Yes ; but she might have picked them before."
"What shape was the cut on her finger?"
"Why, it was a straight cut, of course. She said she
did it slicing ham. But you know she might have
gone up-stairs and into the guest-room, which has a
window *on the same balcony, and — "

"What about the second girl ?" Astro interrupted.
Valeska laughed. "She's a country girl, awfully,
awfully in love with James. She's frightened to death
for fear that he'll be suspected of the murder."
"Did she hear the voices and the laughter?"
"No. Anyway, she was with the aunt most of the
time, in the dining-room. It was the cook who did it,
I'm sure."

"And how about the whistle? And why should the
cook laugh at such a time ?"

Valeska's face fell. "Well," she said finally, "for

98 JHE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

that matter why should any murderer laugh? The
whistle might have been a signal to some one outside."

"Except that, in this case, it wasn't. My dear, the
laughter and the whistle are the easiest parts of the
mystery. What I want to know is, where is the key
to the door? It was in the lock when Miss Denton
went up-stairs the second time."

"Where, indeed, is it? That would show a good
deal."

"If you'll come with me, I'll show it to you. But
first I think we had better get Mr. Masson. I may
need a little help in a few moments. Will you kindly
call him? I'll be in the stable."

As Valeska left, the palmist strolled slowly over to
the stable and looked in the great door. In the center
of the floor stood a large brown touring-car. A young
man in overalls was polishing the brass work.

Astro nodded. "A very fine-looking machine," he
offered. "A Lachmore, isn't it?"

The chauffeur grunted and kept on with his work:.

"I am a friend of Mr. Masson's," Astro went on,
"and I should like to look over this car. I am think-
ing of getting one myself some day."

Still the young man did not answer except by in-
articulate grunts.

Astro drew nearer. "What's the matter with your
finger?" he asked abruptly.

The young man looked up, now angrily, as if about
to make a discourteous retort. Seeing Masson ap-
proaching, however, he replied, "Oh, it got jammed
in the machine a day or two ago. What's that to you ?"

"I'd like to see it. I can cure it. I am a healer."

Astro extended his hand suavely.

THE DENTON BOUDOIR MYSTERY 99

The young man scowled darkly. "Oh, it's not much.
No need of bothering you."

By this time Masson had entered with Valeska.

"Mr. Masson," said the Seer, "this young man in-
terests me very much. I have been conscious ever
since I arrived at Hamphurst of certain very harsh
and painful vibrations. In the boudoir, these grew
more intense. I felt something in that room that was
neither an odor nor a color, but partook of the nature
of both. Now, singularly enough, I find the same in-
fluence here, only more active and vibrant. This
young man has a peculiar aura. I wonder that you
can not perceive it even with one of your five material
senses."

The young man stared, more and more uncomfort-
able at the talk. Finally he dropped his rag, walked
round to the back of the car, and took up a heavy
wrench.

Astro raised his voice slightly. "Mr. Masson," he
said, "I can see this fellow's astral body as well as his
material frame. Now, I notice on the forefinger of
his left hand, in its astral condition, a small V-shaped
cut I am very anxious to know whether such a cor-
responding wound is to be found on his fleshly hand.
Do you think you could induce him to remove that
bandage?"

Masson, mystified, but evidently comprehending
that something important was at stake, raised his
voice. "Walters," he said, "kindly oblige me by re-
moving that rag from your left hand."

Walters looked up surlily. "I can't, Mr. Masson. It
would make it bleed again. It bled like anything when
I jammed it in the machine."

ioo THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"My friend," said Astro genially, "jammed wounds
do not bleed to any extent. It is a V-shaped scar
then?"

"What of it ?" The chauffeur stood poised in a sin-
ister attitude.

"That's what I want to know, too," cried Masson.
"By heaven! do you mean that this fellow here had
anything — "

Astro raised his hand. "One moment," he inter-
rupted. "First, I want to ask you, Walters, to show
me where the gasoline tank is in this car?"

A look of terror swept over the young man's face.
He raised the wrench in his hand and rushed at the
palmist. Astro avoided him lithely and grappled with
him. The man struck out, tore himself free, and
dashed for the door. He would have made his escape
had not Masson jumped for him. There was another
scuffle. Masson, now convinced that he had his sweet-
heart's murderer before him, fought like a maniac.
Astro, who had been thrown to the ground by the
force of the blow he had received, now rose, and the
next moment drew out a revolver and covered his
prisoner.

"Let go, or I shoot you like a dog!" he barked out
between his teeth. "Let him go, Masson ! This is not
for you. The law will attend to him. The man's evil
enough; but not so bad as you think. He's no mur-
derer, really."

At these words Walters turned to Astro with a
gleam of hope in his eye. "Oh, I'm not, sir! Before
God, I had no intention of murdering her! I didn't
know I had till afterward. I only tried to keep her
from screaming, and she dropped like a log. It was

THE DENTON BOUDOIR MYSTERY 101

that accursed parrot ! Miss Denton was frightened to
death, sir, and so was I, pretty near."

Astro spoke sharply. "Valeska, get that halter, and
I'll fasten him so he'll be safe till the police can get
here."

"A parrot," ejaculated Valeska, as she brought the
halter. "Ah, I see! That accounts for the strange,
high-pitched voice, the laughter, and the whistling 1"

"Get up now, and tell your story!" commanded As-
tro. "And remember that you speak in the presence of
one to whom everything is revealed. At the slightest
departure from the truth I shall feel instantly the shift-
ing of your spectrum, and a change in the amplitude
of your vibrations. In my crystals I saw the scene;
but it was dusk, and the glass was cloudy. Tell me
exactly what happened, and if it coincides with my
vision you shall have my help in your trial."

"I'll tell the truth, so help me God!" cried Walters.
"Listen ! It was this way. It was only her money I
was after. I had planned it for a week back, knowing
just when she left the room empty. I got up the side
stairs, and out on the balcony, and into the tree where
I could watch her. As soon as she finished dressing
and put out the light and went down-stairs, I slid on to
the balcony and slipped into the room. Well, I had
got her purse and emptied it, when all of a sudden the
door opened, and in she came; for I hadn't thought
to lock it. She gave a little scream at seeing me there
in the dusk, and I grabbed her to keep her from mak-
ing more noise. Just then Hades seemed to break loose
all around me. There was a voice yelling, 'Great God !
Great God !' and then something feathery came scratch-
ing and flapping into my face. I put out one hand to

102 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

ward it off, and got a bite that made me drop my hold
of the lady. Then as she fell to the floor, there was a
laugh that made my blood run cold. It laughed and
laughed fit to kill. I couldn't stand it! I didn't care
whether I was caught or not then ; I locked the door,
climbed out on the tree and got down to the ground. I
didn't dare to run away, for fear I'd be suspected ! but
after I heard how it came out it was all I could stand
to stay here. I didn't know what to do about Marie;
but I hoped she'd get off some way, for I knew they
never could prove it on her. And that's the truth, so
help me God ! Where the parrot came from I have no
idea."

"It belongs in the next neighbor's house, and has
been missing for a week," said Masson. "Now I'll go
and telephone to the police."

He stopped a moment and looked wistfully at the
Seer. "Ah, I knew you could do it," he said. "I wish
you could tell me now how ever to be happy again."

"There is no such thing as happiness, my friend,"
said Astro seriously. "There is no joy but calm, the
Eastern books say."

Masson bowed his head. Then, as he left, he re-
marked, "I shall send you a check in the morning.
You will see if I am not grateful."

"What I don't see is, how you knew the key was
in the gasoline tank of the auto?" Valeska asked him,
on the way to town.

"I am not yet sure that it was, but can you think of
any safer place for a chauffeur to hide it?" Astro re-
plied with a smile.

THE LORSSON ELOPEMENT

THE Master of Mysteries entered the great studio
smiling, and, without removing his overcoat or
silk hat, threw himself on the divan and chuckled.

Valeska looked up from her desk with a question in
her eyes, though she did not speak. As Astro did not
seem inclined to answer, she resumed her work with
the finger prints. Each one of these, printed in pale
red ink on a small sheet of bristol board, she exam-
ined carefully, then with a pencil she traced out the
primary figure formed by the capillary lines, starting
from the microscopic triangle on the inside of the fin-
ger, where the lines, coming from the back, first sep-
arated, and then following the curve till it met the
corresponding little triangle or "island" on the out-
side of the finger. The axes of this diagram were then
drawn, and the pattern thus defined was entered on
the card index as an "invaded loop", an "arched
spiral", or a "whorl", according to Galton's classifica-
tion.

So absorbing was her work that it took her whole
attention, and she did not think again of her employer
until he spoke aloud. He had thrown off his overcoat
and put on his oriental turban and his red silk robe
to be ready for patrons. No visitors had yet appeared
to interview the palmist, however, and Astro was lazily
puffing -his narghile.

103

104 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"Valeska," he said at last, between two long inKala-
tions of the water-pipe, "did you ever try to put out a
fire in the grate by covering the front with a blower ?"

She laid down her pencil and looked up smiling.
"Why, no. It only makes the fire burn the hotter,
doesn't it?"

He nodded his head gravely. "Precisely. And yet
that's what Mrs. Lorsson is doing with her daughter
Ruth."

Valeska waited for something more.

"I had an interesting time there to-day," he went
on. "There were a dozen or more pretty well-known
society women at her tea, and they were all crazy to
have me read their palms, of course. That was all
stupid enough, until Ruth Lorsson came in. Have
you ever seen her?"

"Oh, yes," said Valeska. "A pretty girl of about
eighteen, with dark eyes and dark hair, isn't she ? She
always looks so innocent that I want to pet her."

"You needn't worry. She has somebody to pet her,
if I'm not mistaken. And as for being timid and in-
nocent ; well, you never can tell by the looks ; that is,
unless you see what -I saw." He smiled again mys-
teriously.

"Is she in love then?" Valeska asked.

"Without doubt, by her handwriting, which I saw
a sample of — you should have seen the double curve
in the crossing of her t's — and by her heart line, too,
for that matter; and by Her general appearance and
demeanor, most decidedly. But I had better proof
than all that."

"Why, was he there? I could Have told in an in-
stant, I'm sure."

THE LORSSON ELOPEMENT 105

"No, he wasn't there; but another man was; and,
though it was evident that Mrs. Lorsson considers him
eligible and is trying to make a match of it, Ruth
hates him. Of course you or any bright woman could
have seen that as well as I."

"Then how did you find out specifically?"

"Why, in a surreptitious way, I must admit. You
know that Mrs. Lorsson wanted to exploit me as the
latest fad, and she insisted that I should come in cos-
tume. Very well, I was willing to oblige. Mrs. Lars-
son is rich and influential, and I made out my bill ac-
cordingly.

"Well, I was shown up into Miss Ruth's room to
dress. There on her secretary I happened to see her
blotter covered with figures. If it had been writing, I
shouldn't have read it; but I confess that that list of
numbers piqued my curiosity, and I looked at it. It
wasn't a sum, or anything like that. It occurred to me
at first glance that it was a cipher. I don't know why
— perhaps because the thing seemed so meaningless.
At any rate, it interested me, and I made a copy. Here
it is."

He pulled out a note-book and showed Valeska the
list:

3 36 91 2 101 91

4 36 91 43 98 91

5 36 91

8 341 91

i 81 91 71 96 91
ii 61 91

'What do you make of it ?"

io6 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"Why, nothing as yet. It's absolutely meaningless."
Valeska looked up.

"I agree with you so far. But let me tell you the
rest of the story. Ruth is, as you know, a very pretty
young girl; but she's more than that — she's clever.
Of course the cleverness of eighteen isn't quite so deep
as the cleverness of maturity; but I think she is in-
telligent enough to keep that stepmother of hers guess-
ing. Of course one of the first things I said was that
she was in love. Her stepmother denied it so indig-
nantly that I immediately smelled a mouse. Ruth
didn't betray herself; but I noticed that the young
man who was present immediately began to take no-
tice. He is Sherman Fuller, and, I imagine from what
I heard, a millionaire in his own right. Decidedly an
eligible ! The way Mrs. Lorsson managed him was
wonderful. There's no doubt that if she can throw
Ruth at his head she'll do it. He seemed to be per-
fectly willing ; but Ruth scarcely looked at him. When
she did, it was with scorn. It was easy enough to see
how the land lay. She was in love with some one else.

"Well, I had used my eyes pretty well when I was
up in her room, and had noticed several things. Among
these were, first, a Bible on her book-shelf, a half-filled
box of caramels, a copy of The Star with one page
torn out, and so on. I tried what the spiritualistic
mediums call a 'fishing test' on her, saying that I
thought she was very religious. She smiled rather
cynically; but her stepmother thought it was wonder-
ful. 'Why, Ruth goes up to her room every night after
dinner to read her Bible!' she exclaimed. I next in-
formed her that she was fond of sweet things, and

THE LORSSON ELOPEMENT 107

her stepmother corroborated me by saying that she
bought a box of candy every day or two.

"The rest was easy, and doesn't matter. But I could
see that she was strictly chaperoned. She didn't go out
of the room without Mrs. Lorsson's asking her where
she was going, and from the conversation I inferred
that she went nowhere alone. I was certain it was not
only mere conventionality. Mrs. Lorsson watches her.
As I was going out, a maid brought some letters in on
a salver. One was for Miss Ruth. Mrs. Lorsson
opened it calmly, as if it were for herself, glanced it
over, and handed it to her stepdaughter. I have no
doubt that the letters Miss Ruth writes are inspected
as well."

"Isn't it awful?" sighed Valeska. "I thought that
sort of thing had all gone by nowadays."

"Not when you have a stepdaughter, and an eligible
young millionaire to marry her to," said Astro. "That
woman is a tyrant and a schemer. There's little love
lost in that family, I'm sure. But now look at the
cipher again."

"First, let me think," Valeska said thoughtfully,
holding the paper in her hand. "Here's a young girl
who is having a young man, whom she doesn't like,
forced on her. She is probably in love with another ;
but is not allowed to see him or to write to him. Well,
I'd manage to communicate with him in some way."

"Yes, and you're clever, for eighteen, and you read
the Bible every night after dinner."

"Oh!" Valeska's eyes grew bright. "Then these
figures refer to Bible texts ? But that was the way our
grandmothers wrote, interlarding their messages with

108 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

Scriptural quotations. I don't really believe Ruth is so
religious as that."

"Ah, you don't know your Bible then," Astro re-
joined, as he went to a bookcase and took down a
copy. "Why, it's the most wonderful book in the
world in more ways than one! It not only contains
the sum of human and divine wisdom, but almost every
message that one might wish to send. Why, it's a
ready-made lover's codex! It isn't only the Song of
Songs that contains beautiful love messages, I assure
you. They're scattered all through the book."

"Then these figures must refer to the chapters and
verses," Valeska said, scrutinizing the numbers.

"And the books," Astro added.

Valeska still puzzled over the list of figures. "The
numbers seem too high for that."

"And there's our first clue. Now let us examine the
columns in detail. We'd naturally expect the number
of the book to come first, the chapter next, and the
verse last. The highest number in the first row is sev-
enty-one. But there are only sixty-six books in the
Bible ; so that can't be the number of any book. Taking
the second column, we see that the highest number
is three hundred forty-one. But the longest book in
the Bible, the book of Psalms, has only one hundred
and fifty chapters, so that column can't give the
chapter numbers — as it is, at least. The third column
has only the number ninety-one. That can't be the
number of every verse."

He waited for Valeska. She frowned prettily as she
studied it out. For some time her look was intense,
rapt. Then, as if some idea passed from him to her,
her smile came radiantly, and she exclaimed :

THE LORSSON ELOPEMENT 109

"The figures are reversed ! What a sly-boots she is !"
Astro smiled also. "Of course I saw that at the
first glance. There is a direct corroboration of it plainly
evident. In the first place, ninety-one reversed is
nineteen, the number in Biblical order of the book
of Psalms, which has more personal messages than
any other book and second we get the chapter one
hundred forty-three, which could come from no other
.book, of course. Now let us try and see what we
get. I'll begin at the top, the sixty-third Psalm,
verses three, four, and five." And he read aloud :

" 'Because thy loving kindness is better than
life, my lips shall praise thee.

" 'Thus will I bless thee while I live : I will lift
up my hands in thy name.

" 'My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and
fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joy-
ful lips.' "

"It's pretty, isn't it?" he asked.

The tears had come into Valeska's eyes. "Oh, it's
beautiful !" she exclaimed. "No one could call it sacri-
legious, even though she has used the words that ap-
ply to the Almighty for her own lover. She's a dear !
It seems wrong to pry into so charming a secret ; but
I'm dying to hear the rest of it."

Astro put down the cipher. "This is evidently only
one side of the correspondence, you must remember.
If we are to get it all, we must find his answers. That's
a little more difficult."

"It seems impossible to me," said Valeska. "You
only happened on this. I shouldn't know where to look
for his messages."

i io THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

He sat down and looked at her seriously. "The
only way is to use your imagination and your mem-
ory. Put yourself in her place. You can't trust serv-
ants or mails. You are watched everywhere except in
your own room. Think it out ; concentrate your mind
on the problem."

Valeska dropped her head on her hand thoughtfully,
and spoke as if to herself. "Let's see. I am in my
room alone. I read my Bible and pick out appropriate
messages. But how do I get them to him?" She
looked up, puzzled.

"Never mind that now. How does he communicate
with you?"

"There's a box of candy there, and a newspaper — "
She paused and then, gazing at him through narrowed
eyes, went on. "It must be through the paper ; I can't
see any other way possible. No one would suspect
that, if the message were concealed. It might be in
the ' Personal' column."

"That's too easy, and it might be noticed. Besides,
The Star has no 'Personals'."

"Then — It couldn't be in a news item ; for he
wouldn't be sure of its being inserted, even if he were
a reporter. It must be in an advertisement."

He went into the waiting-room, and returned with
a copy of The Star.

"Correct," he said. "That's the only possible solu-
tion. Now the thing to do is to look through this file
of The Star and see if we can discover any advertise-
ment that seems suspicious. First, what date shall we
lookup?"

Valeska returned to the paper on which the num-
bers were written. "Well," she said, "if it were I, I

THE LORSSON ELOPEMENT in

should want to have a message as often as possible. If
I send him my texts every night, he ought to reply
in the morning paper. This paper seems to show four
messages. The last one must be yesterday's. That
would bring his first advertisement just four days ago
— Monday, May twenty-fifth."

He turned to the file, and they looked over the pages
together, her chin on his shoulder, Astro's long fore-
finger hovering at one advertisement after another,
his suave voice keeping up a running commentary :

"We'll omit the displayed ads. He's probably poor,
or Ruth's stepmother wouldn't object to him; so
couldn't afford that, and besides they would be too
conspicuous. All the little ones are classified under
heads. Let's see: 'Automobiles/ — h'm, all well-
known second-hand shops. 'Lawyers/ — nothing there.
'Real Estate, Villa Lots/ — don't see anything, do you ?
'Furnished Rooms.' 'Unfurnished Flats/ — let's go
carefully here. What we want is three figures. We'll
recognize them by the wording, if they're put in on
purpose. I don't see anything- there. H'm, 'For Sale/
— go slow now ! 'Fixtures/ 'Bargains/ 'Typewriters.'
'Sacrifice/ — well! what do you think of that? Eu-
reka!"

His finger stopped at a three-line notice, which read :

FOR SALE

19 vols. of Sir Roger de Coverley, 63 illustra-
tions on wood; $6 and $8 each. G. P. James &
Co., Flatiron Bldg.

"Now, isn't that crazy enougK to tie suspicious?
'Nineteen' again, too, — her favorite number. Who ever
heard of Sir Roger de Coverley, except in the papers

112 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

of The Spectator, anyway ? There you are : 19 : 63 — 6
and 8. Look it up !"

Valeska flew to the Bible and turned to the Psalms,
and read from the sixty-third chapter :

" 'When I remember thee upon my bed, and
meditate on thee in the night watches.

" 'My soul followeth hard after thee : thy right
hand upholdeth me.' "

"The blessed infants ! Isn't it perfectly lovely? Ruth
must have had hard work to answer that ; but the one
she sent was nearly as good, wasn't it? Oh, let's find
the next one, and get the whole correspondence quick !
It's too exciting !"

Astro opened the issue of the twenty-sixth, and
scanned the advertisements carefully. It was some
time before they found it, and several false clues were
followed up. Valeska, thinking she had discovered the
secret, would hurriedly take the Bible, only to be re-
ferred to some such text in Ezra as, —

"'The children of Magbish, an hundred fifty
and six.

"'The children of Kirjath-arim, Chephirah, and
Beeroth, seven hundred and forty and three, — ' "

and would go off into peals of laughter. Some of these
false scents led deep into the "Begats" ; some led into
the whale's belly.

But at last the right one was discovered in the "Sec-
ond Hand" column, which read, innocently enough :

FOR SALE : 64 good, 1st class, 2d hand tables.
Address CHESTER, Star Office.

THE LORSSON ELOPEMENT 113

And, turning, therefore, to the third book of John,
chapter one, verse two, she read aloud:

"'Beloved, I wish above all things that thou
mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul
prospereth.' "

"Now let's arrange the whole correspondence as
far as we have it," Valeska suggested, after the four
messages were all deciphered. "It certainly is a charm-
ing set of love-letters !"

"It may well be, written by the ablest literary men
of King James' epoch," said Astro. "You read off the
texts, and I'll write them down. It's a relief from
solving murder mysteries and dynamite outrages and
stolen jewels."

Valeska, having the references checked off, read as
follows, insisting that Ruth's lover should be called
Chester, from the name in the second advertisement.

Ruth

"'I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. (Ps.
18:1.)

"Thou wilt shew me the path of life; in thy
presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there
are pleasures for evermore/" (Ps. 16:11.)

Chester

" 'And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I
wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that
which we had from the beginning, that we love
one another. (2 John, 5.)

"'I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul
thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah."'
(Ps. 143:6.)

ii4 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

Ruth

" 'I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way.
O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk
within my house with a perfect heart. (Ps.
101:2.)

"'My covenant will I not break, nor alter the
thing that is gone out of my lips.'" (Ps. 89:34.)

Chester

" 'How sweet are thy words unto my taste ! yea,
sweeter than honey to my mouth! (Ps. 119: 103.)

"'Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there
is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.' " (Ps.
73:25.)

Ruth

" 'Cause me to hear thy loving kindness in the
morning ; for in thee do I trust : cause me to know
the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my
soul unto thee. (Ps. 143:8.)

" 'And hide not thy face from thy servant ; for I
am in trouble; hear me speedily.' " (Ps. 69-17.)

Valeska reread the whole series, and her eyes
burned deep. Astro watched her pretty serious face
without a word, waiting for her comments. The tears
glistened in her eyes as she said finally :

"Oh ! can't we help them somehow? Surely you can,
if you only will!"

Astro recited whimsically to himself:

"'They warned him of her,

And they warned her of him;
And the courtship proceeded
To go on with a vim !' "

"It's altogether too romantic for us to interfere with.
Let them have their clandestine correspondence; it
makes the affair interesting. Wait till we read his re-

THE LORSSON ELOPEMENT 115

ply in to-morrow's Star, Valeska. Perhaps they can
manage it themselves."

This was all she could get out of the Master of Mys-
teries that day; but she knew from his silent contem-
plation that he had not stopped thinking the matter
over. She herself puzzled her wits as to how Ruth
had communicated with her lover, until she had to give
it up. She knew that if she waited Astro would solve
that mystery, if indeed he had not already found it out.

She came into the studio next morning excitedly.
"Oh ! isn't it awful ?" were her first words. She held
the morning Star out to him, with an anxious look.

Astro smiled and pointed to another copy which
lay on his great table where his astrological charts
were spread out. "It's only a lover's quarrel, I think.
He's a little jealous of that Sherman Fuller, I im-
agine."

"Well, that's enough. I should trunk Chester would
be wild!"

"Well," said Astro, yawning, "I'm glad he made
one jump out of the Psalms, anyway. I was getting
tired of that number nineteen. Job is a good place for
a jealous man to look. You'd better add his remarks
to our list."

Valeska, therefore, wrote down the following texts,
which she had drawn from the advertisement of that
morning's paper:

Chester

" 'I prevented the dawning of the morning, and
cried : I hoped in thy word. (Ps. 119 : 147.)

"'Thou boldest mine eyes waking: I am so
troubled that I can not speak. (Ps, 77:4.)

ii6 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

" 'Lover and friend hast thou put far from me,
and mine acquaintance into darkness. (Ps. 18:18.)

" 'When I thought to know this, it was too pain-
ful for me. ( Ps. 73:16.)

" 'Why doth thine heart carry thee away ? and
what do thine eyes wink at . . . ? (Job 15:12.)

" 'Deliver my soul from the sword ; my darling
from the power of the dog.' " (Ps. 22 :20. )

"Surely you'll help them out now, won't you ?" Va-
leska pleaded. "We can't let it all be spoiled this way !
Think how hard it is for her to explain !"

"Trust her" said Astro, shaking his head. "Only
I'd like to know how she does it ; that's all I want. I
propose that we take a walk out to Fifty-third Street
this evening. You know she goes up-stairs into her
room every night after dinner, say from eight till nine
o'clock. I think if we walk up and down in front of
that block we may find something doing."

"Oh, I hope we'll find Chester, anyway !" Valeska
exclaimed.

They proceeded as he had suggested, that evening,
to walk up Fifth Avenue after dinner, reaching Fifty-
third Street at a few minutes past eight. Astro
pointed out Ruth's window, which was already lighted.
Then together they walked slowly up and down on the
opposite side of the street, keeping the house well in
view.

They had not been there for more than ten minutes,
when the sash was suddenly thrown up in Ruth Lors-
son's room. They could see her form silhouetted
against the light. A white something was thrown out,
and fell on the sidewalk. Immediately a man emerged

THE LORSSON ELOPEMENT 117

from the shadow of the adjacent doorway, ran down
the steps, picked up the white package, and walked
rapidly up the street.

"It's Chester !" Valeska exclaimed.

"Yes, we must find out where he lives and who he
is," was Astro' s reply. "You had better go home, and
I'll follow him."

The man had walked off so rapidly that she saw it
would be useless to attempt to keep up with him, much
less overtake him, and she tried to stifle her disap-
pointment as Astro, leaving her, walked quickly up
the street. As Chester walked, she saw him tear some-
thing from the package he carried. Then another
white piece dropped. She followed far enough to dis-
cover what the fragments were — the sides of an empty
candy box which Ruth Lorsson had thrown into the
street. Her message had indubitably been written on
the bottom, since he had thrown all the rest away.

"I see now why Miss Ruth is so fond of candy/'
Valeska said to herself. "A note thrown from the win-
dow would be too dangerous and too hard to find. It's
ridiculously simple ! I think I'm growing fond of that
girl."

Next day Astro appeared at the studio with the in-
formation that the young man's name was indeed
Chester ; that he was an artist or illustrator for maga-
zines ; and that he lived on the south side of Washing-
ton Square.

"He's getting into a terrible state," said Valeska.
"Did you read his advertisement this morning? It
was under 'Lawyers' this time."

ii8 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"I haven't had time to look over The Star. What
is it?"

Valeska read from her list the last addition:

" Tor thou hast made him most blessed for-
ever; thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy
countenance. (Ps. 21 : 6.)

" 'Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and
hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.
.(Ps. 21:2.)

"'Yea, they opened their mouth wide against
me, and said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it. (Ps.
35:21.)

"'I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I
go mourning all the day long.'" (Ps. 38:6.)

"Poor devil!" Astro grew serious. "I did see a
paragraph in Town Gossip this morning about a Fifty-
third Street belle who was about to make a brilliant
match. It was thinly disguised, and evidently referred
to Ruth Lorsson."

"He evidently believes she is engaged," said Va-
leska ; "but I don't. No girl would give up such a ro-
mantic lover."

"Now," said Astro, "the question is: How are we
going to get hold of her side of the correspondence?
I'm getting as interested in this affair as if I were
paid for it. The fact that there is a misunderstanding
does alter the matter too, and I don't see but that we'll
have to straighten it out if we can. I've thought of a
way to get hold of to-night's message by a trick. It
may work, and it may not. Of course it's rather low
of us to interfere with their private post-office ; but we
may be able to make that up to them later. Anyway,

THE LORSSON ELOPEMENT 119

it will make it exciting for them. I'm going to bait a
box myself," he went on, "and place it on the sidewalk
at a quarter of eight. Chester will arrive and think
that for some reason she has already thrown it out,
and he'll take it and make off. Then, when she throws
her own box out, we'll grab it."

The temptation was too great for Valeska's curi-
osity, and she gave a hesitating consent, on the agree-
ment that it should be tried only once. "But you'll
have to put a message on the box, or he'll know there's
something wrong," she said.

"Turn to Psalms 102. I think that will not compro-
mise her too much," Astro said.

" 'My heart is smitten, and withered like grass ;
so that I forget to eat my bread. (Ps. 102:4.)

"'Because of thine indignation and thy wrath:
for thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down.' "
(Ps. 102:10.)

The ruse succeeded. Shortly after eight o'clock,
Chester came walking down the street, spied the box
which Astro had placed conspicuously on the sidewalk,
examined it quickly, and walked hurriedly away. Fif-
teen minutes later, Ruth's box dropped from the win-
dow. Astro secured it and took it to a near-by lamp
post, looked at the figures, and then consulted a small
Bible which he drew from his pocket.

"This is too bad," he said to Valeska, who had ac-
companied him. "I didn't think she'd be so strong.
It won't do for him to miss this message, poor chap !
Here, read it :"

120 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

" 'Deliver me not over unto the the will of mine
enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against
me, and such as breathe out cruelty. (Ps. 27:12.)

" 'I have not sat with vain persons, neither will
I go in with dissemblers. (Ps. 26:4.)

" 'But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity :
redeem me, and be merciful unto me.'" (Ps. 26:
11.)

"I'll tell you what'll do," said Astro, "we'll send this
down to his house by a messenger boy. He won't
know what to make of it ; but he won't be able to ask
her how it was delivered till it's all over."

The message was sent at once ; then, as Astro walked
with Valeska to her home, he said :

"We can't do this again; it will make too much
trouble. You'll have to see if you can't get into his
studio some way and find out what messages he is re-
ceiving. You can go and offer yourself as a model.
That will give you plenty of time to look about, and
you may manage to find the bottoms of the boxes every
day. If I know the young man in love, he won't de-
stroy them."

Valeska consented to attempt the adventure, and ac-
cordingly set out the next morning after entering on
her list the following message deciphered from Ches-
ter's advertisement in The Star:

"'Let the lying lips be put to silence; which
speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously
against the righteous. (Ps. 31 : 18.)

" 'For I said in my haste, I am cut off from be-
fore thine eyes : nevertheless thou heardest the
voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee.
(Ps. 31:22.)

THE LORSSON ELOPEMENT 121

" 'In the day when I cried them answeredst me,
and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.
(Ps. 138:3.)

" 'So foolish was I, and ignorant : I was as a
beast before thee.' " (Ps. 73:22.)

Astro worked all day in his studio alone, reading
palms and casting horoscopes for his fashionable cli-
ents, and during the leisure times between their calls,
casting many a glance across to the desk where his
pretty blond assistant was wont to look up at him with
such animation whenever he spoke. The velvet hang-
ings were dull and shadowy, and the high lights on
trophies of arms and tinseled costumes on the wall
twinkled through the dusk, when the portieres parted,
and Valeska, smartly attired, gloved and feathered,
appeared. Astro smiled for almost the first time that
day. She sank into a deep divan to get her breath.
He turned on a light above her head.

"He's a perfect dear !" she said as soon as she could
speak. "He isn't at all handsome, in fact he's ugly;
but he's the most romantic and kind-hearted chap in
the world. I'd trust him anywhere. He has red hair,
and twinkling blue eyes, and fine teeth, and so young
— why he made me feel eighty years old ! It was too
easy! I was just what he wanted, and I was intelli-
gent, and he liked my hands." She extended them
gracefully for Astro to admire. He kissed her fin-
ger-tips.

"It was a funny old place, all full of canvases with
their faces to the wall, and dust, and pewter pots, and
brushes, and old magazines, and everything". It smelled
horribly of tobacco and turpentine; but it was such
fun ! I didn't have to do much detective work, either.

122 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

Do you know, the child actually had all those candy-
box bottoms nailed in a row on the wall over the man-
tel-piece! I felt like a thief. There they were, all of
them you got the list of, and the one we sent last night,
and there was a shabby Bible on his mantel-piece."

"How did he treat you?"

Valeska laughed. "Well, not in a way to make me
conceited. Oh, he's in love, all right. He looked at
me exactly as if he were purchasing a horse. I almost
expected him to open my mouth and examine my teeth
to see how old I was. But he was nice, all the same,
and delighted to find a model that had brains and
could take and hold a pose. My, if I'm not tired,
though ! I was supposed to be playing on a piano —
the table — and looking up mischievously over my
shoulder. I ache all over!"

"Of course he didn't say anything significant?"

"No. But he stopped working every little while and
began to think; and I knew what that meant. Then
he'd go to the window and look out for a long while,
and then come back and draw like mad. Oh, he had
all the signs ! Poor boy !"

"Does he want you to-morrow?"

"Yes, all this week."

"Good ! By that time I think we shall have arranged
'some plan to help him. If I bought a picture or two,
it might help, perhaps."

Valeska posed for Chester the six days, returning
each evening to the studio to report to Astro, each
time more interested in the love-affair. Each day she
wrote down the cipher message printed in The Star,
and the text she found in the studio written on Ruth's

" He looked at me as if he were purchasing a horse."

THE LORSSON ELOPEMENT 123

candy box. At the end of the week the courtship be-
gan to approach a crisis, as the correspondence showed.

Ruth

" 'He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within
my house; he that tell eth lies shall not tarry in
my sight. (Ps. 101:7.)

" 'But thou art the same, and thy years shall
have no end.'" (Ps. 102:27.)

Chester

" 'I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way
which thou shalt go : I will guide thee with mine
eye.'" (Ps. 32:8.)

Ruth

" 'And I will delight myself in thy command-
ments, which I have loved. (Ps. 119:47.)

"'But mine enemies are lively, and they are
strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are
multiplied. Ps. 38: 19.)

" 'All that hate me whisper together against me :
against me do they devise my hurt.' " (Ps. 41 :7.)

Chester

"'Let not them that are mine enemies wrong-
fully rejoice over me: neither let them wink with
the eye that hate me without a cause. (Ps.
35:19.)

" 'Let them be turned back for a reward of
their shame that say, Aha, aha/" (Ps. 70:3.)

Ruth

"'Pull me out of the net that they have laid
privily for me: for thou art my strength. (Ps.
31 : 4.)

" 'Then call thou, and I will answer : or let me
speak and answer thou me/ " (Job 13 :22.)

i24 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

Chester

"'Having many things to write unto you, I
would not write with paper and ink : but I trust to
come unto you, and speak face to face, that our
joy may be full.' " (2 John:12.)

Ruth

"'They gather themselves together, they hide
themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait
for my soul. (Ps. 56: 6.)

" 'And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove !
for then I would fly away, and be at rest. (Ps.
55:6.)

" 'I would hasten my escape from the windy
storm and tempest. (Ps. 55:8.)

" 'That thy beloved may be delivered ; save with
thy right hand, and hear me/" (Ps. 60:5.)

Chester

"'And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it
shall be, that what goodness the Lord shall do
unto us, the same will we do unto thee.5 " (Num.
10:32.)

Ruth

" 'Then said I, Lo, I come : in the volume of the
book it is written of me. (Ps. 40: 7.)

"'And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee,
or to return from following after thee: for
whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou
lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my
people, and thy God my God.' " (Ruth 1 :16.)

"It is getting serious, isn't it?'* said Valeska, wHen
she brought the last message of Ruth's. "Poor Ches-
ter is half crazy. He's been working like mad to get
some illustrations for The Universal Magazine done;
so as to get money enough to get married on, I sup-

THE LORSSON ELOPEMENT 125

pose. But how in the world they are going to elope,
I don't see."

"Love laughs at locksmiths," said Astro.

"But not at stepmothers. All the same, they're go-
ing to do it somehow, and I want to see the fun. It's
bound to come off in a day or so now. I'm dying to
speak of it to Chester and offer to help him ; but I'm
afraid it would spoil his fun. Hadn't we better just
play about on the edge of it, and be ready for anything
that happens ?"

"It all depends on the next message. You go to the
studio to-morrow and see if you can't find out about
the elopement."

"All right," said Valeska.

At ten o'clock the next morning Astro received by
a messenger a hurriedly penciled note. It read :

"Something awful has happened ! Chester broke
his leg last night, and was taken to the hospital;
but when it was set (the leg), he insisted on being
brought home to the studio. He's almost crazy,
and has a fever, and I'm sure the elopement was
planned for to-night. I'll get it out of him some-
how, and you must tell me what to do. Here's the
text he got last night: I can't make it out; so
please tell me immediately. V."

The text indicated was from the fifty-ninth Psalm,
verse fourteen:

" 'And at evening let them return ; and let them
make a noise like a dog, and go round about the
city.'"

As soon as Astro had looked it up, he put on his hat
and coat, and jumping into his green limousine drove
to Washington Square.

126 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

It was half past eight when Ruth Lorsson raised
the shade of her window and threw up the sash. It
was raining, and the asphalt pavement shimmered with
reflected lights. At the curb opposite her house a
taxicab was waiting. She looked at it eagerly.

There came a sudden noise like the barking of a dog
repeated three times. Ruth smiled, let doton the sash,
and drew the shade. Then, stuffing a package wrapped
in a towel inside her full blouse, she ran down-stairs.

"Ruth, child! what are you doing?" Mrs. Lorsson's
voice came petulantly.

Ruth hovered a moment by the doorway, to say, in
a voice that trembled a little, "Oh, I only want to get
the Smiths' address from one of their cards on the
hall table."

She walked swiftly to the front door, opened it
noiselessly, slipped out, and shut it carefully behind
her. She had to slam it to make it latch, and the
jar frightened her. She fairly flew down the steps
now, and ran across the street straight for the cab.
The door in its side swung open, and she popped in-
side. The cab instantly drove off at a furious pace.

There was a dark figure inside. She snuggled up to
it deliciously. "Oh, Harry!" she breathed. "At last!
Oh, I thought this time never would come!" Then
with a little scream she jumped away from him. "Who
are you !" she demanded. Her voice rang with terror.

"My dear," said Astro, "don't be frightened. Mr.
Chester couldn't come. He has had a slight accident ;
but not bad enough to prevent his being married to-
night. I'm going to have the pleasure of giving you
away. I have your bridesmaid all ready at the studio."

"Why, how did you know?" she demanded, staring

THE LORSSON ELOPEMENT 127

at him. Then, as an electric light suddenly illuminated
the interior of the cab, she recognized the fine pic-
turesque features of the Master of Mysteries, and gave
a little sigh of relief. "Oh, it's Astro!" she exclaimed.
"You know everything, don't you? Did you see it
in your crystal ball ?"

He smiled as he replied, "My dear, I saw it in your
pretty eyes the first time I saw you."

"But tell me about Harry ! Oh, I am so frightened !
It must be a bad accident to keep him away — to-night."

He reassured her, and they drove on she, excited,
eager with anticipation, fearful of the step she had
taken, but more and more confident in Astro's protec-
tion. They reached Washington Square, and hurried
to the studio. Valeska met them at the door with a
smile. For a moment Ruth eyed her suspiciously.

"Your bridesmaid," said Astro.

Ruth, relieved, but anxious for a sight of her lover,
darted by with hardly a glance, and ran to the bed
where Harry Chester lay, weak, but impatiently await-
ing her.

"Oh, Harry!"

"Oh, Ruth!"

Astro and Valeska walked into the hall. "Well,"
said Astro, "I hope she's satisfied now. She has lost
four millions and three magnificent houses, not to speak
of a permanent place in smart society."

"For which she'd have to pay all her life," said
Valeska. "If you ask me, I'd say she's got a bargain.
Come, let's call in the minister ! I'm going to wait and
see it out !"

THE CALENDON KIDNAP-
ING CASE

HARDLY had Astro's office hours begun, one
morning, when Valeska threw back the black
velvet portieres of the great studio, and motioned her
visitors to enter. They came in anxiously — a dignified
but careworn haggard man of fifty and his hysterical
sobbing wife. Apparently they expected immediately
to meet the Master of Mysteries face to face ; for they
looked curiously about the richly decorated apartment
with a hesitating air.

"You'll have to wait a few moments," said the girl
in a friendly voice. "The Master is at present rapt in
a psychic trance, and can not be disturbed. Excuse
me while I prepare for his awakening. It is dangerous
to call him too suddenly ; but I know your business is
urgent, and I'll do what I can."

With that, she took from a small antique reliquary
a handful of green powder and scattered it on a censer.
Almost immediately it flared up and sent forth an aro-
matic smoke. It flickered eerily as she left them.
Once alone, she entered a small chamber off the recep-
tion-room, and turned on the studio lights from an
electric switch.

In the place where she stood now, looking into a
large mirror, she could see the visitors, vividly illum-

128

THE CALENDON KIDNAPING CASE 129

inated, as if in a camera obscura. The man sat list-
lessly staring straight ahead of him without movement
of any kind. The woman gazed, with raised eyebrows
and a half-startled expression, from one curious ob-
ject to another. The skull in a corner made her trem-
ble. Her fingers plucked nervously at her wrap. It
was evident that she was fearfully distraught.

Astro entered the cabinet and cast his eyes on the
glass. His assistant leaned close to him and whis-
pered :

"A kidnaping case. The Calendons' little boy was
stolen a week or so ago, don't you remember? It's
really dreadful. The police have been unable to locate
the child anywhere, and the parents are half crazy
about it. She poured it all out to me while they were
waiting for you. I do hope you can do something !"

The Seer's eyes were busy in the mirror. "Yes, I
know. He's a director in the tobacco trust. I'd have
known it, anyway, by that little gold cigar on his
watch-charm. A dozen of them were made for souve-
nirs when the combine was first organized. He hasn't
slept for two or three nights. But what's he doing
with The Era? He'd naturally be a reader of The
Planet. Oh, I see! The kidnapers, of course, have
asked him to communicate with them through the
'Personal' column. So they've begun to work him
already. Poor devil!"

It was an agonizing1 story that fell from the lips of
Calendon a little later; one which, in all the sensa-
tional events of the Seer's career in the solution of
mysteries, long- stood out as unique. Used as was

130 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

Astro to astonishing recitals, there was a ferocity
about this crime that astonished him. Calendon recited
the details in a voice as hard and strained as a taut
wire.

"My five-year-old boy, Harold, has been missing
for ten days, having been kidnaped and kept in hiding
by the most merciless gang of fiends in New York. I
try to restrain myself, sir, in order to tell you the
story concisely; but I assure you that it is hard to
speak calmly. My child was abducted in Central Park,
where he had gone with his nurse. He had strayed a
little away from her at the time. I can not think the
crime was committed with her connivance. Neverthe-
less, she has been closely watched. I have not spared
money, I assure you. I at once notified the police, and
they have been at work on the case, without results, so
far." He paused for a moment, almost overcome.

His wife interrupted him with a cry of anguish
pitiful to hear. "Oh, James! how can you sit there
and tell all that? Why don't you tell him immediately
what has happened to-day ? Why don't you show him
the terrible thing?" She dropped her face in her
hands and sobbed aloud. Valeska, deeply moved her-
self, tried in vain to comfort her.

Calendon put a trembling hand into his pocket and
drew out a package wrapped in paper. Silently he
handed it to the palmist. Astro took it and carefully
undid the wrapping.

Inside was disclosed a small tin box, such as tobacco
of the sliced-plug variety usually comes in. This,
opened, showed an object in crumpled oiled paper,
packed in the box with cotton-wool. Astro, with a
grave expression on his face, picked the thing up and

"Why don't you show him the terrible thing?

THE CALENDON KIDNAPING CASE 131

looked carefully at it. With great caution, then he
slowly unfolded the paper. It was a child's toe.

For a few minutes not a sound was heard in the
studio, save Mrs. Calendon's choking sobs, and the
intake of her husband's deep breaths as he endeavored
to master his emotion. Astro put aside the gruesome
object with its wrappings, and then extended his hand
and grasped Calendon's with a strong encouraging
pressure.

"Mr. Calendon," he said simply, "I am at your serv-
ice. I thank God that I have had some success in
tracking down worse crimes than this, and what I can
do in this matter shall be done without reward. Cheer
up, Mr. Calendon ; I can help you ! Madam, pray
accept my sympathy; but master yourself, for I must
hear the whole story."

Calendon moistened his lips, pulled himself together,
and looked gratefully at the slender poetic figure be-
fore him. "I'll tell you the rest of the story now, and
I pray to God that you can help !" He turned to his
wife, and after she was calmer he proceeded.

"It's devilishly ingenious, sir. What they are hold-
ing the boy for is in order to get tips on the market.
That's their price. I got from them the third day a
typewritten, unsigned letter telling me that if I valued
the life of my boy, I should give them inside informa-
tion of the stock market. They furnished me with a
cipher, — an easy one that simply reads backward, and
by means of it I communicate with them every morn-
ing in the personal column of The Era. I am not a
stock gambler, sir, although I have a fair knowledge
of current Wall Street probabilities, and I soon ex-
hausted what information I had, and it became harder

132 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

and harder to deliver the goods. You know how these
things go: a big deal isn't pulled off every day, and,
not being on the inside, I had to get down on my knees
to beg for news from the men on the Street who were
able to help me. A few have interested themselves in
my misfortune and assisted me; but they're a cold-
blooded set as a rule. But for a week I kept these
bloodsuckers posted as well as I could, and I had good
luck with my predictions. They must have made
thousands; but still they wouldn't give up the boy.
Why should they? They have a good thing, and
intend to work it for all it's worth.

"But yesterday — great God ! — yesterday I advertised
in good faith to buy Continental Zinc. It was selling
at 31, and I had figured on a big dividend being de-
clared— so my advice had it — but instead the direct-
ors voted to pass it, and the stock fell six points. It
rallied later, on the mine reports ; but the rise came too
late."

He stopped to draw a typewritten slip from his
pocket. "Here's what came in the box/' he said brok-
enly, and hid his face in his hands. Mrs. Calendon
began weeping afresh.

Astro took the note and read it :

"This is what we'll do every time you fool us.
Be sharp!"

For some time Astro gazed at the sheet of paper,
then rose and put it away with the other relics. "Have
you the other letter here?"

Calendon took an envelope from his inside pocket
and handed it to the palmist.

Astro held the envelope to the light, smelled of it,

THE CALENDON KIDNAPING CASE 133

looked at the flap for a minute with his lens, then
placed it on a side table. At last he rose and walked
quietly over to a cupboard, from which he took a
large crystal ball. This he placed on a black velvet
cushion. He gazed into the sphere long and earnestly.
It was his way of gaining time for reflection.

The Seer finally drew his long slim hand across his
forehead and nodded his head. "There is no one you
suspect? No woman?" he asked deliberately.

Calendon shook his head in silence.

"My nurse girl has been completely prostrated by
the shock," Mrs. Calendon volunteered. "We are
both sure she is innocent."

"There is a woman concerned in this, nevertheless.
Now tell me what the police have done. They have
tried to trace the buyers of the stocks you tipped off,
I presume?"

"Certainly. We have tried to find what persons,
if any, have profited by all the tips; but have been
unsuccessful. I shall have a list, to-night probably, of
all the buyers of Continental Zinc, eliminating, of
course, the names of those who have bought for in-
vestment. The criminals are undoubtedly speculating
on a margin, so there's little use looking up the records
of the transfer office."

"You have your tip for to-morrow all ready for the
newspaper ?"

"Yes, and this time I'm sure it's safe."

"Very well, then, proceed as usual. You have, I
suppose, your own detectives working on the case ?"

"Yes. Can they do anything for you ?"

"I'll telephone you early in the morning," said Astro,
rising. "To-night I shall be busy. I shall cast the

134 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

child's horoscope, and find out the best path to pursue.
Kindly give me the exact hour of Harold's birth."

He wrote it down solemnly, then pressed an elec-
tric bell. Valeska appeared in the doorway ; the visit-
ors followed her into the waiting-room to the outer
door.

Before she left, Mrs. Calendon took the girl's hand.
"Oh, he's a wonderful man !" she exclaimed. "Some-
how I have great faith in him. I'm strengthened
already. He seems to know everything. Such eyes !"

Her husband shook his head skeptically and went
out without a word.

Astro, meanwhile, had turned eagerly to the things
that had been brought him, the lines of his olive face
set and determined. From the inspired mystic to the
man of practical analytic mind, the transition had
been instantaneous. All pose was now dropped. His
inspection was so absorbing that he did not notice
Valeska's entrance. She did not speak, therefore, and
watched him as he pored over the envelope, then at
the oiled-paper wrapping of the horrid relic. Half an
hour went by, during which the palmist rose several
times to pace up and down the length of the dim
studio. Once he took down a book from his shelves
and ran hurriedly through its pages, stopping to mark
a diagram. Valeska tiptoed across, and looked at the
volume. It was Galton's Finger Prints, a classifica-
tion of all the known capillary markings of the digital
tips. It was an hour before Astro put up his work,
much of which time had been spent merely in sitting
with half-closed eyes, inert. Then he rose and
yawned.

"Well, little girl, a bit of supper wouldn't go bad,

THE CALENDON KIDNAPING CASE 135

would it?" he said gaily. "Afterward, you may sit
at my feet, and I shall tell you of my desire to meet
a lady that takes snuff, whose left thumb shows an
invaded loop with two eyeleted rods ; also, of my inter-
est in a gentleman that rolls his own smokes on a
Moule a Cigarettes and gambles in Continental Zinc."

Valeska shook her head, puzzled.

"You heard what Calendon said, of course?"

"Yes, I was in the cabinet all the time. But of
course I haven't studied your evidence yet."

"Nor shall you this night, by Rameses! A crystal-
gazer has to make his living on the curiosity of women.
Kindly let me enjoy your curiosity this evening; and,
that you may not be a loser, I shall explain to you the
fallacies in Doctor Lasker's analysis of the Ruy Lopez
opening. Meanwhile, let us try some of that new
Assyrian jelly which I sent for so long ago. If you
wish to add anything more substantial, I won't object,
although I am a vegetarian, a Mahatma, an astrologer, a
cabalist, a student of Higher Space, and a thorough
believer in the doctrine that an ounce of mystery is
worth a pound of commonplace. Selah. I have
spoken."

During the meal, no one would have supposed by
his animation that the occult Seer was confronted by
the most difficult problem his profession had ever set
before him. He joked like a young boy. His pretty
assistant was kept in rippling peals of laughter. After
dinner he produced a chess-board with ivory men, and
the girl puzzled with him over innumerable variations
of his favorite opening. They followed this by some
of the regular chess problems, ending with several of
his own. The last, finally, being too difficult, he left

136 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

unfinished, sent Valeska home in his motor-car, and
himself went to bed.

The next morning Astro looked, the first thing, at
The Era personals. Calendon's advertisement read
as follows:

ERUS : '97 Otog Lliwcirt celen atil opom S. O. C.

"I think," he said thoughtfully, "that it will hardly
be dishonorable for me to plunge in Cosmopolitan
Electric, so long as I'm not going to let Mr. Calendon
pay me for this affair. Let's see. Sold yesterday at
75. If I can get it at five points margin, an investment
of one thousand dollars will bring me in about eight
hundred. I'll be able to get that Coptic manuscript I
have been wanting so long. Now for Mr. Calendon !"

He took his telephone, and was soon in communica-
tion with his client. "What have you found out?" he
asked.

"Twelve persons bought Continental Zinc," was the
answer. "Of these, seven were legitimate investors.
I have the names of the other five."

"Very good. Send your chief of detectives up to
me in a hurry. There are some investigations they
can make while I'm at work on a more important
aspect of the case."

"Have you found out anything?" came the anxious
inquiry.

"I am on the track. Have courage, and follow in-
structions. Tell Mrs. Calendon that she will not be
disappointed in my work."

After Astro's routine work that day, Valeska came

THE CALENDON KIDNAPING CASE 137

into the studio, unable any longer to control her curi-
osity.

Astro drew out the evidence in the case and spread
it before her. "All life is made up of trivial actions,"
he began. "Every one of them leaves its little trace.
Whether you are tracking a bear by its footprints
through the forest, or a criminal through his nefarious
deeds, it is the same thing. Both leave their spoor
behind. Now examine this letter and envelope care-
fully."

Valeska took the magnifying-glass and scrutinized
both ; but was forced to acknowledge her defeat.

Astro took the envelope from her and tilted it to
the light. "Do you see a slight mark there ?" he asked.
"It is the print of a thumb. It is not generally known
that a finger pressed on paper will leave an invisible
oily impression, especially when the hand has recently
been passed through the hair. So it will on glass or any
polished surface. Let us develop this print. The ink
will cling to the paper except where these oily lines
have been in contact with it. An ordinary thumb
print would show the lines of the ridges ; this will show
those of the channels between the ridges."

Dipping a large brush in ink, he swept it lightly
over the paper. The ink flowed away from a patch
where a little system of concentric lines appeared.

"Lo ! the invaded loop !" he announced. "It is a
woman's thumb. I saw it yesterday, and copied its
.fundamental diagram and its core. Now look at the
mucilage on the flap. Do you see those tiny grains?
Snuff, as I proved by my microscope. The postage-
stamp is awry, and half off, and also shows tiny traces
of snuff. The woman was in a hurry. The corners

138 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

of her mouth were stained with the result of her filthy
practise. Now for the paper surrounding the toe. Let
me smooth it out. Do you see the foldings and in-
dentations that were there before it was used for this
purpose? The marks are unmistakable, and by their
geometric extension, to any one who has studied ste-
reotomy and the development of surfaces, it shows
unmistakably what that object was. See, — the parallel
lines, a twisted rumpled area, and here the traces of
the milling of a small wheel. A small cigarette machine,
such as one buys on the Rue de la Paix, in Paris. This
is a long shot, to be sure, but sometimes it is the long-
shot that brings down the eagle. If I hit the mark this
time, I shall never be afraid of making a risky guess
again. We shall see."

He was interrupted by the bell. Valeska left him,
to introduce a neat and dapper young man, who en-
tered, with a self-satisfied smile, with the report from
the detective offices of Nally & Co.

The five purchasers of Continental Zinc bought from
the curb market had been traced with some difficulty.
A man had been assigned to each buyer, and these had
followed the instructions given Nally that morning.

Abraham Kraser, retired Jewish merchant ; the pur-
chaser of twenty shares ; smoked thick black cigars.

H. V. Linwood, a young club-man and society favor-
ite; insisted on a special brand of Russian cigarettes,
costing four dollars a hundred.

William Bartlett Smith, a Westerner staying at the
Waldorf-Astoria; smoked a French brier pipe with
granulated tobacco.

Lambert F. Owens, a race-track bookie, living in
South Orange, New Jersey; could not be traced, but

THE CALENDON KIDNAPING CASE 139

information in regard to him was momentarily ex-
pected.

"The fifth man, Paul Stacey, I saw myself," said the
detective. "I acted as a newspaper reporter. He's
fairly well-known on the Street; but yet I could find
out little about him. Nobody knew much; but what
they did let out was not very favorable. But I talked
to him, and he smokes incessantly. Rolls his own cigar-
ettes with a little nickel-plated machine. Keeps Turk-
ish tobacco loose in his right-hand coat pocket, the in-
strument in his left. While I was near him he threw
away a stub, and I brought it to show you. Here it is."

"Very good," said Astro, squinting at the cigarette
butt. "You needn't bother about Owens. Now I
want you to shadow this man Stacey wherever he goes.
Use as many men for relays as you think necessary;
but don't let him give you the slip, as you value your
reputation. You understand the importance of this,
and how fast we must work if the boy is to be saved."

As the young man left, Astro picked up the evening
paper and turned to the reports of the stock market.
His eyes ran down the column of figures swiftly, until
he came to the line :

2000 Cosmopolitan Electric 75 7° 72 ~3

"Rameses the Great!" he ejaculated. "That will
teach me a lesson not to take advantage of my inside
information. My margin's wiped out already. Pity
I didn't stay with my good intentions ! And I an As-
trologer of the Fourth Circle! I hope nobody will
find that out. Valeska, whatever you do, don't gam-
ble." For a moment he stood contemplating the sheet

140 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

before him, and then he turned to her with a strange
expression.

"Mercy!" he cried, "I forgot. Calendon's tip has
gone wrong again! What will happen next? It's
horrible !"

He was interrupted by a long ring at the electric
bell, and, when Valeska answered it, Calendon plunged
into the room, holding a package in one hand. The
muscles of his hand were twitching in a frenzy of
agony.

"It's come again, oh God !" he cried. "My poor boy !
What in heaven's name can we do ?" He went up to
the palmist fiercely. "See here ! you promised me your
help ! You even gave me encouragement ! See what
has happened already ! How long must this thing go
on?"

"Have you opened the package?" Astro asked
quietly.

Calendon shuddered. "No. I couldn't!"

"Leave it with me, then. You must wait, Mr.
Calendon. I am hard at work. I am certain to suc-
ceed. Already I have the man ; but it is necessary to
prove it. One can't use a crystal vision as evidence in
a court of law, you know."

"Who is the scoundrel?" Calendon demanded. "By
heaven! I'll tear him limb from limb! I'll kill him!
I'll—"

Astro put a restraining hand on the director's arm.
"Calm yourself, Mr. Calendon," he said soothingly.
"It is not by such means that we'll get the boy. In
your present frame of mind I dare not trust you with
the man's name. If you make a move now, you may
jeopardize your boy's life. He must on no account

THE CALENDON KIDNAPING CASE 141

know that he is suspected. No, play tfie game, Mr.
Calendon, according to the rules the kidnapers have
prescribed, and I'll guarantee that soon they'll be play-
ing it according to your own ideas of justice. Get
your tip and advertise as usual. You will no doubt
have better luck to-morrow."

"To-morrow," said Calendon sadly, "I'm going to
throw all my holdings in the Fountainet Company
into the market and bear the stock long enough for
these devils to get their shameful profits. I can't bear
to receive another package. It will mean ruin for me ;
but I'll not care, if the boy is safe."

It was fortunate for Astro that at that time he was
also interested in the astonishing burglaries at Glebe
House; for it filled in a tedious forty-eight hours of
waiting with considerable excitement. Valeska could
see that the Master was profoundly interested in the
fate of the young boy, and that it had enlisted all his
deepest sympathies. What little leisure they had was
occupied with a set of chess problems which Astro
was working out for relaxation.

It was a great relief, therefore, when the young de-
tective from Nally's put in his appearance two days
later, and made his report.

"We've been hot on Stacey's trail ever since I left
you ; but with nothing doing of any importance what-
ever until late yesterday afternoon. Then he took
a train to Antwerp, New Jersey. He was met at the
station by a carryall containing two women. He rode
about for an hour with them, not stopping anywhere
at all, and was driven back to the station, and took the

142 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

six-twelve back to New York, and went direct to his
rooms at the Beau Rivage apartments."

"He saw no one else? Not even a man in black,
with a black tie?"

"Absolutely no one."

"And who are the women ?"

"One is a Mrs. Elizabeth Cutter, widow, lives in a
small house on the outskirts of the village; the other,
a Miss Easting, lives a mile away. Both live alone."

"Did you get into either house?"

"I tried to, but couldn't make it. They seemed to be
very suspicious of strangers. Miss Easting turned
the dog on me."

"Did you notice that either of these women took
snuff?"

"One of them looked it. She was sallow, and
seemed to have smears of brown in the corners of her
mouth."

"Which one was it?"

"Mrs. Cutter."

"Very good. That is all. Thank you for what
you've done. Good day."

In a flash Astro had sprung to a messenger call on
the wall and pressed down the handle. Then he
scribbled a message on a telegraph blank and handed
it to Valeska. It read as follows :

"Come immediately to the Beau Rivage. Im-
portant. P. S."

"Give that to the boy when he comes. Where's my
revolver? Good! Telephone immediately to Calen-
don to take the next train for Antwerp, and meet me
at the station. I don't want to miss it." He threw

THE CALENDON KIDNAPING CASE 143

himself into a heavy overcoat, slipped the revolver into
a pocket, jammed on his hat, and was off before Va-
leska could question.

She waited in the studio, however, so absorbed had
she become in the mystery, so much she feared that,
when Astro did return, it would be with some dread-
ful news.

It was late in the evening when a telegraph boy ar-
rived with a message for her. Eagerly she tore it
open. It read :

"Problem 294 : White knight to king's fourth ;
black rook to queen's bishop's third: white king's
fook's pawn to seventh, check; black queen's
bishop to king's knight's third, mate. Please file.

A."

Valeska was never more exasperated in her life.
Only the solution to a knotty chess problem !

When Calendon alighted on the platform at Ant-
werp, at eight o'clock that evening, he was met in the
shade of the station by Astro and a burly local con-
stable.

"Plenty of time and a clear field, I think," said
Astro, his eyes dancing with the anticipation of peril
imminent ; "and unless I'm very much mistaken in my
understanding, Mr. Calendon, I'll have some pleasant
news for you before long."

"I hope to heaven you will !" said the old man. "I
can't stand this much longer. I've sent Mrs. Calen-
don to the hospital. Her nerves have quite given away
under the strain. I only hope that if we get the boy

144 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

we'll find the dastard who stole him as well 1" His
look was grim.

"I am afraid you won't get that opportunity, how-
ever/' said the mystic, drawing out his watch and
pausing to inspect it under a gas lamp. "Mr. Stacey
was born under an evil planet and in an evil House of
the Heavens. At the present moment he is under ar-
rest in the Beau Rivage apartments. One of his ac-
complices has just left here for New York, where she
will be met by the police. Another will soon be taken.
I have been waiting for one more of the gang who is
engaged in a shady business hereabouts. We need
only him to solve the last shreds of mystery in this
affair. I've already seen him in my crystals, dressed
in black. It remains to find him on the material plane."

They walked rapidly through the outskirts of the vil-
lage, past a stretch of open country.

Calendon, nervously excited, spoke only once, to
say, "There must have been some change of affairs,
Astro ; for so far as I can find the gang didn't speculate
to-day in the stocks I tipped off in The Era. I had a
circle of my friends attempting to influence the mar-
ket ; but it got away from them altogether. We simply
couldn't sell enough to make any effect. The Foun-
tainet Company common stock jumped seven points,
when I sold out, and I'm about fifty thousand ahead of
the game. If my son is restored to me, I'll have good
cause to be happy to-night." He relapsed into silence.

They were now approaching a lonely house, back
from the road, and in utter darkness. Astro strode up
to the front door and knocked. There was no response.
The constable unlocked the door with a skeleton key,
and all three men entered. A lighted kerosene lamp

THE CALENDON KIDNAPING CASE 145

was found in the kitchen. Hardly had it been brought
into the front room when Calendon stooped and
picked up a child's shirt.

"It's my son's, I'm sure!" he exclaimed in excite-
ment. "Harold ! Harold !" he cried aloud, and began
a hasty search through the rooms. He was followed
by Astro and the constable; but, after a thorough in-
spection, no living thing was found except a canary,
which, awakened by the disturbance, warbled shrilly in
the sitting-room.

The constable threw open the cellar door, and taking
the lamp, stumbled down the narrow steps.

In another moment there came a stifled exclamation
from below. Calendon dashed down in terror.

Suddenly, up-stairs, where Astro had momentarily
remained, there was heard the sound of footsteps.
Then a gruff voice broke out :

"I've got you fellers now ! I've tracked you for five
days, and now, by hickey, I'll make you pay for it!
You'll never snatch another body, curse you !"

There was a shuffling of feet, and Astro's voice rang
steadily: "Throw up your hands and drop that gun!
You're a pretty character to call names ! I think you'll
show up well when you're investigated! Constable
Jenkins, come up here!" He kicked loudly on the
floor.

"By Jove ! It's the coroner !" said the constable, ap-
pearing in the doorway.

"Is there a body here ?" the coroner inquired.

"Yes — why?" Now Calendon appeared, most puz-
zled and alarmed of all.

"It's all right, Mr. Calendon, we're on their trail
now!" said Astro,

146 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

Calendon groaned.

"Your boy is safe and unmutilated. I have sus-
pected this a long time, but I didn't dare let you hope.
Now, Coroner, tell your story."

"Why," he began, turning shamefacedly to the con-
stable, "it's this way, Jim. I was comin' along the
road last Friday with my outfit an' three of them poor-
house folks' bodies, y'know, an' blamed if the hind
axle didn't break short off about a mile up back o'
here. I had to walk clean back to Joe Miller's house
for a scantlin' to prop up the axle with, an' I was gone
about three-quarters of an hour. When I come back
I see one of the coffins was gone, — the little one, — a
boy it was. An' I see the axle had been sawed half
through with a hack saw. Somebody had laid for
me just to steal that — "

"And will you please explain," said Astro suavely,
"why you were burying these bodies, for which you
are paid by the township, at night ?"

The coroner's face fell. "Oh, I was too busy day
times," he said lamely.

"I think it had best be looked into, Constable. I
can see where our friend the coroner makes a very
pretty little income from the medical students, and
does the town out of a few burials occasionally. But
we must go on, Mr. Calendon. I had hoped that the
boy was here. We must hurry to the other house. It's
a mile away. We'll take your rig, Coroner, while you
attend to the remains in the cellar."

The three men hurried outdoors, and the constable
drove at breakneck pace to Miss Easting's house. Ar-
rived there, they knocked loudly, and, there being no
immediate answer, the constable entered.

THE CALENDON KIDNAPING CASE 147

Calendon followed close behind. "Harold! Har-
old r he called loudly.

There was no reply; but a door slammed up-stairs,
and a pattering of feet was heard. Calendon fairly
floundered up and threw open the door. There was
still no one in sight ; but a tumbled bed showed where
some one had lain. A boy's clothes were scattered
about the room, a few playthings were on the floor.

Astro, who had followed on the father's heels, made
directly for a closed door and wrenched it open. There
sat a little boy in his red flannel nightgown, caressing
a large glass jar of jam. His round chubby cheeks
were stained with strawberry.

Then, before his father could reach for him in ex-
ultation, the child exclaimed joyfully, "I don't care.
I liked it, and I tooked it, and I eated it, and I don't
care! I don't!"

And, after the frightful strain that had been on the
three men who gazed down at the boy, they all broke
into a hearty laugh.

It was Harold Calendon, and he was perfectly
happy. But there were several others there who were
happy, too.

MISS DALRYMPLE'S LOCKET

, dear, she's come to see you again!" said
Valeska, making a very pretty picture as she
stood in the doorway, framed by the black velvet por-
tieres.

Astro the Seer followed his first indulgent look by
a second questioning, curious glance. "Who is it?"

She put her head on one side and looked at him
coquettishly. "A lady," she said, tossing her head
archly, "whom, among all your fashionable clients, I
believe you consider the most charming, most de-
licious, the prettiest, the sweetest, the most — "

Astro laughed and nodded. "Miss Dalrymple?"

"The same. She was here only last week. It is
very suspicious ! Beware !" She shook a saucy finger
at him and disappeared.

The young woman who next entered assuredly justi-
fied Valeska's adjectives. Indeed, many more might
have been applied to her, though the smile that ap-
peared on Astro's own handsome face best testified to
her witchery. She was scarcely twenty years old, and
of that dark, winning, dimpled, innocent type that few
know how to resist. To this, there was an appealing
look that flattered men's vanity. Were her brown eyes
or her delectable smiling mouth the more lovely to look
upon? Astro himself could not tell. Was it her easy

148

MISS DALRYMPLE'S LOCKET 149

well-bred grace or her ingenuous, girlish candor that
most delighted him ? He remembered her dainty hands,
— perhaps the most exquisite he had ever seen. Now
they were hidden in her sable muff. Her little rosy
face shone like a flower under her picturesque veiled
hat ; her figure, slim and charmingly curved, was only
partly modified by the smart lines of her black cloth
suit.

She looked at him with big eyes and said, "Good
afternoon, Mr. Astro. I hope you haven't forgotten
me."

"Scarcely," was his reply. His tone was flattering.

She smiled with innocent roguery, her eyes explor-
ing the curious decorations of the great studio. She
sniffed daintily at the pleasant smell of myrrh that
filled the air as she took the seat he offered her.

"I have come for help," she said. "I'm awfully puz-
zled about something, and you told me such wonder-
ful things last time I came, that I thought I'd ask you."
She showed a line of snow-white little teeth.

The Master rested his head negligently on one
slender hand, and nodded gravely.

"It's about a locket," she continued.

"Ah! You have lost one?"

"No, not at all. I have found one !"

AvStro raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, you're partly right, too ; for it was lost a long
time ago, and I have just got it back in a rather re-
markable way. You see, it used to belong to my
mother. She died last year. I returned only in time
to see her for two hours before the end."

"When did you see this locket last?"

"Long before mother died. It disappeared myste-

150 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

riously when I was abroad. Only yesterday it was re-
turned to me by mail, addressed to me at my house in
Yonkers, in a handwriting that I can't recognize."

"Well, I don't see what you are troubled about, then,
if you have got it back."

Miss Dalrymple looked thoughtfully at him for a
moment, her cheek resting on her white-gloved hand,
as if not quite sure how to express what she meant.
Finally she said impulsively, "Well, it's something so
vague and silly it seems absurd to speak to you about
it. But Fanny and I have been talking it over and
wondering where it came from, and everything, and we
both have a sort of queer feeling that it has something
to do, perhaps, with a certain letter my mother once
had."

"Wait a moment. Who is Fanny?"

"Oh, she's my maid — and she's a treasure. Indeed,
she is more like a friend to me than a maid."

"How long have you had her ?"

"Oh, ever since mother died."

The Seer frowned slightly. "Go on, — about the let-
ter."

"You've heard about my father's will, and the law-
suit, haven't you? The papers haye had a lot about
it."

"Oh, yes, the Dalrymple will case. Let's see — your
father was divorced from your mother, wasn't he?"

"Yes; but he wasn't at all happy with the woman
he married afterward — she's a vixen — and he always
regretted that he had left my mother. This Mrs. Dal-
rymple is contesting the will that father made in favor
of my mother. She isn't satisfied with her widow's
third."

MISS DALRYMPLE'S LOCKET 151

"And, by that will, you are the legal heir to the
rest of the estate?"

"Of course. But the other side has claimed that it
was a forgery, and, as he left all his property to his
divorced wife, they have a fair case, unless we can
prove that the will was genuine. Unfortunately,
though the will is in our possession, having been given
to mother, both the witnesses to it are dead."

"I see," said Astro, "and the letter you mentioned ?"

"Was from my father to my mother, telling her that
he had left her all his property. You see how im-
portant it would be to our case ; but I haven't been able
to find it anywhere."

"Yes, but how does the locket come into it?"

"That's what I don't know myself. That's why I
came to you," Miss Dalrymple exclaimed eagerly. "I
can't describe why, but I do feel that the locket has
something to do with it ; for my mother was delirious
just before she died, and talked about the letter and
the locket. She kept saying that she had been robbed
— or perhaps she only feared it. Then the locket was
restored so providentially, just in time; for the case is
to come to court next week. Then I remember that
before I went away mother was very careful of it, and
kept it locked up."

"Let me see it," said the Master of Mysteries.

She unbuttoned her coat and took it from a gold
chain about her neck, — a small oval gold locket such
as was commonly worn in the sixties. The cover, being
opened, disclosed a small photograph of a beautiful
woman in an old-fashioned round bonnet with roses
framing the calm serious face.

Astro inspected it admiringly.

152 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"That's my mother," said Miss Dalrymple, looking
over his shoulder.

"It is hardly necessary to explain that. I see now
where you get your beauty." With a deft movement of
his thumb nail, Astro opened the inner rim and re-
moved the photograph. The back of the paper was
covered with Greek letters written microscopically in
ink, as follows:

QJU JULtp

"Oh !" the girl cried excitedly, "I knew it ! I knew
there was something to be found out ! It's Greek, isn't
it ? Oh, I hope you read Greek ! Do you ?"

Astro smiled. "I read Greek as well as I do Eng-
lish; but this, unfortunately, isn't Greek at all."

"Why, isn't it ? I know some of the letters myself.
Look there — isn't that a Delta, and that Alpha and
Pi?"

"Yes, the letters are Greek characters, but they are
not Greek words. It's a cipher, Miss Dalrymple."

The girl's face fell. "Oh !" she breathed. In her
excitement she was almost leaning on his shoulder.
She clasped his arm unconsciously as she added,
"Surely you can read it? You have solved so many
mysteries; you have such wonderful occult power!
I've heard that any cipher ever invented could be
solved."

"And so it can. I have solved harder ones than this,
I'm sure. Yes, your locket is certainly getting inter-
esting. I'm sorry that I am too busy now to work on

I knew there was something to be found out ! " " It's Greek,
isn't it?"

MISS DALRYMPLE'S LOCKET 153

it, though. I have several appointments that can't be
postponed. Suppose I wire you as soon as I have read
it. Or, better, I'll send you the solution direct by a
messenger."

"All right. I'll be dying of impatience ; so I hope
you'll hurry."

"I'll promise it some time to-morrow. But another
question: Did your mother read Greek?"

"Oh, yes, she had a magnificent education."

"And how about the second Mrs. Dalrymple?"

The girl's lips curled. "I should say not! Why,
she was an ordinary chorus girl when father married
her!"

"Well," said the Seer, rising to assume a poetic atti-
tude, "I shall consult my crystals and see what I can
find out. If I am not mistaken, though, the will will
be probated and you will come into your inheritance.
And I shall be the first to congratulate you !"

After a quick friendly hand-shake, like a boy's, Miss
Dalrymple walked gracefully out of the room.

As soon as she had left, Astro called his assistant
and showed her the cipher. Valeska pored over it
without speaking for some time. Finally she sighed
and said pathetically, "What a pity I don't know
Greek!"

"Cheer up!" said the Master, with a whimsical
grimace. "You probably know as much about it as
the one who composed this childish little cryptogram
did. It has the mark of the tyro upon it."

"Why! how could you tell that?"

"Suppose a Fiji Islander attempted to copy a lot of
English — that is, the so-called Latin alphabet.

154 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

Wouldn't you be able to tell instantly that he was ig-
norant of the English language? It's the same here.
Any one who is used to writing Greek would form
the letters easily and swiftly; would write, in short,
a pure cursive hand. These Greek letters here are all
laboriously copied from some school-book or diction-
ary."

"Well, who wrote it?"

"My dear Valeska," said Astro soberly, "the in-
finitesimal vibrations from this locket will, if I absorb
myself in contemplation, set up sympathetic waves in
my own aura. I am not yet ready to go into a psychic
trance. Let us first read the message. It is ridicu-
lously simple. I will first separate the message into
words, for what here appears to be a set of words is
merely letters run together with a few false spaces
between them in order to baffle the first glance.

He took a pad of paper and wrote out the following
in Greek characters :

Ae yapQev,
pose (3wx.t Ae jrAur
Ae

When he had finished he looked up at her. "You
surely know the Greek alphabet, at least?"

"Of course I know that much. We used to use it in
boarding-school to write secret messages in. What
girl that's ever had a 'frat' boy for a beau doesn't know
the Greek alphabet?"

"Then this should read easily. Kindly write it out,
letter for letter."

MISS DALRYMPLE'S LOCKET 155
Valeska studied a minute, and then scribbled out :

Dans le garden au dessous le rose buck le plus near
le pommier.

"Partly in English', partly in French, you see/' said
Astro. "One word, 'buch', looks like German, but it's
not : 'In the garden under the rose bush nearest to the
apple tree !' The Greek character Chi was the nearest
the writer could get to the English 'sh,' you see, and
note the use of the Sigma's, too. How childish to con-
sider this a hard puzzle !"

"It is the location of Mrs. Dalrymple's missing letter,
I suppose," ventured Valeska. "I suppose she was
afraid it would be stolen, and so buried it there."

"You forget, however, that, if Mrs. Dalrymple was
a good Greek scholar, she wouldn't have written this
so laboriously."

Valeska looked quickly up at him. "Could some one
have found the letter and buried it there for his own
purpose?"

"It is possible; but it seems an unnecessary thing
to do. The most suspicious thing about the cipher is
that it is so easy."

"Then I give it up." Valeska shook her head sadly.

"Don't give up, little girl. Simply keep your mind
on the fact that there are clever brains at work upon
this unsuspecting young woman." He edged his chair
over closer and tapped with his finger on the table.
"Look here! Who stole this locket in the first place?
Why was it stolen ? Was the person who took it the
one who returned it ? Or was the person who returned
it a friend of Miss Dalrymple's? If he or she were,

156 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

why should the action be done anonymously? Did
this person know about the cipher? If so, why leave
the cipher there where she could find it and dig up the
letter? Several things look suspicious to me. I must
go over every point and analyze it. We must, in be-
ginning any case of this sort, cast about immediately
and find out who are the actors in the drama, who are
the ones who will suffer or be benefited by this chain
of circumstances.

"Now," he straightened up abruptly, "we must know
more about Miss Dalrymple's household. To-morrow
morning you shall make the trip to Yonkers, ostensibly
to return her this locket with our solution of the ci-
pher, but actually to enable you to inspect the house,
grounds, servants, family history, and the like."

At once Valeska became businesslike. "Anything
else?"

"Yes," he said emphatically. "Tell her that on no
account whatsoever is she to dig beneath the rose
bush until she hears from me ! Understand ?"

Valeska returned next noon with the information
that Miss Dalrymple was in high spirits over the solu-
tion of the secret message.

"Did you tell her not to dig up the place until I
came?"

"Yes, and she promised to wait."

"Well, what else?"

Valeska sniffed. "I certainly do not like that maid
of hers. I may be only a woman without any more
analytical brain than a sand-snipe, but I can tell a
sniveling hypocrite of my own sex as far as I can see

MISS DALRYMPLE'S LOCKET 157

her. There's too much goody-goody talk to suit me.
It was 'Yes, dear Miss Dalrymple,' and 'Oh, certainly,
Miss Dalrymple/ and, behind her back, 'Isn't Miss
Dalrymple the sweetest thing!' When I hear that
kind of talk, I look out for a cat."

"You think she's two-faced?"

"Oh, she's a snake in the grass! Tall, lantern-
jawed, skinny, smirking thing! As luck would have
it, she caught the same train back to town that I did, —
or rather she came down on the trolley-car just behind
mine, — and I sat about three seats behind her when we
got the subway at Kingsbridge. I thought I'd see
where she went. It was an express, and she got off
at Brooklyn Bridge. That's what kept me so long.
I followed her over to Brooklyn."

Astro started. "Brooklyn?" he ejaculated.

"Yes." Valeska was evidently pleased that at last
she had made some sort of sensation. "I shadowed
her to number 1435 Fulton Avenue, waited half an
hour, and, when she didn't come out, hurried back to
report."

"Well," Astro spoke with a curious expression, "did
you find out who lives there?"

The girl was crestfallen. "No. I entirely forgot
that."

He threw it at her pointblank. "Mrs. Myra Dal-
rymple !"

For a moment she could only gaze at him in aston-
ishment. Then, "Oh!" she cried. "Oh!" Her eyes
blazed. "Didn't I say she was a snake? Why, then,
Fanny is undoubtedly in the pay of the second wife !
Think of it ! She's been spying on that sweet innocent
girl ever since her mother died, and has carried the

158 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

news to Mrs. Dalrymple number two. It's out-
rageous !

"Oh, but — " Valeska sprang up in consternation
and faced her master with a look of horror. "I for-
got ! Why, I translated the cipher to Miss Dalrymple
while the maid was in the room ! What will happen ?"

Astro took up his water-pipe with perfect equa-
nimity. "My dear, you seem to have made several
very lucky blunders to-day."

She put her hands to her eyes. "Oh, I don't under-
stand ! What about this cipher message ? Where
did it come from?"

"Let us go at it analytically," he replied calmly. "For
the sake of the argument, grant first that the cipher
discloses the hiding-place of the lost letter, secreted
by the first Mrs. Dalrymple. Very good. Let us sup-
pose, also, as a second hypothesis, that the locket was
sent by the second Mrs. Dalrymple, knowing of the
cipher. Very good again. Now examine the two
theories. Is it likely that such a person as this second
wife would place a rival claimant to the estate in pos-
session of the secret? No. Something is wrong, the
first hypothesis, or the second. Take your pick. I say
the first is wrong, — the cipher does not disclose the
place of the letter, but the second is right : Mrs. Dal-
rymple sent it. We know that probably she knew Miss
Dalrymple visited me, and believed in my power. She,
therefore, intended Miss Dalrymple to dig in that spot,
cleverly concealing her instrumentality in the matter.
That's why the cipher was made so absurdly easy. Do
you think it will be well for Miss Dalrymple to dig
there? I don't."

He paused. "Now suppose the second hypothesis

MISS DALRYMPLE'S LOCKET 159

to be wrong, — that Mrs. Dalrymple did not send the
locket. If any one else did, what reason could he have
for making such a mystery of it? It would be ab-
surd."

"I follow all that," said Valeska; "but I can't think
why Mrs. Dalrymple would have any motive for in-
ducing Miss Dalrymple to dig in the garden."

"I think you forget the second Mrs. Dalrymple's
character. But you can study it out. What I intend
to do is to call on Mrs. Dalrymple this evening and
find out. I have a very good case against her, I think,
and I intend to make her give up that letter, if she
has it. Of course it may have been destroyed, but I
don't quite believe it. It is common for criminals,
especially women, to refrain from actually destroying
the very evidence that may convict them. From some
scruple or fear they seldom do it. At any rate, I shall
frighten her with what I suspect of her actions in the
past, and use my positive knowledge of Fanny's serv-
ices."

"But what is hidden in the garden? Anything?
And if so, how did it get there ?"

"Was there no one besides Miss Dalrymple and
Fanny living in the house ? No other servants ?"

Valeska shook her head, then reflected for an in-
stant. "I did hear something about a gardener — " She
stopped and stared at him.

He nodded. "I think that probably completes the
last link of the chain. At any rate, I'm willing to risk
it. Well, I'll go right over to Brooklyn and have it
out. Meet me at the Grand Central Station to-night
in time for the eleven-thirty-six train for Yonkers, and
we'll see the whole thing through this very night."

160 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

Valeska's eyes danced. "I'll be there, with my own
little revolver! I hope it will be exciting!"

She was at the station at eleven-thirty, and waited
until the train had pulled out without seeing the Mas-
ter. A half-hour and then a full hour passed without
his appearance. She had begun to be alarmed seriously,
when, at a quarter past one, she saw him walking
rapidly across the great waiting-room toward her.
She gave an exclamation of relief ; but at once he took
her arm and ran her toward the subway.

"Hurry !" he cried in a tense voice. "We can't wait
for the one-thirty; so we'll have to make it by the
subway and change to the trolley. We have no time
to lose ! It's serious !"

They caught the train with less than a minute's
margin; and once settled in the car, Valeska turned
to him anxiously.

"I was a fool to let Miss Dalrymple have the transla-
tion!" he said. "It was the only serious error I have
made in a year. I hope to heaven I may save her yet ;
but it's a toss-up now !"

"What is it?" Valeska shouted above the shriek
of the wheels.

Astro said nothing. Seeing that he was too deeply
moved to explain, she pressed him no further, covertly
watching his restless nervous gestures and his drawn
expression all through the ride until the trolley slowed
down at Yonkers and stopped on the main street. A
solitary cab was standing beside the curb, its driver
dozing on the box.

A fat man was waddling hurriedly ahead of them,

MISS DALRYMPLE'S LOCKET 161

signaling with his umbrella to the driver; but Astra,
with a rough gesture, threw him aside, ran to the cab,
and pushed Valeska quickly inside.

"To Miss Dalrymple's, out on Broadway, and drive
like lightning!" he ordered. Then he jumped in him-
self, and slammed the door in the face of the enraged
fat man who was in quick pursuit. The cab drove off
at headlong speed.

Still Valeska kept silent; but now she shared the
excitement of the Master, who bit his knuckles nerv-
ously as the horse galloped along the avenue high
above the river. All she could hear besides the pound-
ing of hoofs was the muttering of the dark man by
her side. It seemed an hour's drive, so had the sus-
pense wrought upon her, — tree by tree, lamp by lamp,
house by house, they advanced. She was now pre-
pared for anything, — for anything save what hap-
pened.

At last the carriage slowed down and came to a stop.
Before the driver had a chance to dismount, Astro had
dashed out without paying the least attention to his
assistant. She hurried after him.

The Dalrymple house stood on the side of the hill,
overlooking the quiet moonlit Hudson. It was sur-
rounded by a high wall, over the tops of which showed
the thick limbs of a few apple trees. The house loomed
beyond, a brick edifice of two stories. The iron gate
in the wall was locked, and Astro jerked viciously at
the bell.

At this moment, as if he himself had set it off, a
loud explosion reverberated through the night. A
woman's scream was next heard, rising in a piercing
staccato. Then all was silence again. At length a

162 THE*" MASTER^ OF MYSTERIES

shutter was thrown open at one of the front windows
of the house, and a shaft of light made a brilliant path
through the deep shadow. A woman's head appeared.

"What is it?" cried Valeska in terror. "Is Miss
Dalrymple shot ?"

"God knows!'* Astro muttered grimly. "Help me
over the wall. Give me a foot up, Valeska. We're too
late, as I feared; but I must find out what has hap-
pened. Driver," he yelled back over his shoulder, "go
for a doctor as quick as you can !"

In an instant he had mounted the top of the wall
and dropped to the other side. Valeska heard his foot-
steps running up the gravel walk. After that she
waited some time in silence. The cab had driven off
with a clatter.

When, after a wait that seemed interminable, As-
tro returned, Valeska's eyes stared to see him with
Miss Dalrymple, who was apparently unharmed. She
wore a long mackintosh cape, covering her night
dress, and her hair was disordered. A look of
horror on her pretty face made her seem a woman
almost for the first time. She unlocked the gate and
put her slender white arms about Valeska.

"What has happened?" exclaimed the latter.

"What I feared; only, thank heaven, not to Miss
Dalrymple !" was Astro's solemn response. "Come this
way and you'll see."

He led the way past an apple tree at the side of
the house. A few pac'es beyond this a great hole was
torn in the earth, and, by its jagged appearance and
slanting sides, it was evident that it had been made
by some explosive. Behind a rose bush lay a woman's
body.

MISS DALRYMPLE'S LOCKET 163

"Fanny," said Astro.

Miss Dalrymple sank beside her maid and began to
weep silently.

"Do you understand now?" said Astro to his as-
sistant.

"What a fiend !" she cried. "Her stepmother meant
this trap for Miss Dalrymple ! She buried an infernal
machine here ! But how was it exploded ?"

Astro pointed to the motionless body. "The rea-
son why I did not caution Miss Dalrymple not to show
her maid the translation of the cipher was because I
wanted the second Mrs. Dalrymple to believe that her
hellish trick was going to be successful. I was afraid
Miss Dalrymple's curiosity would induce her to dig
under the rose bush before I came. To-night I wrung
a confession from her stepmother revealing this whole
frightful business. That's why I hurried. But I had
no idea of Fanny's duplicity. Evidently, though she
was a spy for the Brooklyn woman, she did not have
her complete confidence. Fanny thought she would get
the letter before Miss Dalrymple dug it up, and use it
to extort money. You see how well she has succeeded."

"Oh ! is she dead ?" whispered Valeska.

"Luckily, no; only stunned. Mrs. Myra Dalrymple
probably won't have to go to the electric chair for it,
though she deserves it richly. But, at least, there will
be no more contest over the will. In the first place, I
got the letter from her to-night; in the second, if I
hadn't, we could prevent her opposition by our knowl-
edge of this crime. She'll leave the country to-mor-
row."

The cab was now heard. It stopped, and the driver,
with a physician, came running up the walk.

164 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"There has been a little accident here/' said Astro
suavely. "A buried gasoline tank exploded, and this
woman was injured, doctor. Carry her into the house
and do what you can for her."

Miss Dalrymple, who had been listening wide-eyed
to the conversation, a ravishing figure in the moon-
light in her charmingly disheveled state, now put her
hand on Astro's arm.

"But I don't understand at all," she said, "except
that Fanny has been deceiving me for a year. Do you
mean to say that Mrs. Dalrymple put that cipher in the
locket herself and sent it to me ?"

"Certainly," said Astro, "and a very clever trick it
was."

"But why did she do it that way?" the young girl
inquired, still baffled. "Why was she so elaborate
about it?"

"Because," replied the Master of Mysteries, with a
lurking smile, "she knew a great deal more about hu-
man nature than you do, and a good deal less than I,
that's all!"

NUMBER THIRTEEN

RECLINING on a huge velvet divan, puffing at his
water-pipe lazily, Astro read to the last page of
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and then tossed the paper-
covered book on the floor with a grunt.

Valeska looked up from her work, ready for his
comment.

"If Stevenson had written that book this year, he'd
have known more about dissociated personality," he
remarked.

"Why, it's nothing but a parable, that's all," Va-
leska offered.

"Well, it might be more ; it might be science as well.
The fundamental idea is wrong. We haven't only two
souls or personalities apiece, one good, one bad ; we
have an infinite number, according to modern psychol-
ogy. Our normal self can break up into any number
of combinations of its elements. That is why we are
different persons when we're angry, when we dream,
when we are drunk or insane."

"But isn't there a subconscious self that runs the
body at such times?" said Valeska. "I've been read-
ing about it. Some psychologists call it the 'subliminal*
self."

"Rubbish!" Astro rose and walked up and down
nervously. "They are not psychologists ; they are

165

166 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

metaphysicians, and not worth considering. They speak
as if there were a sort of secret submerged soul coiled
up inside us like a chicken in an egg. An oracle in a
well ! There is no such thing. We are all of a piece \"

"But how about somnambulists who diagnose their
own complaints and predict the course of their ill-
ness? How about the known cases of multiple per-
sonality,— Felida X and Miss Beauchamp in Boston?
Their alternate selves were distinct and separate."

"You should read The Journal of Abnormal Psy-
chology" said Astro. "Those selves are fortuitous
combinations of the normal self's properties ; they are,
strictly, part-selves. The subjects are simply not 'all
there'."

"And those post-hypnotic time experiments, too?"
she persisted. "I have read of their suggesting that a
subject should, just fifteen hundred and forty-seven
minutes afterward, look at his watch and write down
the time. He did it, in every such case."

"And you think he has a subliminal self, a sort of
psychic alarm clock, that telephones to his waking per-
sonality? Nonsense! They managed to tap the me-
chanical part of his memory, that's all. It's like look-
ing up a book in a library. There are no co-conscious
personalities. What happens in 'automatic writing'?
A person holds a pencil in his hand, and it seems to
write of itself. Spirits? Rubbish! A subliminal self?
Poppycock! The hand transcribes merely records of
thoughts or memories that have been forgotten or
were unnoticed, that's all. We don't think of half we
see and hear; we pass myriads of faces in the street,
for instance ; but everything is recorded, as on a pho-

NUMBER THIRTEEN 167

nographic cylinder, and, under abnormal conditions,
the record may be reproduced.'*

"Well," said Valeska, "it's all uncanny. Normal
psychology is difficult enough to understand ; but when
one is four or five different persons I give up. How
many am I ?" she added merrily, tossing a mischievous
glance at him, as she put on her hat and furs.

"You're a million — each nicer than the rest."

"Then I'm glad!" She looked very demure as she
walked toward the door ; but she stopped there to smile
frankly back at him, then threw him a good night and
vanished.

Astro yawned, went to the bookcase, and returned
to the couch with a book by Leonide Keating. For
a while he labored with his grandiloquent mysticism,
with the secret of Om and the central crystal of the
universe; then suddenly he sat erect. A noise in the
outer room had attracted his attention. Another mo-
ment told him that Valeska had returned and was
speaking to some one. His name was called.

He went out, to find her with a strange girl,
strangely clad. Dark-haired and dark-skinned, hand-
some, oriental, she was of medium height, with a red
shawl drawn about her head, and a short plaid skirt,
showing her little feet incased in men's heavy shoes.
She had a wild frightened look in her eyes, as Va-
leska tried to calm her. Her mouth trembled pitifully,
and she crouched in an attitude of fear and self-ef-
facement. She looked quickly round at Astro, and ran
for the door. Evidently she saw a new terror in him,
and trembled all over with excitement. It was all Va-
leska could do to restrain her.

168 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

Astro looked the girl over deliberately, noting every
detail of countenance and costume, then he raised his
eyebrows.

"It's the strangest thing!" Valeska explained. "I
was walking along Thirty-fourth Street when I met
her, and as I passed I thought that she was probably
some Italian organ-grinder's wife. Then she turned
back and ran up to me and seized my hand. She was
evidently terribly frightened at something; but she
wouldn't speak. I haven't been able to get her to speak
yet. She seemed to want my protection ; so I brought
her back here. Who do you suppose she can be ?"

Astro addressed the girl in Italian; but got no re-
sponse. The girl eyed him as a dog watches the boy
who has been torturing him. A question in Russian
was as unsuccessful. Greek, Turkish, Yiddish, — she
appeared to understand none of these, or else refused
to answer. The Master of Mysteries became interested.

"Bring her into the studio," he said to Valeska.
"We'll have something to eat here. Perhaps she is
hungry. If so, that will gain us her confidence." So
saying, he went to the telephone and ordered a dinner
for three sent up from a near-by restaurant.

As Valeska gently led the stranger toward the en-
trance to the studio, the girl suddenly gave a wail,
clasped her hands to her bosom, and stared fixedly,
in an ecstasy of terror, at the office wall. There was
a large one-day calendar there above Valeska's desk,
the sheet showing the words, "Thursday, May 13."
Astro hurried to the girl's side, watching her keenly.
Valeska put her arms about her reassuringly; but it
was not till she had drawn her softly away from the

NUMBER THIRTEEN 169

sight of the calendar that the girl's perturbation was
over. She walked doggedly into the great dim studio,
as if half-asleep. Valeska, with friendly insistence,
placed her in a comfortable chair. There the girl sat,
staring with expressionless face at the light.

"Well," said Valeska, as they watched her, waiting
for the dinner to be bought in, "is she deaf, or dumb,
or half-witted, or drugged, or what?"

Astro had not taken his eyes from the figure of his
mysterious visitor. "She's an oriental, of course.
That is why she's afraid of me. She has been through
some terrible nervous ordeal, I think. I believe she
hasn't had enough to eat. Wait till we have had din-
ner, and then I'll see what I can do with her. Poor
thing! I'm glad it was you and not a police officer
who found her, Valeska."

The girl began to look about timidly, but with little
apparent curiosity. Valeska undid her shawl from
her head. A wave of black, fine, curly hair fell with
the covering and made the face more picturesque. She
nestled a little closer to her protector ; held Valeska's
hand to her own cheek. The two, vividly blond and
brunette, made a striking picture together.

On Astro's table was a small desk calendar, with a
memorandum sheet for each day. He quietly took it
up and placed it in the girl's lap. Instantly she had a
new fit of terror, and leaped up in alarm. Standing in
the full light of the electric lamp, they could see her
mouth working convulsively as she stared at the num-
ber 13. She started on a run for the door. Valeska,
quicker than Astro, caught and held her, and again
attempted to soothe her.

170 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"Oh, don't try any more experiments with her yet !"
she implored. "The poor thing can't stand it. She is
suffering so that it makes my heart ache. What can
be the matter?"

"Aphasia, for one thing," said Astro, seating him-
self a little way off. "She tried to speak hard enough ;
but she couldn't. The girl is not deaf or dumb, any-
way. It is growing decidedly interesting."

By degrees the girl was coaxed back to the chair,
and by the time the dinner had been brought in she
was more -easily persuaded to take a seat at the table
beside Valeska. Indeed, it was evident that she was
nearly starving. She ate ravenously, with great mouth-
fuls, picking up the food in her hands. She was not
to the manner born, but her prettiness made her sole-
cisms pardonable. Once or twice during the meal she
stopped, looked at Valeska, and seemed to be trying
to speak; but no words came. Her hunger satisfied,
she seemed more tractable and courageous. She
looked at Astro without fear. Toward Valeska, she
showed the devotion of a dog.

The table cleared away, Astro took a sheet of paper
and wrote down the number 13. The girl trembled,
but now not so violently. She looked up at Valeska
with a mute appeal.

"Don't!" said Valeska.

Astro wrote a column of three figures : 6, 5, and 2.
The girl stared at it without intelligence. The Roman
numerals XIII did not excite her at all. Next, he wrote
the word "thirteen" ; she was still unmoved. He spoke
the word; no response. .Then he placed the paper in
front of her, and put the pencil in her hand. She took

NUMBER THIRTEEN 171

it with evident familiarity, and her hand trembled.
They saw her bite her lip — she was indubitably at-
tempting to communicate with them — but she was un-
able to make a mark on the sheet.

"H'm!" said Astro thoughtfully. "Agraphia, as
well. Now we're getting warmer. I think I shall get
it after a while."

"Why, to me it seems more impossible than ever!"
Valeska said.

"Strange that we should have just been talking about
it," he replied. "It's a case of lost identity, disassoci-
ated personality, beyond doubt. I think I can solve the
riddle if I can hypnotize her. I'll try."

He did try, but without avail. At his first mesmeric
gestures she shrank from him in fear. As he persisted,
trying with a crystal ball held in front of and above
her eyes, to send her into a hypnotic sleep by means
of a partial paralysis of the optic nerve, she resolutely
defended herself. The strangeness of his motions
aroused her suspicion, and she refused to concentrate
her attention sufficiently to be influenced. Direct ver-
bal suggestion, the simplest and most effective method
of inducing hypnosis, was of course out of the ques-
tion, since she did not appear to understand any lan-
guage he spoke.

"There is only one other method, if even that will
succeed," Astro said at last. "If we can get her to
write automatically, we may learn something. Her
agraphia prevents her writing with her conscious mind.
We'll try what is called the method of 'abstraction'. It
is a common experiment. One holds his patient ab-
sorbed in a conversation that compels his utmost men-

172 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

tal capacity, — in Hebrew, for instance, if he under-
stands Hebrew, — and while that is going on some one
places a pencil in his hand and whispers in his ear.
What you have called the 'subconscious self commu-
nicates by writing, and the normal conscious person-
ality is unaware that he is writing."

"But how can we engage her mind so absorbingly ?"
Valeska asked hopelessly. "We don't know her lan-
guage, whatever it may be."

Astro paced the room for several minutes, thinking
deeply. He stopped occasionally to look at the girl
fixedly, and resumed his contemplation. Finally he
went up to her, examined her palms, and his face
lighted up.

"I believe she's musical !" he said.

Valeska stared. "But then—"

"We'll see. Have the pencil ready to put in her
hand, and the paper on the table by it. Watch her
closely, and see if she is affected by the music. If she
seems to be, give her the pencil."

With that, he walked to the piano, sat down, and
began to play the tenth rhapsody of Liszt. As he
swung into the abandon of its more temperamental
passages, he seemed himself to be absorbed, to lose
himself in the intricate harmonies. He was a skilled
and artistic musician. He swayed to and fro, giving
himself up physically and mentally to the passion and
beauty of the themes, and it was not till the echoes of
the last divine chords had ceased reverberating that
he slowly turned on the piano stool and seemed to
awaken.

"I've got it !" cried Valeska, and, springing up, she

NUMBER THIRTEEN

173

ran over and handed him a sheet of paper. It was
partly covered with rude drawings, apparently mean-
ingless rough sketches, mingled with attempts at let-
tering :

He took the sheet eagerly, and went to the table
under the electric lamp to scrutinize the figures.

"It's not very promising material, is it?" said Va-
leska.

"On the contrary, it's a fine beginning; only it will
take a bit of doing to make it out."

"I see the fatal 13 has put in its appearance again."

The girl, who had seemed to be in a sort of stupor,
now leaned over the table and inspected the sheet. At
sight of the figures 13 she gave a moan, and threw her
arms about Valeska, trembling all over.

"Poor girl!" said Astro. "I'm afraid there's some-
thing big back of all this. She's a Turk, or an Ar-

174 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

menian, or a Syrian. See the Turkish flag that she has
roughly drawn here? . . . Babi . . . Wait!"

He had risen to go to the bookcase, when the girl
reached over and would have seized the paper, had not
Valeska prevented her. Astro turned to ejaculate:

"Babi?" and again, "Baha-Ullah?"

The girl quivered ; but did not speak.

"She may be a member of the Bahai sect, followers
of the Bab, the Incarnation of the Almighty, whose
religion is not tolerated by the faithful in Persia. They
are all kept to one city, where they live like primitive
Christians; indeed, their faith is a mixture of Chris-
tianity and Mohammedanism. We'll see. Valeska,
she's had enough for to-night. You must take her
home and take care of her, and bring her back to-
morrow. Until then I must stay up and think it out."

For hours after Valeska had left with her ward, As-
tro walked up and down the length of the great dim
studio. Occasionally he threw himself at full length on
the big couch in concentrated thought. At intervals he
stood erect, his eyes fixed in abstraction on some trophy
of arms on the wall, or gazing into the lucent trans-
parency of his crystal ball. Once or twice he sat down
at the table and gazed long at the hieroglyphic marks
made on the paper by the strange girl. At three in
the morning, he partially undressed and lay down on
the couch to sleep. He rose at seven, bathed, and went
outdoors for a walk.

When he returned, an hour later, Valeska was in the
studio alone. Her eyes were red ; she seemed ashamed
and self-reproachful.

NUMBER THIRTEEN 175

"The girl has disappeared!" she exclaimed the mo-
ment Astro appeared. "When I woke up, she wasn't
in the room. She must have risen and dressed while
I was asleep. But I found this." She held out a short
curved dagger, in a morocco sheath.

Astro, withdrawing the blade, found it was engraved
with an Arabic inscription. He read the motto aloud :

"For the heart of a dog, the tongue of a serpent!"

"Ah !" he commented, "this may help some. Our
little friend apparently isn't so timid as she appeared.
But, somehow, this doesn't look like the property of a
Babist. In spite of their many persecutions, I believe
they are usually non-resistants. Well, Valeska, we'll
have to find the girl, now! Come along with me im-
mediately."

His green limousine was already at the door in
waiting. Both jumped in, and as they drove to the
southern end of the city Astro explained :

"There are two Syrian quarters in New York. One
is in Brooklyn, the other down on Washington Street,
near the Battery. We'll go to that one first, and see
what we can find there. The Turkish flag reminds me
that that is often hung outside stores where they sell
Turkish rugs. We'll try that clue afterward."

Reaching Washington Street, the two left the
motor-car and walked toward the Battery, past rows
of squalid houses. At every corner Astro stopped and
gazed about deliberately.

Finally, he seized Valeska's arm with a quick ges-
ture. "Look at that sign !" he exclaimed.

On West Street, facing the Hudson River, but with

176 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

its rear abutting on a vacant lot on Washington Street,
was a huge soap factory. Painted on the dead wall was
a sign whose letters were eight or ten feet in height.

Valeska read it aloud: "Use Babrock's Brown
Soap." She stopped and looked at Astro in bewilder-
ment. "What about it?""

He drew the drawing from his pocket and pointed
out the lettering. "Don't you see ?" he cried. " 'BABP P
That's a part of the sign, surely. Look at those two
buildings on each side of the sign. Now look at this
row of houses. From some one of those windows the
sign must present the appearance she has drawn.
Making the drawing subconsciously, she has merely
copied something with which she has been familiar, —
seeing it, probably, every day. We must find the win-
dow from which the sign looks just like her drawing."

He looked at the sign again carefully, estimating its
height and the relative position of the two buildings
whose roofs would cut off the first and last group of
letters. A rough triangulation led him to a house in
the lower part of which was a cobbler's shop. This he
entered.

"Are there any rooms to let in this house ?" he asked
of the man at the bench.

The man nodded. "Go up-stairs and ask at second
floor," he replied. "You see Carbon Soumissin; he
keeps the house."

Up-stairs went Astro and Valeska, and plunged into
a dark narrow hallway. A doorway opened part way
and a whiskered man looked out. He had an evil face,
blotched with red spots, and wore a fez. He was smok-
ing a Turkish cigarette.

"What you want here?"

NUMBER THIRTEEN 177

"I'd like to look at your front room, third floor."

A murmur of voices came from inside the room.
The man turned and growled some foreign oath. Then
he turned and looked at Astro with a vicious inquisi-
tion.

"All right/' he said at last ; "you go up. Door open.
Three dollars a week."

Astro waited for no more; but ran up the stairs,
followed by his assistant. Once out of earshot, he
stopped for a moment to pull out the paper again, and
pointed to the first drawing on the sheet. "Fez," he
said, and looked at her meaningly.

"The old man with the cigarette?"

"Probably. Now we'll find out what they have been
up to."

The hall bedroom was incredibly dirty, but con-
tained nothing but a cot bed with vile coverings, a
chair, and a crazy wash-stand, over which hung a
square cracked mirror. Astro first went to the grimy
window and looked out. He pointed to the sign, and
Valeska followed his eyes. One of the buildings across
the street cut off the first word, "use," and the other,
with a small dormer, obscured all after "bab" with the
exception of the upper half of the R. It showed, in
fact, precisely as the girl had drawn it.

"This is the room, all right. Now let's examine it."

He took up the chair first, and looked it over care-
fully. Then he pointed to marks on the sides of the
back, where the paint was worn smooth. The marks
were about an inch wide, and similar ones showed on
the legs and on the side rails of the seat.

"This is where straps have chafed the paint," he
commented. "She was undoubtedly fastened securely.

178 [THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES ^

Did you notice where the marks or bruises were on
her?"

"Yes; they were bad enough for me to remember.
There were red marks on her wrists and on her arms
below her shoulders; and her arms were almost cov-
ered with bruises ; but small ones."

"Oh, they pinched her, no doubt. Undoubtedly she
had a rough time of it, if one may judge the character
of the villain with the fez. Well, we must find her.
There's no use inquiring here. If they have used this
room for a torture chamber, we'll get nothing out of
them, and they'll grow suspicious."

They went down-stairs, and, while Valeska waited
in the street, Astro drove a bargain with Carbon
Soumissin. Luckily the lower hall was dark, and the
Turk could not perceive Astro's oriental countenance.
But the Master of Mysteries had an important piece
of news to tell when he rejoined Valeska,

"They were talking Arabic, or rather Turkish. I
heard one of them quote the motto we saw on the dag-
ger. Now I know what they are. Have you heard of
the Hunchakists?"

The papers had been so full of one of the recent
murders of this dreaded Armenian society, that Va-
leska knew roughly what the name implied.

"Every country seems to have its guerrilla assas-
sins," said Astro, as they drove up-town. "But the Ar-
menian Hunchakists are more dangerous than any of
the others, because they are better organized. Their
object is usually extortion. Now we must visit the rug
merchants. I'm afraid we're on the track of something
serious this time."

Their route led them directly into the heart of the

All right," he said at last, " you go up. Door open " —

NUMBER THIRTEEN 179

mystery. On Eighteenth Street, where, in front of a
Turkish rug store, the crescent of Turkey hung out,
there was a great crowd gathered, pressing about the
entrance. It took Astro little time to discover the
cause of the disturbance. The merchant, Marco
Dyorian, had been found, when his shop was opened
by his head bookkeeper, lying in a pool of blood in his
office, shot in the back. He was not dead, though mor-
tally wounded and unconscious. He was now at the
hospital, at the point of death.

A policeman guarded the door, preventing any one
from entering. Astro and Valeska caught sight of his
cap over the heads of the bystanders, and when the
crowd eddied they saw his face.

"Why, it's McGraw!"

"So it is!" said Astro. "What luck!"

They squirmed their way through the crowd, to find
the burly police officer who, with Astro's assistance,
had been able to gain considerable reputation in con-
nection with the Macdougal Street dynamite outrages.
The two were now fast friends. Indeed, McGraw
owed his lieutenant's cap to the help of the Master of
Mysteries. He therefore welcomed them both with a
grin.

"What is the straight of this, McGraw?" Astro
asked.

"Hunchakist murder, sure!" responded the lieu-
tenant.

"I thought as much. Who did it?"

"Oh, we got 'em all right this time. No thanks to
you, sir, for once, though I'd always be glad of your
help. This one's a girl who done it."

Astro and Valeska looked at each other. "A girl?"

i8o THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"Yes, sir. They'll be bringing her down presently.
It's only fifteen minutes ago we got her. She was hid-
ing out in a back closet where nobody thought to look
at first. She was in a dead faint."

"What does she look like?"

"Faith, I don't know that myself. I've only just got
here with the reserves. But if you stand here, you'll
see her come down. There's the wagon already. Stand
back there!"

The crowd scattered, and the patrol wagon drove
up with a clatter. Several officers jumped out and ran
up-stairs.

Astro turned to Valeska and spoke under his breath.
"What time did you see her last?"

"I got up about midnight, and she was lying on the
couch."

She put her hand on his arm. "Oh, it couldn't have
been she!" she exclaimed.

At that moment the officers brought their prisoner
down-stairs. It was indeed the girl who had been in
the studio the night before, and had gone home with
Valeska. Just as the group passed, Astro touched Mc-
Graw's shoulder.

"Let me speak to her a moment. I know this girl."

McGraw stared; but his faith in the occult powers
of the Seer was so great that he delayed the officers.
They stopped for a moment. Astro addressed the girl
in Turkish.

"Let me help you," he said.

She looked at him sulkily. But it was not with the
blank expressionless face of yesterday. Her brows
drew together.

"I don't know you," she said at last.

NUMBER THIRTEEN 181

Valeska pushed forward and took Her hand.

"Don't you know this lady ?" Astro asked.

The girl stared. Some half-forgotten memory
seemed to stir within her. Her lips moved silently as
she stared hard at Valeska's face. Then she shook
her head, and said, "I don't know."

"I can't keep 'em waiting," McGraw whispered.
"Let her go, and you can call at the Tombs to see her
again. I'll see that you get in. Go on, now !"

The girl was escorted to the wagon and took her
seat, facing the crowd stolidly, an officer on each side
of her. Once, before they drove away, her eyes turned
to where Valeska stood in the doorway, and the same
puzzled expression crossed her face.

"McGraw," said Astro, after the wagon had gone,
"how'd you like to get a captain's commission?"

McGraw hastily took him aside. "You don't mean
to say you know about this job already?" he asked ex-
citedly.

"I know one thing. A man you want lives at 101
Washington Street, and I think his name is Carbon
Soumissin. At any rate, I'd advise you to get right
down there immediately and run in every one you find
in the house. Hurry up before they've gone !"

McGraw's eyes gleamed. "And you'll coach me then
what to do?" he asked.

"Yes."

"All right." Hastily summoning a police sergeant,
he gave him a few orders, and then hurried to the
station.

"Where was the wounded man taken ?" Astro asked
the sergeant."

"To the receiving hospital."

182 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"We'll go over there first, then." And Astro and
Valeska made their way to the limousine and ordered
the driver to the place.

"But," said Valeska, "how queerly she acted! I'm
so disappointed that she didn't recognize me, after all
I'd done for her. I don't know what to make of it."

"Don't you see? She has waked up. Yesterday she
was quite another person, a dissociated personality.
She had no memory, and had even lost the power to
talk or write. That is often the case. Owing to some
severe mental shock, her normal personality was
broken up into parts, so to speak. She had just enough
of the functions of her mind synthesized to have voli-
tion, and that part-self resembled a crazy person. She
had been tortured and starved, no doubt in order to
force her to commit this crime, by Soumissin. Some-
how she managed to escape from that house, and then
her reason left her. You found her what she was,
half-witted, with only sense enough to appeal to your
protection. She had forgotten everything, — every-
thing, that is, except something concerning the num-
ber 13. Now the question is, when did she come to
herself and her full rationality? Was it when she got
up in your room to leave you — "

"Or was it when she got into the rug store?" Va-
leska added, with a look of horror in her eyes.

"That's the question. Let's hope that Dyorian is
conscious by the time we reach the hospital. Every-
thing depends on that !"

Arrived at the hospital, Astro entered the office and
asked for the house physician. A few words only were
necessary to explain the palmist's right of inquiry, and
his description of the Syrian girl's mental condition

NUMBER THIRTEEN 183

was of great professional interest to the doctor. He
promised to go to the Tombs and see her as soon as
possible. Dyorian, it seemed, lay at the point of death ;
but, finding how important it was to have the exact
time of the shooting determined, the doctor consented
to go up to the ward and attempt to revive him suffi-
ciently to answer the question. Astro and Valeska
waited for him in the office.

It was fifteen minutes before he returned. "I could
just barely make him understand," he said, "but I am
sure that he did at last. With almost his last breath
he whispered, 'Ten o'clock/ adding that he didn't know
who shot him. He died before I left the bedside."

Acting on Astro's hint, McGraw not only succeeded
in capturing a half-dozen Turks and Armenians in the
Washington Street den, but, exercising the "third de-
gree" in a manner for which he was famous, extorted
a confession from one of the prisoners. It was the
more easy because the man, who had honestly believed
himself to be working for the cause of Armenian free-
dom, discovered that he had been merely the tool of a
band of blackmailers and murderers. He had witnessed
the cruel torture of the young Syrian girl ; but had been
told that she was a Turkish spy who was plotting to
betray the Armenian cause to the Sublime Porte.

On hearing her alibi, sworn to by Valeska, the girl
was released; but she was ten days under the care of
the hospital doctor before her nerves were recovered
enough for her to be brought to the studio. She had
been told of Valeska's kindness; but could remember
nothing that had happened since her mind first began

184 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

to wander under the effects of pain and starvation.
But her intuition recognized her protectress without
the aid of reason, and she fell on her knees like a slave
at Valeska's feet. She could not speak a word of Eng-
lish; but her eyes were sufficiently eloquent to prove
her gratitude. She treated Astro as if he were her
lord and master, watching him continually.

After she had told of her wakening to her full rea-
son in Valeska's room, she described the terror that
had come over her at the thought of Dyorian. The
thirteenth was the day set for his murder. Her tor-
mentors had in vain tried to force her to do the deed ;
but, when they found she was intractable, they had
told her that, whether she did it or not, Dyorian should
surely die on the thirteenth. It was with the idea of
saving him from his fate that she made more strenuous
attempts to escape, and, after her memory had gone,
the number 13 still inspired her with terror and dread.
Wakening at Valeska's, this thought had been her
first, and she dressed quietly and stole out of the house
to warn him. She had found the rug merchant al-
ready shot, and the horror of the scene had in her
weak state again deprived her of reason. She had run
from the body — and that was all she could remember
until she was restored to consciousness by two police-
men. Then, her fear of being accused as the murderess
had nearly distraught her wits again.

She looked curiously now at the pictures she had
drawn while in the state of abstraction, and identified
the sign, the fez, the Turkish flag, and the number 13.

"But what is this one?" Astro asked, pointing to
the one drawing he had not identified.

NUMBER THIRTEEN 185

The girl shuddered, and reach for Valeska's hand.
When she could speak, she explained to Astro.

"It was awful, — you can't know how awful it was
till you have tried it. I was three days strapped to that
chair, and on the wall right opposite my head was a
mirror. I had to look at myself all day. It grew more
and more horrible, till I couldn't stand it. By turning
my head I could see the sign, but always my own face
was in front of me, staring, staring, staring. It grew
hideous, sinister, diabolic. After a while it wasn't I,
at all. It was a devil leering at me, and I knew he was
inside of me looking through my own eyes. Oh, God !"
She paused, and looking up at Valeska said simply,
"She is lucky. She can look at her face in the glass.
I can't ever use a mirror any more. It frightens me."

Astro nodded his head slowly. Then he said, with
a faint smile, "Yes, I can fancy no more exquisite tor-
ture for a woman to bear."

Then, before he translated the speech to Valeska,
he turned to her with a whimsical expression.

"What would you do if you were to be deprived of
mirrors of any kind for the rest of your life?"

"I think I'd commit suicide," she replied, blushing.

"There'd be no need for that. I shall always be able
to tell you how pretty you are. But now we must cure
this little girl. I'm sure that a hypnotic treatment will
soon convince her how pretty she is, and she won't be
afraid to prove it."

Valeska looked up archly, and added, "Neither
shall I!"

THE TROUBLE WITH
TULLIVER

"T NOTICE that most of the talk about Tulliver's

J- running for governor has stopped," said Astro,
dropping his morning paper and looking over to where
Valeska, his assistant, was copying horoscopes from
the Master's notes.

"I'm disappointed," she replied. "There seemed to
be hope for the regeneration of the city government at
last. It is strange how Tulliver has let up on the prose-
cution of those Brooklyn aldermen, though, isn't it?"

"Strange ? How ?" Astro gazed at her keenly ; but
it was perfectly evident that he was confident of his
own opinion.

"Why, he began so well and so strenuously; and
then, just before the case was to be brought for trial
he seems to have dropped the whole thing. It doesn't
seem to be like what we know of his character, some-
how."

"Do you believe that he's been bribed ?" Astro bent
his dark brows.

"You never can tell nowadays. But he's such a
fighter ordinarily that it looks suspicious. Why, I've
heard extraordinary tales of his persistence and his
energy. He takes no more sleep than Edison, — he
works night and day, and can do usually four times as

186

THE TROUBLE WITH TULLIVER 187

mucfi work as an ordinary man could in similar cir-
cumstances."

Astro nodded his picturesque dark head thought-
fully, and took his customary seat on the divan by his
water-pipe. With a toss of his hand he threw his red
silken robe about his legs. The moonstone aigret in
his oriental turban nodded rhythmically as he thought
it over. Finally he said :

"The district attorney has not been bribed, Valeska,
I'm sure of that. I have seen him and talked with
him. I've studied his hand, his face, his gait, his voice,
his gesture. Money can't buy that man. He not only
has the energy you speak of, Valeska, he has a tre-
mendous moral force besides. There is no graft in
Tulliver. But there's something wrong. This lack of
power, just when he ought to strike hardest, is suspi-
cious. It's sinister. I tell you!" he added, rising, as
the idea caught and held him with a new force. "This
gang of boodlers has got him somehow! It's not a
square fight !"

Valeska came up to him, more than commonly
moved by his emotion. "Oh!" she exclaimed, taking
his hand, "why can't you help him, if there is a plot?
I'd like to see you try your hand at something more
worth while than mere murders and jewel mysteries.
You're wasting your talents on such ordinary detective
work. Why not offer your services? Why not take
up the fight for him, and with him, if it's possible, and
help him win? You'll never have a more worthy
cause!"

In her excitement her voice had become vibrant,
thrilling with a warm personal note not wholly ac-
counted for by her words. Astro perceived it, glanced

188 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

at her, turned away suddenly. His voice had changed
too, when he said :

"Shall I offer my services?"

"Oh, do!"

"You know that it is not my policy nor my custom
to do that."

"It's your duty."

He swung round to her and took both her hands in
a strong grip. "If you ask me, Valeska, I'll do it."

And so Astro undertook to discover what was the
trouble with Tulliver.

It was a delicate proceeding, at first, and it devolved
upon Valeska herself to undertake the initial steps. It
was three or four days before she had gone over the
ground well enough to select the point of attack; but
at the end of that time she had made up her mind that
Mrs. Tulliver was in the line of least resistance to her
efforts.

It did not take long for Valeska to discover that
Mrs. Tulliver had a baby, and that the baby had a
nurse, that the two went every fine morning to take
the air in Central Park. In two days Valeska was
there also with a baby borrowed for the occasion.
Valeska waited at the corner of Fifth Avenue and
East Sixty-fourth Street, until little Alice Tulliver
and her nurse came down the steps of the Tulliver
house. After that it was easy to make connections in
the park and to happen to sit down on the same bench.
To any one who watched Valeska's whimsical charm,
and pretty expressive face, a confidential acquaint-
anceship was inevitable and the most natural thing in
the world.

THE TROUBLE WITH TULLIVER 189

In such wise Valeska soon learned that Tulliver was
suffering from what the doctors were pleased to term
nervous prostration; that he had been advised to take
a rest ; and that Mrs. Tulliver was much worried over
the situation. Mrs. Tulliver was ambitious and took
great interest in her husband's political career. There
was an atmosphere of great anxiety in the house on
Sixty-fourth Street.

Valeska was a willing and sympathetic listener to
the nurse's confidence, and watched her chance for in-
terposition. It came unexpectedly the very next day,
when Mrs. Tulliver herself came across the two en-
gaged in conversation on a park bench. There was lit-
tle need for diplomacy. Valeska's attractive manners
produced an immediate effect upon Mrs. Tulliver's
emotional, intuitive nature; and seeing with her rare
perception that frankness was the quickest and easiest
method with her, Valeska boldly told her who she was,
and offered her services.

Mrs. Tulliver was too full of her own forebodings
not to grasp immediately at this unlooked-for hope in
her trouble. She confessed that her suspicions had
been aroused, and, though they were not shared by her
husband, she was convinced that the gang of boodling
aldermen, desperate at the prospect of conviction, were
making underhanded attacks upon their chief enemy,
the district attorney. They were not of a sort to stop
at any crime that would rid them of his strenuous
prosecution.

Of Astro's fame as Master of Mysteries, Mrs. Tul-
liver had heard, and she willingly consented to lay the
matter before him. His name was already known at
the district attorney's office through the many crimes

190 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

tHat, in unofficial cooperation with the police, he had
pursued and solved.

Her story, after reaching the studio, amply con-
firmed Astro's suspicions. Tulliver had, the week be-
fore the date set for the opening of the trial, worked
hard night and day over the data. His material was
complex and voluminous ; it required all his energy to
select the proper points of testimony, to arrange his
plan of prosecution, and to divide the work to be done
by his assistants. All had gone well till Saturday. He
had worked at his office till noon, and then had gone to
a barber shop in the vicinity of City Hall Square and
been shaved and manicured. That night he had in-
tended going to the house of a friend for an evening's
entertainment and relaxation, before beginning on
the arduous final preparations for the trial. These
last important investigations he had put off till Sunday,
thinking that the recreation on Saturday night would
help him to devote his whole energy to the case.

On Saturday night he showed extreme lassitude and
manifested an unwillingness to go out with his wife.
She had induced him to attend the entertainment, how-
ever; but, his fatigue increasing, they had both re-
turned early and retired. On Sunday he slept late.
He was worried about the case ; but felt almost unable
to rise and go to work. He had, after breakfast,
dragged himself to his study and shut himself up with
his papers. There Mrs. Tulliver had found him fast
asleep at dinner-time. He made a second attempt to
go about his work in the afternoon, and fell asleep a
second time, showing extreme exhaustion. At nine
o'clock he roused himself sufficiently to ask his wife to

THE TROUBLE WITH TULLIVER 191

telephone to the judge of the court to postpone the
case, and to notify his assistants of the necessary delay.

A doctor called on Monday against Tulliver's wishes
and diagnosed his lassitude as nervous prostration. He
had prescribed a remedy, and after taking it Tulliver
had gradually recovered his customary state of health
and energy. This attack of exhaustion, however, com-
ing just before an important phase of the case was
reached, and the rumors of bribery in connection with
the district attorney, which had already been voiced in
some of the city papers, had affected him as deeply as
they had disturbed Mrs. Tulliver. He showed no disin-
clination whatever to drop the case; in fact he was
more ardent than ever in wishing to bring the boodlers
to justice. But already his delays and apparent lack of
interest had seriously damaged his political career in
the minds of the people.

Astro listened to all this attentively, with only an
occasional question. A pretty woman at all times, with
a proud, spiritedly-poised head and soft dark eyes,
Mrs. Tulliver's distress made her beauty pathetic. It
was plainly evident that, much as she was moved by
the fear of her husband's illness and the sacrifice of his
political future, what affected her still more strongly
was the fear of some stain on his reputation ; and, per-
haps, in the dim shadows of her mind, unacknowl-
edged, but sinisterly insistent, was the specter of a
doubt of his probity. She knew well enough the cun-
ning and the ingratiating methods of political corrup-
tion, and though she would not admit even to herself
that her husband was venal, the horror of this potent
secret force prostrated her.

It was Astro himself who gave her back her courage

192 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

and her faith. She regained her strength at his offers
of assistance. As he spoke, slowly, gently, command-
ingly, as she watched his handsome, mysteriously sen-
tient face, some of his secret power went from him to
her. The very strangeness of that face, with its ori-
ental calm, with its oriental wisdom, with its beatific
sympathy, gave her trust. She sat, so, watching him,
one hand in Valeska's hand, till he had finished.

One question, however, before she left, he put in a
way to renew her alarm. "Who is your cook?" he
asked.

"Why, we've had her only about nine months; but
she came recommended highly. Do you think — "

"Can you see to it that all his food is prepared under
your personal supervision, or that he takes his lunches
only at large, well-known restaurants?"

She thought she could do both.

"Be careful, then," he said. "And, for the last thing,
find out all his movements in what detail you can, both
in the past and in the future. Telephone me every day
what he intends to do. And, by the way, what is the
date set for the opening of the trial ?"

"Next Monday."

"Then we haven't much time. But we'll win !"

As she left the great studio Valeska accompanied
her to the outer door. Here she paused and clutched
the girl's hand. "What did he mean about the cook?"
she demanded. "Does he think it can be as bad as that,
— that they would try poison ?"

"Oh, he's only anxious to take all the precautions
possible."

"Then I shall have to tell my Husband I have been
here."

THE TROUBLE WITH TULLIVER 193

"As you please," said Valeska. "Only be sure that
you have the most powerful defender in New York.
Astro has never failed yet."

She returned to the studio, to find Astro already
absorbed in a medical book. He had taken down a
bound volume of The Lancet, and pointed to it.
"Look that over carefully and see if you can find that
article on the Pathology of Fatigue. I can't recall
what year it came out ; but it was the report of the ex-
periments of an Austrian, I think."

She looked at him in surprise. "You have a theory
already?"

"No, not quite ; but there is a disturbance in my
memory, — there's something I can't quite place, or ac-
count for; if I don't try too hard, it will float up un-
consciously. That's why I want you to look it up.
But our line of investigation is plain."

"The barber?"

"Or the manicure. I didn't dare ask about that. I
don't want Tulliver to suspect. Of course she'll tell
him everything; I can see that, I expected it. But I
must get to that particular barber shop to-day and be-
gin to watch."

"Is it poison, then?"

"Undoubtedly poison ; but whether physical or moral
I don't yet know."

"But you seemed to be so sure of his honesty."

"I knew she would tell him everything. It was the
only way. There is always the chance of corruption.
Dishonesty is as much a disease as cholera. One can
become infected by it as well as by a germ. I said it
was my business to know human nature; but no one
can know it, except to be sure that it's liable to all

194 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

sorts of dangers and diseases. No one is immune. We
can only fight infection of all sorts. If this man Tulli-
ver is being poisoned, I'll find out how and by whom,
and I'll save him. If he is being corrupted morally, is
there any less reason why I should help him ? It may
be the first time in his life — and the last. I know only
that I like him, I admire his wife, and if I can beat that
gang I'll do it ! Selah. I have spoken."

It was late that afternoon when Astro returned from
his investigations. By his look, Valeska knew that he
was worried. Mrs. Tulliver had telephoned and said
that the district attorney would be at his office all day
and would return directly from there. From her tone
it was evident that her husband did not take the Seer's
assistance so gratefully as she herself did. Astro lis-
tened with a frown.

"Well, I'll save him in spite of himself, then. I con-
fess it looks dubious. I saw our old friend, Lieutenant
McGraw of the detective force, and he succeeded
in finding out for me some of Tulliver's habits. He
patronizes a small barber shop on Broadway, opposite
the post-office, but doesn't go there regularly. Most
often drops in there on Saturdays. I went in and got
a shave. There was a tow-headed manicure in a cor-
ner, with about ten pounds of bracelets and a Marcel
wave of the Eighth-Avenue type, crisp as galvanized
iron. I didn't like her, on several counts ; I somehow
felt wrong with her. I had my nails attended to, and
she was too smooth. She never refuses an invitation
to dinner, that girl.

"Now," he continued, "we can't possibly investigate

THE TROUBLE WITH TULLIVER 195

this thing from the Brooklyn end. There are too many
in that gang of boodlers for us to follow them all. So
we have to trace it back from the district attorney, and
find some point of contact with the aldermen. If Tul-
liver was bought up, he wouldn't have worked so hard
up to Saturday noon. He would have taken it easy
and put his assistants off. Something must have hap-
pened on Saturday, and if anything happened, whether
he was doped or bribed, the only place for it to have
happened was in that barber shop. It's too bad I can't ;
trail her to-night; but I have a positive appointment
with Colonel Mixter. You'll have to shadow the man-
icure. She leaves the shop at six o'clock ; so you must
hurry."

With that, he threw himself on his divan, spread
a pack of cards in front of him, and began "getting
Napoleon out of Saint Helena." It was a habit of his
when most puzzled with his strange problems to rest
his mind occasionally by a game of solitaire. It was a
sort of mental bath from which he rose always re-
freshed and ready for a new attack of the question in
hand.

"Did you find that article in The Lancet?" he asked
as Valeska was preparing to leave the studio.

"No," was her reply ; "but I found a reference to it
in an article on the anatomy of the vasomotor nerves.
The name was Weichardt, wasn't it?"

"By Jove! that's it!" he cried joyfully. "Weich-
ardt, Weichardt!" he repeated the name to himself.
"I'll get it now! I'll just let that boil subconsciously
a while."

Valeska took the subway down-town, reaching the

196 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

barber shop just in time to see, through the basement
windows, an orange-haired girl putting on her hat be-
hind a screen in the corner. She nodded to the men
at the chairs as she passed and came slowly up the
steps to the street, still fingering the terrific pompadour
that jutted from her forehead. She walked slowly
down Broadway, glancing at her watch once, and loi-
tering occasionally at shop-windows. It was evident
that she was a bit too early for some appointment. At
the corner of Fulton Street she stopped and waited.

It was a long time before a man, smoking a cigar,
came up to her and stopped without lifting his hat.
Then he took the girl's arm familiarly, and the two
walked to the subway entrance again, descended, and
took a Brooklyn train, and got off at the Borough sta-
tion.

Valeska had meanwhile not only kept on their track,
but had secured a seat where she could watch them at
close range. The man looked like a political heeler, a
barkeeper, or a sport. He might indeed have been all
three. The two seemed very friendly; the girl's stri-
dent laugh sounded more than once through the car.
In Brooklyn they went to a flashy restaurant that was
generally frequented by the sporting element. The
man ordered dinner and wine. As the meal proceeded,
the manicure's laugh grew louder, and she became
more familiar. It was not a pleasant sight.

From here the two came out upon the electric-
lighted sidewalk, debated for a while at the curb, then
got into a street-car. At Waverley Avenue they got
out and walked up to number 1321. Here, rather to
Valeska's surprise, the girl left the man abruptly, ran
up the steps, took out a key, and entered. The man

THE TROUBLE WITH TULLIVER 197

walked slowly back, boarded a car, and rode down-
town.

Valeska followed him. She got out with him at
Preston Street, and from here her task was more diffi-
cult. Keeping at a safe distance, however, she saw
him stop at a two-story wooden house. At that mo-
ment a man, approaching from the other direction with
two dogs held in leash, met him. The two entered the
house together, and Valeska approached and reconnoi-
tered. As she passed, she heard the dogs barking, and
mingled with the noise was the sound of whining, as
of animals in pain. The lower windows were dark;
but the three above, on the second floor, were lighted.
Creeping softly up the steps, Valeska laid her ear to
the keyhole and listened. There was a low but distinct
sound, — a rumbling as of wheels turning, wheels with
a heavy load, as if some machine were being labori-
ously worked.

Two days passed, and each night Valeska took up
the scent, following the manicure girl across to Brook-
lyn as before. Both times, however, the girl was alone.
The first night she dined alone at a little dairy near the
Borough station and went to a vaudeville show after-
ward. The second night she went directly home. The
next day was Saturday.

"We seem to have got nothing yet," she said to As-
tro that morning. "I confess I'm discouraged. If that
man I saw is the go-between he covers his tracks well.
If he hands her any drug or money it is impossible for
us to detect it. If we could only get into that house
on Preston Street !"

198 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"That's impossible," said Astro ; "it's too well guard-
ed. I've been over there to see it. I was looking- for
a house to rent, you know, and found out enough to
arouse my suspicions. The neighbors are gossiping
about the place already. Dogs go in; but don't come
out. There are moans and howls all night long, and
it's getting to be a scandal. But to-day I hope to find
out something definite about the relations that exist
between Tulliver and that girl. McGraw has agreed
to tip me off when Tulliver goes to the shop, and I
think I can get a chance to watch the two together."

Nothing had been heard from Mrs. Tulliver in the
meantime. To Valeska's mind that in itself was suspi-
cious. Astro's story when he returned did not relieve
her mind.

"I got in after Tulliver," he said, "and was shaved,
just managing to miss my turn with the manicure lady.
Tulliver had his nails polished, as usual. She bright-
ened up considerably at sight of him. It seemed to me
that she was excited. He talked and laughed a little
with her ; but not enough to prove any great intimacy.
She was undoubtedly nervous, however. Once she
went behind the screen and did something, I don't
know what. But she had ample opportunity to convey
a secret message to him without arousing the least
suspicion. I confess I'm worried about him."

With this, Valeska had to be content for the time,
and she heard no more till Monday morning. Then,
upon her arrival at the studio, Astro met her with a
black face.

"Tulliver is down again!" he said immediately.
"Mrs. Tulliver telephoned yesterday at ten o'clock in
the morning, while her husband was asleep. He abso-

3
o

t-i

THE TROUBLE WITH TULLIVER 199

lutely refused to work, said he was exhausted, and in-
sisted on taking a nap. He said he wasn't ill at all,
only felt tired. It was plain enough that she is fear-
fully worried now, and will help us out with informa-
tion whether he objects or not. You had better go and
see her and get all the details."

Valeska lost no time in obeying him. Astro threw
himself on the divan, refused all comers, and gave
himself up to a struggle with his problem. Something
in his memory balked. He was usually wonderfully in
control of it, and the refusal tantalized .him.

Valeska returned at eleven o'clock and reported that
Tulliver had gone down to the office, though still list-
less and blue. Mrs. Tulliver's alarm had increased, and
she was now willing to tell all she knew.

"I spoke to her as delicately as I could about the
manicure girl," she said. "Mrs. Tulliver seemed a bit
worried at the subject. She said that Tulliver had
often spoken of her as an original slangy type, whose
conversation refreshed him after his hard work. In
fact, that was his chief reason for having his nails
done there, — so that he could listen to the girl's persi-
flage, to which he didn't even have to answer. That
seemed to be her main talent, in fact ; for Mrs. Tulli-
ver said that she had a gift of gab, rather striking
looks, and the ability to create a high and showy polish
on men's nails. She is clumsy, though. She has man-
aged her scissors so unskilfully that she has cut Mr.
Tulliver's fingers twice."

Astro jumped to his feet. "Abracadabra!" he ex-
claimed, and stood staring at Valeska.

"What's the matter?"

"We're getting on!" He started to walk up and

200 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

down. "Let me think it over again. I believe I've al-
most got it. Leave me alone here, and I'll do some
deep-sea diving in the abysses of my memory, if you'll
pardon the metaphor. You look over the papers while
I grope in the recesses."

Valeska left and took up the file of morning papers.
She was not gone long, having found something al-
most immediately that seemed important enough to
warrant her interrupting the Master of Mysteries.

"What do you think ?" she exclaimed, appearing be-
tween the velvet portieres that screened the palmist's
vast studio from the reception-room. "That house at
number 1321 Preston Street has been raided by the
police, at the instigation of the Society for the Preven-
tion of Cruelty to Animals. They entered the place yes-
terday, and found a sort of treadmill where two dogs
were working themselves almost to death, for no ap-
parent reason whatever. There was a bed, a table, and
chemical things in one of the rooms of the lower floor ;
but there was nothing up-stairs but the dogs, the tread-
mill, and a table that looked as if it had been used for
dissection."

Astro had stood listening to every word. As Va-
leska spoke, his face cleared. A smile appeared on
his lips. He threw off his crimson silk robe, tossed his
turban into a corner, and on the instant appeared as
the virile keen man of activity.

"I have it!" he exclaimed. "It is all over! District
Attorney Tulliver will have no more mysterious at-
tacks of fatigue! The boodling Brooklyn aldermen
will be prosecuted from now on with all despatch !"

He went up to Valeska, and gently led her to a seat,
laughing at the wonder in her eyes.

THE TROUBLE WITH TULLIVER 201

"Listen," he said. "I had it all deep in my mem-
ory ; but until this moment I couldn't make connections
with it and apply my knowledge to this case. Now I
recall everything. Herr Weichardt, a Munich patholo-
gist, some years ago made some experiments which
showed that fatigue was an actual pathological condi-
tion. In other words, he proved it was a disease, by
discovering the germ and inoculating living organisms
with it. He took some animals, — pigs, if I recall aright,
— made them work till they were almost dead of fa-
tigue, then removed the tired muscles and extracted
the serum from them. With this he inoculated other
animals. He found that a small dose of his serum cul-
ture caused all the characteristic symptoms of fatigue
in the patient and that a heavy dose produced even
death."

"But how could this gang administer sucri a poison?"
"Through the manicure, whom they had engaged
and paid, of course. All she had to do, after she had
received the serum from the man you saw, was to dip
her nail scissors into the solution, and then clip the
cuticle so as to draw blood. The merest scratch would
suffice, and no noticeable sore in the finger would be
caused ; but the toxic germs would permeate the veins
and be distributed all over the body. It was the fact
that she had cut Tulliver's finger that aroused my
memory ; then the story of the treadmill instantly sug-
gested Weichardt's experiments. It was a devilishly
subtle plot. You see, they didn't dare actually to poi-
son him, or give him any easily recognized disease. All
they needed was to put him out of business for a day
or so at critical moments when they needed time to pre-
pare their fight."

202 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"Then you'll tell Tulliver?"

"Certainly. With the police behind him, he can easily
run down the plot and do what he wishes about it.
Most likely he'll see that the manicure girl leaves town,
and let the rest go/'

Valeska looked thoughtfully at the huge crystal ball
on an ebony table in front of her and spoke as if to
herself. "I wish some other symptoms besides fatigue
could be transmitted in that way. One might infuse
some of . the district attorney's own strenuosity and
honesty, for instance, into persons who need moral
stamina."

"I can think of better things than that to do." As-
tro gazed dreamily at the pretty flushed face in front
of him. His eyes lingered on the fair curling hair,
the lovely curve of the neck, the slenderly graceful,
girlish hands, the sensitive mouth, the cunningly
molded figure, and he sighed.

"What would you try to give me, if you were under-
taking the experiment?" Valeska asked without look-
ing up.

Astro did not answer. Instead he took one more
long tender look at her. "I think," he said finally,
"that first I shall have to treat myself !"

WHY MRS. BURBANK RAN
AWAY

"O URELY," said Astro, "until you have solved a
O woman's emotional equation, there's little use in
trying to discover her motive. A woman will kill a
man she hates; but she will as often kill a man she
loves. Now look at this letter and tell me whether the
writer is in love or not." As he spoke, he selected a
sheet from the many spread out on his table and
handed it to his assistant. Then, taking up the stem
of his narghile, he leaned comfortably back on his vel-
vet couch and watched the girl with amusement and
fondness. His oriental eyes narrowed, and his olive-
skinned, handsome, oval face under the white turban
became a mask.

Valeska took up the writing with a pretty gesture
and scanned it studiously. She looked up at last with
a quick interrogative smile. "She's in love, I think;
isn't she?"

"Decidedly!" The Master of Mysteries bowed
slowly. "The crossings of the "t's".are almost all in a
double curve; it's a sure sign. But you notice that
some of them have only a single curve, like the lower
arc of a circle."

"Oh, so they have ! Why, then, she has had a previ-
ous love-affair, hasn't she ?"

203

204 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"Yes. She is sincerely in love now; though she
hasn't yet forgotten her first. You see by the regularity
of her terminals, too, that she's a faithful friend. But
to return to the crossings: let us compare these with
some others."

He looked over the collection and drew forth an-
other specimen. "Here you see a woman that has had
but one affair, and has quite outlived it. The arc is
that of the top of a circle, you see. Here's one who is
beginning to be in love. You will observe the same arc
as in the first, — a rising curve, but no compound
curves. If you thoroughly understand this principle,
we'll go on to a study of terminals and gladiated
words." As he spoke his face lighted up with enthu-
siasm.

A bell, softly tinkling, interrupted him. With a sud-
den gesture he swept all the letters into a heap and
tossed them into a drawer. That done, he became
again the calm impassive Seer. He drew his red silken
robe about him as Valeska rose to answer the bell. He
followed her svelt graceful form with alert eyes till
she disappeared in the waiting-room ; then they fell ab-
stractedly on the slow, gracefully-rising, blue, per-
fumed smoke of the censer in a corner of the dim stu-
dio and remained there until the curtains again parted.

The visitor was a fine military type of man, with
white mustache and iron-gray hair, tall and well-built,
but with a face drawn and haggard. He strode up to
Astro with a determined air. The Seer awaited the
first words calmly.

"My name is Burbank," the man began, — "Major
Burbank, retired. I have come to you on an important
and delicate piece of business, at the advice of a friend

WHY MRS. BURBANK RAN AWAY 205

who has told me of your reputation for solving mys-
teries. I trust, sir, that you will consider what I have
to say to you as confidential ?"

Astro nodded and made an expressive gesture.

"My wife left our home yesterday afternoon, leav-
ing a very painful letter for me. I wish to know, sir,
if you think that you can discover her whereabouts for
me without precipitating a scandal. I have the greatest
wish that this matter should not be known unless it is
absolutely necessary/'

Astro bowed and pointed to a chair, seating himself
as well. "I am ready, sir," he replied. "If you will
acquaint me with the details, I think I can do what
you wish."

"There are no details," the visitor broke out ; "that
is, none but this letter. Everything was all right; we
were happily married ; my wife and I loved each other.
We have two children, whom she has abandoned. It's
incredible, sir! There is absolutely no reason for it at
all, so far as I can see. But look at this, and imagine
what I have to suffer !"

He took a letter in an envelope from his pocket and
handed it to the Seer.

Astro looked over the envelope carefully then opened
the letter and read the following message :

"My DEAR, DEAR GEORGE — I shall never see you
again. Don't try to find me. I'm going to finish a
long bitter wretchedness. Forgive me if you can ;
for I have suffered. Farewell. ELLEN."

His eyes ran over the pen strokes carefully. He
looked at the back of the envelope again, then held it
sensitively in his hands, keeping a serious silence for

2o6 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

a few minutes. His gaze became abstracted. For sev-
eral minutes he did not speak, seemingly falling into
a deep reverie. Then he said :

"My dear sir, your wife is still alive, and I think
I can find her. But I get from the radiations of this
writing a conviction that she is in great mental distress
which it is not well for you to break in upon just yet.
I should prefer that you permit me to inspect your
house and see if I can not discover the reason for this
surprising action. By visiting the place where she was
last, I shall the more readily be impressed by her mag-
netism and get the vibrations that have undoubtedly
affected her. First of all, I must ask you to send me
immediately several photographs of Mrs. Burbank, that
I may fix her image in my mind."

Major Burbank had stood looking at him with a
tense anxious look. "Is that necessary?" he said, "I
had hoped that, if you had the occult power you claim,
you could do it more simply."

"If you wish to help her — " Astro shrugged his
shoulders.

"Help her! It's just that!" he exclaimed. "I want
to save her, even more than I want to find her."

"That goes without saying. Very well. Only a few
more questions, so that I may be prepared for what-
ever influences I may find. Who lives in your house ?"
He added, "Including servants, of course."

"Besides my wife and myself, only the cook, a sec-
ond girl, and a nurse."

"Who are your most frequent visitors ?"

"Why, let's see. Ellen has a lot of women friends
who run in occasionally, of course."

"No, the men."

WHY MRS. BURBANK RAN AWAY 207

The major looked at him sternly. "See here, sir!
If you attempt for a moment to hint that — "

"My dear Major Burbank," Astro replied amiably,
"I hint at nothing. All I wish is to be able to distin-
guish between the astral emanations of those who fre-
quent your place. It is possible that Mrs. Burbank was
most affected by a woman ; but it is not likely."

The major, still frowning, replied : "We lead a very
quiet life. My friend Colonel Trevellian is the only
close friend of the family. But I must tell you, sir,
that my wife has of late confessed to me that she did
not like him. It has made it very uncomfortable for
me, I assure you. But I saw him only to-day. He can
have nothing to do with this disappearance, I'm sure.
I have known him for several years quite intimately,
and he's the last person — "

"I understand/' said Astro dryly ; "but has he heard
of Mrs. Burbank's disappearance ?"

"No, I haven't had the heart to tell him."

"Very good. I should advise you not to. Well, I
will call this afternoon. I think we shall be able to sat-
isfy you."

As soon as the visitor had gone, Valeska appeared.
Astro handed her Mrs. Burbank's letter, with a curi-
ous look. She examined it under the drop-light at the
table.

"She is in love ; but has had a previous affair, just
like that other woman. How curious ! And she's suf-
fering from a severe mental strain, too. I heard the
major's conversation while I was in the secret closet.
It's interesting, isn't it ? Do you suppose she has out-
grown her feeling for her husband and is in love with
his friend now?"

208 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"Or is she in love with her husband and has out-
grown her affection for Colonel Trevellian — that's
what we have to find out." Astro shook his head.

"You said you knew she was alive, though. How
can you be sure that is true ?"

"You haven't half examined that envelope," Astro
replied abstractedly, as he walked up and down, his
chin in his hand, supporting the elbow with his other
arm, absorbed in thought.

"It's postmarked New York, though— Oh, I see !"
Valeska smiled at him. She had turned back the top
flap, which adhered, loosely gummed, and looked at the
imprint of the stationer. "Hodge & Durland, Pough-
keepsie, N. Y." she read. "She may be there, perhaps.
But how did she mail it here in New York ?"

"No doubt she gave a porter a dollar at the station
to post it when his train got into the city. Perfectly
simple. You'll notice that the envelope is badly crum-
pled'and soiled. It has evidently been carried some
time in a man's pocket.

"Now," he continued, taking off his robe and tur-
ban, "I wish to lose no time; so I'll go right over to
the Burbanks', while you wait for the photographs. As
soon as they come, take the first train for Poughkeep-
sie, and see if you can locate Mrs. Burbank. It's un-
likely she is still there ; yet she may be."

"And if I find her?"

"Keep her in sight, wire me, and await instructions."

"I see." Valeska bent her brows in thought. "If
she's gone, of course I'll try to tn.ce her, if I can get
it out of the hotel clerks."

"If you can?" Astro, struggling into a long gray
overcoat, paused long enough to smile at his assistant.

WHY MRS. BURBANK RAN AWAY 209

In return she made a mischievous face at him. He
blew a kiss to her, and taking his stick and silk hat,
left the studio.

His green limousine took him in ten minutes to a
brownstone house on West Fifty-second Street, one of
a row of gloomily respectable fronts. A butler, im-
pressively solemn, ushered him into the parlor.

Astro was about to sit down when the man said :

"I'm sorry to say that Major Burbank has been un-
expectedly called away, sir, and left instructions that
you should see anything you wished." His voice
dropped in tone as he added somberly, "The fact is,
sir, the major had just heard a piece of shocking news.
His brother has just committed suicide, sir, and he
has gone up to Kingsbridge to see about it, sir.
He was very much upset, of course, sir; but he told
me to do wliat was necessary for you. So if you are
ready I'll show you everything."

"Is Mrs. Burbank in?" Astro asked.

"No, sir, she is not, I understand an aunt was taken
ill and she has gone out of town to attend to her. She
left yesterday afternoon, sir, directly after lunch, in a
great hurry, sir."

"In a hurry?" Astro repeated, watching the impas-
sive countenance of the servant.

"Yes, sir ; so much so that she never stopped to hang
up the telephone receiver, sir. I expect the call was
from her aunt's people, though she got a letter in the
morning that did seem to upset her, too."

"Ah !" The Master of Mysteries knitted his brow,
and sat for a few moments without speaking, while the
butler stood erect, waiting like a lay figure. Astro
looked up at him suddenly, with a keen searching

2io THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

gaze, and for a moment a startled expression passed
over the man's face.

"So Mrs. Burbank has gone to her aunt's ?" he said
deliberately.

"That's what she said, sir."

"Do you believe it?"

The butler shifted his feet uneasily. "It's hardly for
me to say, sir."

"See here !" Astro rose and took the fellow by the
lapel of his coat. "You're quite right, my man. It
isn't for you to suspect anything, of course. But if I
know anything about human nature, you are devoted
to the major, and you're to be trusted. Now see here !
I'm here to help him in this matter; but anything
I find out from you shall go no further. Do you un-
derstand?"

"Yes, sir," the butler replied uneasily. "The major
said I was to obey your instructions to the letter, sir."

"There is one thing that I want to know, my man,
and that is, did Mrs. Burbank write to Colonel Tre-
vellian before or since she went away?"

"I can't say, sir, as to that."

The Seer still looked at the man searchingly, as if
sending his will and thought through his eyes to fas-
cinate and charm. The man's attitude, as he watched
Astro, changed subtly from suspicion to confidence.
Gradually he lost the conventional stolidity of the
servant and became more human.

"All I want to see is the envelope of that letter," As-
tro said, watching his man.

The butler hesitated. "I might possibly find out
from the colonel's man, sir. I'm well acquainted with
him, and I've done him favors in times past."

WHY MRS. BURBANK RAN AWAY 211

"See if you can get it ; and meanwhile I'll go up into
Mrs. Burbank's room."

The butler showed the way up-stairs and left the
Master of Mysteries alone. Once the door was shut,
Astro gave a swift look about the chamber, then walked
to a writing-desk. Everything was in order, and not
a letter was visible. From here he turned to the open
grate. The fire was out, and only a few ashes re-
mained. These he examined carefully. On the top
were a few flakes of carbonized paper, crumpled like
black poppy petals. With a deft finger he drew these
from the grate and carried them to the desk, placing
them on a white blotter. On the wrinkled surface, al-
most invisible, were some traces of writing, appearing
as if slightly embossed on the surface. He could make
out only one word, or part of a word: "Kellem."
The closest scrutiny revealed no more writing ; but on
one charred fragment he discovered the remains of a
postage-stamp. It was curiously shrunk to half-size,
and appeared as a negative, in which all that had been
white was black, and the red ink changed to gray.

By the time he had accomplished this delicate ma-
nipulation, the butler had returned.

"I found the letter, sir; but it hasn't been opened
at all. It seems that the colonel didn't come home last
night, and hasn't returned yet. I got it out of William ;
but he's in a mortal terror, sir, and he wants me to
bring it back at once. Do you think it will take you
long, sir?"

"About ten minutes ; but I shall have to be alone."

"You're not going to open it, sir! It's as much as
William's place is worth to be caught at this game."

"No, I won't open it. I only wish to see the writ-

212 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

ing. Come back in ten minutes, and I'll let you have
it back."

As soon as the butler had gone Astro drew from his
pocket a bottle of alcohol and a velvet sponge. With
this he moistened the envelope, and it became as trans-
parent as tracing-paper. The letter inside was so
folded, however, that he could read only one line, in a
nervous, hurried handwriting which he recognized as
Mrs. Burbank's:

"I can not bear it any longer. If you don't — "

He opened the window, set the envelope in a draft,
and waited. In ten minutes he took it up, smelled of
it, and went out of the room. The butler was anx-
iously waiting, and received it with relief.

"One moment, before you go," said Astro. "I'd
like to see the nursery and the children."

The butler led the way and opened a door on the
third floor. Two children, one about four and the
other two years old, were playing on the floor with
building blocks, while a nursemaid was busy at the
window with some sewing. The butler retired to re-
turn the letter.

Astro went to the children and knelt down beside
them, showing by his manner that he was not only
fond of children but used to them. He did not speak
at first, sitting with them, smiling, and playing with the
blocks as if he himself was of their age. The elder,
a boy, seeing him arranging a pile of blocks, crawled
over to watch and help him. As the two sat there to-
gether, the other baby stared at Astro. Then she put
out her two arms and cried :

"Kellem! Kellem!"

WHY MRS. BURBANK RAN AWAY 213

Astro stared in surprise. It was the same word,
evidently, that he had found on the ashes of Mrs. Bur-
bank's letter. He turned to the nurse, who apparently
had noticed nothing unusual.

"What does she mean by that?" he asked.

"Oh, that 'Kellem, kellem'? Why, I don't know,
I'm sure, sir. I fancy it's one of the games they play
with Colonel Trevellian. He often comes in here for
a romp with the kiddies, and they seem to be fond of
him. I've heard Agatha say that before ; but, lord ! I
never thought to wonder about it. It is funny, isn't
it?"

Again the child reached out her arms and repeated
the words, "Kellem, kellem!"

"Did she ever play that particular game with her
mother, nurse?"

"I don't remember, sir, I'm sure. I expect so,
though. Seems to me, now I think of it, I did hear
Mrs. Burbank trying to break Agatha of it; but no
doubt I've got it mixed up."

Astro watched the children for some time; then,
after kissing each of the chubby faces, went thought-
fully down-stairs.

He had no sooner reached the hall than the outer
door opened, and Burbank entered with a serious ex-
pression on his face. He bowed and shook his head
sadly.

"My misfortunes are all coming at once, it seems,"
he said. "My brother is dead, my wife missing. It's
too much for me, and I'm afraid I'll have to call in the
police and put them on the case. I can't stand it any
longer ; unless — unless you have discovered some way
of helping me," he added.

2i4 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"When did your brother die ?" Astro asked.

"As far as we can learn, early this morning. The
gas was turned on in his room, and he was found at
eight o'clock, dead from the fumes. They were un-
able to locate me till four this afternoon, when I went
right over and did what was necessary."

"He lived alone, I presume ?"

"Yes, not even a servant. The body was discovered
by a friend whom he had asked to call, who smelled the
gas and had the door broken in. I can't account for
it any way."

"Did Mrs. Burbank ever visit his apartment?" As-
tro asked.

"Yes. Occasionally when he was ill, she went over
and took him things necessary." He stopped and
stared at the Master. "But you don't suspect that —
that there's any connection between Mrs. Burbank's
disappearance and my brother's death ?"

"I should like to investigate your brother's apart-
ments," said Astro evasively. "I may be able to re-
ceive some impression there that will lead me on the
track. I have succeeded in harmonizing the vibrations
in Mrs. Burbank's apartments, and feel already that I
understand her mental condition when she left home.
But there is a strange discord there, Mr. Burbank, and
I must complete the impression."

"Here is my card, then. I'll write a note asking that
you be given the fullest opportunity for investigation
on the premises. Of course the body has been taken
to the morgue, and the police are in charge of the
apartment; but I think you will have no trouble with
them."

"One more thing, Mr. Burbank. I'd like to know if

WHY MRS. BURBANK RAN AWAY 215

Mrs. Burbank was ever hypnotized, that you know of."

"Why, only once, possibly twice, at an evening party
here. We did have some rather amusing experiments
this fall ; but it was nothing but fun, of course."

"And who was it that hypnotized her that time?"
asked the Seer.

"Why, my friend Colonel Trevellian. He fancied
that he had some power, and did succeed in influencing
one or two of the company, my wife included. But
nothing further ever came of it, and we never tried it
again."

"Has the colonel known your wife long?"

"Yes, since before we were married. But, my dear
sir, you don't — "

"Mr. Burbank, at present I am merely holding my-
self sensitive to whatever influences I come in contact
with, that's all. As soon as I have soaked myself in
them, so to speak, I shall go into a trance and be
guided by subconscious mind. I don't know about
these things at all. I observe, I listen, I smell ; but
what works these impressions out in me is deeper than
mere sense or mere ratiocination. You must wait pa-
tiently, and hope for the best."

He left Burbank disconsolate in the library, and
jumping into his limousine, the Master of Mysteries
drove to the studio. Here a telegram awaited him.
It was from Valeska :

"She is in Troy. Shall find her this evening and
wire address."

He despatched an answer, and hurrying to the sub-
way, took an express to Kingsbridge.

On the way his face belied the confident patter by

216 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

which he had imposed upon his client. His eyes were
fixed, his mouth set. Occasionally he drew from his
pocket a note-book and consulted its contents, staring
at the page for minutes at a time. As the train slowed
down, he became alert again, and when it stopped he
waited only long enough to ask for directions, then
walked briskly to Burbank's apartment.

The note insured a grudging admittance, and he was
taken up-stairs by an officer into a little flat. The place
was meagerly furnished as a bachelor's quarters. A
look into the kitchen revealed a few utensils and pack-
ages of food strewn about in a disorderly manner. The
sitting-room was scantily furnished, but in better or-
der. Astro gave it a glance. The chamber where Bur-
bank had died next engrossed his attention. Here he
spent a half-hour in elaborate scrutiny. Still he ap-
peared dissatisfied. Excusing himself to the officer, he
opened the back door and inspected the platform. Here
he saw an ash barrel and a can for refuse. He opened
the cover of each in turn. Lighting a match, he looked
eagerly into them.

In a moment he had drawn out a broken, hollow,
black-rubber cylinder, and after assuring himself that
he had all the fragments, slipped them into his overcoat
pocket. He then returned inside.

"You have no doubt that the death was caused by
suicide, I suppose, officer?"

"Of course not. There's no evidence to the con-
trary that I know of."

"No one was known to have visited him the night
before he died?"

"The people down-stairs say they heard footsteps
late that night; but it may have been anybody. No-

WHY MRS. BURBANK RAN AWAY 217

body heard the Hoor shut. Or if they had, how was

it possible to turn on the gas? The door was locked

on the inside, as they found when they burst it in."
"And the rear entrance was locked, too ?"
"That, too. It was a suicide, all right."
"Of course. Very well, then, that's all. I'll report

to the major. Good night, Officer."
Astro hurried back to the subway station. As he

reached the ticket taker he drew a photograph from his

pocket and handed it to the man.

"Did you see a woman like this last night, late ?"
He looked at it for some time before he answered.

"I wouldn't be sure about that ; but I've certainly seen

her several times. I can't recall just when was the

last time."

"That's all," said Astro, and he handed the man a

dollar, ran down-stairs, and boarded the express for

down-town.

Another telegram from Valeska was lying under his
door when he reached the studio. After reading it, he
hastily scribbled two despatches and rang for a messen-
ger. One read :

"Your child Bobby has been taken ill with
pneumonia and is at a private hospital, at number
234 West Thirty-fourth Street. Come at once.
Important."

This was addressed to Mrs. Belle Grant, Delmar
House, Troy, New York. The other was sent to Va-
leska Wynne.

"Follow B. G. wherever she goes, and get ac-
quainted with her if possible but do not let her
know you know her."

218 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

Then, yawning, he took off his coat, rolled up his
shirt-sleeves, and sat down to a table under the electric
light. Here he laid out the pieces of the cylinder he
had found, and with liquid glue started laboriously to
piece them together. One by one he fastened them
and warmed them over a Bunsen burner till they were
dry. The work was long and arduous, and it was al-
most daylight before he had finished the job. The
cylinder was now complete, except for an irregularly
shaped hole at one extremity. With a penknife he
trimmed the protruding glue, and then examined the
whole through a magnifying-glass. Not till it ap-
peared to satisfy his inspection did he desist. But at
last the thing was done, and without undressing he
threw himself on the great velvet couch under a trophy
of arms and fell sound asleep.

His pet cat Deodar, a handsome black Angora,
awakened him at nine o'clock by clawing at his sleeve,
and Astro jumped up and went to the telephone. A
half-hour later, tubbed, and clad in his flowing red silk
robe, his turban and its moonstone clasp on his
head, he sipped his thick black coffee and munched his
rolls as he read in the morning paper the accounts of
the suicide of Edward Burbank. Nothing new to in-
terest him had transpired.

As he sat there the bell rang, and soon a boy in but-
tons entered, carrying a parcel. Astro opened it, and
took from a box a phonograph, which he set on the
table. He was a bit excited now, as he fitted his
mended cylinder to the drum and started the clock-
work.

The wheels whirred; a harsh dry voice announced
a song by a well-known comedian. After a preliminary

WHY MRS. BURBANK RAN AWAY 219

orchestral flourish, tHe solo began. Astro listened
eagerly. The melody was constantly interrupted by
discordant explosive noises caused by the joining of
the broken pieces ; but with these interruptions the song
ran on for a while fairly intelligibly. Then there was
a splitting series of crackling noises. From the
silence following these there came a sudden, loud, mo-
notonous exclamation, "Kellem, kellem, kellem, kell — "

Astro, staring, stopped the machine and reseated
himself, to fall into a profound reverie. At times he
shook his head. Once he rose to take Mrs. Burbank's
letter from a pigeonhole, and scrutinized it long and
carefully. At last, with a shrug, he took up his nar-
ghile and a volume of French memoirs. Smoking and
reading, the time passed away till ten o'clock.

The first visitors were sent away by Buttons. Astro
would not be disturbed. At eleven, the telephone bell
rang. The Master of Mysteries took up the receiver
eagerly.

It was Major Burbank. "I have just received a let-
ter," he said, "and I thought it would be well for you
to know the contents. It is from my unfortunate
brother Edward, and in it he tells me that he is con-
templating suicide. The poor fellow was in ill health
and financial straits, and the fact that he had been a
care to me seemed to worry him. It's dreadful to
think of his having been distressed over the little I was
able to do for him ; but I feel quite sure that he was
not sane when he committed his desperate act. The
poor fellow is at rest in peace now, I trust. I almost
wish I were."

Astro's expression had changed wonderfully as he
heard the news. He hastened to offer his sympathy

220 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

anew to his client, and assured him that it was only a
question of a few hours before his wife would return.
This promise seemed to quiet the old man's distress.
Astro went back into the studio with a new expression,
at once determined and jubilant. He sat down, wrote
a note, and despatched it by a messenger boy. This
done, he set the phonograph carefully at the beginning
of the strange exclamation that interrupted the song
on the record, and waited.

In a half-hour Buttons opened the heavy portieres,
announced "Colonel Trevellian!" and a man walked
in.

The visitor looked about scornfully. He was a lean,
yellow, bony-faced man, with deep-set eyes and a
drooping mustache. He spoke with a drawl. "I be-
lieve you requested to see me on a matter of impor-
tance and of a confidential nature," he observed lan-
guidly.

"I did," Astro replied. "I am about to make a re-
quest of you."

"Indeed, you do me a great honor." The man's tone
was sarcastic.

Astro scarcely looked at him. "I should be infinitely
obliged to you, Colonel Trevellian, if you would con-
sent to pack up your things, leave New York and not
return for five years."

The colonel scowled, took a step nearer, and
clenched his fist. "You infernal charlatan! if you'll
take off that nightgown and sweeping-cap, I'll see that
you don't decorate this cozy corner any longer ! What
the deuce do you mean? By Jove ! I'll thrash you and
pitch you out of your own window !"

Astro yawned. Then he brought his two hands

WHY MRS. BURBANK RAN AWAY 221

down on his knees, and his dark alert head was out-
stretched toward the colonel, on whom he turned two
blazing eyes. "Colonel Trevellian," he said in a voice
like the rattling of paper, "you have persecuted Mrs.
Burbank long enough ! If you fancy you understand
the art of hypnotic suggestion, I can show you that
you're a fool as well as a cur. For her sake I consent
to permit you to leave town without informing the
major exactly what kind of a cad you are, but you'll
have to leave quickly."

The colonel had already lost the most of his nerve ;
but he made a last attempt to bluster. "What do you
mean, sir? I've done nothing at all, I assure you.
You're quite mistaken. Why, the major is my best
friend !"

"And do you not wish to supplant him as husband
of your old sweetheart, Mrs. Burbank?"

"Of course not. It's absurd." The colonel's face
was ashen now.

"And you did not suggest, after hypnotizing her and
getting her somewhat under your influence, that she — "

The man stared hard at Astro, and his jaw had
dropped. "That she — what ?" He almost whispered it.

Astro touched the phonograph. "Kellem, kellem,
kell — " it ground out raucously.

The colonel stared first at the mechanism, then at
the palmist. He dropped a step back, undecided, then,
turning suddenly, bolted out of the room.

Astro dropped again into his chair, folded his arms,
and drew a long breath.

The hansom drew up at number 234. A woman got
out, paid the driver, and looked curiously at the front

222 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

door. Apparently puzzled, she drew a telegram from
her purse and read it over. She was a fine-looking
woman of thirty-five, dressed all in black, even to her
furs, though she wore no mourning veil. Her only
luggage was a small traveling bag. Everything about
her stamped her as a woman of culture and influence,
if not rich, at least comfortably off. Yet her demeanor
was timid, almost frightened.

As she started to ascend the steps, a green motor-
car, driving furiously, came down Thirty-fourth Street
and drew up suddenly before her. A young girl, fresh
and pretty, smartly dressed, and with an air of jaunty
confidence, jumped out.

The woman who had first arrived stared at her in
astonishment. "Why," she said, "how do you happen
to be here?" The look of perplexity and timidity in
her eyes deepened now into positive alarm. "Oh!"
she breathed, "you're not a detective ?"

Valeska took her hand affectionately. "No, my dear
Mrs. Burbank, only a friend who wants to help you.
I knew that if I told you on the train you'd never come
here; so I didn't dare to explain that we had really
imposed upon you. Bobby is quite well, I assure you.
You needn't worry on his account. And I hope on
no other account either ; for I'm sure that by this time
the Master has been able to straighten things out."

"The Master?" Mrs. Burbank gasped.

"Yes, Astro, the Master of Mysteries, my employer
and my friend, as I'm sure he is yours. Your hus-
band secured his services, for no one else would have
been able to find you and help you without danger of
publicity. Come right up and you'll hear from him
that everything is all right."

" Oh," she breathed, " you're not a detective ? "

WHY MRS. BURBANK RAN AWAY 223

"Oh, if it only were!" The woman followed Va-
leska hopelessly.

Ten minutes after that Mrs. Burbank sat smiling in
the studio. Astro had told her that there would be
nothing more to fear from the persecutor who had
made the last few weeks hideous. She had herself
confessed everything; how, after that first hypnotic
sleep, the colonel had given her persistently — so often
that it drove her almost distracted — the horrible sug-
gestion that she kill her husband. She had struggled
hard against it; but the iteration of the words "Kill
him!" so distorted as to be unintelligible to any one
else, coming now in letters, now over the telephone,
now from the innocent lips of her own child, had finally
unstrung her mind ; and, for fear lest in her distress she
should actually commit the crime, she had run away
to get out of the colonel's1 power.

"When I went away," she concluded, "I thought I
had destroyed every evidence that might enable my
husband to know how I had been tormented; that is
every piece but one, — the phonograph cylinder. I was
afraid I could not destroy that, and feared to leave it
in the house. I took it with me when I went to see
Edward, hoping that I should find some place to con-
ceal it. But every one seemed to be watching me, and
I was too nervous to risk throwing it away. So when
I got to Edward's apartment I left it there in the ash
barrel. I had intended to tell him everything and
ask his advice, but the poor fellow was so blue that I
didn't have the heart to worry him with my own trou-
bles and I left him without saying anything."

She looked curiously at Astro. "I can't imagine how
you ever found out. It's wonderful !"

224 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

Astro's look was cryptic. "My dear Mrs. Burbank,"
he replied, "such a nervous force as yours is intensely
dynamic; it effects a disturbance of the ether, and to
one sensitive to such vibration the message-impression
is as plain as the ringing of a bell."

Valeska smiled and folded her hands.

"But now what am I to tell my husband?" Mrs.
Burbank exclaimed. "If he knows everything he'll
want to kill Colonel Trevellian !"

"The colonel will take himself out of harm's way,
I'm sure," said Astro. "He has had his warning.
There is only one possible way that I know of plausi-
bly explaining your absence."

Valeska looked up swiftly, as if to anticipate his ex-
planation.

"What can I say?" Mrs. Burbank said doubtfully.

"The truth — a woman's last resort." And Astro fa-
vored her with a rather cynical smile.

MRS. SELWYN'S EMERALD

ASPING at the splendor of the scene, the won-
derful house, the gorgeously-arrayed company,
the terrifying magnificence of the servants in livery,
Valeska grabbed Astro's arm tightly, trembling. He
patted her hand and smiled. A pompous butler bent
his head to hear their names, then bellowed them into
the salon:

"Monsieur Astro and Miss Wynne !"

As they made their way toward their hostess, the
buzz of conversation in the reception-room was for a
moment hushed. Women watched through curious
eyes the distinguished, picturesque figure of the Mas-
ter of Mysteries, whispered to one another, and noted
critically the face and costume of the beautiful girl
who accompanied the lion of the evening. Men
glanced with amused contempt at Astro's oriental
face, and scrutinized Valeska Wynne more indul-
gently. The murmur arose again, and the temporary
stillness that had followed the announcement of Astro's
name gave way to motion, laughter and persiflage.

The room fairly scintillated with lights, reflected
from the cut-glass pendants of the silver electroliers,
smoldering in the dusky gold carvings, twinkling from
the jewels on women's necks and breasts, gleaming
from the polished oak parquetry floor. The large

225

226 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

double salon of the Selwyns was about half filled;
there were not yet too many present to hide the ele-
gance of the highly decorated Louis XIV rooms which
enclosed the brilliant company as in an ornate frame.
The ceiling, frescoed in the panels with nymphs and
cupids, seemed faintly to reflect the life below ; the tall
mirrors multiplied the complexity of mysterious dis-
tances. There was an odor of winter roses which
mingled with the perfumes of dainty women. An or-
chestra sounded languorously from the balcony at the
head of the wide staircase.

"I'm delighted !" Mrs. Selwyn exclaimed effusively,
leaning gracefully forward with a swanlike movement.
She was a deliciously, almost a foolishly pretty crea-
ture, with her bright smile accented by a black beauty-
spot at the corner of her mouth, her slender little
fingers flashing with jewels, her lovely neck and her
fair hair. It was hard to believe her a matron.

Astro, in his masculine way as striking a figure as
she, presented his assistant. Valeska seemed more
human than either. There was little artifice in her ap-
pearance; her costume was girlishly simple. One was
not tempted even for a moment to let his eyes wander
from her earnest pretty face.

"I'm so glad to see you, Miss Wynne !" Mrs. Sel-
wyn scarcely gave her a glance and returned spiritedly
to Astro. "My dear," she said archly, "I had no idea
that I had captured such a lion. People are simply
wild about you! Why, I've made a sensation already
by merely inviting you, I assure you ! Not that I didn't
know you were famous and popular and all that, of
course; but, dear me, it's a positive rage! You have
no idea what stories I've been hearing about you!

MRS. SELWYN'S EMERALD 227

They say you can read one's thoughts and go through
a stone wall, and eat fire, and conjure the dead — and
dear knows what ! I'm actually afraid of you !"

"And I of you also, madam, — in that gown."

She spread her hands demurely down her sides and
looked up at him from under her lashes. She wore a
costume of silken mesh, sheer and delicate, over cloth
of silver, touched daringly with black. The top of her
corsage was caught together by an immense square-cut
emerald, set in small blue diamonds. Mrs. Selwyn was
evidently not beyond being pleased at Astro's compli-
ment ; but her look suggested an unsatisfied desire.

"They're expecting something wonderful," she
hinted.

Astro frowned. "My dear lady — " he began.

She nodded and shook her fan lightly. "Oh, yes,
I know. I shan't ask you, of course. I promised.
But at the same time if something — anything — should
happen, you know, it would be perfectly lovely; and
it would make the thing go, wouldn't it? Oh, and
there's an Italian countess here, whose hand I'm sim-
ply dying to have you read !"

Valeska, smiling amusedly at the hostess' prattle,
was about to turn away, when Mrs. Selwyn caught her
hand eagerly.

"It was so good of you to come on so unconventional
an invitation! We must make you at home. You
shall have positively all the men you want; I have
armies of 'em to-night. And perhaps," here Mrs.
Selwyn became almost coquettish, "you may have
more influence with Astro than poor I. Do talk to
him ! Countess Trixola will be so disappointed if you
don't succeed!"

228 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

A fresh group of guests here interrupted her, and
she turned to welcome them.

Valeska took Astro's arm again, and he led her to
a corner of the room where they could view the assem-
bly.

"I see what's coming," he began hurriedly. 'Til
be at my wits' end to avoid doing parlor tricks to
amuse this crowd, in spite of what Mrs. Selwyn prom-
ished. I shan't have much time to attend to you, my
dear. But, really, you did beautifully. Nobody would
ever imagine that you were born in an East Side tene-
ment. Why, I think you can tell the would-be's and
the bounders as quickly as I can, already. It's all
worth seeing, and I want you to use your eyes. Watch
every little thing as if it were all of the utmost impor-
tance and you were to use every bit of information you
acquired. But don't on any account lose sight of me,
if you can help it, and watch for my signals. Be ready
for anything. It's the accidents of life by which we
profit, and there is no predicting accidents. Give me
the 'up and down' sign if you discover anything par-
ticularly interesting. Well, I'll see that you are intro-
duced. I'm going to be mobbed."
i "Here's the countess, I'll wager," Valeska said.

A tall, ashen-haired, limp and insipid youth was
bearing toward them, escorting a vivacious green-
eyed brunette, with a narrow alert face and eyes
heavily shadowed. Nearer, those dark eyes seemed
a bit hard and glassy; but they were quick. She was
considerably made up ; but her rouge had been applied
cleverly.

Astro had time only to remark out of one corner

MRS. SELWYN'S EMERALD 229

of his mouth, "Look at her right hand !" and then the
countess was fairly bubbling over him.

Valeska gave the hand a glance. It hung, white-
gloved, lightly by her side, the first and second fingers
tentatively outstretched, the third and fourth curled
toward the palm, the thumb projecting.

"You are Astro the Palmist, aren't you?" the
woman asked gaily, tipping her head to one side and
peeping over her fan. "Mrs. Selwyn said I mustn't
bother you ; but I do hope something extraordinary
is going to happen ! We're expecting something quite
miraculous, after all we've heard about your occult
powers !" %

"My dear Countess," said Astro a bit cynically,
"even saints must have holidays. I'm afraid I am out
of miracles to-night."

"But at least you can tell me something about my-
self before you go ?" she insisted.

Astro smiled quizzically. "Surely not in public?"

The pale youth burst into a guffaw.

The countess shook her finger at him airily. "Why,
my life is an open book !" she protested.

"Be careful that it's open at a blank page, then."

The pale youth again bellowed and was struck on
the shoulder by the countess' fan.

"Oh, I hope I'm naughty enough to be nice," she
said demurely.

"Madam," said Astro, with a queer expression, "I
doubt if you could be either naughtier or nicer."

"Now, what d'you mean by that ?" she cried. "Why,
positively I don't know whether it's the best kind
of compliment or the worst kind of insult!"

230 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"I leave it to your conscience — and your vanity,"
said Astro calmly.

She laughed it off and turned to Valeska. "Does
he say such enigmatical things to you, too?" she
asked.

"Oh, he doesn't dare," said Valeska. "He knows
that I'd take them all as compliments."

The group was now joined by others eagerly press-
ing about them to listen to the dialogue. The fame of
the Master of Mysteries had grown wonderfully with
the reports of his recent exploits and his reputation
as a palmist was almost eclipsed by his fame as a seer
and solver of inexplicable problems. The distinction
of his appearance and the charm of his manner gave
him a personal influence as well, and on this first
appearance in society in the role of guest he was, as
Mrs. Selwyn had said, an immense success.

Valeska's reception was as flattering. She had
passed the ordeal of introduction cleverly. The men
flocked to this pretty blond girl with the blue eyes, as
to a popular heiress. Unused as she had been to fash-
ionable life, her native wit and confidence, combined
with Astro's own support, carried her through with
colors flying. The affair soon resolved itself into a
rivalry among the women for Astro's whimsical notice,
and among the men for Valeska's flashing sallies.

To all hinted requests for character readings, the
palmist offered polished and affable excuses. He
seemed as much at home in this smart company as in
his own picturesque studio. Women gathered about
him, fascinated by his romantic personality, and rather
pleasantly afraid of his powers as an occultist. Mrs.
Selwyn persistently showed him off; but, anxious as

I hope I'm naughty enough to be nice," she said demurely.

MRS. SELWYN'S EMERALD 231

she evidently was to make her reception a success,
kept to the letter of her promise, and did not ask him
to perform any tricks for the company.

The salon filled. The talk became gayer. Astro
had no time now to speak confidentially to Valeska;
but from time to time he sent her a look, a motion of
head or hand, which directed her attention to one or
another of the party. The quick-witted girl watched
him everywhere he went, and followed his cues on the
instant. Long practise had made it easy for her to
communicate with him thus; but this was the first
public test of her facility. She played their game with
a new zest, her bright eyes and high color alone be-
traying her excitement.

At last supper was announced, and as the company
paired off and began to leave for the great dining-
room, Astro succeeded in eluding his worshipers and
captured Valeska for a few hasty words.

"There's something in the air," he said under his
breath. "Can't you feel it? I don't know just what
it is, but there is something sinister impending. Don't
laugh. This is not mere professional jargon. You
know I'm sensitive to this sort of thing. I never felt
it more strongly."

"I have felt so too, but I thought it was a mere
fancy."

"Cultivate those fancies, my dear; they're the in-
choate beginnings of intuitions. Nothing comes by
chance. There's a reason for every whim we have,
and you must learn to trace it."

"I don't like that green-eyed woman. I wonder if
she is really a countess ?"

232 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

He smiled in amiable derision. "Are you?"

Valeska's eyes dilated. "Who is she?"

"That I don't know. I've tried her with all sorts of
traps ; but she is too clever."

"Oh, she's bad, I know that ; but she fascinates me."

"She came alone, in a hired cab, Mrs. Selwyn told
me. They got acquainted through mutual friends in
Florence. That's all I know, except — "

He had lowered his voice to a whisper, and was
leaning toward Valeska to continue, when the woman
in question appeared at the door of the dining-room,
cast a sharp glance up the hall, and espied them.

"Aren't you coming in, Monsieur?" She smiled be-
witchingly.

"In a moment, Countess."

"I want to know if you're magician enough to tell
me what Mrs. Selwyn's punch is made of. It's the
most mysterious thing I ever saw."

"If it's as mysterious as you are, my dear Countess,
I'll have to admit I can't fathom it."

She dropped a courtesy, tipping her head roguishly
to one side, and withdrew. Astro's eyes followed her.
He was much amused.

"Looking for some one," Valeska suggested lacon-
ically.

Astro nodded. "Oh — did you see that chap with a
pompadour and a curled blond mustache?"

"Yes. One eye was bigger than the other, — the
right one."

"Watchmaker. Comes from screwing up his right
eye in his lens and using it so much. Or possibly —
by Jove! a diamond cutter! Queer, isn't it?"

"Decidedly. But they seem to be sure enough of

MRS. SELWYN'S EMERALD 233

their position here. They're as well received as the
other guests."

"There's something awry. I wish I could get it.
It's all there in my brain, but I haven't time to think
it out, now and here. Never mind. Only wait, and be
ready! Come, we'll go in. I'll talk to you later.
Here's Mrs. Selwyn now."

Their hostess sailed past on a young man's arm, and,
holding out a hand, carried Astro in with her to a seat
at the end of the room. Valeska was promptly annexed
by Selwyn, a short, puffy little man with mutton-chop
whiskers and a fat stomach. He had the air of not
being at all at home in his own house. Nobody could
seem so harmless and timid as this chubby round-
faced host. He might have been an awkward serv-
ant, in his endeavors to efface himself. Seeing Valeska
left alone, he offered his arm in a sudden access of
courage. She was not like the others, and apparently
he was not afraid of her.

"Infernal humbug, all this sort of thing !" he grum-
bled.

"Why, what do you mean?" she answered, a little
surprised.

"Having this fool palm-reader here, and all that.
Bosh!"

Valeska could scarcely repress a titter. But Selwyn
was evidently quite serious about it. Seeing that he
had no idea who she was, she humored him.

"It is nonsense, of course," she said gravely; "but
I think that Mr. Astro is quite modest about it, don't
you?"

"Oh, he's all right, — he has to make a living, I sup-
pose,— but the women make such fools of themselves

234 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

about him. I might as well give a monkey dinner and
be done with it!"

Muttering thus, in an inconsequent, petulant way,
he led her into the dining-room, where she was im-
mediately surrounded by^men who offered her chairs,
plates and refreshments. Selwyn, more than ever
disgruntled, retired to the wall, against which he flat-
tened himself, and gloomily regarded the crowd.
Valeska, besieged as she was, threw him a smile and
a remark occasionally, pitying his discomfort and his
timidity.

Meanwhile, her eyes were busy in the room. Once
she caught sight of the green-eyed countess talking
with the pompadoured man, and she noted a certain
surreptitious haste in their encounter. Was it furtive,
suggestive, or did she merely fancy it? From them,
her glance wandered to the group of which Astro,
with Mrs. Selwyn, was the center. The countess
joined it, sparkling, vivid, keen. A heavy soggy dow-
ager in black silk, with an astoundingly low-cut dress,
plump round neck and innumerable curls in her
gray hair, was absorbed in Astro's conversation.
A debutante, as fresh as a lily, ingenuous, eager,
bright-eyed with curiosity, leaned over his shoulder,
holding out her hand for him to read. Valeska heard
little gushes of laughter whenever he spoke. She had
never before seen him in such a company, and it
amazed her to see how he dominated it, how his mag-
netism radiated and drew one after another into his
circle of influence.

So it went on for half an hour, until the party began

MRS. SELWYN'S EMERALD 235

gradually to leave the room, drifting out in twos and
threes, all more or less stimulated by the supper and
the champagne to an increasing good fellowship. All,
that is, excepting poor Selwyn, who seemed to shrink
smaller and smaller. He hardly spoke to anybody,
except to apologize to some woman for stepping on
her train, or to call a waiter to pass cigars or wine.
His round eyes winked continually, and his lips moved
as if he were talking to himself. When Valeska
looked at him with an arch smile, he beamed like a
child upon her for an instant, and the next all the light
went out of his face.

She met Astro in the hall, passed him, and caught
a sign. It was the "up and down" signal this time,
denoting whom she was to observe, — a glance up to
the ceiling, and down to his feet. His hand touched
his hair with a little flourish. The man with the
pompadour! She had it as plain as words could
tell it.

She drifted away and sought the man with the
pompadour. He was nowhere to be seen. The party
was now humming with talk and laughter, and the
double salon was crowded. The orchestra swept into
a Hungarian rhapsody which seemed to waft a wave
of abandon into the room. The men who followed her
flirted persistently; it was all she could do now to
parry their jests and at the same time keep track of
what was going on about her. Astro was standing
near the center of the room in a group of wonderfully
dressed and dangerously pretty women, each perfect,
finished, poised, yet animated and merry. Their little
aigrets nodded as they talked and laughed. Selwyn,

236 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

his hands in his pockets, moodily effaced himself be-
hind the piano in the corner. Every time he saw
Valeska, he beamed.

As she stood near the great hall doors, new men
were continually brought up to her to be introduced,
each with a new compliment or a flippant remark or a
joke, each showing a friendly rivalry with the others.
Valeska enjoyed it all excitedly. She could hear a
nervous pitch in her voice, as she shot her frivolous
retorts ; but the newness of it all stimulated her. For
the moment she lost sight of the pompadoured man.
She was gazing across the room to where Mrs. Selwyn
stood, when —

Suddenly the lights in the two electric chandeliers
went out. The room for an instant seemed as black
as night. Several women cried out in fright, and then
a light chorus of laughter rippled round the room
hysterically. In the instantaneous cessation of talk,
a shuffling of feet was for a moment all that was heard.

The picture in Valeska's view remained for a mo-
ment in her eyes as clear as a photograph against the
darkness; Mrs. Selwyn, merry, jubilant, talking to a
fat old man; behind her the dowager, the debutante,
the pale youth, all talking together ; and a little aloof,
the countess, with a strange expression, and her fan
pressed to her lips, looking in Valeska's direction — as
if she were giving a sign ! Then the picture faded ; a
babble of voices arose. Mounting over them all, ris-
ing to a scream, came Mrs. Selwyn's excited cry:

"Oh! Stop! Help! I'm robbed!"

Valeska at the same moment felt a man rush swiftly

MRS. SELWYN'S EMERALD 237

past her, and there was a sharp twitch at the side of
her waist.

Then another voice came like a bark, swift, stern,
mandatory, abrupt, angry. "Light up, there, imme-
diately ! The switch is at the side of the door. Don't
any one dare to move till we have a light !"

At last, after a frightened half-minute, full of whis-
pers and shocked expletives, the lights sprang up
again, and showed a room full of shocked agonized
faces. Every one looked at his neighbor with startled
eyes. A louder buzzing of talk arose, only to cease
suddenly again as Selwyn, pushing his way into the
middle of the room, took command of the situation,
like a general.

"Nobody shall move a step here until we find out
what's the matter! My wife has lost her brooch, the
Selwyn emerald. You all know it. I insist that every
one keep his place until it is found !"

What had awakened to the little man ? At the crisis
he had changed from a bashful boy into a wilful as-
sertive man, dominating the room with his resolution.
The talk swept excitedly about the place now; each
questioned his neighbor, or stared spellbound. Mean-
while Selwyn had walked to the folding doors and
rolled them shut with a bang. Then, red-faced, with
a fierce scowl, he strode back to his wife :

"Now, who was near you, Betty?"

"Oh, I don't remember exactly," she answered hys-
terically. "All I know is that when the lights went
out some one came up to me and I felt a snatch at my
corsage — see where the lace is torn ! Somebody stole
it. It's preposterous !"

"Search everybody !" somebody called out

238 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"No, no !" cried others.

"See if it hasn't dropped on the floor!"

For a moment every one spoke at once, and the con-
fusion was maddening. Then suddenly clapping his
hands for silence, and speaking as sharply as an officer
commanding his soldiers, Astro's voice rose over the
tumult. He had sprung upon a chair, and his fine
head appeared above the throng.

"Mr. Selwyn, let me find the brooch ! There will be
no trouble, no unpleasantness for any one. Let every
one keep his place until I've finished, and I'll promise
to discover the emerald."

A clapping of hands all over the room responded to
his speech. Instantly the mood of the company re-
laxed from its nervous strain of uncomfortable embar-
rassment and suspicion to an amused interest.

But Selwyn shook his head savagely. "No, indeed !
None of your parlor tricks, thank you! I will send
for the police immediately. Meanwhile, every one in
this room is my prisoner. Those who object must nec-
essarily be regarded with suspicion."

"Oh, George !" Mrs. Selwyn pleaded, "do let Astro
try it ! I'm sure he'll be able to do it. He's so clever,
and he has done such marvelous things!"

"Yes, yes ! Let him try it !" came from every one.

Selwyn hesitated, looking half-contemptuously at the
palmist. "How do you propose to find it?" he asked
finally.

Astro put his hand to his head and drew his brows
together. "I already feel an influence disturbing this
gathering," he said. "I shall be drawn inevitably to-
ward the person who committed the theft, as if by a

MRS. SELWYN'S EMERALD 239

magnet. Or at least I shall be drawn to the emerald,"
he added.

"Bosh !" Selwyn exclaimed. "That's all poppycock !
What I want is a good detective and a police officer or
two to search every man and woman in the room."

At this there came an indignant chorus of protest;
the guests stirred uneasily.

"Mr. Selwyn, do you believe in the X-ray?" Astro
asked.

The little man grunted, "Yes, I do; but this is no
time for a lecture !"

"One moment, please, however! Nobody knows
in just what part of the spectrum the X-rays lie, except
that they are beyond the ultraviolet. They are visible
only with the fluoroscope. Nobody knows just where
the so-called actinic rays lie, either. They are invisible
also ; but they react upon a plate sensitized with nitrate
of silver. Where are the N-rays, which emanate from
the human body ? Nobody knows ; but I tell you, Mr.
Selwyn, that they are registered in the gray matter of
my brain. I am sensitive to them, as no one else has
been, consciously, for centuries. And it is that sensi-
tiveness that I propose to utilize. No thought can
exist without modifying the molecular structure of the
brain cells in the thinker. That change acts upon
the ether, and is transmitted in vibratory form. Is it
not possible that those ether waves can react upon the
molecules in my brain and set up a corresponding
change to that made by the original thought? Mr.
Selwyn, I'll prove it!"

Astro's voice had risen to a strident tone, compelling
and incisive. Every one looked at him eagerly. There

24o THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

was a hush. Then a volley of exclamations broke out
like a storm, and Selwyn's last objections were swept
away.

At last the host, overborne, and himself piqued with
curiosity, gave a gesture of acquiescence. Astro
stepped down from his chair, with a fixed look in his
eyes, and gazed eagerly to right and left. He paused
one moment, standing with his hand to his forehead,
his little finger pointed upward. Valeska saw and
read the signal:

"Follow the person I point out !"

He then walked up to the dowager with whom he
had been at supper-time. "Will you kindly take off
your left glove, Mrs. Postlethwaite ?" he asked.

"The idea!" she ejaculated. "Why, what do you
mean? Do you dare insinuate that I took Mrs. Sel-
wyn's brooch?"

Her eyes were wide open as a doll's, and her anger
was ludicrous to the company who watched her. For
the first time since the lights went out, there was a
hearty laugh all over the salon.

"Silence!" Astro commanded harshly. He turned
to the gaping matron. "Madam, you must do what I
ask, and do it quickly, so as not to delay the recovery !
If you are innocent you have nothing to fear. If you
hesitate, we can't, of course, be blamed for suspecting
you."

She stared at him indignantly, muttering to herself,
but tugged at her glove nevertheless. He took her
bared hand and inspected the palm. Then he took her
right hand, gloved as it was, and inspected that.

He left her as suddenly as he had come, however,
with no comment whatever, and darted to the young

MRS. SELWYN'S EMERALD 241

debutante who had also been of his group in the din-
ing-room.

"Quick, Miss Preston!" he said. "Take off your
left-hand glove!"

Miss Preston was young enough and thoughtless
enough to take the situation lightly, and obeyed him
with a smile. He gave her palm a glance, then turned
her hand and looked at the back. Then he left her
for the pale wan youth. His glove, too, came off his
left hand, and his right gloved hand was examined.
The man with the pompadour came next, and the same
pantomine was enacted. Astro's eyes stayed for a sec-
ond or two on the man's left coat sleeve; then he
passed on.

So he went from one to another, now to a woman,
now to a man, until he came to the Countess Trixola.
Her eyes had never left him ; her hand remained on
her breast, as if to hide the beating of her heart. Her
eyes were hard and cold but the pupils were dilated.
Her upper lip quivered a little.

"Will you kindly remove your glove, Countess ? No,
your right, if you please. Yes, thank you. Now your
left hand, just as it is. Thank you."

He turned swiftly to the next beside her, but before
he had examined the hand he had bitten the knuckle
of his forefinger, as if in abstraction.

This Valeska noticed, and from that moment regard-
less of what he was doing, she kept her eyes on the
countess. The woman had turned to a companion, and
was evidently voicing some sarcastic comment on
Astro's methods. As she spoke, she moved insensibly
away, and backed toward another group nearer the
wall by the windows. The company had now begun to

242 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

move a little, and her progress was so clever as to be
unnoticeable to one who did not specially follow her
movements. She passed a few feet nearer the window.

Astro went on steadily, from one person to another,
examining palms. In another moment, however, he
had stopped dramatically, put both his hands to his
forehead, staggered and dropped to the floor. A
woman screamed. Two or three men ran up to sup-
port him in their arms. A physician elbowed his way
through the crowd.

At that moment, while every one was staring at
the group that surrounded the Master of Mysteries,
Valeska saw the countess move quickly toward the
window. There, for a moment, she stood facing the
assembly, looking sharply about, her hands behind her
back. An instant more, and she had left again and
joined the man with the pompadour. She drew him
aside and spoke to him. He nodded, looked behind
him, and moved away.

Some one was calling for water. A man laid his
hand to the door to open it, when Selwyn's voice
barked out again. He assumed command again.

"No one leaves this room ! This man is not seriously
hurt ; he hasn't even fainted. It's all a trick to cover
his failure. We'll end this nonsense right now, and
have in the police !"

Valeska hurried up to the group, pressed in between
the bystanders, and knelt beside Astro. "Stand back,
please!" she exclaimed. "I know how to attend to
him. He has gone into a psychic trance, that's all.
The strain was too much for him. He'll be all right in
a moment, and will go on with his search."
i She took his hand, and, unseen by the company,

MRS. SELWYN'S EMERALD 243

pressed it four times. Astro's eyes opened. He sat
up; rose to his feet slowly; trembled; looked about;
took a step forward, tentatively. Valeska still held his
hand.

"Silence, everybody!" she called out, and held up
her right hand with a warning gesture.

Every eye turned to the two, and every tongue was
silent, as Astro moved, at first uncertainly, and then
with increasing confidence, directly across the room.
He stopped before a tall cloisonne vase standing in
front of the window, looked at it for a moment stu-
pidly, then lifted it and turned it upside down. Out
dropped the Selwyn emerald.

A hurricane of applause burst from the company,
hands clapped, and men cried "Bravo !" Mrs. Selwyn
rushed forward.

Astro handed her the brooch. She gave one look at
it, clasped it to her breast, and then took the palmist's
hands with both hers.

"Wonderful!" she exclaimed. "It's perfectly mar-
vel—"

Then her eyes caught a whimsical look in his, saw
his cryptic smile, and her face changed. First it grew
suddenly blank, then a delighted expression flooded it.

"Why — why, it was a trick ! wasn't it ? How clever !
Oh, it was worth the fright, really! It was the best
thing I've ever seen done! I never suspected it for
a minute! Oh, thank you so much! I knew you
wouldn't be mean enough to refuse altogether. I
knew you'd be nice and amuse us some way. But my !
you are a wizard, aren't you ?"

Selwyn strode forward. "Do you mean to say* you
cooked this whole thing up, sir? Well, you certainly

244 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

fooled me, by Jove! Ha, ha! You got us all going,
didn't you? Think of that! But you pretty nearly
caused a big scandal, I tell you!" He turned to a
neighbor and began to talk vociferously about it.

The crowd swarmed about Astro now, each eager
to congratulate and to praise. Every one gesticulated,
almost screamed at one another, laughing, asking
questions without number. Dozens of people, their
conventional reserve broken down by the strain of the
last few minutes, shook Astro by the hand.

The countess came up, also, to flatter him on his
success.

"But you didn't tell me my character after all," she
complained playfully.

The glance Astro gave her was cold and sharp.
"Madam," he replied, "your character will hardly
stand another such test. If you will call at my studio
to-morrow, I will give you some advice. When do
you expect to return to Italy ?"

She gave him a long stare, grew a little pale, but
shrugged her shoulders. "Are you in a hurry for me
to return, Monsieur?"

"I predict a great misfortune for you, if you remain
here for more than a week."

"Thank you very much for your advice, then. You
are too kind ! Yes, I think I shall be bored to death
in this town. I shall go. Au revoir, Monsieur! I
should like to know you better. We would make fine
playmates !"

She smiled, and, as if reluctantly, removed her eyes,
and left him.

Mrs. Selwyn drew him aside with eager eyes. "Of
course, I know I'm a pig," she said, "but really, Astro,

MRS. SELWYN'S EMERALD 245

couldn't you get that diamond off the countess' hand
and hide it somewhere? It would be such fun, you
know! Do be nice and do just one more! They'll
talk about my reception forever if you do !"

Astro laughed. "That's one thing I'm afraid I
can't do. You see, the countess isn't quite so innocent
as you are, Mrs. Selwyn."

"It was a pretty big chance you were taking, seems
to me," said Valeska, as Astro drove her home. "Of
course she grabbed the stone so tightly that it printed
the marks of the facets on her white glove ; that part
of it was easy. But how could you be sure? You
didn't look at half the people's hands."

"You noticed the way she held her ringers when I
spoke to you, didn't you? I didn't have time, then, to
explain. But I knew by that that she was or had been
a pickpocket. The professional dip works with his
first two fingers, and almost always carries his hand
with them extended, and the other two fingers curled
up out of the way."

"But why did you look at her left glove, instead of
the right, as you did all the others?"

"I had noticed at supper time that she was left-
handed. When I took my long chance, my dear, was
when I trusted to you to find out what she did with
the brooch. I confess that when I dropped on the
floor and waited for your signal, I was rather anxious.
It was up to you, then, to make me or break me. But
I was sure I could trust you, and you did beautifully."

Valeska herself had been more anxious during that
few minutes than she confessed. There was, however,

246 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

one more thing to be straightened out in her mind.

"What I don't understand is who put out the lights,"
she remarked. "I forgot to tell you that I was stand-
ing near the wall where the electric switch was, and
immediately the lights went out some one brushed
past me roughly, and something twitched at my waist.
I wonder who it was?"

Astro cast a look down at her side and smiled. "Oh,
that settles something that bothered me," he said mus-
ingly. "Clever little buckles on your corsage, my
dear! I wondered how that pompadoured chap hap-
pened to have his left coat sleeve cut in such a queer
way, but I was too busy to think it out. I wish now
I had given both of them over to the police. I expect
he's a diamond cutter, fast enough ! Mrs. Selwyn is
lucky that six or seven different persons won't be
wearing pieces of her emerald next year, Valeska."

THE ASSASSINS' CLUB

VERY time I see a gargoyle/' said Astro, "I feel
a thrill of secret kinship. It's as if I were the
only one who understood its mystery. If I were roman-
tic, I would say that in a previous incarnation I had
lived in the dark ages. What do you think about gar-
goyles, Valeska?"

Astro looked up from a book of Viollet-le-Duc's
architectural drawings and glanced across to the
pretty blond head. His assistant, busy with her card
catalogue, where she kept memoranda of the Seer's
famous cases, made a delightful picture against the dull
crimson hangings of the wall.

She came over to him and looked down across his
shoulder at the pictures of the grotesque stone mon-
sters. "Why," she said, "I've seen those horrible
cynical old ones on Notre Dame in Paris, that gaze
down on the city roofs. I've always wondered why
they placed them on beautiful churches."

"It's a deep question," said Astro, his eyes still on
the engraving. "But to my mind they symbolize the
ancient cult of Wonder. In the Middle Ages men
really wondered ; they didn't anticipate flying-machines
years before they were invented, as we moderns do.
They took nothing for granted. Everything in life
was a miracle."

Valeska dropped quietly into a seat to listen. Astro
247

248 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

had many moods. Sometimes he was the dreamy oc-
cult Seer, cryptic, mysterious; again he was the alert
man of affairs, keen, logical, worldly. She had seen
him, too, in society, affable, bland, jocose. But in this
introspective, whimsical, analytic mood she got nearest
him and learned something of the true import of his
life.

He went on, his eyes half-closed, his red silken robe
enveloping him like a shroud, the diamond in his turban
glittering as he moved his head. His olive-skinned,
picturesque face with its dark eyes was serene and
quiet now. A little blue-tailed lizard, one of Astro's
many exotic fancies, frisked across the table. He
caught it and held it as he talked.

"In the thirteenth century clergy and laity alike
believed that the forces of good and evil were almost
equally balanced. They worshiped the Almighty, but
propitiated Satan as well; so these grotesque beasts
leered down from the cornices of the house of God,
and watched the holy offices of priests. The devil had
his own litany, his own science. They were forbidden
practises, but they flourished then among the most in-
tellectual people as they flourish now among the most
ignorant. Magic was then a science, now it is a fake.
Still, a man's chief desire is to get something for noth-
ing,— to find a short cut to wisdom. The "gargoyle is
replaced by the dollar mark. So be it! One must
earn one's living. Selah! I have spoken!"

He looked up with a smile and a boyish twinkle
in his eyes. Then his businesslike, cynical self re-
turned. He jumped up, tall and eager, a pictur-
esque oriental figure informed with the stirring life of
the West.

THE ASSASSINS' CLUB 249

"Valeska, I've been reading about the Devil-wor-
shipers of Paris, — the black mass, infant sacrifices, and
all that. That's an anachronistic cult. I'd like to
know if there really is any genuine survival of the
worship of Evil?"

Valeska shuddered. "Oh, that would be horrible !"

"But interesting." He clasped his hands behind him
and gazed up at the silver-starred ceiling. "I don't
mean degeneracy or insanity, but a man that does evil
for the love of it, as they did in the old days. Think,
for instance, of the lost art of torture — the science of
human suffering — "

"Oh, don't! I hate to have you talk like that!"
Valeska put a hand on his arm.

"Very well, I won't." He snapped his fingers as if
to rid himself of the thought, and walked into the
reception-room adjoining the great studio.

Valeska went back to her work. For some minutes
she arranged her cards in their tin box ; then, hearing
voices outside, she looked up and listened. Then she
walked softly across the heavy rugs and, touching a
button in the mahogany wainscoting, passed through
a secret door.

Scarcely had she disappeared wHen Astro returned,
ushering in a young woman stylishly dressed in brown.
When she put aside her veil her face shone out like
a portrait, vivid, instinct with grace and a delicate,
rare, high-bred beauty, full of character and force.
Astro showed her a seat under the electric lamp.

"I thought you would help me if any one could,"
she was saying, in continuation of her conversation in
the reception-room. "If it were anything less vague,

250 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

I'd speak to mother about it; but it's too strange and
elusive. I'm sure he has not been drinking; I would
notice that in other ways. And yet he is different, he
is not himself. It frightens me."

"Have you spoken to him about it ?" Astro asked.

"Yes ; but he won't say anything. He evades it, and
says he's all right. But I don't dare to marry him till
I know what it is that has changed him. I know it
seems disloyal to suspect him, but how can I help it?"

"What is Mr. Cameron's business?"

"He's a naval lieutenant, in the construction depart-
ment at the Brooklyn navy yard. And that is another
reason why I'm worried. He has charge of work that
is important and secret. If this change — whatever it is
— should affect his work, he'd be disgraced ; he might
even be dishonorably discharged."

"When have you noticed this peculiarity of his ? At
any particular time?"

"Usually on Sundays, when he almost always comes
to call ; but sometimes in the middle of the week. At
times he talks queerly, almost as if in his sleep, of
colors and queer landscapes that have nothing to do
with what we are discussing. Sometimes he doesn't
even finish his sentences and goes off into a sort of
daze for a minute; and then he'll ask my pardon and
go on as if nothing had happened."

"And when shall you see him next?"

"He will probably come Saturday afternoon. Us-
ually he stays to dinner, but of late he has been having
engagements that prevent."

"All right," said the Seer; "I'll see what I can do.
Knowing that he is at your house, I shall be able to
orient myself and thereby be more receptive to his

THE ASSASSINS' CLUB 251

astral influence. I shall then be able to ascertain
the cause of any psychic disturbance."

The young woman, rising to go, looked at him plain-
tively. "Oh, I hope I haven't done wrong in telling
you about it ! But I do love him so I can't bear to see
him so changed !"

"My dear Miss Mannering," said Astro kindly, "you
need have no fear, I assure you. Your business shall
be kept absolutely confidential. With the exception of
my assistant, no one shall ever know that you came
here."

"Your assistant?" She looked at him doubtfully.

"Miss Wynne."

She seemed surprised. "A lady?" she asked; then,
timidly, "Might I see her?"

"Certainly." Astro touched a bell.

In a moment Valeska appeared between the velvet
portieres, and waited there, her piquant sensitive face
questioning his wish, her golden hair brightly illumi-
nated from behind.

Miss Mannering walked to her impulsively and took
her hand. "Might I speak to you for a moment?" she
asked.

Valeska, giving Astro a glance, led the visitor into
the reception-room.

"I had no idea that Astro had a lady assistant," she
said. "I feel much better about having told him,
now."

Valeska smiled at her and held the hand in both
hers. "Oh, I only do some of his routine work," she
said ; "but he often discusses his important cases with
me. I'm sure that he can help you. He is wonderful,
I never knew him to fail,"

252 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"Miss Wynne," said the visitor, "no one but a
woman can understand how distressed I am. I'm sure
I can trust you; I can read that in your face. I am
always sure of my intuitions. And, now that I have
seen you, I'm going to tell you something that I didn't
quite dare to tell Astro. I know my fiance is in some
trouble. But what I'm afraid of is too dreadful; it
terrifies me ! Here ! look at this ! It dropped out of
Mr. Cameron's pocket the last time he called, and I
found it after he had gone."

She handed an envelope to Valeska, who looked at
it carefully and drew out a single sheet of paper. On
this was written in green ink :

"Be at the Assassins' Saturday at seven. Has-
kell's turn."

"What can that mean ?" Miss Mannering whispered.
"I didn't dare to show it for fear of getting Bob into
trouble in some way. That word 'Assassins' — Oh, it's
awful !"

"May I take this letter?" Valeska asked.

"No, I daren't leave it. Mr. Cameron may miss it
and ask for it. But you may tell Astro, if you think
best."

Valeska gave another glance at the letter and
handed it back. "My dear Miss Mannering, don't
worry about it," she said, pressing her hand. "It may
not be so bad as you fear. Whatever it is, Astro will
find it out, you may be sure."

When the visitor had departed, Valeska walked into
the studio with the news. Astro listened in silence

THE ASSASSINS' CLUB 253

till she had finished ; then he smiled, nodded, and took
up his water-pipe lazily.

"The solution of this thing is so simple that I'm sur-
prised it hasn't occurred to you, my dear. But that's
because of your lack of experience and the fact that
you haven't read so much as I have. But, all the same,
there may be something deeper in it than appears now.
At any rate the girl is to be helped, and the lieutenant
as well; and that we shall do."

"But what about the 'Assassins'?" Valeska inquired
anxiously.

"Oh, that's the whole thing, of course. But I think
I'll let you study that out yourself. It will be good
practise for your reasoning powers. First, let's see
if your powers of observation have improved. Tell me
all about the letter." He blew out a series of smoke
rings and regarded her quizzically.

"Well," Valeska puckered her brows, "it was writ-
ten on buff-laid linen paper of about ninety pounds
weight — very heavy stock, anyway — in an envelope of
the same, postmarked Madison Square station, April
nineteenth, four P. M. The handwriting was that of a
stout middle-aged man, who had just had some serious
illness, — a foreigner, hard-working, unscrupulous, dis-
honest, with no artistic sensibility."

"Bravo! Is that all?"

"No, the stationery came from Perkins & Shaw's.
I saw the stamping under the flap."

"Very good. Unfortunately we can't ask there
about the Assassins. But perhaps we'll find my ideal
criminal after all. The easiest plan will be to follow
Cameron to-morrow night. Meanwhile, you had bet-
ter do some thinking yourself."

254 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

Valeska sat down and gazed long into trie great
open fire, her brows frowning, her hands working
mechanically, absorbed in thought. Astro took a small
folding chess-board and gracefully amused himself
with an intricate problem in the logistics of the game.
When at last he had queened his white pawn accord-
ing to his theory, he looked over at his assistant and
smiled to see her seriousness. In that look something
seemed to pass from him to her.

"Oh!" she cried, jumping up, "does it begin with
anH?"

"More properly with a C," he replied.

She shook her head and went at the problem again,
and kept at it until it was time to close the studio.

The next afternoon Astro and Valeska waited for
two hours across Seventy-eighth Street from Miss
Mannering's house before they saw the lieutenant
emerge. They had already a good description of him,
and had no trouble in recognizing the tall good-look-
ing fellow who at half past six o'clock walked briskly
up the street, ran down the stairs to the subway, and
took a seat in a down-town local train. Astro and
Valeska separated and took seats on the opposite side
of the car, watching their man guardedly. At Twenty-
third Street he got out, went up to the sidewalk, and
walked eastward.

Beyond Fourth Avenue was a row of three-story,
old-fashioned, brick houses, back from the street. The
lieutenant entered the small iron gate to one of the
yards and, taking a key from his pocket, went in the
front door of a house. It slammed behind him.

THE ASSASSINS' CLUB 255

"The headquarters of the Assassins," said Astro
calmly, his hands in his overcoat pockets, studying the
windows.

"And what next?" asked Valeska.

"We'll wait a while. Come into this next doorway."

On the side of the doorway they now entered was a
sign, "Furnished Rooms." It was now after seven
o'clock, and had begun to snow. Valeska stood inside
the vestibule protected from the weather ; Astro waited
just outside watching the doorway of number 109. The
Twenty-third Street cars clanged noisily by, the din
of the traffic muffled by the carpet of snow. The open
mouth of the subway sucked in an unsteady stream
of wayfarers.

Suddenly Valeska put her hand on Astro's arm.
"Does it begin with 'C-o'?" she asked.

He smiled. "No, 'C-a,' " he answered.

"Oh, dear, I thought I had it ! But don't tell me !
I'm sure I'll work it out, though. But it makes me
anxious. Anything might happen on a night like
this!"

"Yes, even an assasination."

"You don't fear that, really?" She looked at him in
alarm.

"But I do, — assassination of a sort. What else could
the letter mean?"

She had not time to answer before the door of the
next house opened, and a man buttoned up in a fur-
trimmed overcoat came out. He stopped a moment
to raise an umbrella, and they could see that he was a
stout pasty-faced German of some fifty years, with a
curling yellow mustache. He wore spectacles and
seemed to be near-sighted.

256 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"There's the man who wrote the letter ! Follow him,
Valeska! Find out who he is and all that's possible!
We must follow every lead."

Valeska was off on the instant, running down the
steps and walking swiftly up Twenty-third Street.

Astro lighted a cigar, turned up his collar and waited
another half-hour in the doorway. Nobody having en-
tered or left number 109 by that time, he rang the bell
of number in. A Swedish maid came to the door.

"I'd like to see what rooms you have," said Astro.

"The only one is on the third floor rear," she re-
plied, and showed him up two flights of unlighted
stairs, steep and narrow, to a small square room,
meagerly furnished. Walking to the window, Astro
saw that, level with the floor, was a tin-covered roof
over an extension in the rear. It stretched along the
whole width of the four houses in the row. On this
he might easily stand and look into the adjoining
windows. Saying that he would move in later, Astro
paid the girl for a week's rent in advance, and left the
house and walked home.

Valeska next morning came full of news. "The
German kept right along Twenty-third Street toward
Broadway," she said, "and it occurred to me that I
might get him to make the first advances, and get ac-
quainted without being suspected. So I passed him,
and very gracefully slipped on the snow and dropped
my purse. Then I began looking about on the sidewalk
for the money that might have dropped out. My Ger-
man friend came along and offered to help me. It took
some time, and the long and short of it was that we

THE ASSASSINS' CLUB 257

had quite a conversation, and I convinced him that I
was respectable. He walked along with me and asked
me where I was going. I said that I had intended go-
ing to the Hippodrome with a friend; but that I had
been detained, and it was so late I thought I'd go
home. He proposed having something to eat, and of
course I refused. I had to be urged and urged; but
the more I refused, the more anxious he was to have
me come. Finally, I reluctantly assented to his invita-
tion, and we went to the Cafe Riche.

"Well, you ought to have seen that German eat, —
I mean you ought to have heard him eat ! I couldn't
eat anything myself; but sipped the wine he ordered
and coyly led him on, chattering away about myself
ingenuously. I had an engagement with Richard
Mansfield and a three years' contract at one hundred
dollars a week when he died, and was awfully anxious
to get another chance. All the money I had was tied
up in one of the trust companies, and so on. He kept
on eating, taking the biggest mouthfuls I ever saw and
leaving half of it on his mustache. Oh, I put in some
hard work, I assure you !

"Then he began asking me questions, and wanted
to know if I would like to earn some money on the
side. Would I? I jumped at it! — five thousand actor
folk out of a job this season, you know, and all that.
He said I reminded him of his dead daughter — you
know I'm always reminding people of somebody —
and he thought he could trust me. I cast down my eyes
and let him go on.

"He said there was a man he knew who had stolen
some confidential papers, and he wanted to get them
away from him without publicity. He needed a good

258 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

clever woman to help him out on the job. I bright-
ened up considerably. He asked me to go home with
him so that he could give me a photograph to identify
my victim. I said I would; although I confess I was
^getting nervous, not being quite sure what he was up
to. He had begun paying me compliments, and when a
German begins to get sentimental — well, you know !

"I took the subway with him, and we went up to
One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Street. There was a
big apartment hotel there, called the Dahlia, — one of
those marble-hailed affairs that look as if they were
built of a dozen different kinds of fancy soap, with a
red carpet and awfully funny oil-paintings and negro
hall boys sitting in Renaissance armchairs. I refused
to go up-stairs. Well, after a while he came down the
elevator and handed me this photograph. What do
you think?"

She handed Astro a cabinet photograph. He lifted
his fine brows when he looked at it.

"Lieutenant Cameron !"

Valeska nodded. "I'm to scrape up an acquaintance
with him, get his confidence, and then report to Herr
Beimer for final instructions. I wonder what poor lit-
tle Miss Mannering would say?"

She took off her sables, her saucy fur toque, and
touched up her hair at the great carved mirror at one
end of the studio.

Astro sat regarding the portrait in his hand. He
looked up to ask, "Did you find out what his business
was?"

She whirled round to him. "Oh, I forgot! He's
the agent for a big German firm, connected with the
Krupps' steel plant. They control the rights to a new

THE ASSASSINS' CLUB 259

magazine pistol. I was awfully interested in machin-
ery, you know. It bored me to death ; but I listened
half an hour to his description of a new ammunition
hoist for battleships."

Astro was suddenly electrified with energy. "Ah !"
he exclaimed. "You didn't remember that the
Krupps stand in with the German government and
have the biggest subsidies and contracts in the world?
He wants you to make up to a construction officer in
the United States navy, does he? He needs a clever
woman! I should say he did! Was Herr Beimer
sober?"

"Perfectly, as far as I could see, except for his
sentimentality. Of course he was a bit effusive, you
know."

"Yes, I see. It wasn't his night. It was Haskell's
night, whoever Haskell is! But I think we'll have
to hurry. This looks more serious than I thought at
first. I shall sleep at number in East Twenty-third
Street to-night. And meanwhile I have a nice job of
forgery for you, Valeska. I wish you'd practise copy-
ing this writing till you can write a short note that
will pass for Lieutenant Cameron's handwriting."

He took a letter from a drawer. The envelope was
addressed to Miss Violet Mannering. Valeska took
it and read it over carefully. It was a single sheet,
torn from a double page, and read partly as follows :

"I believe that just as everything seems some-
how different at night — when we can see farther
than by day ; for can we not see the stars ? — when
our emotions seem freer — so there are two worlds
in which it is possible to exist. One is the dreary
every-day place of business and duty and pain ; the

2<5o THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

other is free from care or suffering. Don't we en-
ter that occult world at night through our dreams,
where there is no such thing as conscience? There
are no consequences there! No doubt it's a dan-
gerous place, because it is abnormal; but its ex-
ploration is fascinating. Why ignore the fact that
it exists as a refuge from the worries of matter-
of-fact existence — "

Valeska read it thoughtfully. Her eyes looked
through the paper as if into a mist beyond. "No won-
der poor Miss Mannering is worried !" she said to her-
self. She looked at Astro, as if to ask a question. He
was busy with a planimeter, calculating the area of a
queer irregular polygon drawn on a sheet of parch-
ment. Seeing his tense look, she turned to her study
of the manuscript.

As soon as it was dark, Astro opened the window of
his room on Twenty-third Street, and walked along the
crackling tin roof till he came to the first window of
the house occupied by the Assassins. Looking in, he
saw a small, bare, hall bedroom, furnished with a cot,
a wash-stand, and one chair. The next two windows
were lighted. He approached them carefully. Three
men were seated at a library table strewn with maga-
zines. All were smoking comfortably. One, Astro
recognized as the lientenant, another as Herr Beimer.
The third was a yellow-faced man with red hair, high
cheek-bones, and dark eyes deeply set into his skull. In
front of him was a plate filled with what looked like
caviar sandwiches, cut small and thin.

Herr Beimer said something, at which the others
laughed loudly. Then with a flourish, as if drinking

THE ASSASSINS' CLUB 261

their health, Lieutenant Cameron took one of the sand-
wiches and ate it almost with an air of bravado.
Beimer looked at his watch. The lean yellow-faced
man walked out of the room. The lieutenant took up
an illustrated paper and began to read.

Astro tiptoed carefully back to his room, put on his
overcoat, and went down-stairs, walked over to the
drug store, and at the telephone booth rang up Valeska.

"Have you written the letter?" he asked.

"Not yet," was the answer.

"Well, you must do it immediately as well as you
can. Bring it to number ill and ask for Mr. Silver-
man."

He then went back to his room. Another stealthy
glance through the windows of the club showed the
two still at the table. Cameron was busy with a pen-
cil and a sheet of paper, explaining something to the
German. The yellow-faced man watched them over
his book. The lieutenant was evidently talking with a
little difficulty; every little while he stopped, and be-
gan again with an effort. One leg was twitching at
the knee-joint. He supported his head heavily on his
hand.

Going back to his room, Astro took a bottle of am-
monia from his overcoat pocket and placed it on the
sink. Next he poured a white powder from a paper
and dissolved it in a tumbler of water, stirring it with
a spoon. This done, he took the wash-bowl from the
stand and put it on the table beside the bed. Then he
sat down to wait for Valeska.

In half an hour she appeared, breathing hard, her
cheeks flushed with her haste.

"Here it is," she said, as soon as the maid had left.

262 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"It's the best I could do." She handed it over. It
read:

"Please allow the bearer to come in and see me
on important business at any time he may present
this. ROBERT CAMERON."

"Good !" said Astro. "Now you must wait here and
listen at the window till you hear my whistle. Then
come right along the roof to me and be ready for any-
thing."

He started to open the door when she put a hand
on his arm. "Does it begin with 'C-a-n'?" she asked
breathlessly.

He nodded. "How did you get it?"

"From the lieutenant's letter."

"Of course. Well, it may have begun with 'D-a-n*
by this time."

"D-a-n-g-e-r?"

"Perhaps. Be ready !" And he was down-stairs.

At the door of the Assassins' Club, a white-haired
negro answered the bell.

Astro presented the letter. "I wish to see Lieuten-
ant Cameron immediately !" he said.

"Ah, don't perzactly know, sah," said the darky.
"Mah o'ders is not to leave nobody, come in yah. Ah
expect Ah'd better say no, sah."

Astro brushed past him and had set his foot on the
stair, when a fat face looked down over the balusters.
The portly form of Herr Beimer followed it.

"Vat's de madder ?" he inquired, as he started down.

Without further parley Astro ran up the stair, and,
before there was any time for resistance from the as-
tonished German, grasped him by the knees, and pull-

THE ASSASSINS' CLUB 263

ing his feet from under him, sent him madly sliding
down the stairs. Herr Beimer, swearing a polysyllabic
oath, stumbled awkwardly to his feet and set off up-
stairs again after his attacker. But by this time Astro
was at the top of the second flight. He dashed into
the square room in the rear where he had seen the
group of men. It was empty ! Beside it, however, was
a small hall bedroom, and here, in his shirt-sleeves,
lying in a stupor on the cot, lay Lieutenant Cameron.

Astro sprang to the door and locked it just as the
excited German thumped ponderously on the panels.
Next he threw up the window and whistled. Then
taking the lieutenant in his arms, he succeeded in car-
rying him to the window-sill. Valeska was already on
the roof outside, waiting for him.

"Take his feet !" said Astro under his breatH, and so
together they managed to get the lieutenant out on the
roof and to the window of the chamber in number in.
By this time the man had begun to revive and to pro-
test in word and action against his removal. They paid
no heed to him, however, and bundled him into the
room and on the bed. Then Astro shook him energet-
ically.

"Wake up, man !" he cried. "Wake up now ! You
can, if you try ! Here ! Smell this !" He reached for
the ammonia and held it under the lethargic man's nos-
trils.

The lieutenant turned away his head, coughed,
blinked, and partially rose on one arm. "Who are
you ?" he said, gazing at them in surprise.

"Friends of Miss Mannering's," said Astro.

The lieutenant shook his head, and stared. "What's
the matter ?" he brought out laboriously.

264 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"I got you away from Beimer — afraid of trouble —
want to help you." Astro spoke very distinctly, as if
to a deaf man.

The lieutenant felt for his coat, found himself with-
out one, seemed puzzled, and dropped back again
limply.

"The — draw — " his voice ended in a mumble.

"Yes, the drawer! What drawer?" Astro asked
eagerly.

"Find draw — " The lieutenant seemed to drop
asleep.

"I wonder what he means? There's something on
his mind. No doubt he has hidden something." Astro
looked keenly at Valeska under drawn brows.

"Can't you revive him again ?" she asked.

"No use trying the ammonia yet. It seems to have
too great a reaction and sends him into a deeper sleep.
We'll have to wait till he comes to himself for a mo-
ment naturally. You know what it is now, don't you ?"

She nodded. "And I found it out, curiously, only
from the dictionary. I looked up the word 'assassin,'
and found that it came from Hashashin or hashish
eater. Then I looked up about the Old Man of the
Mountain who used to drug his followers with bhang
till they would commit any crime, and that led me, of
course, to Cannabis Indica, or Indian hemp, and I
found out all about the effects of hashish."

"Yes, I thought these amateur assassins were inno-
cent enough, — only a club to experiment with hashish ;
for with a moderate dose the sensations are wonderful,
and well worth trying, — but there's more in this than
that. What is Beimer up to? That's what I want to
know."

THE ASSASSINS' CLUB 265

"Is he really unconscious now?" Valeska asked,
watching the prostrate form of the lieutenant as he lay
flushed and breathing, but otherwise inert.

"Not really. He may be dimly aware that we are
here; but his will is gone. He won't speak until he
rises to the level of volition again. It's a sort of dou-
ble consciousness, a rhythmic process of alternate
sinking into apathy, where he sees visions, and rising
into full consciousness when he can talk for a moment.
I wish I knew what dose he had. The intervals are
about three minutes. I tried hashish when I was in
college ; but I took such an overdose the last time that
I have dreaded to use it again."

The lieutenant now began to mutter, as if talking in
his sleep. "I'm tottering on the tops of tall pendu-
lums. . . . The world is full of spiralated muci-
lages . . . lovely color. ... In a tunnel now, twist-
ing, turning, violet, green, orange . . . floating . . .
floating like a spirit . . . tops of tropic trees . . ."

Suddenly he gasped and sat up, staring hard at
them. "What did I say? What was it? Quick! be-
fore I go off again! I was saying something."

"Find the drawer," Astro suggested, leaning to him.

"Draw — draw — What was it? Drawings!" he
exclaimed. "Beimer wants the drawings ! For God's
sake, help me ! I'm losing it again ! Drawings ! What
is it about drawings?"

"Where did you put them .

"Drawings! Yes. Un-der the — mat — " His eyes
closed.

Astro tried again. "Under the mat in the little
room ?"

The lieutenant stared stupidly. "I forget. Mat —

266 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

that meant something. I can't get it. Wait till I come
up again. . . . All snaky now, like live wires . . .
pink and green. . . Ah !" The rest was inaudible.

The moment he had again succumbed to the effects
of the drug Astro sprang to the window. He paused
there to say sharply :

"Beimer is trying to get some of the lieutenant's
navy drawings, that's evident, and has given Cameron
a big dose of hashish to keep him quiet till the papers
can be found. I think Cameron must have suspected
it, and has hidden the blue-prints or whatever they are.
I'm going to go through that bedroom and see if
they're under the mat. You wait here. He is likely
to be unconscious for two or three minutes more now,
and I'll just have time." With that, he had leaped out
on the roof and was off.

The lieutenant still muttered in a whisper so low that
Valeska could make out nothing. She went to the win-
dow just as Astro reappeared.

"No mat, nothing but a carpet. Beimer must have
got away with them. You'll have to get after him, Va-
leska, while I pull the lieutenant through. If I know
anything about hashish, he's had a terrific dose, and is
going to have the worst case of nausea he ever had in
his life. I took a look at those hashish sandwiches,
— they were fairly loaded with the stuff. His first voy-
age wasn't a circumstance to the seasickness he'll have
in about half an hour. You get right out to Beimer's
place and see what you can do with him !"

As Valeska threw on her furs the lieutenant was
beginning to rouse again. As she slipped out of the
door and ran down-stairs, he sat up on the bed, his

" I'm tottering on the top of tall pendulums ! . . . The world is
full of spirilated mucilages ! "

THE ASSASSINS' CLUB 267

eyes glassy, his fists clenched. The effort he was mak-
ing to gain possession of his mental faculties was evi-
dent in his writhing mouth and wild staring eyes.

"What was it ?" he demanded.

"It's all right/' said Astro. "Beimer has the draw-
ings ; but we'll get them for you." He turned for the
glass of water on the table.

The lieutenant clutched his arm in a fierce grip.
"Gods !" he cried. "Help me ! The papers were secret
plans for fire control. Man, it's ruin for me !"

"You must drink this, first of all," Astro replied,
holding the glass to the man's lips. "It's an emetic. We
must get this hemp out of your stomach before you
can recover."

It was too late. The lieutenant dropped back, now
as rigid as a marble statue, only his wild eyes moving.
He spoke painfully through his clenched teeth.

"Oh, God !" he murmured. "Take it away ! I can't
drink it ! I'm going through hell !" His brow was fur-
rowed with tense lines as he fought with the deathly
nausea that was working in him.

Astro put down the glass and waited. It was evi-
dent that nothing could help now, and the drug which
had thoroughly impregnated the man's system must
work off its own effects.

"It works so — so fast . . . All black now . . .
Oh, God! . . . I'm afraid! . . . Afraid . . ." He
began to moan.

"You're all right; there's no danger. You're just a
little sick, that's all."

"I'm dying! It's no use ... Tell Violet . . .
I'm dead . . . Don't you see, man? I'm dead al-

268 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

ready . . . The world is full of spiralated mucilages
— that's the inner secret of Death — spiral . . . I'm
whirling through space . . . Dead!"

Astro smiled. It was, he knew, a common symptom
of an overdose of Cannabis Indica. There was, as he
said, no danger. He waited for the crisis, attending to
his patient like a trained nurse. For a while the moan-
ing continued; then Cameron began to curse wildly,
like a man with the delirium tremens. Then of a sud-
den he sat up in bed, and the convulsion came. His
outraged stomach revolted at the burden it had to
bear. During this Astro waited on him kindly, and
when the active stage of nausea had passed he laid the
lieutenant back on the bed and waited till he sank into
a natural sleep. Then he took a small book from his
pocket and began to read.

For half an hour he read the little volume of the
Morte d} Arthur; for another half-hour he sat in a
brown study, his eyes fixed on the pattern in the worn
carpet. There was a zigzag figure in it which resem-
bled the letter M.

The lieutenant moaned in his sleep, and felt under
his bed mechanically with one hand. Astro's eyes fol-
lowed him.

Then, with his face suddenly illumined, he rose
quietly, threw up the window, and passed out on the
roof. In less than five minutes he returned with a
smile on his lips. He took up the book again and be-
gan reading.

It was after midnight when Valeska returned in
great disappointment. She took off her coat and looked

THE ASSASSINS' CLUB 269

sadly at the lieutenant, who was now sleeping peace-
fully.

"It was no use," she said. "Herr Beimer wasn't "in,
and no one knew when to expect him. I waited as
long as I dared; for I hated to come back unsuc-
cessful."

"It was too bad I was so stupid as to send you
away out there," said Astro quietly. "I should have
taken time to think it over, first. It came to me an
hour after you had left. Here are the blue-prints, safe
and untouched."

"Oh!" she exclaimed joyously. "Did he tell you
where they were after I left?"

"No, before you left. Didn't you hear him?"

"Under the mat? But I thought you looked and
found none there."

"My dear," said Astro, with a whimsical expression
on his face, "you should learn to concentrate, to focus
your subconscious mind upon itself. The psychic state
of receptivity — "

"Oh, bother!" Valeska exclaimed. "Where were
they, if they weren't under the mat ?"

"Under the mattress," he answered.

The lieutenant sat up, now fully recovered, and
looked at the two. Astro handed him the blue-prints.
He grasped them exultantly. For a while he lay weakly
looking at them, saying nothing. Astro put on his
overcoat and helped Valeska into her wraps. Just be-
fore he opened the door, he turned and said :

"I don't think I need give you any advice, Lieuten-
ant. Go to sleep now, and you'll be all right in the
morning. If you have gone through what I did the
last time I was an 'assassin,' there is no danger of your

270 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

ever trying it again. I think that Miss Mannering
needn't know about this, certainly I shall not tell her."

"What does she know? Did she send you to help
me?" the lieutenant asked anxiously.

"She asked my advice, that's all. Unfortunately she
saw the name 'Assassins' ; but I think you can explain
that easily enough, if you don't care to confess the
truth."

"How can I explain it ?" Cameron said thoughtfully.

"Why, tell her that the club met to kill— time," said
Astro, "and that at that you are a tolerably successful

THE LUCK OF THE MER-
RINGTONS

ETE one afternoon in February, a policeman, stand-
ing on the corner of Thompson and West Fourth
Streets, gazing abstractedly across Washington Square,
felt something brushing against his trousers. Looking
down, he saw a little child of scarcely three years hold-
ing something up to him.

"See ! See !" she was saying.

The officer opened his eyes in amazement. In one
little fist the baby held a fire opal as large as a robin's
egg; in the other was a shriveled black hand.

He grabbed them from the child and questioned her ;
but her prattle was meaningless. Taking her care-
fully in charge, he hurried to the station-house and re-
ported the incident to the sergeant at the desk.

Next morning the city papers "played up" the ac-
count of the astonishing affair, with a picture of the
child, the officer, and the two extraordinary objects
with which the baby was found. That afternoon the
mother of the little girl came to claim her daughter
bnt was unable to explain the incident. She lived in
a tenement on a level with the elevated railroad, on
West Third Street, and had missed little Elsa at five
o'clock. Inquiries in the neighborhood elicited the fact
that Elsa had been seen about four o'clock in the after-

271

272 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

noon in the basement tenement of a house across the
street, a place used as a cheap laundry. The laundress
had noticed the child playing at the wood-pile ; but had
been too busy to send her home. When she had fin-
ished hanging her clothes in the back yard and had re-
turned to the wash-room, the child had gone. The
baby had been found by the policeman at a quarter to
five. Where she had been in the interim it seemed
impossible to discover.

The case was turned over to the detective force, and
was eventually taken up by Lieutenant McGraw. He
worked at it a day without success, and then, recalling
the many services done him by his friend, Astro the
Seer, he determined to seek his help. McGraw's earlier
experience with the palmist had been at the time of the
Macdougal Street dynamite outrages and the Hunch-
akist murder, mysteries that Astro had solved pri-
vately. Assuming the credit of this, McGraw had been
promoted and had paid his debt of gratitude to Astro
in several ways. He had often secured information
for the palmist that no one outside the police force
would have been able to obtain. The mutual relation
having proved profitable, McGraw did not hesitate to
apply to his gifted friend in this case, which had be-
come prominent in the papers.

Astro, free at the time, and rather bored with his
ordinary routine of chiromancy and astrologic work,
readily undertook the commission. He questioned Mc-
Graw on the details of the affair, and dismissed him
with a promise to go about the matter immediately.

"It will probably be easy and interesting," he re-

THE LUCK OF THE MERRINGTONS 273

marked to his assistant, Valeska, who had been present
at the interview with McGraw. "It is these cases
which are apparently so extraordinary that are most
easily solved. Given any remarkable variation in the
aspect of a crime, and you know immediately where to
begin. This will be only play, I fancy. We'll go right
down and look the ground over and see the lay of the
land. Of course the important thing is to trace the
child's route from the basement laundry, in the mid-
dle of the block, to the corner."

"Why, the obvious course would be along two sides
of the rectangle, — along West Third Street and up
Thompson Street to the Square, wouldn't it?" said Va-
leska.

"Undoubtedly. And yet, if little Elsa went that way,
along the sidewalk, it seems impossible that some one
wouldn't have noticed her and remarked the surprising
playthings she was holding in her hands."

"She might have only just picked them up, near the
corner."

"Very true. We must carefully go over all possible
routes and then determine the probabilities. But let's
go down and look at the exhibits in the case. I confess
I'm curious as to that hand."

Astro's green limousine was entered, and He and his
assistant drove immediately to the detective bureau on
Allen Street. McGraw welcomed them, and taking
them into an inner room, displayed the relics.

The opal was nearly an inch long, a perfect ellipse,
shot with colored fires. As it was shifted in the
light the play of color was mysterious and surprising.

274 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

It seemed now suffused with blood; now it glowed
with pale green; then a blinding ray of pure yellow
shot forth. It seemed to hold impossible distances and
atomic cosmic worlds within its shell. It winked like
a living thing ; it glared and blushed ; it was at once
baleful and beautiful.

The hand, however, seemed never to have.had to do
with life or motion. Dried like a mummy, strung with
tendons like a turkey's claw, wrinkled, stiff, all color
dulled into the hue of earth, it was a horrid thing. Va-
leska turned away from it in disgust; but Astro still
peered at it, examining it, inch by inch, from the long
coarse nails to the dissevered wrist.

"Well ?" said McGraw.

"A negro's hand," Astro replied. "It has been bur-
ied. A man of at least forty. Cut from the arm dur-
ing life. And yet — " He did not finish the sentence ;
instead, he said abruptly, "Take us to the laundry."

At the basement McGraw left them, Astro preferring
to be alone with Valeska during his investigation. The
two entered the cellar after McGraw had introduced
them to the proprietor. She pointed out where the
child had last been seen, and then went on with her
work.

The front of the basement was used for one of the
small wood and coal depots common in the poorer dis-
tricts of New York. Partitioned off with rough board-
ing was a little chamber where the Italian who sold
fuel lived. Behind this was the laundry where two
girls, bare-armed, were washing. Two of them lifted
a basket of wet linen and went out into the yard with
it while Astro and Valeska watched.

In each of these rooms Astro spent considerable

THE LUCK OF THE MERRINGTONS 275

time, letting his eyes rove in every direction, searching
every foot of the walls, ceiling, and floor. After each
survey he gave a nod to Valeska and passed on. The
laundry itself occupied more time. He watched the
girls at work and their going and coming attentively.
Then he went back to the wood-pile and knelt down on
the rough floor, crawling here and there, watching,
smelling, fingering everything in the vicinity. The
track he pursued led back to the little room where the
Italian slept. There he spent more time, searching
carefully. When he rose and dusted his clothes, he
handed Valeska a bent safety-pin.

"Keep that safe," he said. "I think that little Elsa
has been playing under the Italian's cot bed."

Hardly had he spoken the words than the stairway
was darkened, and a man bearing a loaded basket came
down the steps. He put down his load and, seeing
strangers, demanded roughly:

"What you doin' here, what ?"

"Oh, looking about," said Astro coolly. "I've lost
something, and I came here to find it."

The Italian stared. "What you a-lost, what?"
> Astro kept his eyes on him. "I've lost a large opal,"
he said calmly.

The man began to tremble. "Opal ! Wha's that?"
! "I'll show you." Astro walked into the man's little
room and lifted the mattress. Between it and the can-
vas cover of the cot appeared a small box. On its
cover was printed, "Heintz & Co., El Paso, Texas."

"I no gotta eet, I no gotta eet! Sure! De littla
babee she stole eet away." The man watched Astro's
face apprehensively.

"Where did you get it, anyway," asked the Seer.

276 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"My uncle in Italy, he give it to me," the man pro-
tested.

They talked for ten minutes ; but the man persisted in
this story. Giving up the attempt, Astro was about to
return to the laundry, when his eyes fell on the basket
the man had been carrying. He stopped and took off
a few pieces of kindling, then, after a quick look at the
Italian, took something from under the pieces of wood.
It was a human skull.

"Perhaps you'll tell me where you got this?" Astro
demanded sternly.

The Italian's face brightened. "Oh, a littla boy, he
geeve eet to me for ten cent," he said simply.

Astro turned to Valeska with a baffled expression.
"In heaven's name what kind of place are we in,
where babies play with dead hands and human skulls,
to say nothing of giant opals hid in cots ?"

"Yes, yes, a littla boy, on Washington Square, sure !"
the man repeated.

Astro placed the skull on a shelf and regarded it at-
tentively. For some moments he said nothing; then,
shrugging his shoulders, he passed into the laundry.
Valeska followed him.

"The man is lying, of course," she said. "But what
a barefaced falsehood ! Would anything be more im-
probable?"

"He's lying, it's true," said Astro ; "but it may not be
all false, nevertheless. We'll have to wait till we fin-
ish our examination." And with that, he walked out
into the back yard.

The place was half-filled with clothes, drying. The
ground was completely bricked over and surrounded
by a high fence. On the farther side of this and be-

What kind of place are we in, where babies play with dead hands
and human skulls ? "

THE LUCK OF THE MERRINGTONS 277

yond the yards of tfie abutters appeared the rear of the
houses on South Washington Square, or West Fourth
Street, rising four stories high. On the right and left
were other yards. Astro began at the right-hand side
of the house and examined the fence foot by foot all
round the three sides, till he had come back to the
house again at the left-hand side. Then he looked up at
the windows of the house opposite. A second examina-
tion of the fence opposite the laundry took more time.
Meanwhile, Valeska followed him and did her best to
interpret his movements.

"Well," he said, as he returned to the laundry door,
"what have you discovered ?"

She spoke eagerly. "Why, there's a hole broken in
the fence on the north side, and it seems to me it's big
enough for a baby to crawl through. Besides, as the
clothes are hung now, it is well hidden, and little Elsa
might easily have got through unnoticed."

"Did you notice her footprints beyond, in the earth
of the other back yard ?"

"No." Valeska was apologetic.

"Well, they are there. Nothing else?"

"Why, no."

"Look again !"

Valeska went carefully along the fence and finally
stopped at some vertical scars half-way up the north
wall. "What do they mean ?" she asked.

"That's the false half of our Italian friend's tale,"
said Astro. "Never mind them for the present. Now
we'll call at the house opposite."

They left the basement and walked round the block,
climbed over some excavations in the street, and rang
the bell. A buxom, jolly young woman opened the

278 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

door. Astro asked for rooms to let, preferably in the
rear.

"We ain't got but one now," she replied. "That's on
the third floor up, and it ain't vacant yet though. You
can look at it. Was you married ?"

Astro laughed and, ignoring the question, followed
the woman up three flights of stairs, followed by his
assistant. The landlady threw open a door, and the
three entered. Astro gave a quick look around the
apartment.

It was in confusion, cluttered with clothing and
newspapers, old boots and cooking utensils.

"And he ain't paid me for t'ree weeks yet, neither !"
she added. "I give him the bounce two days ago. He
come home drunk in my house ! I don't keep no lodg-
ers like that !"

"What day was it he came home drunk?" Astro
asked.

"Only Thursday. He nearly fell out the window,
he was so soused. He had a black eye, too."

"What time was it?"

"Oh, about four o'clock. Look at them rags, now!
What d'ye think of that ! The pig dog !" She picked
up a long dirty strip of cloth on the floor. "Bah !" she
cried. "It smells like a graveyard, don't it?"

Astro took the rag and examined it carefully. It
smelled strongly of creosote. He laid it on a table,
and with a secret sign called Valeska's attention to
it. Then he walked to the window, threw up the sash,
and looked down.

"It would be a bad drop, wouldn't it?" he said.

The landlady laughed. "I only wish he had fell
out!"

THE LUCK OF THE MERRINGTONS 279

"Who lives on the floor below ?"

"Oh, a Spaniard and his wife; but they ain't been
here for two weeks now. They pay all the same."

"And on the second story ?"

"Oh, I live there myself with my dog."

Suddenly Astro exclaimed aloud, "The deuce ! I've
dropped my hat. How stupid ! I'll have to go down
in the yard and get it."

"Never mind ; I'll go down," said the woman.

Astro, however, insisted, and before she had a
chance to offer again he was running down-stairs. A
sign to Valeska told her to occupy the woman's atten-
tion for a while; and this Valeska did successfully.
Finally she and the landlady walked down-stairs, the
girl talking with animation, the woman giggling and
laughing and showing a set of big good-natured dim-
ples. They waited in the hall for Astro to return.

He shook hands with the landlady cordially. "I'll
let you know about the room, if I want it," he said.
"But I like the landlady better than I do the room.
What are they doing on West Fourth Street?" he
continued. "Digging for a new drain ?"

"Yes," she said. "All the time they are digging up,
somewheres. It makes me tired, this New York! I
wish they'd get it finished."

"When will your lodger come back to pack up his
things?"

"Oh, I wish I knew my own self. He's a crook, I
think, that man ; he's got a bad eye. All the time he
brings such funny things home. Bags and things, and
sometimes watches."

As soon as Astro and Valeska were alone he smiled
and said, "Well, it's as easy as I said it was going to

280 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

be, isn't it? All we have to do now is to search the
hospitals."

Valeska thought it over. Then she spoke slowly.
"I suppose that rag was wrapped round the hand,
wasn't it?"

Astro nodded.

"The man came home drunk — he sat down by the
open window and dropped the hand ?"

Astro nodded again.

"The baby crawled through the hole in the fence
with the opal, I see that. She found the hand in the
yard under the window, where it had been dropped.
Then, somehow, she passed through the kitchen and
came out on West Fourth Street, here, and walked to
the corner, where she met the policeman. That's all
plain enough. But where did this man get the hand,
and where did the Italian get the opal ?"

"Take the last question first. You recall the up-and-
down marks on the fence ?"

Valeska assented. "Oh! The Italian climbed over
there?"

"He must have. He must have seen the box drop.
He climbed the fence and grabbed the box and didn't
notice the hand. Then the baby came along, before
this man, who was evidently a pickpocket, awoke from
his stupor. You see, he came home with the bag he
had snatched — "

"Oh ! That was that leather bag with the handle
cut?"

"Of course. He went to the window and sat down,
unwrapped the dead hand, and dropped it, or placed it
in his lap. Then he looked at the opal, and, beginning

THE LUCK OF THE MERRINGTONS 281

to drowse, dropped both into the yard. When I went
down there I saw footprints, undoubtedly the Italian's,
in the earth."

"But that leads nowhere, after all?" said Valeska.
"How in the world should an immense opal and a hand
be in the bag that was snatched ?"

"That's what we have to find out," said Astro.

"And why should the Italian have a human skull in
his basket?"

Astro laughed. "That's where the true half of his
lie comes in. Undoubtedly a boy did sell it to him. It
wasn't till I spoke to the woman about the excavations
in the street here that I recalled that Washington
Square was in old days the Totters Field/ Many
graves have been found here, and no doubt the gamins
of the neighborhood have watched every shovel and got
the skulls there. The Italian fancied it, — thought per-
haps he could sell it to some doctor, — and so brought it
home. In fact, I think we have eliminated him from
the affair altogether. Of course, he'd never dare say
he stole the opal."

"And what about searching the hospitals ?"

"For the original owner of the bag, of course. The
thief came home with a bruised eye. That means he
had a fight ; but, as he brought off his booty, he must
have punished his man pretty badly. Consequently he
is now probably in a hospital. We have to look for a
man from El Paso ; for there is where he got the opal,
or at least the box in which it was kept. Well, we'll
leave that till to-morrow. I believe I have an engage-
ment for five o'clock, haven't I ?"

"Yes. A Miss Merrington."

282 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"Who is she?"

"I haven't found out anything about her. You'll
have to hurry."

They got into the limousine and drove rapidly to the
studio, where Miss Merrington was waiting. While
Valeska busied herself with the file of daily papers she
had as yet had no chance to look over, Astro inter-
viewed his visitor in the great studio.

Miss Merrington was a tall willowy brunette, with
plenty of humor in her face, well dressed, and evi-
dently fairly well-to-do. She had come, it seemed, on
a peculiar errand. In brief, as she told it to Astro, it
was this :

Major Merrington, her grandfather, had been a
United States Army officer on a special errand in
Mexico at the time of Maximilian's regime. He had
had the good fortune to be of service to the emperor,
who had been duly grateful. In return for his serv-
ices, the emperor, at their last meeting shortly before
the end of Maximilian's tragic career, had rather
jocosely offered him his choice of two gifts. The first
was a large box of the famous cigarettes of Chiapas,
made by an old woman who had been famous for her
tobacco for years and had recently died. This cutting
off of the already limited supply had increased the
value of the genuine cigarettes enormously. Mexicans
held them in almost superstitious esteem. They were
said to have all kinds of esoteric virtues and to bring
extraordinary happiness. The first cigarette, when
smoked, was as mild as Virginia's tobacco. The sec-
ond was always as strong as a black cigar and pro-
duced a sort of half-trance, like opium.

THE LUCK OF THE MERRINGTONS 283

The alternative gift was an old Aztec relic. Miss
Merrington did not herself know its exact nature ; but
she did know that all sorts of good luck were attrib-
uted to its possession. It was this gift that the major
had chosen. "The Luck of the Montezumas" it was
called ; but, as the "Luck of the Merringtons" its name
seemed to be as inapt as it had been to the Aztec em-
perors. With it, whatever it was, and escorted by a
trusted negro slave named Ptolemy, the major had
journeyed half-way from Chihuahua to El Paso, when
his party was attacked by brigands. Their last stand
was made in an adobe ruin, where the major had been
killed. What had become of the "Luck of the Merring-
tons" and what it really was, was what Miss Merring-
ton had come, in a rather skeptical and playful humor,
to ask of Astro the Seer.

She had got so far, when a muffled electric bell was
faintly heard in the studio. Astro, who had listened
attentively, excused himself to get a book of astrologic
tables which he said it was necessary for him to con-
sult before he could answer Miss Merrington's ques-
tion. Around a corner of the book-shelf was a sort of
alcove cupboard, hung with black curtains. He parted
them, and a glass window was disclosed. Pressed
against this was a newspaper showing the "Lost and
Found" column. One was ringed about with a blue
pencil. It read :

"LOST — A large opal, on Second Avenue,
Thursday last, at two p. M. Finder will be paid
a generous reward and no questions asked.
HENRY MERRINGTON, Bellevue Hospital."

Astro dropped the velvet curtains, reached on the
shelf for an immense volume bound in heavy leather

284 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

with silver clasps. He took it to the table near where
his visitor sat and threw it open. The pages were
parchment, written with beautiful medieval letters,
with illuminated initials and many zodiacal diagrams.
For some time he turned the leaves thoughtfully ; then
stopped to ask :

"Do you know the exact date of your grandfather's
birth?"

Miss Merrington, unfortunately, did not. He asked,
then, for her birthday, which she gave to the hour.
Astro turned to another diagram, and taking a pencil,
made a few computations.

"H'm. Under the sign Libra, with Mars and Saturn
in the ascendant — a daughter of the Ninth House — the
moon. Wait a moment. Let me see your palm."

She drew off her glove, and, not a little mystified,
but still smiling as at a child's game, showed her hand.
Astro gave it a glance, turned it over, doubled the
knuckle of the third finger. Then he sat down, nod-
ding his head.

"It's too absurd," he said. "One can't often strike a
fact so definitely as this appears. If I'm not mistaken,
the 'Luck of the Merringtons' is here in New York.
It's — let's see," he looked at his diagram and figures
again — "forty-seven, that's right. Violet, indigo, blue,
green, — that's fourth, — yellow, orange, red, — that's
seven. Green and red — Why, it must be an opal;
that's the only stone that's both green and red. It's a
fire opal, probably a Mexican gem, not the Austrian
milky-blue stone. Curious, isn't it?"

"Yes," she drawled, "if it's true."

"Well, if you'll wait a moment, I may be able to find
just where it is."

THE LUCK OF THE MERRINGTONS 285

"Oh, I'll wait a long time to get back the family
luck, bad or good," she said.

Astro shut his eyes and remained silent for a time.
Then he shuddered, put his hand to his head, and said
slowly, "I get the name Allen. Allen Street, that's it.
And I see a man in a blue coat guarding it. He has
brass buttons — oh, yes, he's a policeman." He shud-
dered again, and appeared to come to himself. "What
did I say ?" he asked ingenuously.

Miss Merrington repeated his words.

"Oh, that must mean the detective bureau," said
Astro.

"It's perfectly wonderful — at least, if it turns out
so !" the woman exclaimed. "I can't wait to find out,
though I don't see what I can do. I haven't lost any
opal, and I can't pretend to. I only know the old story
about the 'Luck of the Merringtons' as my father told
it to me. You see, grandfather never told in his letter
just what it was. No doubt he was afraid of being
robbed of it. But there's one other question I'd like to
ask you. I have an older brother who went to Mexico
two months ago, and we have had only two letters
from him. Can you tell me where he is now ?"

"His name is Henry, isn't it?"

Miss Merrington stared. "Why — yes! How did
you know?"

"It's my business to know such things," said Astro.
"Your brother has had an accident but is not seri-
ously hurt. You will hear from him in a very short
time."

"An accident!" Miss Merrington's face paled.
"That frightens me dreadfully! Do you know," she
went on, "somehow, what happened to my grandfather

586' THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

is so suggestive ! My brother went to Mexico on pur-
pose to trace up the 'Luck of the Merringtons.' He
had a foolish idea that he could find it. It has always
been a family legend only, but we children took it
seriously. Lucky or unlucky, we wanted it in our pos-
session. Henry always said that if he ever had time
and money for a vacation, he was going to Chihuahua
to track down that heirloom, whatever it was. It was
because I was so impatient to find out about it that I
came to you. I thought you might give me some hint
that would help him find it. I wasn't worried at his
not writing, because I knew he might be away from
the railroad ; but I was impatient to have news. And
I've heard such things of you, so I thought I'd come,
for the fun of it. I never expected you could do any-
thing so specific as this, though. Now I'm worried.
Oh, I hope Henry's all right and safe! If he only
comes back, I don't care if we don't get the 'Luck of
the Merringtons,' though heaven knows we need it
badly enough! Our luck couldn't possibly be worse
than it is now, I think. I've been a companion for a
rich woman for a year; but I can't stand it a day
longer, and I'm going to be a stenographer."

"I predict a better fate for you than that," said
Astro. "I think the family luck will return. You wait
patiently for a few days and see if I'm not right."

Valeska came into the studio as soon as Miss Mer-
rington had gone. "It seems to me you took a long
chance," she said, as she sat down.

"My dear," said Astro, throwing himself on the red
velvet couch and drawing up his narghile, "I took no
chance at all. If this Henry Merrington who adver-

THE LUCK OF THE MERRINGTONS 287

tised is not her brother, the opal is, of course, not the
'Luck of the Merringtons' ; but she will never know
whether it is or not. If her brother has gone on a
rough trip to Mexico, he'll scarcely escape without an
accident of some kind, though it may be slight. What-
ever he finds as a relic, he can't prove it is the true
'luck/ — can he ? — and I'll have the benefit of the doubt.
But we must look him up immediately and get his
story. I confess I'm still at sea about that hand."

"Why didn't he let his sister know, if he was in-
jured?"

"Probably didn't want to frighten her. Perhaps he
was drunk. Now he's lost the 'luck,' he hopes to get it
back before she finds out he is here, so as not to disap-
point her. But come. I confess I can't wait. We
can't get in after eight o'clock."

The two set out, therefore, without waiting for din-
ner, and after Astro had sent up a card marked "opal",
a nurse brought word that her patient could be seen.
He had been robbed and sandbagged, as Astro had sur-
mised. He had lain unconscious for several hours;
but was now recuperating, and would need only an-
other day in which to be quite well.

He was frankly curious as to his guests, and could
hardly greet them before he had sent away the nurse
and demanded their errand. In a few words Astro
told him exactly what had happened to the famous
opal, without confessing how it had been traced. In
as mysterious a manner, he let Merrington know that
as a Seer he was aware of the esoteric and magic prop-
erties of the stone and its tradition.

Merrington listened with immense interest, delighted

288 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

to learn that the opal had been found, and that he could
probably claim it without a reward. He then took up
the story of his quest where his sister had left it.

"I founded my whole hope of finding the thing on
what I had heard of Rolemy, the negro. I knew he
was brave and clever and faithful. I always put this
murder with the story of the Sancy diamond, which I
suppose you know. Baron Sancy, you remember,
when told that the messenger who was carrying the cel-
ebrated gem had been killed, said, 'Never mind, the
Sancy diamond is not lost!' He sent men to disinter
the body of the messenger, and found the stone in the
stomach of the corpse of his faithful retainer. That's
something the way I reasoned it out. It was a wild-
goose chase ; but I succeeded marvelously. I discov-
ered the place where the attack on my grandfather had
been made ; I found the very adobe ruin where he had
made the last stand. Some of the old people there re-
membered the story, — how my grandfather had been
shot first, and how Ptolemy, defending the wooden
door, had his hand chopped off with an ax before
the brigands could enter. But no one had heard of any
precious stone or other valuable thing that would ac-
count for the legend, though everybody in Chihuahua
knew the story of the "cigarettes of Chiapas'.

"Well, it took a month to locate the grave ; but, after
disinterring several coffins, I found one larger than
usual, decayed almost to paper. And when I opened
it — which was easy, it was so rotten — there, in the
skull, between the upper and lower jaw-bone, was a fire
opal as big as the end of my thumb ! It was the 'Luck
of the Merringtons/ I was sure, if for no other reason
because, from that time till it was snatched out of my

THE LUCK OF THE MERRINGTONS 289

hand on Second Avenue, things went gorgeously with
me. One of my mosos put me on to an abandoned
claim, an old gold-mine that had been lost for years.
In a month I sold out my interests for thirty thousand
dollars. Every one in the place became my friend. I
found an old schoolmate who insisted on my going into
partnership with him, and — on the train coming north,
I met the nicest girl in the world !"

He sank back in his cot with a smile. "Now my
luck's come back," he added, "I'm going to present the
opal to my sister Helen and see what it'll do for her."

"But one thing I don't understand," said Astro.
"Did you get nothing but this opal from the grave ?"

Merrington did not notice the incongruity of the re-
mark, apparently. "Oh, I forgot!" he exclaimed.
"That was a funny thing, too! You know Ptolemy's
hand had been buried with him. Something had mum-
mified it, somehow, while the rest of the body was
pretty far gone, — nothing, really, but bones and a few
tendons. Well, I thought I'd take the dried hand as a
relic of poor old Ptolemy. It was ghastly ; but I didn't
know but that would bring luck, too. But no doubt
that was what queered me, after all. I wonder what
became of it?"

"You'll find that at the detective bureau, too," said
Astro. "If I were you, I'd give it decent and honor-
able burial."

"I will!" said Merrington. "And by to-morrow
afternoon I'm going to appear and surprise my sister.
I hope she hasn't worried about me."

"But I always thought opals were unlucky," said Va-

290 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

leska, as she left the hospital with the Master of Mys-
teries.

"My dear," he replied; "nothing is unlucky, but
thinking makes it so ; and nothing is lucky but — " He
looked at her a bit sadly, adding: "Well, I'm afraid
you'd hardly understand."

THE COUNT'S COMEDY

ENGROSSED in his own thoughts a young man
waited in the great dim studio of Astro the Seer,
nervously punching the magnificent Turkish rug with
the ferrule of his cane. He was young, well groomed
and smartly dressed, apparently well-bred. It was evi-
dent that he was more worried than impatient.

He looked up with a scowl as Astro, dressed in his
red silk robe, wearing his turban with the moonstone
clasp, leisurely entered the apartment. For a moment
the young man gazed at the Seer as if to estimate the
man's caliber and character. Astro said nothing; but,
bowing gravely, took his seat on the big couch and
lazily lighted his water-pipe, waiting for his visitor to
speak.

"I have come to you," the young man said finally,
"although I must confess I don't quite believe in occult
powers, because I have an idea that you must know
considerable about human nature. You certainly see
plenty of it."

Astro bowed again, and a faint smile curled his lips.

"I have also heard you called the Master of Mys-
teries," the young man continued.

Again Astro bowed.

The young man rose and handed the palmist a card.
It read, "Mr. John Wallington Shaw."

291

292 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

Astro looked at it and tossed it on the table.

"I suppose you know who I am ?"

Astro again bowed.

"It's a part of your business, I suppose. You may
have read in the papers also of my sister's engagement
to Count D'Ampleri?"

The same sober gesture of assent from the palmist.

Shaw sat down again, shoved his hands into his
pockets, crossed his legs, and leaned back. "Mr. As-
tro," he said, "I have come here on a queer errand. I
suppose you see many strange things in your profes-
sion, and it seemed to me that your experience would
enable you to give me some help. What I want you
to do first is to believe something that's nearly incredi-
ble."

"My dear sir," said Astro, speaking at last, "nothing
is incredible. From what I know of life, the more im-
possible it seems to be, the more probable it is. For
that matter, one has only to read the papers. But se-
riously, if I can help you in any way, I shall be glad to
do so."

Shaw now took a gold cigarette case from his
pocket, selected a cigarette, knocked it against his fist,
and struck a match. After the first long inhalation he
remarked, "You'll promise, then, to believe the ex-
traordinary story I tell you ?"

"Mr. Shaw," Astro replied, "it's easy enough for me
to perceive that you are a gentleman. I expect an equal
amount of perception from you. At any rate, I hardly
see why you should come here to tell me an untruth."

"But what I mean is, I'm afraid you'll think I'm —
well, a bit crazy. It's simply too ridiculous. Why, I
wouldn't believe it myself, hardly !"

THE COUNT'S COMEDY 293

"Let's have it. You have really excited my curios-
ity." Astro folded his arms and looked at Shaw with
sharp eyes. "You certainly show no symptoms of de-
rangement yet."

Shaw gave a nervous laugh. "Oh, it isn't I ; it's my
sister. That's why it is so hard to tell. I assume, of
course, that this confession will be kept confidential.
Not only that, but I expect you to help me out — for an
ample consideration."

Astro bowed. "I have secrets enough in this head
of mine to destroy a dozen of the first families of New
York," he said a little dryly.

Shaw shrugged his shoulders. "Very well. I'll
waste no more time. You'll see how useless it is to
appeal to the police, or even to my lawyer. But first,
have you heard of the robbery of Mrs. Landor's
jewels?"

"Oh, yes. The thief, I believe, has never been dis-
covered. It always seemed to me curious, too, that no
reward for their return had ever been offered. But
what have they to do with your sister?"

Shaw gazed up at the ceiling, then down at the floor.
"Really, I'm almost ashamed to tell the story, it's so
confoundedly absurd. We are Westerners, you know,
of good, sound, and healthy stock. We're as sane as
Shakespeare. No trace of brain storms or parancea in
our family ! The thing hasn't gone far ; but it will be
talked about if I can't stop it ; that is, if you can't. I
don't know what to do. I'm up a tree. You've got to
get hold of whoever's responsible for this thing, and
tie them up, some way. It's a serious problem for us."

Astro put his fingers to his lips and yawned.

Shaw took the hint and proceeded abruptly : "Mrs.

294 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

Lander's jewels are at my house, a whole teapotful of
them!"

"Ah ! You know the thief, then ?"

"No, I don't ; nor do I know what the deuce I'm to
do with the loot ! One thing you are to do is to re-
turn it."

"And be accused of the theft myself?"

"Oh, that won't need to follow. They have to be
sent back somehow. I don't want my sister to be ac-
cused of cleptomania; the other thing is quite bad
enough. The idea of a gorilla in a top hat and all that !
It would make a pretty scandal if it was found out; I
can fancy how people would talk. We have a great
many friends, you know." He smiled cynically at the
word.

"She is innocent, I presume, then ?" said Astro. "But
what about the gorilla ?"

"There's no use in beating about the bush any long-
er," said Shaw. "Only, you see, I wanted to make sure
of you before I trusted you with the secret. I'll go
ahead with it, and if you call it a cock and bull story,
I don't see that I can blame you. You see, it was this
way : We were down at our country place at Lake-
side,— a big, rambling old house with a veranda all
round it and long French windows opening out on it.
My sister's room has a little balcony ; it's on the second
floor. She had gone up-stairs to dress for dinner. I
was in my own room, a little way down the hall, and
my door was closed at the time. We had a lot of com-
pany down for the week-end ; it was ten days ago."

"Who were there?"

"Oh, the count, of course, and his valet, and the
.Churches — you know, Simeon Church and his wife —

THE COUNT'S COMEDY 295

the Raddelle girls, and two or three others. I'll give
you a list later, if you like."

"All right, go ahead."

"It happened, as I say, just before dinner ; about half
past seven. It was quite dark. We don't light up
much outside, — there was nothing going on at that
time. Well, I heard her door open, and then she was
pounding on mine, and she called out, 'John, John!
Come here quick !' I opened the door, half-dressed as
I was, and she was in a deuce of a funk. She grabbed
me by the arm and pulled me down the hall and shut
her door. Then she said, 'Oh! what shall I do?' I
said, 'What's the matter, Ethel? Have you been
robbed?' She was nearly fainting, and I thought she
would drop before she could speak. But finally I got
it out of her. And her story was a wonder, and that's
a fact!"

Shaw, in his excitement, rose and gesticulated.

"She had sent her maid out of the room for some-
thing, and had her back to the French window and
was stooping to pick up a comb, when she heard the
sash open, and she looked around in a fright. There,
standing right in front of her, was a big black gorilla,
bowing to her."

"H'm !" Astro concealed his amusement.

"Wait! I made her tell me the story half a dozen
times, and it was the same each time. The thing had
on a silk hat, and a Peter Pan collar, a red necktie, and
white kid gloves, and pearl gray spats buttoned around
his knees."

Astro could control his mirth no longer, and his
grave demeanor exploded in a gust of hilarity. Shaw,
despite his anxiety, had to join the laugh.

296 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"What do you think of that for a fairy tale? But
that's not half. This baboon—"

"You said gorilla before."

"Well, gorilla, then; it doesn't matter in a night-
mare like that. He held a china soup-plate in one
hand, and in the other a black bag, — a cloth bag. By
Jove ! that much I can swear to myself ! I've seen it.
Well, the chimpanzee thing — "

"I thought it was a baboon."

"How the blazes do I know ? I wasn't there, and if
I had been I shouldn't have known the difference. It
may have been a monkey or an anthropoid ape, for all
I know. Anyway, it set the soup-plate down on the
dressing-table, and tipped its hat and said, 'Miss Ethel
Shaw, I believe?'"

"Ah !" said Astro. "Now we're getting warmer !"

"Warm! He's made it hot enough for poor Ethel,
I can tell you ! Then, without waiting for an answer,
— Ethel was out of her wits by this time, though she
half suspected a practical joke, too, — the orang-utan — "

"Or monkey," Astro interjected, smiling.

"Yes, or gibbon perhaps — held out the bag to her.
It said, 'From your friends and well-wishers in the
lunatic asylum.' Then it did a graceful two-step over
to the window, recited lx* plus 2xy plus yV and van-
ished on to the balcony. My sister was so frightened
that she dropped the bag, and — bing! — out dropped
Mrs. Landor's pearls and brooches and rings and
things all over the floor. Now I ask you what
kind of a story is that to get all about town?" He
stared at the Master of Mysteries gloomily.

"Well, it certainly would add to the gaiety of na-
tions," Astro remarked quietly; "but it looks like a

Then it did a graceful two-step, recited "^
onto the balcony.

V and vanished

THE COUNT'S COMEDY 297

pretty slim case if your sister had to rely on it for a
defense."

"We'd be laughed out of court," Shaw said.

"Did your sister give you any further description of
the creature, anything that could identify the masquer-
ader?"

"Why, she said he was a little knock-kneed, she
thought; but that might have been on account of the
spats." He grinned sadly, in spite of himself. "Oh,
I forgot ! By Jove ! yes ! His breath smelled of garlic,
and he wore automobile goggles !"

This was too much for Astro. It was some time be-
fore he could take the thing seriously.

Shaw waited patiently until the palmist stopped
laughing. "I knew you'd think I was a blanked fool,"
he said mournfully ; "but it's no joke to the Shaw fam-
ily, I assure you. Anybody would say Ethel was
crazy. I did myself, the very first time she told me
this yarn. I said, 'Ethel, you're foolish!' But there
was the stuff to prove it ! Then she began to cry. The
worst of it is, the count is absolutely convinced that
Ethel is mad.

"As soon as we had dressed and gone down to din-
ner, Ethel told the story to the whole crowd. Of
course we consider D'Ampleri already as virtually a
member of the family, and the others are old friends.
Oh, their friendship will be tested, all right enough!
The count looked shocked and changed the subject
pointedly, as if the thing was suspicious. It was per-
fectly evident that he discredited my sister. It made
me foam at the mouth; but what could I do? What
can we do now? Ethel, of course, persisted in her
story, and the count has grown cooler and cooler ever

298 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

since. I'm afraid he'll talk. We can keep the others
quiet, easily enough. They have skeletons of their
own to hide. What do you make of it, anyhow? Is
there any way out ?"

Astro puffed at his water-pipe for a few moments in
silence, as he thought. The smoke, rising in a blue
swaying curve, writhed in a faint arabesque against
the velvet hangings of the walls. Shaw had begun
punching holes in the rug with his cane again. From
the portieres leading to the reception-room, where Va-
leska, Astro's pretty assistant, sat, pretending to work,
came a silvery chime of bells as the tall clock struck
four. It had begun to grow a little dark. Astro pressed
a switch and lighted an electric lamp depending from
the ceiling. Instantly the walls glittered with points of
light from the embroideries, the weapons, the golden
carvings, and other decorations.

"What is your father worth ?" the palmist asked.

Shaw seemed to awaken from a daze. "If you had
asked me two weeks ago, I'd have said, roughly, four
millions, or possibly five. But this recent deal in lead
has bit him hard. His shrinkage is nearly seventy-five
per cent., I suppose. He was almost ruined, in fact.
But if you're in doubt as to your fee, why, that'll be
all right. It's worth five thousand dollars to us to
have the matter settled. We'd have to pay that in
blackmail, I suppose. If you can think of any way to
return the jewels and no questions asked and head off
this insanity charge, the money's yours."

"Had any dowry been settled on Count D'Ampleri ?"

Shaw blushed faintly. "Oh, I say !" he began.

"I'm aware that it's a Continental practise, that's

THE COUNT'S COMEDY 299

all," Astro said suavely. "It is inevitable with an in-
ternational marriage, isn't it?"

"Yes. I fought against it as hard as I could; but
Ethel can make the governor do anything she likes.
Besides, my mother was set on the match, you know,
and she helped arrange all that. They do it through
lawyers, you know. It isn't quite so crude as it sounds ;
but it's bad enough. Yes, we arranged to buy the title
for Ethel, I suppose." He kept his eyes on the rug in
some embarrassment. There was a trace of anger in
his tone. It was evident that the affair did not please
him in any way.

"Very well. I'll undertake the commission, delicate
as it is," Astro said, rising. "I'd like to have the jew-
els delivered here sometime next week. You had best
bring them yourself. I wish also you'd find out just
when the Count D'Ampleri arrived in America, and'
by what boat. I suppose you can tell me the day and
hour of your sister's birth?"

Shaw wheeled round on him. "Oh, come, now !" he
protested. "I came to you because you know or ought
to know most of the weaknesses of human nature ; but
if you think I take any stock in astrology or occult-
ism—"

"What was the date, did you say?" Astro's voice
was hard.

"October I4th, 1885 ; nine A. M., I believe." Shaw
scowled.

"My dear Mr. Shaw," said Astro, "if you give me
this commission, you must let me do it my own way.
It won't matter to you, I should think, how I do it.
You are, I presume, an agnostic. Very good, I am a

300 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

fatalist. Go to a detective or a doctor, if you prefer
modern science. I prefer the ancient lore."

"I came to you because you've done harder things
than this," Shaw said to placate the independent Seer.
"Go ahead with your cusps and nativities, if you like,
only get us out of this fearful mess as safely and
quickly as you can."

"I hope to see you on Monday," said Astro, bowing
with dignity.

John Wallington Shaw left the room. As soon as he
had departed, Valeska entered, laughing, the dimples
showing in her cheeks and chin.

Astro's pose had gone. He threw off his robe and
turban. "Did you hear the uncouth history ?" he asked.

Valeska nodded. "Of all things ! Can it be true?"

"Easily. Simple as milk. And at the same time one
of the cleverest schemes I ever heard of. It's all
straight; that is, all except the jewels. That we'll have
to investigate."

"But I don't understand it at all," Valeska pouted.

"Have you happened to hear that Count D'Ampleri
has been paying rather too marked attention, for an
engaged man, to Miss Belle Miller, the lady whom the
cruel wits of the Four Hundred have dubbed the 'Bay
Mare'?"

"I knew she was in here one day for a reading."

"And was much interested in my prediction that
she was to marry a titled foreigner. I heard the gos-
sip at the Lorssons the day I went to that tea. I never
forget items of that sort. They are more important
than horoscopes."

THE COUNT'S COMEDY 301

"I think I have a glimmer of light now," said Va-
leska. "The Bay Mare is an heiress, isn't she ?"
"Rather ! Old man Miller owns half of Buffalo."
"And Shaw is on the verge of failure."
"And the count wants a good excuse to transfer
his affections and his hopes of a permanent income.
What better escape than to impute insanity to Miss
Ethel Shaw ? I say it's a merry scheme."
Valeska frowned. "It's horribly cruel !"
"Well, it's infamously Italian, if you like. Fancy
one of the Borgias reappearing to grace the twentieth
century ! But you can't deny it is cleverly worked out.
Insanity is one of the best reasons for not marrying,
even for a fortune-hunting foreigner. Every one will
pity him, instead of blaming him, and he'll walk out
of the Shaw family into the arms of the Millers. He
only wanted to be well off with the old love before he
was on with the new. But I'll forgive him anything
for the sake of the automobile goggles."

"And the Peter Pan collar!" cried Valeska, laugh-
ing. "Couldn't you hear me giggling in the closet ?"

"The Landor jewels, though!" said Astro thought-
fully. "If it wasn't for them, one might suspect that
Miss Ethel had taken an overdose of headache pow-
ders. Acetanilid does affect the brain, you know."
"The question is, who played the gorilla ?"
"Ah, an Italian, I'm afraid. If you'll pardon the pun,
I think that garlic puts us on the scent. As I see it,
it's a case where our friend McGraw can help us out.
I'll try him. There'll be no particular credit in it for
him ; but, what's just as good, there'll be money."

From an interview with his friend, the police lieu-

302 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

tenant, that night Astro found out that no one had
been suspected of the robbery of Mrs. Landor's jew-
els strongly enough to warrant arrest. Ethel Shaw and
her fiance were both present at the Landor reception
held on the night when the jewels were stolen. A
charge of cleptomania might, therefore, be reasonably
preferred against her. As young Shaw had said, such
an accusation, coupled with her testimony as to the
method by which she obtained the jewels, would deal
a serious blow to the Shaws' social aspirations.

McGraw had too often profited by Astro's assistance
in puzzling cases not to do his best to help the palmist ;
but nothing was known by the police about the count
or his valet. It was found, however, that, on his pass-
age across the Atlantic in the Pcnumbria, Count D'Am-
pleri had taken no servant. This of itself w.as of suffi-
cient importance for Astro to request McGraw to look
up the man and furnish a description of him and his
circumstances. This, in a few days, revealed the fact
that the valet had a dubious reputation, and it was sus-
pected that he had been in prison. McGraw himself
was not sure at first; but subsequently a brother offi-
cer familiar with the Italian quarter of New York
positively identified him as Kneesy Tim, who had done
time for second-story work, and was so called among
his pals on account of his knock-knees.

It did not take the officer long after that to ascertain
through the detective force that Tim had attended the
Landor reception as Count D'Ampleri's valet. The
line of evidence was now direct. Tim had welded the
most important link of it himself by appearing as the
bearer of the stolen jewels. His boldness was ac-
counted for, of course, by the fact that he relied on

THE COUNT'S COMEDY 303

his ludicrous appearance to make Miss Shaw's story
incredible, at the same time preventing any identifi-
cation of himself. In all this it was impossible not to
suspect the count of being an accessory; if, indeed,
he did not plan the whole thing.

But why had the thief been willing to surrender
such valuable booty? If the count were merely after
money, here was a treasure in the hands of his accom-
plice. The answer was an easy one for Astro to solve
when Shaw produced the black bag full of Mrs. Lan-
dor's heirlooms.

The jewels were all false. Astro's critical eyes
needed but one careful look at them. They were mar-
velous imitations ; but of no possible use to any one
except the owner who would never be suspected of
having hypothecated her celebrated gems. It was evi-
dent now why Mrs. Landor — the respectable, aristo-
cratic Mrs. Lemuel Landor, of the Landor jewels —
had never offered a reward for their capture. Astro,
cynical as he was, familiar as he was with the many
hypocrisies of the upper ten of the town, could not
help laughing when he held the famous Landor tiara
up to Valeska's envious view.

"I'll never believe in anybody or anything again!"
she exclaimed. "Did you tell Mr. Shaw ?"

"Not after his remarks on my profession," said As-
tro, with a decided shake of his head. "That's the
time he did himself out of a hearty laugh at Mrs. Lan-
dor's expense. In any case, I don't believe in ever
telling any more than is necessary."

"The count is an ordinary crook, then?"

"I doubt that. Nor is he even an ordinary count.
He's a clever bourgeois Frenchman. I have talked

304 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

with him and know. I imagine that he picked up this
fellow Tim to help him play the part, and found out
afterward what he was and used him. But that doesn't
matter. We have them now on the hip."

"And how are you going to fix him ? From what I
hear, he is more attentive than ever to the Bay Mare,
and people are talking about it."

"That doesn't matter. If Miss Ethel can get rid of
him without his telling that ridiculous story, she'll
undoubtedly call it good riddance to bad rubbish. And
I will fix that."

"How?"

"My dear, if you'll walk up and down on Eighth
Avenue, between Thirty-seventh and Thirty-eighth
Streets, from twelve till half past to-morrow night,
you'll see. And," he continued, smiling to himself, "I
think it will be worth your attendance. I think we
might ask Shaw to escort you, if he's willing to dis-
guise himself a little, enough so that the count won't
recognize him."

"I shall be there," said Valeska.

"I promise a comedy," said Astro. "By the by, it
may interest you to know that I have rented a room
at number 573 Eighth Avenue."

"Indeed !" said Valeska, raising her brows. "I im-
agine from your tone that I'm not to ask you any ques-
tions; but I would like to know if you are through
with McGraw?"

"No, indeed. McGraw is to figure as the deus ex
machina; also he is to earn two thousand dollars. One
he will collect from me, and one from Mrs. Landor,
who will be very glad to pay, I imagine, if he
acts strictly in a private capacity. In other words, it is

THE COUNT'S COMEDY 305

not particularly to Mrs. Landor's interest for the pub-
lic to know that she has sold her jewels and wears
paste."

"I begin dimly to comprehend now," Valeska mused.
"You will emulate the Mikado of Japan, and 'let the
punishment fit the crime' ?"

Astro replied, "My dear, in the mutual interaction
of telepathic vibrations, one neutralizes the other.
Two loud sounds can be made to produce a silence.
Selah. 'Tar a ak khaldah maha tara. Abracadabra,
maha tara' "

"Boom-de-ay !" Valeska added gaily.

"Precisely. And, speaking of nonsense, I didn't ask
you to get me a pair of white duck trousers and a yel-
low-striped blazer and an old woman's wig and a green
umbrella and a white top hat, did I?" He looked
thoughtfully at his finger nails.

"No, you didn't," she replied briskly ; "nor a bottle
of soothing syrup nor a tombstone."

"Nevertheless, you will do this to-morrow morning,
and have them sent to number 573 Eighth Avenue."

"I agree, if you'll only let me add some rubber
boots."

"Well, as a special favor, yes. Now run along and
I'll get to work. Oh, Tim was arrested to-day, on sus-
picion of having stolen the Landor jewels. Too bad,
isn't it?"

He sat down, thereupon, to write a letter as follows :

"Commesso sbaglio gravissimo. Lei e in un
gran pericolo. Venga a trovarmi martedi a mez~
zanotte sulla porta del no. 573 Eighth Avenue.
Venga solo. T."

306 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES
" >

He showed it to Valeska and translated :

"Terrible mistake made. You are in great dan-
ger. Meet me Tuesday at midnight in the door-
way of number 573 Eighth Avenue. Come
alone. T."

Roughly scrawled on brown paper, and put into a
plain but dirty envelope, the note was convincing.
Tim, at any rate, would not be able to deny it for some
time. It was not a message that the Count D'Ampleri
would dare ignore.

The Count D'Ampleri did not ignore it. Smart and
aristocratic in appearance, though foreign-looking with
his Parisian silk hat, his queer trousers, and his waxed
and pointed mustache, he was prompt at the rendez-
vous. Valeska and John Wallington Shaw, drifting
slowly down the block, noticed him there waiting in the
dusky doorway, looking impatiently up and down,
smoking a cigarette. The count seemed to be a bit un-
easy. He lighted one cigarette after another.

The two spectators passed again, talking absorb-
edly one to the other, but watching guardedly as they
passed. At the Thirty-seventh Street corner they no-
ticed a man standing, his back against a lamp-post. A
child would have known him to be a policeman in plain
clothes. His burly figure, his bull neck, the very cut
of his mustache, proved it indubitably. He gave them
a wink as they passed him. They crossed to the other
side of the avenue and walked slowly. As they reached
the far end of the block they suddenly stopped. Va-
leska began to giggle, pointed, and excitedly watched
the scene across the street. Shaw seized her arm and

THE COUNT'S COMEDY 307

hurried her over the crossing and to the front of the
doorway. The little drama was almost over. As they
stopped, staring, a fantastic figure retreated, entered
the door, and banged it behind him.

They were laughing at the count's discomfiture as
McGraw came up. He took his cue like an actor, and
walking up to the count grabbed him fiercely by the
arm.

"Now then," he said harshly, "what you a-doin'
here? What's that you got there?" He pointed to a
black bag the Italian still held in his hand.

"Who are you, anyway?" said the count angrily.
"Vat beesness of yours? Tell me that!"

"I'll show you!" and McGraw threw back his coat
and displayed his badge. "See here now ! What have
you got in that bag at this time of night, hangin' round
in this doorway?"

"My God! I don't know myself!" the count ex-
claimed.

"I'll see, then," said McGraw, and snatching it from
him he opened the bag and drew out a diamond tiara.

"You don't know !" he thundered. "We'll see about
that at the station-house ! Come along with me !"

The count, seeing the jewels, seemed almost ready
to faint with surprise and horror. "But I am very in-
nocent !" he wailed. "I am ze Count D'Ampleri. I live
at ze Saint Regis! You shall see! Before heaven! I
never knew that things was there ! It was give me just
now, by — by — " He paused, discomfited.

"Well, by whom ?" was McGraw's inquiry.

"You will not believe — nobody won't believe — it ees
too much! A mad woman she give me zis bag just
now zis minute!"

308 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"What kind of a woman? Out with it!"

"Oh! what shall I say? You will not believe. A
woman like a man, with white pantaloon, with a top-
per hat, a yellow jacquette with stripes like zis." He
made a pitiful gesture down the front of his coat.

"Aw, g'wan !" said McGraw. "D'you expect me to
believe a pipe dream like that? That's the worst I
ever heard, and I've heard some thin ones, too !"

"But I tell ze truth, I swear it! She have a green
ombrelle."

"Any more ? Go as far as you like." McGraw's tone
was affable.

"She wear big boots of la gomme, — what you call it
• — rubbaire."

McGraw towered above him now, and calmly folded
his arms. "No blue whiskers, or purple hat pins stuck
in her face, was they ? She wasn't chewin' shavin's or
had red fire on her hands, I suppose? Lord, man!
you got no imagination at all! Why, I can dream
out things that would make that old lady seem like a
fashion-plate. When I dope 'em out they generally
wears armor plate and glass gloves at least. But I guess
that'll be about all for you. I'm going to run you in."

The count in despair appealed to Valeska. "But ze
lady and ze gentleman, she see ze old woman! Ask
them ! I am spik ze truth to you !"

Valeska, smothering her laughter, did her best to
speak calmly. "We saw nothing at all, officer. The
man must be intoxicated."

"Or crazy," Shaw put in wickedly.

"You see nozzing?" the count ejaculated in amaze-
ment. Then he dropped in a dejected huddle, nodding
his head sillily.

THE COUNT'S COMEDY 309

McGraw motioned to Valeska, and nodded toward
Thirty-seventh Street.

"Well, 111 have to go," she said, smiling. "You'd
better be careful, officer ; he may be dangerous." And
so saying she walked away with Shaw, who was too
nearly hysterical with mirth to speak for a while.
When he did, it was to say :

"Will you kindly inform Astro when you see him
that I take back what I said about horoscopes and oc-
cultism? I am quite sure he will understand."

She repeated the message next day, when she and
Astro found themselves alone in the studio. Astro
smiled. "If they were all like John Wallington Shaw,"
he said, "you and I wouldn't make much of a living,
little girl." Then he added irrelevantly, "I understand
that the Count D'Ampleri is to sail on the Germanic
next week."

"Oh. Then McGraw let him off?"

"All McGraw wanted was to get his thousand out
of Mrs. Landor, and the less talk about it the better.
He telephoned me this morning to say that she gave
him a very lively half-hour, but paid. By the way, I
wonder if Shaw told his sister Ethel how the matter
was solved?"

"He said he intended to, before he went to bed."

"Then we may consider the episode closed." Astro
took down a volume of Imrnanuel Kant. Before he
began his reading he remarked dasually, "It was a nar-
row escape for all three. I don't know exactly which
one to congratulate the most."

"I'd congratulate the old lady with the white duck

310 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

trousers and the blazer," said Valeska. "I think she
had the merriest time of all."

"Yes," said Astro, his eyes twinkling, "I think so
myself!"

PRISCILLA'S PRESENTS

THE winter afternoon had wrapped itself in dark-
ness before Astro spoke. He had bent for twenty
minutes over the chess-board, vividly illumined by an
overhead electric lamp, while Valeska's keen eyes
watched him attentively. Outside, the clanging of
bells and the rattle of cars had grown gradually
fainter as the falling snow spread a blanket over the
pavements. Within the palmist's studio the two were
surrounded by shadowy objects enlivened with twink-
ling lights caught on the polished points or planes of
embroidered patterns or ornaments.

Suddenly Astro rose and switched on a blaze of light.
The whole picturesque splendor of the apartment
blazed in color, from the heavy tones of the oriental
rugs to the gilded coffered ceiling. The walls, half
lined with books, surrounded the luxurious furnish-
ings of the studio, which in their elegance and rarity
gave the place almost the air of a museum.

"Mate in seven moves !" he announced.

His pretty assistant wrinkled her brows in the at-
tempt to analyze the game. For weeks she had been
studying with him the mysteries and complications of
the Muzio gambit, and, though she was well along with
the strategics of the play, Astro's extraordinary im-
agination made him mentally able to keep many moves

312 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

ahead of her. She sighed whimsically and looked up
at him. He put his finger on a black ivory piece as he
spoke with a droll look in his eyes.

"It all came because of your absurd fondness for the
knight!"

"I admit that I am partial to knights," she replied.
"I'm always willing to exchange a bishop for one."

"I wonder why ?" Astro mused. "No doubt because
the knight's move is symbolical of a woman's way of
thinking. She loves to jump over things in the logical
path of reasoning : one move ahead and one diagonally
to the right, one backward and one obliquely to the
left, or anyway rather than along a straight line." He
laughed a little cynically.

"And do men never think that way?" she asked de-
murely.

He put his chin in his fist and nodded his head, shak-
ing his waving black hair. "That's queer, too. They
do, sometimes. There are types that do, races that do ;
Orientals, for instance."

"And aren't you oriental ?" she asked.

He walked away suddenly and picked up his little
white tame lizard from its silver cage. "Oh, Egypt is
hardly the Orient. Egypt is — well, it's Egypt, the
eternal mystery."

He turned quickly to her. "I never believed you
were Irish," he said. "I wonder what you are?"

"Pure troll !" she said nimbly.

"I have solved many mysteries," Astro replied, and
now his voice was softer ; "but you are the most myste-
rious of all. Somehow, I hate to know too much about
you. Well, let's call you a troll." He picked up the
mouthpiece of his narghile.

PRISCILLA'S PRESENTS 313

A bell tinkled. Valeska, after a glance at the Master
of Mysteries, pressed a button on the wall. In a mo-
ment a boy in buttons entered, carrying a salver, on
which were letters. Astro took them up and spread
them on the table under the lamp. Valeska looked
playfully over his shoulder. Then, with a queer ex-
pression on her face, she seated herself.

"All from women !" she commented. "I wish — "

"What?" The Seer wheeled in his chair.

"Never mind." Valeska took up a book.

Astro rapidly opened the envelopes and cast them
aside one by one. The last, a letter on heavy blue
paper, he read a second time and tossed it over to
Valeska.

"Read it aloud," he said. "I want to think."

Valeska read as follows :

"MY DEAR ASTRO — You will remember, perhaps,
having read my hand some months ago, and hav-
ing told me some most wonderful things about
myself. It was all so marvelous to me that I
though you might be able to help me in a funny
thing that has been happening for the last five
weeks or so. Of course, I apply to you in strict
confidence, and I hope you will understand."

"Oh, cut all that part out," Astro interrupted, "and
all her feminine circumlocutions ! Get to the business !"

"Well, then, five weeks ago last Saturday I re-
ceived a mysterious present of a pair of beautiful
slippers. I had no idea where it came from; but
supposed it was from a Mr. Thompson, who had
been rather attentive to me. But he denied it.
The next Saturday I got another parcel, by mail,
containing a lovely bound leather album, beauti-

3H THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

fully tooled. Then I suspected a Mr. Gerrish;
but he has denied sending either. Since then,
every Saturday I have received a parcel by mail,
every time a different thing, and I'm simply wild
to know who is sending these things. If you think
you can find out for me, I'll be glad to pay you
whatever fee you charge, as I can't stand it not to
know any longer. If you'll make an appointment,
I'll come and see you any time.

"Yours sincerely,

"PRISCILLA QUARICH."

"Isn't it lovely?" Valeska exclaimed. "It's a wel-
come relief from the murders and robberies and things.
I'm glad that there are some benevolent criminals."

"Slippers — album — " the Seer mused. "Too bad she
didn't mention the other gifts."

"Why ? Do you think it's so very mysterious ? It's
romantic, of course ; but — "

"Five Saturdays in succession — " Astro went on
thoughtfully.

"Slippers are a funny present," said Valeska. "You
have to know the exact size, of course."

"Thompson — Gerrish — " Astro rose. "This should
be your field, Valeska," he said, smiling. "My spe-
cialty is the intricacy of the human brain. You ought
to know about the human heart. Of course it's a love-
affair."

"And of course you know nothing of love," she
added.

He tossed the black locks from his brow and gazed
at her thoughtfully. "No — of course not." His voice
was low ; he did not look at her.

Then he threw off his mood. "Write her in answer,
Valeska, to this effect: In order to settle this rather

PRISCILLA'S PRESENTS 315

delicate question for her, I shall have to meet the two
men. Suggest that she invite me to dinner and have
them there. You'll be invited, of course. Suppose we
make it next Friday. Also, ask her to send me a com-
plete list of the gifts she has received to date, in chrono-
logical order."

The next day a letter came from Miss Quarich in
reply to Valeska's note. She said that, as her butler
was usually away on Fridays, she would prefer to have
the dinner on Thursday. "And," she added, "do,
please, bring that pretty Miss Wynne, if she will par-
don my informality in not calling myself to invite her.
But I'm so busy — " etc.

On Thursday evening, therefore, Astro's green car
bore the two to Miss Quarich's residence on upper
Madison Avenue. They were admitted by the smil-
ing Japanese butler, and, entering the drawing-room,
found the two men of the party already waiting.

Thompson, the elder of the two, was a typical man
about town, bullet-headed, red-faced, with cropped red
mustache, and of a jovial magnetic temperament. Care
had scarcely rubbed elbows with Tom Thompson, and
he was full of the gossip of the day, cordial, hearty,
and evidently innocuous. Gerrish was more suave,
with a clever head, egg-shaped, smooth shaved, with a
sensitive mouth and smiling eyes.

A moment after, Miss Quarich appeared, attired in
the most modern of empire gowns, revealing her slim
lithe figure and beautiful neck. She was young and
merry, with dark eyes full of coquetry. She welcomed
Valeska with a little patronizing snuggle, and held

3i6 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

out her hand to Astro, who bent over it and kissed it
gracefully. Then their eyes met, and Miss Quarich
blushed. It became her charmingly. Valeska, mean-
while, had turned to the men, and her eyes and wits
were busy. Sam, the Japanese butler, came in with
cocktails on a tray. Neither of the women indulged ;
but the men drank their healths, each with a character-
istic compliment. Then they went into the dining-
room.

As Sam, with the crisp, impersonal, quiet dignity of
his race, passed from one guest to another serving,
both Astro and Valeska watched the company sharply.
The Seer showed himself not only au fait, but distin-
guished, as always when he accepted such social invita-
tions.

Once or twice, during the meal, Astro's eyes sought
Valeska's, with a questioning expression. The faintest
possible shake of the head was his only answer. The
two men divided their attention between Miss Quarich
and Valeska Wynne with discretion and tact. The talk
ran on in social commonplaces, of the theaters, of the
newspaper topics of the day, of sporting events. That
Astro was anything more than the merest society but-
terfly, the favorite of the moment, no one would have
suspected. Yet again and again he shot his shrewd
look across the table at his assistant, and his glance in
their secret language pointed her attention to many
things.

After the sweets, the women retired up-stairs to
Miss Quarich's private sitting-room for their coffee
and a few moments of relaxation.

"Well?" said Miss Quarich, passing her golden
cigarette case to Valeska.

PRISCILLA'S PRESENTS 317

"They're both immensely interested in you, it seems
to me."

Miss Quarich's brows rose. "My dear," she said,
"it struck me that you came in for some notice also."

Valeska smiled. "But I don't expect to receive a
present from either of them on Saturday, however."

Miss Quarich sat up with animation. "It's great
fun, of course," she said ; "but it's tantalizing. I would
never suspect either of them of being romantic. Of
course I've had loads of flowers and books and all that
sort of thing from men, and both these men have been,
as you say, interested — and attentive. In fact, each of
them has come dangerously near to — a refusal." She
laughed merrily.

"Do you recall having mentioned the size of your
shoe to either of them ?"

"Not at all ; though either might have found out, if
he tried hard enough."

"And about the album?"

"Oh, I recall having mentioned one I saw, one night
at dinner when they were both there. I must show it
to you." She rang a bell at her side, and shortly a
maid appeared. "Stebbins, will you bring that album
on the table in my room, please ?"

When it came, Valeska examined it interestedly. It
was made in imitation of the Renaissance volumes that
are still decorated and sold in Sienna. The board covers
were gilded and painted with quaint pictures of knights
and castles, and were bound with leather thongs, fas-
tened with silver-headed nails. Inside were pages of
tooled leather, with apertures for photographs. The
slippers were also brought, of golden and blue embroi-
dery of a quaint design. But, despite her close scru-

3i8 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

tiny, Valeska could find no distinguishing mark to hint
at the place of their manufacture.

Miss Quarich handed them back finally to her maid.
"Wrap them up neatly with the other things on my ta-
ble, and give the parcel to Samugi. Tell him to give
them to Monsieur Astro when he leaves the house.
Now, my dear," Miss Quarich said, turning to pour
out a cordial, "we must hurry down-stairs. We have
been here long enough. I want to hear Astro read
the hands of the two men. It ought to be fun. Oh,
here's the list of presents up to date. You can give
him that yourself."

Astro and Valeska left the house early and drove
directly to the studio. She was animated with interest.
The mystery was pretty enough to excite her feminine
enthusiasm. Astro laughed at her but refused to dis-
cuss it till she had entered the studio and opened the
paper Miss Quarich had given her, and displayed the
whole collection of presents. The list was as follows :

November seventh, pair of slippers ; November four-
teenth, album ; November twenty-first, volume of Mon-
taigne; November twenty-eighth, umbrella; December
fifth, six pairs of gloves.

Astro first handled the objects taken from the parcel,
and then looked over the list. For ten minutes he said
nothing, walking up and down the dim apartment in
silence. For a few moments he stood by the window,
staring out, thinking. Then, with a smile illuminating
his countenance, he returned to the table, glanced again
at the list of gifts, and chuckled.

"To-day is Thursday," he remarked. "The day after

PRISCILLA'S PRESENTS 319

to-morrow, Miss Quarich will receive — can you guess
what?"

"Of course I can't!" said Valeska. "What?"

He dropped his chin into his fist. "Well, she will
receive a present of an inkstand; probably of cut
glass."

"Really?" Valeska stared at him in amazement.

"Yes, unless he sends another book, which I think
unlikely."

"He? Who?"

"Do you mean to say you don't know?"

"How can I? Why how can you, either? You
haven't even examined the presents. There's that vol-
ume of Montaigne's Essays. It would be like Mr. Ger-
rish to send that ; but more like Mr. Thompson to send
the gloves. I'm all at sea."

Astro patted her familiarly on the shoulder. "After
all my lessons?" he complained humorously. "Never
mind, think it over. And look over that list again to-
morrow, when you're rested."

The next day, however, brought no hint to Valeska,
who, in the intervals of her work, examined the arti-
cles one by one, and pored over the list of presents.
On Saturday, Miss Quarich rang up the studio. Va-
leska, in high excitement, listened, and then stared at
Astro with a baffled expression.

"Miss Quarich received this morning a parcel con-
taining a cut-glass ink-well !"

Astro laughed silently, and nodded.

For some time Valeska stood gazing at him with a
blank look on her face. Then, without a word she

320 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

went to the table, took up the list of gifts, and, as if
mesmerized by Astro's unspoken thought, sat down,
took a pencil and began to write :

Slippers

Album

Montaigne

Umbrella

Gloves

Inkstand

"What is that Japanese butler's name?" she de-
manded.

"Why, Sam, isn't it?"

"You know it isn't. It's Samugi. But how did you
know? I only happened to hear Miss Quarich men-
tion it."

"Well, I inquired. I often ask questions. So you've
solved the acrostic?"

"Yes, the initials read 'Samugi,' of course. But what
does it mean ?"

Astro yawned. "It is difficult to interpret the ori-
ental mind; almost as difficult as to understand femi-
nine psychology. What did I tell you the other day?
It's a mental knight's move, an indirect message. We'll
have to wait."

"But fancy that Jap having the nerve to take such
liberties with Miss Quarich !"

"That Japanese is, as I have succeeded in finding out
at the consulate, more than Miss Quarich's social
equal."

"But he's only a servant !"

"In New York, yes. In Tokio, he's a noble of an

PRISCILLA'S PRESENTS 321

old Samurai family. His father is an army officer on
General Oku's staff. So may Samugi be, for that
matter."

"Then why is he taking a servile position here ?"

"Oh, that is done very often. Who knows the rea-
son ? Not I, nor do I care. Perhaps he's an army spy,
perhaps he's writing a sociological book on the Ameri-
can millionaires, perhaps he is sent by his government
for private reasons. But most likely of all he is sim-
ply desperately in love with Miss Priscilla Quarich, and
has taken this devious oriental method of pressing a
hopeless suit."

"Hopeless ?" Valeska's eyes snapped.

"Of course. The question now is, what are we to
do about it ? If Miss Quarich finds out, she, of course,
will have him immediately discharged. The only thing
is to wait till we get his message definitely."

Valeska tossed her head and walked away. "So you
consider yourself an expert in the human heart, do
you ?" she asked jauntily, as she put on her furs.

"I confess I don't know much about yours," was his
retort ; and then, as he watched her out of the door he
added slowly, "I wish to Heaven I did !"

Three weeks elapsed, Miss Quarich having been put
off from day to day on one excuse or another. But
each Saturday a new gift had been received. On De-
cember twelfth it had been an exquisite inlaid mother-
of-pearl lorgnette. On the nineteenth she had received
a magnificently-set opal, and the next week a huge box
of violets arrived, fresh and fragrant from Morley's.
The tenor of the message was now growing evident.
According to the presents so far received, it read,

322 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"Samugi lov," and it needed little shrewdness to con-
struct from that the probable declaration: "Samugi
loves you."

The elegance and costliness of the gifts had already
confirmed Astro's opinion of Samugi's condition.
It was evident that he had not only birth and social
position at home, but wealth as well. He had been
shrewd enough to send nothing edible, such as confec-
tionery, which might immediately arouse distrust. His
tact was, indeed, most delicate. Should Priscilla Quar-
ich disdain his advances, she need only pretend not to
understand the acrostic. He was wise enough not to
want to subject her to the embarrassment of refusing
an overt offer, in case she should be prejudiced against
the Orient. He actually did, it seemed, wish to be
loved for himself alone, as the song has it, with no aid
from his possession of noble birth.

It became, therefore, a delicate question as to how
and when Miss Quarich should be informed of the so-
lution of her problem. As she did not press for it,
however, Astro let the matter wait a while, hoping to
receive word from her of the gifts that might come.
No letter came, however, and he expressed surprise to
Valeska.

"I'm not at all surprised," she remarked.

"Please write to her for an account of what she has
received since the violets came, and in what order," he
said.

This Valeska did, and, in a few days, received the
following answer :

"My DEAR ASTRO — I had almost forgotten that
I had asked you to unravel my little mystery, and
I'm afraid now that it is hardly worth your while

PRISCILLA'S PRESENTS 323

spending much time on it. As you ask, however,
I'll tell you that I have received, since I telephoned
about the violets, a copy of Undine, an emerald, a
pair of opera-glasses, and some other things.
Please don't bother about it. It really doesn't
matter much. Yours sincerely,

"PRISCILLA QUARICH."

Astro whistled. "I confess I don't know what to
make of that," he exclaimed ; "but at least it confirms
my original prophecy. She hasn't given us all the let-
ters, nor their correct order; but what she does give
certainly fill in right. He took a pencil and wrote a
line as follows :

"Samugi lov . . . ou."

"But why this sudden lack of interest in the solution
of the problem ?" he demanded. "Do you suppose that
she can have puzzled it out for herself; that perhaps
she's so ashamed of it she doesn't want me to know
the truth?"

Valeska burst out into a laugh. "I saw Miss Quar-
ich in a cab driving up Lexington Avenue this after-
noon," she said ; and added slyly, "with a man."

"Thompson, or Gerrish?" said Astro.

"It is Friday, isn't it?" she inquired demurely.

Astro sprang up. "By Jove! Samugi's day off!
You don't mean to say she was with Samugi ?"

"In a top hat," Valeska added with mirth ; "which
shows all you know about the human heart. I thought
she looked at him rather soulfully that first day at the
dinner. . Only, I wanted to see what you knew of
women."

"Less and less, every day," said he, with a mock
mournful look.

324 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

The next Monday's paper contained an account of
Miss Priscilla Quarich's elopement with her Japanese
butler. Samugi's history was given, however, and it
was one partly to reconcile the gossips with the scandal
of the affair. His noble family, his war record, his
academic achievements, all received sensational de-
scription. Society exclaimed, shrugged its shoulders,
and forgot the affair next week. Astro's bill was paid
with a yellow porcelain lion of an ancient dynasty, one
of the seven left in the world.

Valeska's birthday came that week. She was in the
studio when an expressman entered with a big basket
filled with parcels all addressed to her. She opened
them first with glee, then with increasing anxiety on
her face. When the last package had been unwrapped
and the papers carefully put away, she spent some time
sitting on the floor gazing at the thirteen several gifts.
If there were tears in her eyes, Astro came too late to
see them. He did not enter the studio, in fact, until
after she had arranged the presents into three rows, in
this way.

Astrakhan furs
Slippers
Thimble
Ruby ring
Orchids

Lorgnette
Opal pin
Violets
Emerald brooch
Sash

Yeats' Poems
Opera-glasses
Umbrella

At the sound of his step in the outer hall, however,
she swept the gifts together in a heap and jumped to
her feet.

PRISCILLA'S PRESENTS 325

"Well," he said, as he entered, "I wish you a happy
new year, my dear!"

She was still blushing. "OH," she said, "I've just
got so many beautiful, wonderful presents! They're
simply lovely; but I can't understand why they were
all sent to me at once." She looked away.

"And no idea where they came from, either, I sup-
pose?"

She cast down her eyes. "I suppose only an Ori-
ental would be so munificent — and so mysterious.
And I'm sure of one thing — that my Oriental's presents
have brought me even more delight than hers did to
Priscilla!"

THE HEIR TO SOOTHOID

THE mellow barytone of Astro's voice vibrated
through the great studio with a note of profound
mystery, as he read aloud from Anna Hempstead
Branch's poem, The Pilgrim:

"Touch me not, mother, who art thou,

To lay a hand on me?

My soul was driven through sun and moon
Ere I was come to thee !"

Then he dropped the book and gazed at Valeska, his
assistant, for a while thoughtfully. She was sitting on
the floor, propped up by gorgeous cushions, playing
with a huge piece of rock-crystal cut in the form of a
tetrahedron. A shaft of light fell on her lap, piercing
the obscurity of the apartment. The crystal caught
and gathered the rays, then broke them, shattering the
white light into streaks of brilliant color. At the other
end of the room a spot of radiance appeared on the
ceiling, splendid with the hues of a rainbow. She
looked up to the Master as he ceased reading.

"There's the poet's immemorial challenge to the
monist," he said, almost in a reverie. "It's a cry as old
as the world, and, I think, idealistic as it is, mystic as
it is, with as sure a foundation as that of modern de-
terminism. But this is modern, too. It voices an

326

THE HEIR TO SOOTHOffi 327

idea that, though it has long been common to oriental
thought, is new to the western civilizations. What re-
lation, after all, is the son to the father? See how
sublimely Miss Branch herself answers that passionate
question :

"If thou came out of the moon and star

I plucked thee forth by my desire.
I can hold thee burning in my hand !
It was my hand that shaped the fire !"

Astro rose, and, as was his custom when absorbed
in any subject, began to walk up and down the room.
His keen dark eyes stared straight in front of him
without looking at the priceless decorations of the
studio. His hands were clasped behind his back across
his red silken robe. His turban nodded as he spoke.
Valeska watched him eagerly. These philosophic
moods, alternating with the active eager phases of his
mind, when he was pursuing the track of some almost
insoluble mystery, fascinated her. It was at such times,
she thought, that he betrayed his real self.

"There's the purely transcendental side," he said.
"But the materialistic miracle is as marvelous, — the
fact that protoplasm is immortal, that characteristics,
physical and mental, are handed down in the infinitesi-
mal cell that persists from generation to generation in
the id and the biophore. Tricks of speech and gesture,
abnormal formations of the organs of the body, tem-
per, emotion, — all transmitted in that tiny primordial
atom ! What has science done but induce us to believe
the impossible ?"

A bronze clock in the anteroom pealed out the hour
of ten, preceded by the Westminster chime of four

328 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

staves of music. Valeska rose, but hesitated, unwilling
to interrupt the Seer's soliloquy. But he threw off his
absorbed mood, came back to her, and smiled.

"Well," he said, "one must earn one's living. What's
on for to-day?"

"You have an appointment with Colonel Mixter at
ten."

"Very well. When he comes, show him in. I shall
now give an imitation of an oriental adept of the Fifth
Circle. Pass me the crystal ball, Valeska, and touch off
that incense in the Japanese burner. Am I properly
sedate and scornful? Bah! What rubbish it all is —
and how it goes with the mob !"

He took his favorite position on the couch, drew up
his narghile, and assumed a picturesque attitude. Va-
leska left him and took her place in the reception-room.
In ten minutes she ushered in Colonel Mixter, bowed,
and left the two together, dropping the black velvet
portieres behind her. She did not, however, remain in
the reception-room. Instead, she passed into a room
connecting that with the studio, where in a combina-
tion of mirrors she could see all that happened and
also hear the talk.

The new client was a military-looking man of some
fifty years, with iron-gray hair and a curling white
mustache. He had an active air, full of strength and
character and showing his habit of command. Scrupu-
lously dressed, immaculately clean, well groomed from
head to heels, he was what might have been called both
handsome and distinguished in appearance. His voice
was crisp and hearty.

"May I smoke?" he asked. "Dashed if I can talk
without smoking! I have to treat my confounded

THE HEIR TO SOOTHOID 329

nerves like a confounded pack of dogs, confound it!
Thanks."

In reply, Astro had drawn up his water-pipe and in-
haled a long whiff of the aromatic Russian tobacco
that smoldered in the bowl. The colonel produced a
cigar, bit off the end, and lighted it.

"I suppose you've seen the advertisements of
'Soothoid/ that chewing-gum stuff, all over the town,
haven't you ?" he began.

Astro nodded gravely.

"Biggest fake on earth," said the colonel, "and the
most remunerative. My old uncle invented it, you
know. Conceived the brilliantly vile idea of doping
ordinary chicle with a tincture of opium and making
chewing-gum of it. 'It soothes the nerves/ — I should
say it did! — 'Children cry for it/ and all that sort of
thing ! It's monstrous, of course. It ought to be sup-
pressed by law, and it's only a question of time when
this pure-food agitation will knock it out of business.
It's a crime against civilization ; but all the same it has
made four millions for that disreputable old uncle of
mine, and now the whole works belong to me. Brings
me in eighteen thousand a year. I'm afraid to stop it,
and more afraid not to. But that's not the point."

He rolled his cigar from one corner of his mouth to
another, flicked a fleck of dust from his spotless trou-
sers, and looked calmly at Astro. The Seer smiled, de-
spite himself, waved his hand dispassionately for the
other to proceed, and waited.

"The thing is this," the colonel went on. "I'm an
expert on ordnance, and I've traveled all over the
world for the government. Never at home from one
year's end to another. I came back to find myself im-

330 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

mensely rich, last October, and at the same time up
against a mystery that it's practically impossible to
solve. So I come to you. Understand ?"

"Scarcely, as yet/' said the Master. "Kindly go on."

"Why, see here. I have a son — or thought I had.
Query : Is he my son at all ? And if not, who is to in-
herit the 'Soothoid' millions? That's the question I
have to decide right away. I have angina pectoris.
I'm likely to die any fine day. I don't want a chap
that's no relative of mine to get away with all that
money, do I?"

"My dear Colonel," said Astro, "you'll have to give
me more information than that, before I decide such a
weighty question for you. What do you mean by say-
ing you don't know whether he's your son or not. You
mean you suspect — "

The colonel roared. "Oh, lord, no, not that!" he
exclaimed. "This is no question of matrimonial infe-
licity, you know. I'm the father of a child, all right;
only, the question is, what child?" He put it very
gravely.

"Tell me the whole story." Astro's brows bent on
his client.

"Well, then, see here. When the child was born, my
wife was in a hospital on Long Island. I wanted her
to have the very best of care, especially as I had to be
away so much. Well, the night her child was born, the
hospital took fire. It spread so quickly that they
couldn't get the patients out fast enough. The doctors
working over my wife didn't dare leave her, and they
worked against time. Just after they finished with her
and another case of the same kind, the wing caught,

THE HEIR TO SOOTHOID 331

and there was barely time to hustle every one down-
stairs and outside. Do you see the situation? They
had to work quick. Those surgeons showed all sorts
of nerve, I can tell you. But in the confusion the two
babies were somehow mixed up by the nurse. One
was a boy, and one was a girl, born within three min-
utes of each other. But which was my child, the boy
or the girl? That's how it stands. You see, at the
time nothing was said to me about any uncertainty.
My wife died from the shock ; so did the other woman.
The boy was given to me as my baby. I never sus-
pected that there was any doubt about it, and have
brought him up and educated him as my son."

"But when did you first suspect that he wasn't?"
Astro asked.

"Only a month ago. The former nurse told the
whole thing. Said it was on her conscience, and had
been for years ; so much so that she had kept track of
both children. The little girl was put in an orphan
asylum, as no one came to claim her; then she was
adopted by a family in Newark ; and now she's a sales-
girl at Bloom's candy store. Working behind a coun-
ter at six a week, by Jove ! and may be my daughter,
and the heir to 'Soothoid' ! What do you think of
that? Wouldn't you worry?" He shoved his hands
into his pockets and regarded the Master of Mysteries.

"The nurse isn't sure which is which ?"

"No. It has been tormenting her conscience for
twenty years, and she had to make a clean breast of it.
All she knows is that she 'mixed those babies up' ; like
Little Buttercup in Pinafore. So I've come to you.
Doctors say it positively can't be proved, either way. I
thought you might do it by the palms or crystals or

332 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

something. I've seen 'em do some great stunts in
India, and I believe there is something in this occult
business. They tell me you have a pretty good record
for that sort of thing here in New York."

The Seer waved his hand modestly. "Does the boy
resemble you in any way?" he asked.

"Why, he does and he doesn't. You know the way
things like that go. I've been told I look like every-
body under the sun. I suppose I'm a type. Well, he
is, too. Sometimes I think he's like me, and then I
doubt it. There's one funny thing, though. We both
of us sleep with our thumbs curled up inside our fists.
Then he has a second toe longer than his great toe,
and so have I. They tell me that's rare. My father
had it too, though. He has blue eyes, and so have I.
Red hair, though, and there's no trace of that in my
family or my wife's, that I know of."

"And the girl — have you seen her ?" Astro inquired.

"Of course. Went right down there immediately,
and found her behind the counter — selling 'Soothoid,'
by Jove ! Big pompadour, rats in her hair, brass ban-
gles, and all. What do you expect for six a week,
though? If she's my daughter, she'll soon learn how
to act the part, don't you worry !"

Astro laughed again. "She hasn't been spoken to
about it, I hope ?"

"Oh, lord, no! What do you take me for? I
wouldn't have her building air castles for the world.
I only bought a pound of cheap chocolates and talked
to her a little. I've no doubt the poor girl thought I
was trying to mash her. She was a nice little thing,
though, for all her rats. I liked her, by Jove ! I'd like

THE HEIR TO SOOTHOID 333

to do something for her in any case, daughter or not.
Her name is Miss Maverick."

"Does she resemble you or your wife ?"

"Why, the funny part of it is that she does, in a far-
away sort of fashion. I noticed that she was left-
handed, too, like me. Blue eyes ; but her hair was
hennaed, so I couldn't tell about that. Cute little
thing, she is. Confound it! I did like her immensely,
at first sight."

"Well," said the Seer, after reflecting a while, "I
must confess that you have set a difficult problem for
me. But I think that it can be determined through
astral means. No doubt you have consulted some
medium already?"

"Oh, they're all a lot of fakers ! They told me that
the boy was mine and that the girl was, too, both."

"I agree with you. The ordinary mediums are an
ignorant and unscrupulous lot. I have occult methods
unknown except in the Himalayas. But it will be diffi-
cult, I am afraid. But may I ask you what is the mat-
ter with your eyes, Colonel?"

The colonel stared. "My eyes? Nothing except a
slight astigmatism. I have some glasses ; but I seldom
wear them. Why?"

"They seem peculiar to me. You know that the eye
has been called the 'window of the soul'. The phrase
is trite; but it contains a germ of truth. I can tell a
great deal from the eye, as much as from the palm or
the voice. If you don't mind, I'd like to examine yours
with the ophthalmoscope. My methods are my own;
but I don't hesitate to make use of the instruments
known to modern science. After all, the ophthalmo-

334 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

scope merely enables one to see through the cornea
into the retina and the optic plexus."

With that he called in Valeska, who darkened the
great studio. Then she turned on a single electric
lamp which had a blue-glass bulb. The thread of in-
candescent wire showed purple. Then, attaching his
instrument to the wires, he went up to the colonel and
peered through the little slit in the holder. He gazed
for some moments in silence, then switched on the
lights again.

"Now," he added, "I have to make a request that
may seem absurd. You may have heard of divination
by moles. It is an almost unknown art ; but, while not
absolute, there is much to be learned from the relative
disposition of such marks on the human body. Casa-
nova, you may recall, if you have read his memoirs,
practised the art, and had a theory regarding the sym-
metrical distribution of moles. For instance, if one
has a mole on the right cheek, there is a probability
that there will be another to correspond with it on the
left hip. We are tracing, you understand, mere physi-
cal heredity. That is all you require, I believe. The
relation of souls is far beyond our ken."

"That's true," said the colonel. "People often seem
to bear no spiritual relationship to their parents."

"Where the soul comes from will probably always
remain unsettled by modern science," Astro agreed.
"It is one of the world questions that even Haeckel
gave up. Our oriental philosophers have their explana-
tion; but for that one has to know the whole lore of
the Vedantic sacred books. But there are laws that
govern the transmission of physical characteristics.
Now, therefore, if you will kindly step into this room

THE HEIR TO SOOTHOID 335

and remove your clothes, I shall chart your birthmarks
and compare them with your horoscope."

Ten minutes later the Seer joined Valeska in the
studio. In his hand was a little diagram, an outline of
the human form shown in four positions, from the
front and back, the right and left sides. Little crosses
were marked where the moles on the colonel's body
appeared. He handed it to his assistant with a wink,
and she left immediately. The colonel came in soon
after, as faultlessly dressed as ever, and, after a few
more questions from Astro, was permitted to take his
leave.

"Now," said Astro, when he was again alone with
Valeska, "you have a- delicate piece of detective work
to do. Do you think you can get a position in Bloom's
confectionery store and scrape up an acquaintance with
Miss Maverick?"

"I shall be delighted to try," was her reply. "I sup-
pose I'll earn six dollars a week at it, won't I ?"

"Colonel Mixter is worth millions. I expect it will
pay you pretty well."

"Besides being lots of fun!" Valeska's eyes shone.
"But, really, it seems to me that there's a much simpler
way of settling the question. Why not marry young
Mixter to Miss Maverick? Then, whoever is the true
heir, he or she'll have the use of the money."

"That is exactly what I propose to do. It's the only
solution possible. Heredity can't be proved by any
method known to modern science, of course ; but we'll
have to make three persons believe that it can. I be-
lieve I can convince them all. At any rate, it's as pretty

336 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

a task as the other, and you ought to be able to man-
age it, if any one can."

"Oh, you can't make a person fall in love so easily
as that!" said Valeska, turning away.

"I think you could make any one fall in love," he
answered, gazing at her.

For a while there was silence between them. Then
with apparent effort, he took up the subject they had
left.

"The evidence is pretty equally balanced between
the two," he said. "The son curls in his thumb in his
sleep ; but many do that. The same with the long sec-
ond toe. Both have blue eyes; so that's no test. The
girl affects him mentally, or spiritually; but that's
merely sentimental evidence. Her sinistrality, of
course, amounts to nothing, nor does the faint resem-
blance he remarked to himself. We have to have some
positive physical abnormality in order to appear to
prove heredity. Mere probability doesn't count."

"How about finger prints ?" Valeska asked.

"We know little of that. We have no records of
hereditary transmission in that direction. It's too bad."

"What was the ophthalmoscope test for? And why
all that patter of moles and birthmarks?"

"A mere shot in the air! Do you know what I
brought down, though? The colonel has an optic disk
- — that's where the optic nerve comes into the retina —
of a most peculiar shape, like an angel's wings. I just
stumbled on it, in the hope of finding something pe-
culiar that wouldn't appear to any observer. Also, he
has a curious red birthmark of almost the same shape
on his left shoulder. I saw it when I was pretending
to diagram the moles. Now what we have to do is to

THE HEIR TO SOOTHOID 337

examine both youngsters in some way. You'll have to
patch up a friendship with the girl, Miss Maverick,
while I investigate the boy. His father will help in
that. I'll fix it: Have a doctor's sign painted on the
door of my laboratory, and with the father's directions,
medically inspect the lad for life insurance. That's
easy. If we find one of the stigmata, the proof will
be strong enough. Should we find two, it may be called
positive certainty."

A week afterward found Valeska behind the counter
at Bloom's, dressed in white, with a pompadour as big
as any of those in the shop, selling candy and soda-
water. Her bare arms were heavy with bracelets, her
language was slangy and facetious. Her companion
at the counter was Miss Maverick, known to the other
employees as Bessie. It did not take Valeska long to
create a friendship.

Bessie was a demure little miss, who did not by any
means tell all she knew to a chance acquaintance. But
Valeska asked no questions. Her conversation was a
monologue, apparently artless, but cleverly contrived
to throw the most suspicious off her guard. She asked
Bessie's advice on this and that; she fished for Bes-
sie's compliments; she gave Bessie hardly a chance
for a word. A week went by without a move in the
desired direction. Then Valeska came to the shop with
a tale of misfortune, — of a lost purse and other pa-
thetic details. Bessie offered to share her own room
with her. From that moment all was easy. Valeska
gradually talked less; Bessie gradually talked more.
The two soon became real friends.

338 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

Valeska's first report to Astro was sensational.
"What do you think?" she announced, "Bessie knows
all about the 'Soothoid' affair, and the colonel, and
even the colonel's son! One of those mediums gave
the whole thing away to her, and tried to get her to
stand in with him to claim the heirship of the estate.
But she's the squarest little brick in the world, Bessie
is ! She's a dear ; she's pure gold ! She has looked up
the colonel's business herself, and is all ready to fall
in love with the colonel's son, just for himself alone.
It's going to be easier than I thought/'

"But how about the birthmarks?" Astro inquired.

"Oh, you've no idea how hard it was to find that
out, till she had a little touch of rheumatism. Then
I offered to rub liniment on her back, and — well, she
has a birthmark, something the shape of what you said,
an angel's wings."

"What?" Astro cried.

"It's true. And how about Willie Mixter?"

"Well, he has a birthmark, too," said Astro.

Valeska burst into a laugh. "Thereby proving that
the earth is round, or something like that, doesn't it?
Well, what to do now, I don't see."

"You forget the ophthalmoscope."

"Have you looked at Willie's eyes?"

"Yes, and his optic disk is the ordinary, irregular
circle."

"Oh, I'm so glad! Then there's a chance for Bes-
sie's making good for the 'Soothoid' millions."

"If you can get her up here for me to examine her
eyes."

"But what if, after all, I can make the match with-
out?"

THE HEIR TO SOOTHOID. 339

"OH, I spoke to the colonel about that. He'd be
delighted. He really has taken a fancy to Bessie."

"Then Willie must see her."

"I agree. And I've been thinking that in any case
Willie should be told. If he loses his money, he'll have
to know, anyway. And I see no reason why he
shouldn't know now. He's really a fine chap, a gentle-
man in every sense of the word. If I know anything
of psychology, the thing will appeal to him as im-
mensely romantic."

It was with the keenest interest, therefore, that Va-
leska, three days later, saw Willie Mixter enter
Bloom's, cast his eyes about the shop, and walk toward
the counter behind which Bessie Maverick stood. She
saw Bessie blush; but the conversation was too low
to be overheard. When the time came for the girls to
leave the shop, instead of Bessie's accompanying Va-
leska to their room, she excused herself and went off
alone. Valeska followed at a discreet distance. In five
minutes she saw Willie Mixter overtake Bessie, and
the two walked off like old friends.

The next day he came in again. Valeska asked no
questions. Bessie had grown reserved. But she did
not go this night, either, to the little dairy place where
the two girls usually took their dinner. So it went on
for another week, Bessie seeing the rich young fellow
two or three times.

That next Sunday, as the two girls sat in their little
room on East Nineteenth Street, Bessie began to cry.
Valeska's arm was about her neck immediately, and,
through her sobs, Bessie came out with the whole
story.

340 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"He wants to marry me !" she confessed. "And I
love him so much that I won't ! I know it's all on ac-
count of this miserable money, and he only wants to
be fair with me, and divide. I simply can't accept him
on that account ! He'd think, anyway, I was after him
on account of his money, even if I didn't think he was
after me only because of his conscience. It's hopeless,
my dear, hopeless ! I hope I'll die and end it that way !
I wish I might never see a package of 'Soothoid'
again as long as I live !"

"Oh, of course you'll marry him!" Valeska said.
"I'm sure he's in love with you."

"He is not ! He talks all the time about our dividing
the money ; so I'm sure he only wants to arrange it like
one of those royal family complications I've read about.
I've got to tell some one !" she went on. "I'm breaking
my heart with it. I have no mother and no father,"
here she broke off to stare wildly at Valeska, "unless
the colonel is my father ; and so I tell you ! Oh, dear !
it can never be settled ! That's the horrible part of it.
If that horrid old nurse had only been more careful of
us!" and she laughed through her tears hysterically.
"What shall I do, Valeska, what shall I do?"

"Do you really want my advice ?" Valeska asked.

Bessie snuggled closer to her friend.

"I have a friend," Valeska said slowly, "a man whom
I know you can trust. He is the wisest person in the
world, it seems to me. He has been my friend a long
time. He saved me from what was worse than death."

"Are you in love with him ?" Bessie interrupted.

Valeska ignored the remark. "He is a palmist and
an astrologer, and I used to work for him. He has
solved some of the most astonishing mysteries in this

THE HEIR TO SOOTHOID 341

city. He is continually doing good. You can be sure
of him."

"What must I do ?" Bessie demanded.

"He knows all about you," said Valeska. "The colo-
nel has told him everything, and Astro, my friend,
has agreed to help solve the problem. I know I can
trust you, when I tell you this. I want you to see him
and ask his advice."

"I will!" Bessie rose with determination. "I'll just
leave it all to him. He can't make it any worse than
to tell me that I'm not the colonel's daughter, and then
that will settle it. Let's go and call on him now."

Astro looked up in surprise when he saw the two
girls enter the studio. A secret glance from Valeska
told him the truth. He nodded, and welcomed the
visitor.

"I've told her everything," said Valeska. "She can
be trusted. You will take my word for it, I know.
And she's ready for the ophthalmoscope test."

"Is it really a proof ?" Bessie asked timidly.

"My dear girl," said Astro, "if your optic disk shows
itself to be the ordinary circle, nothing whatever will
be proved, and the chances are equal as between you
and Willie. If, on the contrary it appears like your
father's — I mean the colonel's — it will be ten thou-
sand to one that you are descended from him; that
you are, in fact, his daughter. Now, Valeska, put down
the lights and light the blue bulb."

The room became dim and full of shadows. The in-
candescent wire of the electric lamp showed a rich
purple. Astro took up the instrument, placed it in

342 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

front of Miss Maverick's eyes and stared through the
aperture.

"Come here, Valeska!"

He handed her the ophthalmoscope, adjusted it, and
bade her look. Valeska gazed into the retina of Bes-
sie's eye. At first she could distinguish nothing.
Slowly she perceived the warm pink back of the eye,
and in the center a ruddy spot. It was the optic disk
— shaped like an angel's wings! She dropped the in-
strument and clasped Bessie in her arms.

"Bessie Mixter!" she exclaimed.

"No!" Bessie jumped up, staring. For a moment
she stood silent, then she grasped Astro's hand.

"Oh, you won't tell him, will you?" she pleaded.
"Promise me you won't ever, ever let him know! I
don't want the money! I want Willie to have it, as
he's always had it ! Don't let him ever, ever know !"

"But it's yours !" Valeska exclaimed.

"I don't care. Don't you understand, Valeska?"

"You mean—"

"Yes !" Bessie cast down her eyes.

"Then you'll marry him, now you know that the
money's rightfully yours ?"

Bessie drew herself up. "Of course!" she said.
"Wouldn't you?"

"It's too much for me," said Astro.

"That," said Valeska, "is because you are only a
man."

"I know I'm supposed not to know anything about
love," he said gloomily.

"Nothing at all !" Valeska's tone was decisive.

"And I'll have a father after all!" cried Bessie.
"That's the best part of it ! I've wanted a father all

* :

*' Now Valeska, put down the lights and light the blue bulb.

THE HEIR TO SOOTHOID 343

my life. And," she added, "he'll never know, by the
way I treat him, that he's missed anything by not hav-
ing a truly daughter!" She walked toward the tele-
phone. "I'm going to ring up Willie right now," she
announced.

Astro watched her keenly. "It would be rather
pleasant to have a daughter like that," he muttered to
himself, and walked into the laboratory with a thought-
ful scowl.

THE TWO MISS MANNINGS

"T)E careful, Valeska, don't joggle my arm, now!"

JD said Astro.

They were in the small laboratory that led off the
great studio. Here the Seer pursued his studies in
physics, chemistry, and pathology. Here he had his
microscope, over which he spent most of his leisure.
Here, now, he stood before the window, dressed in a
linen suit, holding to the light a corked test-tube.

Valeska waited, smiling, ready for a new marvel, a
new philosophic theory, some shrewd comment on hu-
man nature, or what other thought had sprung from the
Master's prolific brain. She looked over his shoulder,
letting her chin touch it, even; though she did not
often permit herself such intimacy as this.

He did not turn his head. Instead, without speak-
ing he unstopped the tube gently. Immediately in
the glass cylinder a tiny miracle appeared. A white
ray sprang from the bottom of the colorless liquid. It
divided and subdivided, branching in a dozen direc-
tions ; and as she looked it grew rapidly, until the in-
terior of the vessel was filled as if by magic with a
feathery delicate mass of crystals.

"Oh ! How very beautiful — how wonderful !" she
gasped.

He put the tube into her hand and sat down on the
table.

344

THE TWO MISS MANNINGS 345

"The tree of Paracelsus," he remarked. "In the
olden time it was accounted magic. With that sim-
ple experiment with sodium sulphate dukes and kings
may have been beguiled, fortunes won, the lives of
great men changed. Those were the palmy days for
charlatans, Valeska. It paid well to be an alchemist
in the Middle Ages ; that is, if you escaped being put to
death for it."

As she handed back the tube, he gazed on it thought-
fully for a moment; and then, holding it over a Bun-
sen burner, warmed the tube. In a few moments the
crystals began to melt. The tree shrank and disap-
peared. He gave it a shake, and the solution was trans-
parent again. He set it in a rack and smiled.

Valeska waited, knowing that this was not mere
amusement. It was like him to wait for her to fathom,
if she could, what he was thinking. But his mind sur-
passed hers; she could only follow him at times,
though oftener than at first. Here she had no clue.

"It's a moral lesson," he said. "It is a parable of
human nature and its mysteries. Why do we become
absolutely different persons when we are angry? I
am, we'll say, like this clear solution, hermetically
sealed from the atmosphere of strife. Open the cork,
or drop in a crystal of anger. Immediately, without
apparent reason, I am changed ; but not so beautifully
as this. Warm this tree of acrid bitterness that has
sprung up, and I melt into good nature again. Read-
ing Paracelsus, the analogy came into my mind. Thus
endeth the first lesson."

And, so saying, he stripped off his working clothes,
attired himself in gown and turban, and, as he changed
his costume, became again the inscrutable calm Seer,

346 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

ready for his patrons. He walked into the dim studio,
took a gyroscope from a tabouret and spun it on a little
standard.

Valeska's look followed him. His eyes questioned
her. She drew down her fair brows and watched the
toy, supported seemingly immune from the power of
gravitation as it revolved slowly in its orbit, its wheel
flying too fast, too silently, for its motion to be per-
ceived.

She spoke timidly. "Human emotions — the down-
ward pull — governed and held in equilibrium by — "

"The trained mind, the intellect," he suggested.
"Very well, Valeska. Very well, indeed! You're
coming on." He yawned. "Well, now for work!
It's dangerous pushing analogies too far."

"Well, about that young man who came yesterday ?"

"Oh, yes. I didn't have time to see him. Besides,
it's time you were taking some cases off my hands,
and he didn't seem too anxious. I know you prefer
men to women." He watched her from the tail of his
eye.

"I don't !" she protested, blushing.

Astro seemed pleased. "Well, it's agreeable for
them, at any rate. What was the story?"

"Why, it's most romantic ! It's perfectly ridiculous,
though! He wants you to find a strange woman
whom he saw on the subway."

"Why strange?"

"Oh, strange enough in every way. And it's a hard
problem, too."

"First, who is he?"

* 5m

The ' Tree of Paracelsus,' " he remarked. " In the olden times
it was accounted magic."

THE TWO MISS MANNINGS 347

"He's a Mr. Jenson, and he said to ring him up at
Madison 2995 between nine and two o'clock. Those
are banking hours. And I found out the number was
that of the Sixth Avenue National."

"Very good. Go on."

"Well, yesterday at four o'clock, he took a local in
the subway at Twenty-third Street. Between Twenty-
eighth Street and Thirty-third, an up-town express
passed him. You know how, sometimes, two trains
keep side by side for a short distance, exactly even,
and then the express shoots ahead?"

"Yes. I've often thought of complications arising
from two passengers watching each other."

"Which is exactly what happened. Directly op-
posite his window was a beautiful girl sitting in the
express. She seemed fearfully agitated, and looked at
him strangely ; almost as if she recognized him, though
he's sure he has never seen her before. But he had
another sort of feeling — an emotion — as if somehow
she was something to him, — one might call it a sudden
feeling of affinity, — a real love at first sight."

"Oh, in the circumstances she felt safe enough to
flirt with him, I suppose."

"Oh, that's impossible; for it seemed evident that
she didn't feel safe at all, — in fact that she was in a
great danger, and was so distressed that she made a
mute appeal to him for help."

"Why to him?'

"To him, he thinks, perhaps too sentimentally, be-
cause she, too, felt the mysterious affinity, — whatever
it is, trust in him, or something. And she asked him
to help her."

Astro stared. "Asked him ! How, pray ? She had

348 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

only a few moments, and I suppose the windows were
shut. They always are, even in summer."

"Yes; but she was really clever. She had a news-
paper in her hand. On the front page were the head-
lines. Here, I have a yesterday's paper."

She took up a copy of the Gazette and pointed to
the scare-head, "Tammany Will Help Push the New
Viaduct," in such a way that only the word "Help" was
evident.

"Then," Valeska continued, "she gave him a num-
ber, 3324, one digit at a time, on her fingers."

"I see. And Mr. Jenson, I suppose, wants to know
the lady's name and address, and what she wanted?"

"Exactly. Of course the number was that of her
house ; but what street ?"

Astro snapped his fingers impatiently. "It was her
telephone number. Didn't she make any sign to show
the central?"

"Why, just as she got to the 4, the train she was in
swept out of sight as his slowed up at the Thirty-third-.
Street station."

Astro thought for a while. Finally he said, "Take
the telephone book and make a list of all the ex-
changes, first thing. Then we'll have to use our pull
with the company to find out the names and addresses
of all the 3324*5, and send men to investigate. It's
merely a question of elimination then. But the ques-
tion is, what was the matter? That requires thought.
What happened yesterday? I suppose you've finished
all the papers ?"

"Yes ; but there was nothing that seemed important
to me."

THE TWO MISS MANNINGS 349

"Then I'll have to look over the files myself. What
a bore !"

He went into the waiting-room and began list-
lessly to turn the sheets. He had not gone far before
Valeska heard a low whistle. Running up to him, she
saw him reading a news item under the following
headings: "Aged Woman Killed in Subway Station.
Run Over by Down-town Express After Falling on
Track in View of Crowd/'

"Look at that !" he exclaimed. "This happened at a
quarter to three o'clock yesterday. The mysterious
lady might easily have been at the Fourteenth- Street
station at the time of the accident."

"And what does that prove?"

"Nothing yet ! but it's a, chance for a clue ; a queer
coincidence, at any rate. I'll take a think, when I have
leisure."

He went back to the studio, and, after he had fin-
ished reading the palm of his first client, Valeska en-
tered with the list:

Audubon
Barclay
Beekman
Broad
Bryant
Chelsea
City Island
Columbus

Cortland
Franklin
Gramercy
Hanover
Harlem
John
Kingsbridge
Lenox

Madison Sq.
Marble
Melrose
Morning Side
Murray Hill
Orchard
Plaza
Rector

Riverside
Schuyler
Spring
Stuyvesant
Tremont
Westchester
Williamsbridge
Worth

Astro glanced it over, and penciled it as he talked.
"We'll first strike out all the stations obviously not in
the residence districts where the lady would be likely
to live. We may leave out Beekman, Barclay, Broad,
City Island, Franklin, Cortland, John, Hanover, Or-
chard, Rector, and Worth. That leaves us still nine-

350 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

teen numbers to investigate. Now, if the young lady
wanted help badly enough to appeal to a casual stran-
ger, and for that purpose tried to communicate her
telephone number, it must have been that she was
going directly home, and wanted a quick reply. As
she was on a subway express at Thirty-third Street,
then it couldn't have been either of the Chelsea,
Gramercy, Madison Square, Spring, or Stuyvesant dis-
tricts. The subway does not go near the Harlem,
Melrose, Lenox, Tremont, Westchester, or Williams-
bridge sections. Let's see, then, what is left: Audu-
bon, Bryant, Columbus, Kingsbridge, Morningside,
Riverside, and Murray Hill. Ring up Mr. Potter in
the advertising department of the telephone company,
and tell him I'd like to find the names and addresses
of number 3324 in each of those seven exchanges."

Valeska left the studio on this errand, and, as no
client appeared, Astro picked up his Paracelsus and
went on with his reading. He had finished the chapter
on Aqueous Vapors when she returned. He took up
her memorandum and looked it over. The Audubon
and Kingsbridge addresses he eliminated, for the pres-
ent, these being apartment-houses with private ex-
changes. The Social Register enabled him to identify
the persons in the Morningside, Plaza, and Riverside
districts. There were left only three addresses, as fol-
lows:

(Bryant, 3324) H. J. Cook, 199 West Forty-fifth
Street.

(Columbus, 3324) Peter J. Manning, 521 West Sev-
enty-third Street.

THE TWO MISS MANNINGS 351

(Murray Hill, 3324) Alpheus Hardy, 118 East Thirty-
sixth Street.

"Well," he said, "the last one, Hardy, must go, be-
cause if she were going to East Thirty-sixth Street,
the lady would have taken a local to Thirty-third-Street
station. To-morrow we'll see what we can find out
about the Cooks and Mannings. We'll see if my theory
is correct. You have a description of the girl, I sup-
pose?"

"Such as it is, not much ; though he'd know her, of
course, if he saw her again. He was too busy trying
to take her message to have noticed or recalled much.
He did say she wore chinchilla furs, though, had red-
dish hair, and either a scar or a deep dimple in her
chin."

"I hope it's a dimple," said Astro, taking up his
Paracelsus.

Valeska pouted, shook her fist at him, and retired.

The next morning a man purporting to be an agent
of the New York Directory Company called at 199
West Forty-fifth Street and asked many questions.
He had an affable way with him that quite won the
heart of the maid who answered the door. She denied,
however, that there was any young woman living in
the house, which belonged to H. J. Cook.

That afternoon the same agent called at 521 West
Seventy-third Street. He was met by a butler, who
treated the agent with cold disdain and refused to
commit himself more than to assert that the house was
the residence of Peter J. Manning, wholesale wood
dealer. The servant thawed out, however, in an inter-

352 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

view with a young woman who called later, asking
for Miss Manning. Miss Manning, he ventured to
say, was out; but was expected back at two o'clock.
He had not heard that she had lost any chinchilla furs,
but hoped the young lady would return, and if the
furs found belonged to Miss Manning, he was sure
that the finder would be well rewarded. Yes, he had
seen Miss Manning with chinchillas, and it was his
opinion that she had them on when she left the house
at ten o'clock that morning. He hoped the young lady
would call again.

At one o'clock a coupe drew up at the corner of
West Seventy-third Street and Broadway and stopped.
The curtains were drawn at the side of the carriage,
but a man's face occasionally looked out from the little
window in the .end. Two o'clock passed, and three.

Meanwhile, another coupe had been standing at the
corner of West End Avenue, at the other end of the
same block. In this also the curtains were drawn;
but at times a passing pedestrian caught sight of a
young woman's pretty face, with light hair and blue
eyes. At about half past two o'clock a woman wearing
chinchilla furs passed the carriage. Its occupant im-
mediately alighted and after a word to the driver, fol-
lowed her. She walked rapidly along Seventy-third
Street, and ran up the steps of number 521. The fol-
lower did not stop, however, but went to Broadway,
spoke to the driver of the waiting cab, and sprang in.
It immediately drove off.

At the studio Valeska went immediately to the tele-
phone and rang up Jenson.

THE TWO MISS MANNINGS 353

"The person you inquired about," she said, "is Miss
Margaret Manning, and she is now at 521 West Sev-
enty-third Street. I gave the Master the card-case you
left, and with that as a test he went into an astral
trance yesterday. While in that state he saw, clair-
voyantly, the scene you described, as well as the girl's
subsequent movements."

She waited for the reply and then smiled as she an-
swered, "I'm afraid I can not tell you more of her, Mr.
Jenson. The Master does not feel that he is at liberty
to disclose the secrets revealed to him while in this
astral state. Should events prove it advisable, how-
ever, he will inform you, as far as is possible. The
girl is in trouble; but we must make sure that she
desires your assistance before we let you into the de-
tails of her life. Yes, please send a check to Astro.
One hundred dollars. Thank you."

"Oh, the girl is in trouble, is she, sorceress?" Astro
asked languidly, looking up from where he was toying
with his pet white lizard.

"Why, of course! What woman isn't?" said Va-
leska. "Did you ever encounter one who didn't have
a secret sorrow, big or little?"

"My dear," and Astro playfully chucked her under
the chin, "you are positively learning. You are right,
of course. The first thing a charlatan has to learn is
that every man likes to be understood, and every wom-
an to be misunderstood. Both like to be considered sen-
sitive, critical, good judges of human nature, and of
delicate perceptions. No one objects to being called
reckless; but every one dislikes being considered
stupid. But, seriously, of course the chances are ten
to one that Miss Manning has some pet sorrow, and

354 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

if she hasn't Jenson will never know. At any rate,
we have done our part. We'll see him again, though.
Any man who has that affinity idea may be depended
upon to do something foolish."

It was two weeks after that, however, before Jenson
was heard from. He came in late one afternoon, pink-
cheeked and immaculate, in stylish clothes, a clean-
shaven, fresh, young man, evidently wealthy. Astro
received him gravely. The Seer had on his oriental
costume and his most effete manner.

"See here !" the young man began. "You're a won-
der, I've got to confess that ! I take off my hat to you,
Astro. I don't know how you do it, but you certainly
deliver the goods. I don't mind telling you that I
came to this place as the result of a bet. I saw that
girl in the subway and told one of my friends about it.
He said, 'You go to Astro; he can do anything.' Of
course, I didn't believe it, and all this nonsense about
astral trances is rot. All the same, you did find the
girl. It was Miss Manning, all right."

"I beg your pardon, Mr. Jenson," Astro's voice was
a bit sarcastic, "I presume you did not come here to
insult me. I take your exuberance as mere youth. As
you know nothing of my methods, it would be courtesy,
since they are successful, to accept what explanation I
am pleased to offer. But I pass that by."

"I say, you know, I didn't mean to offend you."
Jenson was visibly embarrassed.

Without reply, Astro rose and touched a gong.
Valeska entered immediately. With a gesture toward
the young man, the Seer left the studio.

"I say, I'm sorry!" Jenson began.

"The Master has his moods," said Valeska.

THE TWO MISS MANNINGS 355

"I wanted to ask his advice."

"You may deal with me ; and if he decides to con-
tinue with your case I shall let you know." Valeska
looked her sweetest, but her voice was crisp and cool.

"Well, the fact is, I've seen Miss Manning three
times, and she certainly has got me going. I wanted
to talk to Astro about it."

"Talk to me."

"Well, it was this way. I went up to Seventy-third
Street and hung around the afternoon you telephoned,
and I did succeed in seeing her ; but I was across the
street, and before I could get to her she had got into
a carriage. Well, I've been up there very often since ;
but I never caught her till about ten days ago. She
was walking down the block, and as I passed her she
recognized me and stopped. The first thing she said
was, 'Can you help me? Will you help me?' I said
of course I would. It was romantic. I don't mind
saying it was mighty exciting to me. We walked a
way, and she told me an extraordinary thing. I can't
believe it ; indeed, it's impossible. But she believed it,
though she said it was impossible, too."

"Well, what was it?"

"Why, she said, 'I'm frightened because something
that's obviously impossible is true. One hour ago I
was in Chicago !' What do you think of that ?"

"I should say that she was insane."

"That was my first idea ; but, as you see, she herself
admitted that such a thing was impossible, as it takes
twenty-four hours to go from Chicago to New York.
It was four o'clock. She said she was in Chicago in
front of the Auditorium at three."

"Well, what did she expect you to do for her?"

356 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"Why, that wasn't all; she said she had no idea
where she was or what she was doing in New York.
She didn't even know who the people were she was
living with. She remembered having signaled to me
on the train. She was lost then, too. She suddenly
found herself with a stranger, a man who seemed to
think he was her protector ; but she was afraid of him.
She had just heard him give his telephone number to
a friend who had passed through the car. That was
all the clue she had to where she was going. So she
signaled that to me; but didn't have time to give me
the name of -the exchange, 'Columbus/ She wanted
me to take her to Chicago immediately. I told her that
was impossible; but that I'd go. the next day with her
and take her home. She was afraid of this man's fol-
lowing her. I made an appointment for the next
morning. She was to meet me in the Waldorf-Astoria
palm-room at ten o'clock."

"And she didn't come, of course?"

"No. I got frightened — thought that something
serious was the matter — and called at her house. Sent
up my name. She came down and coolly asked to
know what I wanted. She pretended not to know me,
and I was in a deuce of a situation. I floundered out
of it as best I could; told her I had an appointment.
She denied it; said she didn't know me, nor what I
was talking about. And there you are!" Jenson
crossed his legs and gazed at Valeska with big eyes.

"Well, I suppose you wish the Master to explain
this?"

"That's what I came here for. I told him the first
time I came it was on account of a wager. I bet my
friend fifty dollars that Astro couldn't find the girl.

THE TWO MISS MANNINGS 357

Well, I lost. This time I come believing in him. Will
you see what you can do? I confess I'm fond of that
girl. I've felt it from the beginning, the very first
glance. I want to help her. I want to know her, and,
you may think it absurd, but I want to marry her."
He folded his arms and became almost defiant.

Valeska rose. "Very well. I can promise nothing ;
but I shall put it before the Master, and, as I said, I
shall let you know his decision. Of myself I can do
nothing ; but I shall try to influence him."

Jenson left, thanking her profusely. Just as he
opened the door, he said embarrassedly, "See here;
I'd do anything for that girl !"

"Would you really?" Valeska asked, smiling.

"I mean just that, — anything!" And Jenson went
out the door with a grim look on his face.

Valeska came back into the studio laughing. "Do
tell me what it means!" she exclaimed after she had
told the story to Astro.

He yawned. "Isn't Miss Manning calling quite
often at number 85 Central Park, South ?" he remarked
casually, examining his long nails.

"Why, how do you know? I didn't know you had
done anything more on the case."

"Oh, very little. It's scarcely necessary."

"But whom is she going to see?"

"Doctor George HerreschofT."

"A specialist?"

"A neurologist."

"I don't understand."

Astro smiled and shook his head indulgently.

"Well, I'll give you a book by Doctor Morton Prince
to read. You'll find it as exciting as a novel ; I might

358 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

venture to say as exciting as Mr. Jensen's experience
with Miss Manning."

Valeska knew more than to ask further. The Seer
usually gave her a hint and let her exert her imagina-
tion.

"Don't forget the accident in the subway station at
Fourteenth Street. And there's an article in the No-
vember number of The Journal of Abnormal Psychol-
ogy," he added.

He rose, went to the book-shelves that lined three
walls of the vast studio, took down the book and the
little magazine, and gave them to her with a smile.
Then he walked into his laboratory to prepare, for her
edification, the arbor Jovis, the arbor Diange, and the
arbor Saturnae : the trees of tin, silver, and lead.

He stuck his head out of the door a half-hour later
and called over to where Valeska was reading under a
lamp, "Your friend Jenson will never marry that girl
he's after!"

"Oh, won't he?"

"No; she's going to disappear."

Valeska stared at him in wonder. Her look changed
to amazement when he added :

"But he may marry Margaret Manning."

"Why, she is Margaret Manning," she replied, still
puzzled.

"No, she isn't," he said, laughing, and shut the door
of the laboratory.

The next day Jenson telephoned to the studio.
Valeska came back from her conversation with him,
leaving the receiver off the hook. "He says he has

THE TWO MISS MANNINGS 359

met Miss Manning again, and she still is urging him
to take her to Chicago. But he has begun to be sus-
picious of her, and doubts if he ought to do it. He
wants your advice."

Astro smiled. "You might tell him what I told you
yesterday."

"Ah ! but what's the use if he hasn't read The Dis-
sociation of a Personality?"

"Then suppose you advise him to call on Doctor
Herreschoff and ask his advice."

"Shall I, really? Who is he?"

"The most famous specialist on nervous diseases
in America, who knows more of multiple or disso-
ciated personality than any one living."

"Oh, I see. I'll tell him." And Valeska returned
to the telephone to repeat the address.

"You understand now?" Astro asked.

"Of course. Miss Manning has a dual personality.
In her normal state she does not, of course, recall Mr.
Jenson. In her secondary state she appealed to him
for help."

"Because she literally did not know where she was,"
added Astro. "Doubtless, from his story, while she
was in Chicago her own normal self, she changed into
the secondary character, in which she did not even
know her own brother. She alternated between the
two states, which may be called the A and the B. It is
often the case that a mental or physical shock entirely
changes the personality. That's what I thought of on
reading of the accident at the subway station. No
doubt she witnessed the accident. The shock broke
up her personality, changed A, her normal state, into
B. She had, no doubt, been B before, in Chicago.

36o THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

But, finding herself with a man she did not recognize,
she became alarmed. Her impulse was to appeal to
the first likely-looking stranger for help. Somehow
she was attracted to Jenson, and so she signaled to
him."

"Then she was B again when she asked him to take
her to Chicago?"

"Certainly. Of course she must have gone to Chi-
cago between the time he saw her on the train and
when he met her in the street. She recalled having
been in Chicago at three o'clock. She must have
changed almost immediately, and taken the train soon
afterward. Then, upon arriving in New York, some-
thing threw her back into the B state again. Owing
to her amnesia, while in the secondary state, she forgot
all that had happened, and thought it was the same
day that she was in Chicago. But when he called at
the house, she had changed back to her normal con-
dition. All that is evident from his story. It is as
evident that such a case would be brought to Doctor
Herreschoff for treatment, and doubtless he will be
very glad to meet Jenson, who knows something of
what has happened to her in this abnormal, or B, state.
The doctor will undoubtedly treat her hypnotically and
restore her to a permanently normal personality."

"And that's how Mr. Jenson's friend, poor B, will
disappear ?"

"Yes. There is, properly, no such person. B is
merely a part of Miss Manning, — Miss Manning with
certain faculties, including memory, missing. It's not
so interesting a case as that of Miss Beauchamp, which
Doctor Prince has written of, nor of the celebrated
Felida X, reported by Azan. Of course there are all

THE TWO MISS MANNINGS 361

sorts of dissociations. Some persons break up into
three or four separate and intermittent personalities.
But Miss Manning is certainly interesting. I'd like to
meet her, myself."

"And I'd like to know how poor Jensen's love-
affair will turn out," said Valeska. "I'm sorry for
him."

"I've no doubt he'll not only lose the girl he has fal-
len in love with, but he'll be asked to help in putting
her out of existence."

"That's simply horrible ! He said he'd do anything
for her. I wonder if he'd do that? But it's all so
mysterious and so impossible! Why, one might as
well believe in witchcraft or magic it seems to me."

"It is just exactly what was called witchcraft in the
old days. Now we understand it, and it is merely
psychology."

Astro rose and pointed to the laboratory. "Do you
remember the tree of Paracelsus ?" he asked.

Valeska nodded.

"It is like that. In the Middle Ages that experi-
ment was nothing but pure magic. No common per-
son could understand that the clear solution and the
mass of crystals were different forms of the same
thing, — sulphate of sodium and water. In the same
way, no one understood that one person could appear
at different times under different forms ; it was en-
chantment. To-day we understand that one's person-
ality is merely the sum of his qualities, emotions and
functions. This solid person may break up into other
combinations ; part of his functions may become syn-
thesized and have a volition of this new group's own
character. We see it every day. When we lose our

362 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

temper we become temporarily dissociated. We say
things foreign to our true nature. When we dream,
too, we become different in many ways. Occasionally
some natures in a state of unstable equilibrium top-
ple over and change their mental and spiritual struc-
ture. Then we have such patients as Miss Beauchamp,
as Miss Smith, reported by Flournoy, as Mrs. Smead,
whom Hyslop describes, or Ansel Bourne, studied by
Doctor Hodgson and Professor James. And how
many unknown such are confined in insane asylums,
who might be easily restored to normality, God
knows !"

He had been walking up and down the great studio
as he talked. Now he returned to Valeska, and for an
instant his hand rested on her blond head.

"There's one thing more potent than mental shock
that changes men's personality often enough," he said
softly.

She looked up quickly, uncomprehending. "What
do you mean ?"

"Did I say one thing? There are two things that
change a man's character essentially," he went on,
looking at her thoughtfully. "One is a profound sor-
row ; the other is love." He walked away to the win-
dow. "Dickens understood that," he threw over his
shoulder.

Valeska turned her eyes away from him, then rose
and passed into the waiting-room.

Three days after that, Jenson called. He was no
longer the blithe and joyous young man of fashion.
Instead, he seemed prematurely old. His eyes were
softer, his manner less careless.

THE TWO MISS MANNINGS 363

"It all came true as Astro predicted," he said to
Valeska, talking it over ; "even to my never marrying
the girl I fell in love with. Doctor Herreschoff told
me all about her case, and asked my assistance in bring-
ing her back to her true self. In her normal state she
does not know me at all; in fact, there is almost a
dislike of me, on account of my having been mixed up
with her secondary self, — the girl who asked my help.
But the doctor thinks my companionship is beneficial,
and I have consented to give my assistance. If she
appears in her abnormal state, I shall take her to him
and have her treated hypnotically. Her changes come
less often, and he thinks she will soon be permanently
normal."

"You do love her, indeed !" Valeska breathed in ad-
miration.

"Enough to murder her, in a way of speaking, for
her own good !" he replied grimly. "But didn't I tell
you I would do anything for that girl? Anything!
Could anything harder be asked of me than that I
should help myself to lose her forever?" He smiled
wanly as he spoke.

"Oh, it won't be lost, that sacrifice!" Valeska ex-
claimed. "She will realize what you have done, in
time, and she will — she must love you for it ! Then it
will be she herself, not a mere part of her personality,
but the whole woman, who will repay you with her
love."

"Perhaps." Jenson rose to go, and stood a moment,
sadly thoughtful. "But somehow — confound it, that
other girl, you know! — she was the one, after all —
Well, I've given my word. All I want is her well-
being. I'm satisfied. Good-by !" and he wrung Vales-

364 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

ka's hand till the tears came into her eyes, though
she made no sound.

She came back into the great studio and found Astro
gazing abstractedly out of the window. He was so
lost in his reverie that he did not notice her approach
till she had laid a hand on his shoulder. Then he
looked round, startled. His face changed wonderfully
and became infinitely tender.

"You were right," she said softly, "there are two
things that change human character, love and sorrow.
Our poor Mr. Jenson has tasted both, I think."

"It will make a man of him," said Astro. "I hope it
may make a man of me !"

He walked into the little laboratory. Into a Flor-
ence flask, filled with a solution of lead acetate, he
dropped a few pieces of zinc. In an hour there had
grown up, exquisitely feathery and foliated, the crys-
talline tree of lead, the arbor Saturnse of the alchem-
ists, potent with its parable of life.

Valeska found it there after he had left, looked at it
a moment, and bit her lip in silence. Then, after a
quick timid look about, she took up the flask and gave
it a kiss.

VAN ASTEN'S VISITOR

"T T NLESS it stops snowing pretty soon, I think I'll

\~J not go to Boston to-night, after all," said young
Van Asten, of the law firm of Hipp & Van Asten. He
stood looking out a thirteenth-story window, late one
December afternoon, watching the big storm which
had increased steadily in violence since one o'clock.
His hat was tilted on the back of his head and his
overcoat collar was turned up about his ears. Keen,
quick, and clear-cut, his features showed handsomely
in profile. He was the popular member of the firm
among his affluent clientele.

"Looks like a blizzard," said the clerk, rummaging
in a pasteboard letter-holder.

"Sure. The midnight train is sure either to be stalled
or delayed, and I can go on Saturday just as well. I
don't care to sit up for hours in a snow-bank." Then
he turned suddenly to the clerk. "Say, has anybody
from Selvig's been in to-day ?" he asked.

"You mean about the Drellmont will case?"

"Yes. By the way young Drellmont spoke yester-
day, I rather expect he's getting ready to compromise.
He's a fool if he doesn't ; and a bigger fool to expect
me to show him the will, too !"

"Nobody's been in," said the clerk laconically.

Van Asten went out and plowed his way through

365

366 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

rising drifts to the subway station. By six o'clock he
was at the Gavel Club, and by eight had finished his
dinner. Several games of pool, a long talk with a
visiting Englishman, perusal of the French comic
papers, and convivial gossip with late comers from the
theaters full of tales of the storm, kept him warm and
cheerful till midnight. Then, as the clock struck, he
put on his things and went out.

There were few abroad at this hour, and not a car-
riage or an automobile in sight. The street-car lines
had given up trying to keep the tracks clear, and he
came across one darkened car abandoned in the snow.
He had to fight his way home, struggling through
drifts waist high. It was deathly quiet except for
the sound of the wind.

He reached his apartment-house at last, and, stamp-
ing and shaking himself, climbed four flights of stairs,
the elevator being out of order. At his door he
stopped, surprised. Under the door there was a thin
streak of light.

Van Asten's firm was still too young to enable him
to live in the style he had been used to before going
into business. His apartment consisted of only four
rooms, — a large, L-shaped studio, a bedroom, and,
off the entrance hall, on one side a bath-room, and on
the other a kitchenet. A woman came in every morn-
ing to clean up the place; except for that, he was
alone.

He distinctly remembered that no light had been
left burning when he had left the place at ten o'clock
that morning. What, then, could the light mean? No
one save the janitor had a key to the place. His
thought went naturally to burglars. He hesitated for

VAN ASTEN'S VISITOR 367

some moments, wondering what to do. It was late to
summon the janitor for assistance, and he would ap-
pear foolish if nothing serious had happened. He de-
termined to investigate alone, and, prepared for an im-
mediate struggle, he put his key quietly into the door
and turned the latch. The door opened without noise,
and he could see through the one opposite into the
long studio.

There, a woman in mink furs stood, with her back
to him, beside the great table. She was bending over,
as if taking something from a bag.

The tension of suspense that had knotted Van
Asten's muscles and nerves gave way to a little laugh.
The romance of the encounter amused him keenly,
though his curiosity was doubly alert. He took a
step forward.

At the sound of his footsteps, the woman looked
round quickly, and for a minute stood staring at him
with an expression of alarm. Her hand went to her
heart. She was a beautiful woman of twenty-three,
dressed with elegance. She was a vivid blonde, with
masses of heavy yellow hair, blue eyes and slender
hands. For a single moment she stood there, immo-
bile; then, to Van Asten's amazement, she ran for-
ward and threw her arms about his neck and pressed
her lips to his cheek.

"Oh, Paul! I'm so glad you've come! I didn't
know what to do ! I was afraid I'd have to stay here
all night alone ! Where in the world have you been ?"

Van Asten calmly disentangled himself from her
embrace and took another look at her face. She was
blushing violently. "Will you kindly tell me, first of
all, who you are?"

368 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"Why, Paul! What in the world do you mean?"

"I mean I haven't the pleasure of your acquaintance,
and naturally I have a little curiosity about a visitor
at this hour."

For a second or two she gazed at him steadily, her
lips parted. "Are you drunk, Paul?" she demanded
finally.

"I'm not drunk. I simply don't know you. Why
should I?"

"You don't know your own sister!" she exclaimed
in a vibrant intense tone. Then she took a backward
step, as if she feared him.

"My sister is in Boston." He stared at her with a
frown and folded his arms. "What's your little game,
anyway ?"

"You don't know your own sister!" she repeated
helplessly. Then she staggered back and sunk into
a chair, hiding her face in her hands, and began to
weep.

"You are not my sister, and you know it as well as
I do! What do you want here, anyway?" he de-
manded, still standing, staring at her.

"Why, I want to stay here, of course! I've just
come from Boston to visit you!" She suddenly
sprang up. "The idea! It's a stupid practical joke
you're playing on me, of course. Come, Paul, drop it,
please ! I'm tired, and want to go to bed. Where are
you going to put me?"

"I'm going to put you outdoors !" he retorted.

"In this awful blizzard ?" she demanded. She smiled
sadly through her tears. The effect was really daz-
zling ; but Van Asten kept his head.

He stopped and reflected for a few moments. Then,

You don't know your own sister?" she exclaimed.

VAN ASTEN'S VISITOR 369

without taking his eyes from her, he took off his hat
and overcoat, tossed them aside, and sat down. He
tried hard to appear calm.

"Now," he continued, "I insist that you drop this
masquerade and tell me immediately who you are and
how you came here. You're either crazy, or it's some
sort of blackmailing game. If you know anything
about my sister, you know you don't in the least re-
semble her; and if you know anything about me, you
know I haven't any money. So, out with it, quick !"

"I've told you!" she said, and loosed another pa-
thetic smile at him.

He frowned impatiently. "Then you are crazy !"

"No, I'm afraid you are !"

The deadlock continued for some minutes before
either spoke again. Then he began more quietly. "I
don't know what's the matter with you. It's too much
for me. But, of course, I can't let you stay here.
Neither can I put you out into this storm. The only
thing I can think of is to telephone to some one to
come here. But no woman could get here to-night,
even if she should be willing to. I confess I don't
know what to do with you."

"It's perfectly all right," she answered sweetly. "I'm
your sister, and surely you should be willing to let
me have your room for to-night. You can sleep on
that big couch round the corner of the studio, and
you'll be sober in the morning. When you wake up,
you'll probably recognize me. I won't be hard on you,
my dear. Only, really, you ought to be careful what
you drink." She rose, walked over to him, and patted
jhis head.

He jumped up abruptly and walked away, opened

370 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

his bedroom door, and stood there for a moment.
"Come in here!" he commanded.

"All right, Paul!" she answered with extravagant
humility, and, casting down her eyes, walked into the
room. Just before she closed the door she came near
him again.

"Aren't you going to kiss me good night, Paul,
dear?" she asked.

Without answering her he pulled the door to, and
heard her swiftly lock it on the inside. Then, still
frowning, he walked up and down the long studio for
ten minutes. Once or twice he stopped outside the
door to listen, but heard nothing. Later she called out
"Good night, Paul!" to him in blithe accents. He
bit his lip and resumed his promenade, more worried
than ever. The thing was uncanny. He no longer
accepted the situation as romantic; he felt decidedly
uncomfortable and embarrassed. Some one was mak-
ing a fool of him, or worse.

Suddenly a thought came to him, and he went to
the telephone and spoke as low as possible, "Madison,

For fully three minutes he waited without receiving
a reply.

"Madison 5555 doesn't answer/' came the word at
last.

"Ring 'em up again !" He spoke a bit more loudly.

In two minutes more he heard, "Hello!"

"Is this Astro?"

"Yes. What the deuce—"

"Wait a minute and I'll explain."

"Well, hurry up ! You've got me up out of bed."

"I'm Paul Van Asten, and am at my apartment at

VAN ASTEN'S VISITOR 371

the Elton, 444 West Twenty-first Street. I've just
come home and found a strange woman in my place.
She says she's my sister. Pretty and all that, well
dressed, and not otherwise obviously mad. But she
worries me. I can't put her out; and she won't go,
anyway. What'll I do? Could you possibly come
over here? It's mighty embarrassing."

There was a pause, then this inquiry, "Did you find
her before she saw you ?"

"Yes, opened the door and there she was."

"What was she doing?"

"Standing up, looking into a bag, or something."

"Dressed for the street?"

"Yes, it looked as if she had just come in."

"Did you say how long she had been there ?"

"I think she did say she'd waited some time."

"Where is she now?"

"Locked in my bedroom."

"Good. I'll come right over. I can't get a cab in
this blizzard ; so it may take half or three quarters of
an hour."

"All right. But for heaven's sake, hurry! I don't
know what she'll do next !"

"Oh, wait. Describe her, please!"

"A blonde, with yellow hair, and lots of it. Rather
small, with blue eyes. Mink stole and muff."

"All right. Good-by. I'll hurry."

Van Asten hung up the receiver with a sigh of re-
lief. He had heard much of Astro the Seer and his
marvelous solution of mysteries, but the young lawyer
did not place much faith in these sensational tales.
Astro was, however, a close student of human nature,
and, if not intuitive, at least shrewd, and his knowl-

372 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

edge of society, and his willingness to undertake any
case, however delicate, made him a desirable compan-
ion in so embarrassing a crisis.

Van Asten threw himself into a chair commanding
a view of the bedroom door and took up a book. No
sound came from his chamber. From all that could
be gathered, his erratic visitor had gone to bed and
to sleep. Now that he was sure of a tactful and clever
companion, he rather looked forward to seeing the girl
again. He could at last permit his imagination to play
with the situation. It might be, after all, a romance —
who could tell ? The girl was pretty and cultured. No
great scandal could ensue with two men there; and
somehow, with his luck or his astuteness, Astro would
bring the affair to a pleasant solution. A half-hour
went by. Van Asten yawned, read a little, and again
fell into a reverie. It was three-quarters of an hour
before the electric bell sounded. Van Asten ran to
the door, threw it open, and Astro, covered with snow,
picturesque in slouch hat and Inverness cape, entered.

"Well," he said amusedly, stamping his feet, "when
did she leave?"

"She didn't !" said Van Asten. "She's in that room
now."

"Oh, didn't she?" Astro shrugged his shoulders and
walked toward the bedroom door. "Well, let's see
her."

"But, heavens! you mustn't open that door! She's
probably in bed and asleep! And besides, the door's
locked."

"So it is," said Astro, trying the handle. "I shall
have to ask you for a button-hook."

"I haven't any except one in that room."

VAN ASTEN'S VISITOR 373

Astro reflected a moment. Then he asked, "Have
you any canned goods in your larder?"

"I have some canned chicken, I believe. Why?"

"And a gas-stove, I presume ?"

"Yes." Van Asten looked puzzled, but led the way
to the kitchenet. He took down a tin of chicken and
handed it to the Seer.

Astro removed the key fastened to the top for the
purpose of opening the tin, then went to the stove and
lighted a burner. He heated the split wire till it was
red-hot; then, taking a pair of small pliers from his
pocket, bent the end into a right angle. Returning to
the chamber door, he inserted this rough skeleton key
into the lock.

"I'll take the responsibility of awakening or disturb*
ing your visitor," he said, smiling at Van Asten. "You
must give me full authority to do what I please."

As he spoke he was trying the lock. After some
unsuccessful attempts, the bolt shot back. He turned
the handle and threw open the door. "Light up !" hr
commanded sharply.

Van Asten, more embarrassed than ever, stepped
to the switch on the wall, and the room was imme-
diately illuminated. Then, staring about him, and
finally at Astro, he stammered, "By Jove! She has
gone, hasn't she ?"

"Of course. You didn't really expect her to spend
the night, did you ?"

"Well, that's what she said she was going to do.
I'm glad she didn't, I confess. Unless — " then he
stopped suddenly. "By Jove !" he ejaculated. "Could
she have been a burglar?" His eyes roved round the
room in trace of corroboration of his surmise, and fell

374 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

upon a partly raised window which gave on an inner
court, or air-shaft.

"Could she have escaped that way ?" He ran to the
window and threw up the sash.

As he did so, Astro stooped to the floor and picked
up a hairpin, glanced at it, and put it into his pocket.
It was of silver, fully six inches long, evidently spe-
cially made for a woman with an immense mass of
hair. He said nothing of his discovery, however, but
followed Van Asten to the window.

"She could hardly have got out that way," said the
young lawyer.

"It's unlikely," Astro assented ; "but I see you have
an electric reading lamp. I wonder if it will reach to
the window?"

He took it from the table, and, finding that the wire
was long enough; held it above his head outside the
window and looked down to the bottom of the court.

"I don't see her," Van Asten laughed.

If Astro saw anything, he did not mention it. He
drew himself in, replaced the lamp, and pulled down
the sash.

"I didn't expect to see her hanging by the hair of
her head, like Absalom," he remarked. "But," he added
casually, "what kind of hair did she have?"

"Yellow hair, pounds and pounds of it, apparently,
though you never can tell nowadays, when all the
women are wearing rats."

"Where is your telephone ?" the Seer inquired.

Van Asten led the way back into the studio. Around
the corner, out of sight of the chamber door, the re-
ceiver stood on his library table.

"She got out while you were talking to me," said

VAN ASTEN'S VISITOR 375

Astro. "That's plain enough. Now, the question is,
what's missing?"

"By Jove ! That's true ! But I didn't notice any dis-
turbance. Hold on !" he stood for a moment with his
eyes fixed. "The Drellmont will! Good lord! if she
came for that — " Instead of finishing, he ran back to
the chamber. Astro followed him quickly enough to
find him at a writing-desk there, rummaging through
the pigeonholes.

He stopped and exclaimed, "Thank the Lord!" and
held up a package of papers. "Here it is, safe enough.
It wasn't that she wanted, at any rate."

"What about the Drellmont will?" Astro inquired
casually.

"Why, I took it home yesterday to study on the case
with it. You've heard of Albert Drellmont, of
course ?"

"The millionaire? Yes."

"Then you know he had a scapegrace son, who went
to the bad a year or so ago. Well, this is the will dis-
inheriting him. Old Drellmont had made another
only a few months before, leaving his son the bulk of
his property. Young Drellmont has been trying to
bluff his way into the fortune, by claiming his legacy
under the old will and asserting this to be a forgery.
This, you see, is in favor of his half-sister." He
handed the document to Astro, who took it and ex-
amined it carefully.

"Drellmont's attorneys are a sharp lot; but Drell-
mont himself hasn't a cent, and I don't see how he can
afford to fight the case, considering what little show he
has against his sister. In fact, I've been expecting an
offer to compromise. He came in this morning and

376 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

wanted to see our will. Of course I shouldn't have
showed it to him if I had had it ; but I told him it was
here. If it had been stolen, we should have been up
against it, though we should have won in the end."

"What was the date of the former will ?"

"January i, 1908."

"And this, I see, is just six months later, July i,
1908."

"Yes, it was made after Drellmont, junior, had that
affair with a chorus girl. The papers were full of it.
After that, he went West and got into more scrapes. I
understand the police are after him now. My client,
Miss Drellmont, has wanted to compromise, just to
get rid of him, but I wouldn't have it."

"I see." Astro spoke abstractedly as he handed
back the document. He was sitting near the secretary,
and, as he listened, had picked up a red blotter that
lay on the desk. As he rose, he kept it in his hand,
and when Van Asten put the will away Astro put the
blotter into his pocket.

There was a strange light in his eyes, however, as
he gazed at the young lawyer. It was as if he were
analyzing him, deliberately, scientifically, reading his
character in his features, one by one, weighing his soul
in the balance.

"Well, I think I can't do anything more now," he
said, finally. "I'll try to get home before the drifts
have got any higher. If you miss anything else, tele-
phone me. You might inquire of the janitor, too. He
may know how your visitor got in."

"What do you think she wanted, anyway?" said
Van Asten.

"Ah ! I can't tell you that— yet. But there are evil

VAN ASTEN'S VISITOR 377

vibrations here. I feel wrong. She wanted no good,
you may be sure of that. I shall try the crystals and
go into a psychic trance."

Van Asten smiled. It did not escape Astro's notice.

"Having engaged my services/' he said calmly, "I
shall expect you to follow my instructions to the let-
ter. I can help you; and I think you need more aid
than you imagine."

Van Asten immediately became serious. "I believe
you do know something," he said. "Well, I don't care
how you find out. I know I can trust you. Let me
know what to do, and I'll do it."

As Astro opened the outer door of the Elton, the
drifts were two feet high. The snow drove in gusts
of fine icy particles, and it was bitterly cold. The
flakes came in squalls, driving clouds before them ; one
could scarcely stand upright against the blast. He bent
his head forward and fought his way. Before he had
gone a block his hands and ears were almost frozen.
Another block, and he sought refuge in a doorway to
beat himself, rub his -ears, and stamp a little warmth
into his feet.

There was a drift filling a corner of the doorway,
and, as his eyes fell on it, he saw a black patch be-
neath. Brushing the snow aside, he came upon a
woman, unconscious with the cold. She was dressed
in black, and wore mink furs. Her heavy yellow hair
was fastened with long silver pins.

Bending over her, he tried to restore her to con-
sciousness ; but it was impossible. Her hands and feet
were indubitably frozen, and she had succumbed to
the exposure. The covering of snow had, in a way,
protected her; but the case was desperate. What was

378 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

there to do? Outside in the street there were no signs
of life. Had the doorway been that of a residence, he
might have rung the bell and appealed to the mercy of
the residents. But it was the entrance to a small office
building, and no one would be in at this hour. Astro
was ten blocks from his studio. He had reasons for
wanting to be alone with the girl. A little scrap of
mink fur he had found caught in the outer doorway
of the Elton fitted suspiciously with a torn place at the
end of this woman's astrakhan stole, and her hairpins
matched the one in his pocket.

A gray splotch came into view down the avenue. It
was a two-horse carriage, laboring painfully into the
teeth of the blizzard. As it approached, Astro ran out
and bribed or bullied the driver into taking him and
the woman to Thirty-fourth Street. It took half an
hour, and more than once the man on the box stopped
and protested that he would have to give it up. But
they finally arrived at number 234, and, taking the in-
animate form in his arms, Astro carried her up-stairs.

His first action, after depositing her on a sofa, was
to ring for a doctor. His next was to telephone to Va-
leska, and urge her to attempt to come immediately to
the studio. Then he returned to his charge.

She still gripped a leather bag in her frozen hands.
Astro separated the stiffened fingers and put the bag
away. Next, he got brandy and forced it down her
throat. Wrapping her in warm blankets, he chafed
her hands with snow till the doctor arrived. Leaving
the two alone for a few minutes, he opened the bag
quickly. It contained several bills, a bunch of keys, a
handkerchief, and a penciled note. This he opened.

VAN ASTEN'S VISITOR 379

The note-paper was imprinted with the name of the
Swastika Hotel. It read as follows:

"The job must be done to-night, or it will be too
late. S. will give up to-morrow. Do it if you can,
let me know immediately here. P. D."

Valeska, living only two blocks away, succeeded in
arriving at the studio by four o'clock in the morning.
By the time she came in Astro and the doctor had re-
stored their patient to consciousness and the use of
her limbs. The woman was, however, weak and suf-
fering. Rest was enjoined, and the doctor left definite
instructions that she was to remain in bed all day.

"What I want you to do, Valeska," said Astro, "is,
when this lady awakens, to talk with her long enough
to study her voice. By nine o'clock you must be able
to give an imitation of it that will pass over a telephone
wire without being detected."

He proceeded, then, to narrate the whole story of the
night, from the time he was awakened by Van Asten's
message. Valeska listened attentively.

"You say that when you looked down the air-shaft
you saw a broken bottle at the bottom ?"

"Yes, almost hidden by the snow. And here's an-
other clue." He took the blotter from his pocket and
passed it to her. "Do you see anything significant in
that?" he asked.

"There's a spot where the ink that was on it has
disappeared," she said. "But I don't quite see what
that means. You say the date of his will was all right,

380 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

wasn't it? I thought first that she might have gone
down there to alter the date, and so make the old will
valid/'

"But, in that case, the marks of the erasure, even if
done with Labarraque's solution or any of the ready-
made ink destroyers, would have proved that it had
been tampered with."

"That's so. Well, I'll think it over. But do you
know who this girl is, yet?"

"She's a friend of Paul Drellmont's, and no doubt
his tool." Astro passed over the note he had found
in the bag.

"I see. I'm to report to him, then, over the tele-
phone, in her voice, that the thing has been done ?"

"By no means. You're to tell him that you failed."

Valeska bent her brows over the riddle. "Well, I
hope I won't have to go into details."

"No, he'll be satisfied. You see, this is his last card.
If she failed, he'll not care to fight the will case any
longer. He knows he's beaten, and he can't pay his
lawyers. He'll offer to compromise, and I shall tell
Van Asten to make a reasonable offer."

"The girl failed, then, in whatever she went for?"

"No, she succeeded."

"Then won't Drellmont find out about it, and make
more trouble?"

"I hope he'll leave immediately. If he accepts a sum
of money to compromise, I think he'll quit New York
without delay."

"Oh ! And you expect to keep this girl hidden away
from him till then ?"

"Exactly. This blizzard was a godsend for Van
Asten and Miss Drellmont."

VAN ASTEN'S VISITOR 381

"Well, I don't understand yet what she went to his
rooms for, but I'll do my part."

It was just nine o'clock, and the unknown girl was
again sleeping quietly, when Valeska rang up the
Swatiska Hotel and inquired for Drellmont. After a
moment there was a reply.

"It's me, Paul," she said. "I'm awfully sorry; but
I couldn't get down there and do the business." Va-
leska dropped the receiver with a shocked expression.

"What did he say?" Astro asked.

"I refuse to tell you." Valeska put up the instru-
ment and rose.

"Didn't he even ask where you were?"

"No, indeed."

"Then it's as I suspected. Drellmont has been play-
ing on this girl ; making love to her, probably, in order
to use her as his tool. Now she's failed, he has no
further use for her. Well, I think it serves her right.
Perhaps it will teach her a lesson. Now, I'll give my
instructions to Van Asten."

He rang up the lawyer. After the conversation, he
returned to Valeska and said :

"He's agreed to compromise, if Drellmont calls.
The janitor told him this lady presented a typewritten
note, with his name forged to it, inviting her to wait
in his apartment for him. That's how she got in there.
I suggested that he hint at prosecuting Drellmont for
blackmail, on the strength of that episode, and he has
agreed to suggest to the rascal that he leave town im-
mediately as one of the conditions of the compromise.
But it's a ticklish game, altogether. I don't know

382 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

whether I ought to explain everything to Van Asten
or not."

"Why, I should think he ought to know," said Va-
leska.

"Why, then, you haven't solved the mystery of the
lady's errand?" he asked.

"I confess I haven't."

"Well, then, I'll tell you. It's so ingenious and sim-
ple that you'd probably never get it alone. The fact
is, that she went down there to erase the date on the
will. This she did, and then wrote in the same date, —
July i, 1908. I saw it immediately I cast my eyes on
the document. When I saw the broken bottle at the
foot of the air-shaft, I suspected that she had thrown
away some damaging evidence. When I noticed that
spot on the blotter where the ink had been bleached, I
was sure of it. The only question, then, was whether
Van Asten himself hadn't taken the paper home to
tamper with it. But, as the date was right, of course,
he couldn't have."

"What was her, or rather Drellmont's, reason for
putting in the same date, then?"

"Why, so that when the will was probated they
could call attention to the erasure and subsequent re-
writing. That would cast suspicion on the whole docu-
ment and no doubt the first will would be accepted as
legal."

"Oh, it was simple, wasn't it? But you didn't tell
Van Asten?"

"No, not yet. I want him to offer the will for pro-
bate as it is. You see, it is undoubtedly genuine ; but
if it had been tampered with, he'd never be willing to
handle it. I got that from my study of his character.

VAN ASTEN'S VISITOR 383

I'm going to take the responsibility on myself. If
Drellmont leaves town before he can communicate
with this lady, whoever she is, he'll never know that
she succeeded, and Van Asten and Miss Drellmont will
be safe. When this blond lady finds that she has been
abandoned, she won't care to play into his hands, es-
pecially as it may get her into trouble herself."

Late that afternoon, as Valeska was busy in the lab-
oratory off the studio, she saw the girl pass swiftly
toward the waiting-room. Valeska waited and listened.

"Give me Madison Square 2615 . . . Hello! Is
Mr. Drellmont there? . . . He's left? Why that's
impossible! . . . This afternoon ? Where did he go?
. . . No address? . . . Are you sure?" The re-
ceiver went on the hook with a snap.

Valeska waited to see what she would do next. A
few minutes later she stole to the portieres and looked
into the waiting-room. No one was there !

"Well," said Astro, "you should have followed her.
That girl was clever. Any one who could act as well
as she did with Van Asten would be a valuable assist-
ant. I might have used her."

Valeska's fine lips curled. "I think one assistant is
enough for you, sir ! She was altogether too blond. I
always distrust that kind !"

The Seer smiled. "Well, as for that, I prefer
blondes, myself."

He took a step toward her, but she evaded him, and
sought refuge in the office. Not, however, before she
had paused in the doorway to shake her finger and ask,
mischievously : "Are you perfectly sure ?"

THE MIDDLEBURY MURDER

RETURNING, late one night, from an investiga-
tion which had carried them down to the Battery,
Astro the Seer and Valeska were suddenly nearly
thrown from their seats by a sudden stop of the green
limousine.

They were driving along Canal Street, and, as
the vicinity was apparently deserted, the Seer of secrets
looked in surprise from the window to see what was
the matter.

A police officer was speaking in tones of command
to the chauffeur. Astro, recognizing him as Lieuten-
ant McGraw, smiled in relief. The police officer came
to the window with his hat in his hand.

"I beg your pardon, sir, but I recognized your car,
so I just ordered your man to stop. I wanted to speak
to you a moment. Ah, Miss Wynne, it's glad I am to
see you !"

Valeska gave him her hand and a smile.

"I've just been called from the office," said McGraw,
"on a case that may be interesting, as I know how you
like mysteries. Perhaps you might help me out, even."
And Officer McGraw winked elaborately. "When it
comes to giving a crook the third degree, or raiding a
joint, I'm there with the goods ; but this looks like a
murder, and murders are sometimes — "

384

THE MIDDLEBURY MURDER 385

"I see/' said Astro suavely. "Well, if you can get
in here, we'll go with you. Where is it ?"

"Just around the corner, here, at the Aspenwall
building on Grand Street." And, after Astro had given
the order to the driver, McGraw went on. "You see,
the night watchman has just telephoned for an officer,
as something suspicious has happened. He seemed ex-
cited, and it may turn out something doing, or it may
not."

"Well, I'll be glad to be first on the ground, at any
rate," said Astro. "That ought to make it easier to
solve, if it should happen to be a mystery."

He had scarcely finished when the car drew up at
the entrance to the Aspenwall building. A full-bearded
man in jumper and overalls was waiting scowling in
the doorway. He came immediately forward.

"There's a murder or a suicide been committed here,
I'm afraid," he began; "but I didn't want to do any-
thing1 till I had the police, to be on the safe side. It's
up on the tenth story, in Mr. Middlebury's office."

"Has any one left the building since you tele-
phoned?"

"No, I made sure of that. The elevator boy thought
he heard a shot fired, and I went around to all the
lighted offices. They were all right except at Middle-
bury's office, where there was no answer when I
knocked. The door was locked."

"How many tenants are in the building now ?"

"There have only been two or three here to-night,
and some went before this thing happened. There's
only one I know of, — Mr. Moffett, on the ninth. I
think he's there yet. I spoke to him a little while
ago."

386 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"Better ring for a couple more men, McGraw," said
Astro.

After the party had entered the corridor, McGraw
rang up the office, then returned to the elevator. The
boy had just come out, and was standing with white
scared face in the corridor. He was a thin anemic
youth of eighteen, with red hair and roving, pale blue
eyes with dilated pupils.

"Now, young fellow," said McGraw, "what do you
know about this ?"

"Nothing, sir. Only, I thought I heard a shot fired,
and I called Thompson."

"You didn't go up yourself ?"

"No, only to take Thompson. I waited in the car
while he knocked on the door."

"Where did you find Thompson?"

"On the fifth floor. I went down to the boiler-room
at first, thinking he was there ; then I tried each floor
till I found him."

"What time did you hear the report?"

"About half past eleven o'clock."

"How many people have you taken up on the ele-
vator this evening?"

"Only one or two. Mr. Moffett went up to his
office on the ninth at eight o'clock or so — he must be
there now — Mr. Smythe, on the fourth; but he left
at ten o'clock, about. I don't remember the others."

Astro now turned to the night watchman, Thomp-
son, a heavy-set hairy man, who stood with his mouth
open, listening as if fascinated.

"What have you been doing this evening, Thomp-
son?"

"Why, I had a bite of lunch in the boiler-room at

THE MIDDLEBURY MURDER 387

about eight o'clock. Then at nine I made my rounds
to see if everything was all right. I have to look for
signs of fires or burglars or anything wrong, you
know."

"How many offices were lighted up?"
"Smythe's and Moffett's and Mr. Middlebury's ;
that's all I remember, sir."

"Where were you when this boy called you?"
"On the stairs, going up to the sixth floor."
"This is the only elevator running at night?"
"Yes, sir. I'm supposed to keep run of this boy and
see that he stays till midnight."

At this moment two officers appeared at the entrance.
Astro turned to McGraw. "Tell them to keep hidden
outside," he said, "and nab any one leaving the build-
ing. Now we'll go up and see what has happened."

As the five entered the car, Astro, whose look had
fallen on the rubber matting on the floor, moved
over nearer the elevator boy, and, pushing him a lit-
tle aside, picked up a slip of paper on which he had
been standing. It proved to be blank; but the Seer,
after scrutinizing it, put it away in his pocketbook.
The boy slammed the door and the car started up the
shaft. Astro touched the boy's arm.

"Stop at the ninth floor!" he commanded.
The elevator boy looked up in surprise; but pulled
the lever and threw open the hall door.

"You wait here," said Astro to Thompson and the
lad. "Come on, McGraw. We'll see Moffett first."

They walked down the hall and around a corner till
they came to a lighted door. Astro, without knocking,
threw the door wide open. It was a small room, and
at a roll-top desk a man jumped up quickly in conster-

388 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

nation. In one hand he held a revolver, in the other
a cleaning instrument. A box of cartridges was open
beside him. He stared at his unexpected visitors.

"Good evening, Mr. Moffett," said Astro. "What
are you doing with that pistol ?"

"Why— Fm— cleaning it," said Moffett. The pistol
dropped from his hand as he spoke, and he turned
white at the scrutiny of his interlocutor.

The Seer gazed for a moment without speaking at
the small, smooth-shaven, anxious-looking man who
confronted him. He wore iron spectacles and was
shabbily dressed. His thin bony hands trembled
visibly.

"Did you fire that pistol this evening?"

"Why, no — of course not!"

"What were you cleaning it for?"

"Why — I always carry it when I go home. I live
out at Kingsbridge, and there have been so many
hold-ups—"

"Did you hear a shot fired in this building to-night ?"

"Good God, no !" Moffett's alarm increased. He put
his hand to his head. "You don't mean — there's any-
thing happened ?" he faltered.

Instead of answering, Astro walked over, picked up
the revolver from the floor, and examined it. The
chambers were empty. Next, he looked at the box of
cartridges. Five were missing. Of these, four were
scattered on the desk.

"When did you fire this gun last?" he demanded.

"Last night— at a cat," said Moffett.

McGraw laughed aloud.

Astro went to the window, threw up the sash, and
looked out. The roof of the adjoining building was

THE M1DDLEBURY MURDER 389

only two stories below. He gave it a glance, then
lowered the window and walked to the door.

"Will I bring him along, sir?" said McGraw.

"No, leave him alone. Mr. MofTett, remain here till
we come for you, please." And with that, Astro went
out. In the hall he turned to McGraw.

"You don't mind my taking charge of this?" he
asked.

"You bet I don't!" McGraw exclaimed. "But I
don't see why you want Moffett to make a get-away."

"He can't get past the men down-stairs, can he?"

"That's right. But did you see any empty cartridge
shells on the roof below ?"

"No. We'll have to examine the roof later. Now
we'll go up to Middlebury's office. We've lost too
much time already."

< "Have you a key to Middlebury's office, Thomp-
son ?" he asked on reentering the elevator.

"No, sir. Mr. Middlebury lost one of his office keys
this week, and was given the duplicate the superin-
tendent had till another one could be made for him."

"What did he need two for?"

"One was for his stenographer, I believe."

"Oh, he had a typewriter, then?" said Astro.

The elevator boy interrupted. "He had one, but she
left to-day."

"How do you know that?" Astro turned to the
youth with a keen gaze.

The elevator boy cowered under his inspection.
"Why— she told me so, that's all."

The elevator had reached the tenth floor and stopped.
The boy threw open the door and the party stepped
out.

390 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

Almost opposite the elevator, across a narrow hall,
appeared a lighted door, on which was painted the
legend: "John Middlebury, Architect and Landscape
Gardener." Above it was a transom tilted half open.

"Give me a leg up," said Astro, and, placing his
foot in Thompson's big hand, he raised himself to the
height of the lintel and looked in. He stayed there
for a few minutes, then dropped to the floor again.

"Well, it's a murder, fast enough," he said to Mc-
Graw.

"We'll have to bust down the door, then," said the
officer.

"Unless the boy can crawl through the transom."

"No, I can't !" exclaimed the boy. "It's too narrow."

"You try it," said Astro.

"I don't dare to !" the lad whimpered.

McGraw laid a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Now,
then, my son, go to it, and no talk!"

With that, he lifted the lad bodily to a handhold
on the lintel. "Hurry up, now, Dennis !" said Thomp-
son gruffly, and the boy struggled through the open-
ing, pulled his legs inside, and dropped to the floor.
In a moment he opened the door and stood as white
as paper, trembling in horror.

Beyond a counter that shut off the front part of the
office, below a large drafting table in the center of
the room, the body of a man lay on its back, the arms
outstretched on the floor. The eyes were shut, and
one hand still held a small black rubber drawing tri-
angle. The counter shut off a view of his feet. He
was a man of some thirty years, with black mustache
and sparse beard, a handsome picturesque type of
slightly foreign appearance.

THE MIDDLEBURY MURDER 391

Astro passed through the little door in the counter
with McGraw, and together they bent over the body.

"There's no blood at all !" said the officer in amaze-
ment. "What is it, anyway? He can't be shot!"

Astro made no reply for some moments, but exam-
ined every detail of the body with care. At last he
rose. "Thompson," he said, "have you a gun?"

"Why, no sir!" Thompson spoke anxiously. "At
least, I ain't got any with me. I got one down in the
boiler-room, though. I don't carry it all the time, sir."

"Go down and get it !" Astro spoke sharply. "Bring
it to me ! No, Dennis, you stay right here. Thompson,
take the elevator down yourself. Tell the officers to
telephone for a doctor."

The watchman left without a word, shaking his
head. The elevator boy sat down on a chair outside
the counter and gazed dismally into the corridor.

Astro stood for several minutes silently looking
about the room. His eyes went from the drawing-
board, where the perspective view of a country resi-
dence had been roughly sketched in pencil, past the
ground-glass windows which admitted light from a
side hall opposite the elevator, to the doors of an inner
room. Valeska's eyes followed his in careful search
of the room.

McGraw still stared in amazement at the body, look-
ing for some sign of a bullet wound, but without suc-
cess. At last he arose, and gazed long at Astro.

"He's dead, all right," he said finally ; "but hanged
if I can see what killed him! Could it be suicide?
Perhaps we can find some poison, somewhere. Look
in the dressing-room."

"He's shot," said Astro, without looking at the

392 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

corpse. "Valeska, see what you can find in the private
office in there.'5 He pointed to the inner door.

As she started to go in through the door in the
counter, her foot struck a strip of cardboard that shot
in along the floor. Astro glanced at it, then stooped
and picked up an advertising calendar. He walked to
the waiting space outside and began to examine the
wall carefully. The elevator boy's eyes followed him
listlessly. The Seer stopped near the hall door and
fixed his eyes on a small hole in the woodwork. Then
he went back to the drawing-board and examined it
attentively. There was a large black blot on it where
evidently a bottle of India ink had been spilled. The
paper was fastened down with thumb-tacks in the form
of wire spirals. He drew one out and put it into his
pocket.

Suddenly Valeska called out, "There has been a
woman in here to-night !"

Astro and McGraw hurried into the private office.
Valeska was standing by a small set bowl in the cor-
ner and held up a tiny gold ring.

"Do you see?" she exclaimed. "The bowl is full
of soap-suds and dirty water. She must have left in a
hurry without stopping for her ring."

"Ah, it was a woman shot him," said McGraw.

Astro examined it, took a long look about the room,
tried the private door that led to the branch hall, and
then went back to the architect's office. "What was
Mr. Middlebury's stenographer's name?" he asked of
the elevator boy.

"Miss Wilson." Dennis looked up with a look of
alarm.

"What time did you take her up in the elevator ?"

THE MIDDLEBURY MURDER 393

"I didn't take her up at all, to-night!" was the re-
sponse ; but his eye wandered away from his examiner.

"I took her down, though, when she left here, at five
o'clock."

"It's queer she should leave her ring here, then, and
dirty water in the bowl."

"Perhaps it was another woman," the boy ventured.

"Perhaps it was. Did you carry up any other?"

"Why, I think I did ; but I can't quite remember. I
think she went out again, though."

"You have a remarkably poor memory," said Astro
acidly.

The door was now flung open again, and Thompson
appeared. He showed signs of the greatest distress,
his eyes staring, and his mouth lax.

"The gun has gone !" he exclaimed, and stood gaz-
ing helplessly at McGraw.

"It has ! Then I'll have to arrest you," said the offi-
cer, and he took a pair of handcuffs from his pocket.
"Hold out your hands, my man !"

Astro apparently paid no attention to this scene, and
walked again into the office and stood looking at the
body. "You'd better get Moffett and take them both
down-stairs. I'll look about a bit. When the doctor
comes, send him up. Send some one to look at the
roof under Moffett's window to see if he can find an
empty cartridge. Keep a watch out yourself for any
one going down-stairs."

When McGraw had gone with his prisoner, Valeska
approached the Seer and gazed timidly at the body of
Middlebury.

"Look at his left eye," said Astro soberly.

394 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

Valeska shudderingly did so. "There's the tiniest
drop of blood there !" she exclaimed. "It's a strange
case and would puzzle any one who hadn't brains. I
wonder what poor old McGraw would have done
alone?"

Astro smiled grimly.

"Do you know who did it?" Valeska asked breath-
lessly.

"Of course."

"What, already? It seems impossible. There are
three persons to suspect, aren't there ?"

"Who are they?"

"Why, Moffett and the watchman and the mysterious
woman who was undoubtedly here to-night."

"That woman is still in the building. I saw her
hiding by a corner of the stairway as we came up ; but
I didn't mention it, as I knew the men below would get
her if she attempted to escape."

"Which one did it, then?"

"That's what I shall have to prove before I leave
the building. I'm sure enough; but I need evidence.
Just at present what worries me is, how did that cal-
endar happen to fall down from the wall where it was
fastened with one of these spiral thumb-tacks?' He
pointed to those on the drawing-board.

At this moment they heard the bell of the elevator,
which now was standing at the floor below while Mc-
graw made his second arrest, begin to ring furiously.
Astro ran out into the hall and listened. In a moment
McGraw entered the car with his two men and the car
descended. The dial in the front of the shaft showed
its descent to the fifth floor ; then the marker stopped.

Astro pointed to it. "They've captured the girl,"

THE MIDDLEBURY MURDER 395

he said. "We'll wait for Miss Wilson in tKe office ; I'm
not through with my investigation yet." ;

; He walked rapidly back, passed the body, and re-
entered the private office. Sitting down at the desk
in the corner, he began a rapid investigation of the
pigeonholes. Suddenly he held up an envelope on which
was printed, "James Moffett, Aspenwall Bldg., New
York City." Opening this, he took out a letter and
read it aloud :

"Mv DEAR MIDDLEBURY : I can't wait any longer
for that money. You'll positively have to pay it
by the fifteenth or there'll be trouble for you sure.
I'd like an immediate answer. J. MOFFETT."

1 "Looks bad for Moffett, doesn't it?" said the Seer,
putting the note into his pocket. "But look at this!
Here's something worse."

He had just opened a small drawer and looked in.
As he spoke he held up a revolver. "One cartridge
used. I'm sorry for Miss Wilson."

"And the night watchman's pistol yet to be accounted
for !" said Valeska.

"Oh, I think I can account for that, all right," said
Astro. "I'll locate that as soon as I get the time.
Here comes the latest suspect. See what you make of
her. You know women."

The elevator door opened with a snap, and Mc-
Graw, holding a young woman by the wrist, entered
the outer office. She was a pretty blonde, her eyes
now red with weeping. She wore a neat blue tailor-
made suit and stylish hat. The elevator boy came in
behind her and gazed at her hungrily.

"We found her on the fifth floor trying to get

396 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

down," said McGraw. "She has acknowledged that
she was up in Middlebury's office this evening."

Astro turned swiftly to the elevator boy. "What
did you say you hadn't taken her up for?" lie de-
manded.

"Oh, God ! I knew she was up there ; but I didn't
take her up ; she walked up-stairs. I hoped she'd get
away and nobody'd know. I thought she'd gone al-
ready."

"And you wanted to shield her? Why?"

Dennis hung his head. Then he muttered shame-
fully, "Because I'm in love with her, sir, that's why!
And I didn't want her to get into trouble. She didn't
do it, sir. I'll swear she didn't shoot him !" He looked
down at the body in horror, then turned his eyes away
and began to sob hysterically.

"Well, then, Miss Wilson, what have you to say for
yourself ?"

She had taken one look at the corpse also, and had
turned away, her tears breaking forth afresh. Be-
tween her gasps she told her story:

"Mr. Middlebury was too attentive to me, I thought,
and then yesterday he kissed me. He said he wanted
to marry me ; but I didn't believe it. So I told him I
was going to leave. I did leave to-day, and never ex-
pected to come back here. Mr. Middlebury had paid
me, and everything, only I found I had forgotten my
house keys. So I had dinner down-town and then
came back here, because I knew Mr. Middlebury would
be working late alone in the office on a rush job he
had. I didn't want Dennis to know I went up, be-
cause I had told him about Mr. Middlebury's kissing
me; so I waited till he went up in the elevator, and

THE MIDDLEBURY MURDER 397

then I ran up-stairs, trying to keep out of his sight.
Only, he caught me half-way up. Besides, I had to
hide from the night watchman, because he had had a
quarrel with Mr. Middlebury, and he thought I had
complained of him."

"Oh, Thompson had quarreled with Middlebury, had
he ?" said McGraw meaningly.

"Yes, sir. Middlebury had Thompson discharged.
He has to leave at the end of the week, and he was
pretty angry about it. But I didn't have anything to
do with that at all. It was on account of Thompson's
refusing to let Mr. Middlebury have an extra key to
the door."

"Where is Thompson?" Astro asked.

"Oh, he's safe enough with my men down on the
first floor."

"Well, go ahead with your story, Miss Wilson."

"Why, Mr. Middlebury was awfully nice and apol-
ogized for kissing me, and proposed to me again. I
didn't know what to say to him ; but I was afraid he
didn't mean it and was up to some game with me. He
tried to hold my hand, and I snatched it away so quick
I upset a bottle of India ink he was using. So I went
into his private office to wash my hands. While I
was in there — " She covered her face with her hands.

"You took a revolver from the desk drawer?" said
Astro.

She looked at him in amazement, with widely opened
eyes. "A revolver? No! Of course not! I washed
my hands at the bowl, and just as I was finishing I
heard a pistol-shot, and then I heard Mr. Middlebury
fall."

"Did you look into this office?"

398 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"Oh, no; I was so frightened I didn't dare to. I
waited a minute till I heard the door slam: then I
opened the door to the side hall and ran down-stairs."

"You saw nobody?"

"Not a soul."

"Was the elevator there?"

"Oh, I didn't look! I only wanted to get away as
fast as I could. I was afraid that I was going to be
suspected and arrested. You see, I knew there was a
pistol in the private office, for Mr. Middlebury had
shown it to me one day. I thought that if he threat-
ened me I might use it to protect myself with."

"Yes, and that's exactly what you did do, I'm think-
ing," said McGraw gruffly.

Valeska took Miss Wilson's hand affectionately and
pressed it. "Don't be afraid, my dear," she said.

With this friendly help the girl became more calm.

Astro, calm and picturesque, the cape of his Inver-
ness thrown negligently across his shoulder, scrutinized
the girl keenly for a few moments. His eyes passed
over every detail of her costume, analyzed every fea-
ture. He was standing so, mysterious, potent, inscrut-
able, when his face changed suddenly.

"Do you remember, Miss Wilson, whether there
was a small calendar pinned to the wall by the door
there when you came in?"

She looked up, her eyes still streaming. "Why, yes,
I'm sure there was. That is, I stuck it to the wall with
a thumb-tack yesterday, and I don't remember its hav-
ing been taken down." She looked at him in surprise
at his question.

The door opened again, and the doctor, who had
obtained a key to another of the elevators, coming up

THE MIDDLEBURY MURDER 399

alone, entered the room and gave a curious look
around. i

"I'm Doctor Flynn," he announced. "What's the
trouble?"

"There's your man," said Astro, pointing gravely
to the body of Middlebury. "He's been dead an hour
or so. You'll find he was shot through the eye. The
bullet pierced the brain, and the man bled only in-
ternally. Lift his left eyelid and you'll see."

"That's more than I could find out," cried McGraw.
"So he was shot, then, for sure. Now, then, who
done it?"

"We'll leave the doctor here to make his examina-
tion," said the Seer. "We'll take Miss Wilson down-
stairs. I'm about through, now. I promise you the
criminal will confess before you can get the coroner
and the patrol wagon here."

Leaving the doctor to his examination of the body,
Astro and Valeska walked into the elevator, followed
by McGraw, who still held Miss Wilson in his heavy
grip. The elevator boy stepped in, shut the door, and
the car descended. In the hall of the ground floor an
officer was standing with Moffett, and another with
Thompson, each of the prisoners being handcuffed.
As Astro came up, another policeman hurried in from
the front entrance.

"I've found the cartridge," he said, holding up the
small copper cylinder. "It was not twenty feet away
from Moffett's window, on the roof of the next build-
ing."

"Yes, I threw it out of the window. It was just
before I cleaned the gun. I told you I shot a cat last
night with it."

400 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

McGraw laughed in derision.

Astro looked Moffett over quietly and said. "I be-
lieve, Mr. Moffett, that Mr. Middlebury owed you
some money, did he not?"

"Yes— why?" Then Moffett's face changed to ter-
ror.

"And you threatened that he would have trouble
if he didn't pay up, did you not ?"

"By George! we got the man all right now!" said
McGraw.

"I got my pay, though, only yesterday," exclaimed
Moffett. "You'll probably find the receipt in Middle-
bury's pocket, or with his papers."

"Which shows how dangerous it is to judge a man
on circumstantial evidence," remarked Astro.

"Well, it's more than we got against the others,"
McGraw grumbled.

"My dear old chap, I'll show you circumstantial evi-
dence enough to convince you, before I'm through.
'Besides that, I'll let you listen to an outright confes-
sion. Now you had better let Mr. Moffett depart in
peace. He's had a narrow escape. It's lucky some
one with psychic perceptions was here to rescue him
from the web of circumstance."

"It was the night watchman then, I'll bet on that!"
said McGraw.

"Well, we'll take up his case next. Let's see, he
owed Middlebury a grudge for having him discharged.
He had a pistol; but he can't produce it. What has
he done with it?"

They had approached Thompson by this time. The
night watchman was listening, trembling in his turn.
His face had the color of clay.

THE MIDDLEBURY MURDER 401

"I kept it down-cellar in my table drawer, near the
foot of the elevator shaft. I have no idea what has
become of it!" he pleaded.

Astro touched the officer wKo had been holding
Moffett. "Take the elevator and go down to the cel-
lar. Open the door of the nearest furnace and look
in and see if you can find a gun."

"Is it there?" said McGraw. "How in blazes did
you know that, you wizard?"

"Where would you hide a gun better?" said Astro,
smiling. "If it isn't there, you'll find it in some cor-
ner, or in one of the ash barrels. It doesn't matter
much, anyway."

Valeska, meanwhile, was trying to comfort Miss
Wilson, who was crying and talking intermittently.
The two blondes made a pretty picture together. Mc-
Graw, who since his first visit to the Seer's studio, had
always admired Valeska, looked on, apparently touched.
Finally he could endure his curiosity no longer.

"For God's sake, sir, it ain't the girl, is it?" he
asked in a whisper.

Astro laughed, and waited. The elevator boy sat
on a bench, a picture of dejection, waiting for the out-
come. It was ten minutes before the officer reappeared
from the basement. As he threw open the elevator
door he showed, hanging from a bent wire, the dis-
torted metal work of a revolver, still glowing a dull
red.

"It was just where you said, sir," he explained.

Astro gave a glance at it, then turned to Thompson.
"What have you to say?" he asked.

"I don't know how it got there," said Thompson
dully.

402 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"I believe this is your last week as watchman here ?"

"Yes, sir."

"And it was Mr. Middlebury who caused your dis-
charge?"

"Yes, sir." Thompson stared stupidly at his large
feet.

"Then you had good reason to hate him? He is
shot, and your revolver thrown into the furnace. It
looks bad, my man!"

"I swear to God I'm innocent !" Thompson looked
wildly into the impassive face of the Seer.

And, as he did so, Astro's face softened. "I believe
you. I think you can take the handcuffs off him, Mc-
Graw."

"Take 'em off ! Why, he must be the one who done
it ! Any fool could see that !"

"You're fool enough to, no doubt," said Astro,
shrugging his shoulders; "but if you want the credit
of detecting the murderer, you'd better free this man
and listen to me."

Astro had proved his marvelous powers of deduc-
tion or intuition too many times, and too much to Mc-
Graw's own advantage, for the officer to refuse.

"It's sure too much for me!" he muttered to him-
self as he unlocked the handcuffs.

"Well, now we'll have an interview with the real
criminal," said Astro, walking over to the two girls.

Miss Wilson, hearing this, looked terrified at him;
but there was no expression there that could reassure
her. She opened her lips to speak, but could not.

Astro began deliberately, speaking so that his words
echoed through the corridor. "Miss Wilson, by your

THE MIDDLEBURY MURDER 403

own confession you were in the office of Mr. Middle-
bury at the time he was shot."

"In the inner office, I was," she ejaculated.

"In the inner office, where there was found a re-
Solver with one cartridge used," added Astro.

iThe girl nodded, her face pale.

r "You have confessed to Dennis, here, that Mr. Mid-
ftlebury had kissed you and that you were offended.
[You have confessed that he made a proposal of mar-
riage to-night that you suspected was false and only
a game to fool you with."

"Oh, but I'm sure now he was sincere !" Miss Wil-
son cried. "I am sure he loved me ! I'm sorry I sus-
pected him of anything ungentlemanly !"

"Nevertheless, there was a scuffle. He attempted to
take your hand. You escaped to the inner room —
where the revolver was kept."

"Only to wash my hands !" she wailed.

"Your story is too flimsy," said Astro, his voice
suddenly grown harsh, as he turned to McGraw. "Offi-
cers, I charge Miss Wilson with the crime of mur-
der ! Arrest her and handcuff her !"

Valeska, who had sprung up in surprise and indig-
nation, opened her lips to protest. McGraw, instead
of moving forward, had taken a step backward, when
Dennis, the elevator boy, jumped up and seized Astro's
arm.

"Don't arrest her, don't!" he shrieked. "I done it
myself!"

"You done it?" McGraw echoed.

"Yes ! Arrest me !" and the boy held out his wrists
imploringly.

404 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

Astro coolly took out his cigarette case and lighted
a cigarette. "Well, McGraw," he said, smiling, "didn't
I promise you a confession?"

McGraw, stupefied, clasped the handcuffs on Dennis'
wrists. Miss Wilson fell, almost fainting, on the
bench, where Valeska put her arm tenderly about her.

"Well, Dennis, you're fairly caught," said Astro.
"I've known for some time that you were guilty ; but
it's so much more satisfactory to have an out-and-out
confession. Now I'll trouble you for the key to Mid-
dlebury's door." And, so saying, he reached into the
boy's trousers pocket and brought forth a small Yale
key.

"When did you find it, Dennis?"

"I found it last week, sir, on the floor of my car."

"And you kept it thinking it might come in handy,
and perhaps get the night watchman into trouble, eh?
So you were jealous of Mr. Middlebury on Miss Wil-
son's account, were you?"

"Oh, it made me wild, sir! I just couldn't stand it
when she told me he had kissed her, and when I saw
her going up there to-night I went crazy."

"So you stole Thompson's gun from the cellar, went
up when Thompson was on his rounds, opened the
door with your key, and shot Mr. Middlebury?"

"Yes, sir !" Dennis' voice was faint.

"Then you ran your car to the cellar, threw the gun
into the furnace, then went up and found Thompson
and told him you had heard a shot ?"

"Yes, sir. Oh, I was crazy! I was crazy about
her!"

"And you thought if you said nothing about her
she would escape ?"

THE MIDDLEBURY MURDER 405

"Yes, sir. For God's sake take me away! I don't
ever want to see her again !"

"Patrol wagon's come, sir," said one of the officers,
walking up to McGraw. He laid his hand on Dennis'
arm.

"One minute, please," said Astro. "Dennis, my
boy, will you please hold up your left foot? Thank
you !" And as the boy did so Astro removed a spiral
wire thumb-tack that was imbedded in the rubber heel
of the boot.

"What's that for?" McGraw inquired.

"The law doesn't permit a defendant to plead guilty
to a charge of murder. You may need this for evi-
dence when the case is tried." As the elevator boy
was led away he looked at him pityingly. "Cocaine,"
he remarked to McGraw.

"Sure. Dope done it, all right. He was worked up
to it. It may do for an insanity defense."

"He's a mattoid. You'll find his parents or grand-
parents were criminals, poor devil!" The Seer turned
to Miss Wilson. "You've had a lucky escape, too, my
dear. It's fortunate that I was here."

"Oh, I don't know how to say how grateful I am !"
she exclaimed.

"We'll drive you home," Valeska volunteered. "I
know this shock has been terrible for you. Do come
with us !"

She drew tHe girl toward the doorway and they
bade good night to McGraw. As Astro and the officer
waited talking for a moment, the girls entered the
green limousine. But, hardly in, Valeska returned to
the doorway hurriedly. McGraw had gone inside.

"I can't wait till we've left Miss Wilson," she said.

4o6 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"Do please let me see that paper you picked up in the
elevator. I think I see where you got your first clue,
now. Dennis, the elevator boy, had stepped on it,
hadn't he?"

Astro took the paper from his pocketbook and
handed it to his assistant. Faintly indented on its
surface was a small spiral.

"Yes, I'll have to confess, Valeska," he said, "that,
if it hadn't been for that small scrap of paper, Mc-
Graw would have had three prisoners instead of one
in custody to-night I"

VENGEANCE OF THE PI

RHO NU

"/^RACIOUS ! It's perfectly wonderful! Why,

v_T you've told me things no one has ever known
about me." The young woman gazed at Astro with
her deep brown eyes — eyes that bespoke feeling rather
than intellect.

Then she drew a long breath, as if seeking courage
to speak. "There's one thing I'd like to know if you
can tell me," she added anxiously, "shall I be married
soon?"

Astro leaned back into the shadow and contemplated
his client. She was young, vivid, temperamental, and
decidedly pretty. But he looked in vain for evidences
of a sense of humor. Her level eyebrows were too
delicately straight for that. Her lips curved delicious-
ly, but not with whimsicality. There was no doubt
about it, Miss Pauline Wister was a bromide ; and he
must act accordingly.

"Very soon," he answered.

She drew a sigh of relief, and he felt her clasp on
his hands relax. "I've been worrying a little," she
confessed.

It was evident that she was willing to talk, and
Astro waited a moment without answering, bending in
closer scrutiny over her palm. He finally put down

407

408 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

her hand, nodding his head mysteriously. "I can see
that you are in trouble. If I can be of any help, I
shall be glad to do what I can."

Miss Wister released her hand and opened her bag,
from which she drew a small envelope. Her lips
trembled as she looked at the Seer.

"I am to be married to-morrow morning at ten
o'clock/' she said ; "that is, if nothing happens to pre-
vent it." Her fingers clasped the letter more tightly.
"I am engaged to Mr. Edward Farralon; but — but I
haven't heard from him since yesterday noon !" There
were tears in her big brown eyes as she gazed up at
him.

As Astro, however, only nodded gravely, she went
on. "I tried to telephone to him last night, and he
was not at home; at least, he didn't answer. I tried
this forenoon, and they told me that he had not been
down to his office. And — and I'm to be married to-
morrow !" Miss Wister had almost broken into tears.

"You've been seeing him often and quite regularly,
I suppose?"

"Oh, yes, every day! That's what makes it seem
so strange. Do you think anything can have hap-
pened to him? I don't know what to do! I daren't
tell any one for fear of making talk, and if he's all
right, that would be dreadful. But there's something
else — here, look at this letter I got this morning!"

Astro glanced at the envelope she passed him, saw
that it was addressed with a typewriter, and took out
the single sheet it contained. On this was typewritten
the line:

"Beware the Vengeance of the Pi Rho Nu!H

VENGEANCE OF THE PI RHO NU 409

"Well," he said, "that certainly is enough to give
a girl the creeps on the day before her wedding. You
have no idea what it means, I suppose?"

"No. I'm awfully alarmed; but at the same time
— I'll have to tell you — Edward is an awful jollier,
and is all the time playing jokes on me; so I never
can be sure of anything. He says he's training my
sense of humor." Miss Wister smiled sadly. "But
the fact that he's missing is different. It frightens
me!"

"My dear Miss Wister," Astro said, clasping her
hand in assurance, "if you'll leave this to me, I'll
promise you that you shall be married promptly on
time. You need give yourself no anxiety about it.
As it happens, I have nothing else to do, and I shall
be glad to help you."

"Oh, I'm so relieved! I knew that if you would
only try you could solve the mystery. You know, I
used to know Mrs. Chester when she was Ruth Lors-
son, and she told me the story of how you helped her.
It was that made me want to tell you."

Astro smiled. "Yes, I confess love-affairs do rather
amuse me, and I'm always willing to help straighten
them out. So, if you're willing to do exactly as I say,
I'll take this on."

"Oh, I'll do anything!"

"It may cost considerable money, too."

"But think of having trouble with my wedding ! It's
awful! Why, I don't know but I ought to counter-
mand the invitations ! Of course, I don't want to un-
less it's necessary ; it's a terrible thing to do."

"Go right ahead, and trust to me. I'll promise to
have Mr. Farralon on time. Is it at a church ?"

4io THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"No, we're to be married at my house, 5678 Lexing-
ton Avenue."

"All right. Where is Mr. Farralon's office?"

"Eighteen West Thirty-second Street. He's the
American agent for a Belgian rubber firm, you know,
and has only a small place for a headquarters."

"He's a college man, I suppose?"

"Yes, Stapleton University, '04."

"Who is to be his best man?"

"Why, Mr. Stringer, a classmate of his. He's a
lawyer ; a patent lawyer, I think. I've told him about
Edward's disappearance, and he's promised to find him
to-day ; but I thought—"

"You'd make sure ?" Astro smiled as he rose. "Mr.
Stringer knew nothing, I suppose? Did he offer to
come and see you about it?"

"Yes ; said he'd be up this afternoon."

"Very well. Let me know if he's found out any-
thing. Meanwhile, be ready to do anything I request.
I'll consult my crystal ball immediately. Valeska !" he
called, raising his voice. "Show Miss Wister out,
please."

His guest had no sooner left than Astro took up the
telephone. He called for Edward Masson, a man
whose friendship he had won at the time of the solu-
tion of the famous Denton boudoir murder mystery.
Of the conversation that ensued, Valeska, returning to
the palmist's studio, heard only one side.

"Is this Mr. Masson? . . . You're a Stapleton
University man, aren't you, Masson ? . . . Were there
any local secret fraternities there along from 1901 to
1904? . . . What was the name of it? . . .

VENGEANCE OF THE PI RHO NU 411

The Pi Rho Nu? . . . Can you get me a list of
the members? . . . Rather lively crowd, eh?
. . . Well, thank you, but you'll have to hurry.
Telephone me here as soon as you can."

He hung up the receiver and turned to Valeska.
"We have but little time, and there's much to be done.
I can't explain till later. You'd better wait here till
Masson telephones, and stay till I come. I'm off right
away. Ring up Lieutenant McGraw, and ask him if
he can get me a burglar's jimmy, and also ask him to
investigate the Belgian Rubber Syndicate's office, 18
West Thirty-second Street. See if there's anything
crooked about it. I'll be back as soon as I can. Oh !
If Masson rings up soon, go out to Miss Wister's
house, look it over outside, and hurry back and be
ready to report the lay of the land."

Two minutes after that, Astro was in a green motor-
car headed for West Thirty-second Street. Here he
alighted and went in through a narrow doorway.
There was a narrow hall with a single elevator, and a
flight of stairs leading upward. A list of names on the
wall showed that the office of "Edward Farralon,
American Agent, Belgian Rubber Syndicate," occupied
room twelve, on the third floor. Astro pressed the
bell, and shortly afterward the elevator door rolled
open. A red-headed man in shirt sleeves was inside.

"Mr. Farralon has an office here?" said the Seer.

"Yep ; but he ain't in."

"Been in to-day?"

"Nope."

"Here yesterday?"

"Yep."

"Did you see him go out last night?"

4i2 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"Nope. He worked rather late, though, I think. He
prob'ly walked down-stairs. The elevator boy skipped
last night ; so the box wa'n't working. I'm the janitor ;
just running the car till they can get another boy."

"Ah! So the elevator boy skipped, did he? What
was his name?"

"Mickey Flynn. He'll have hard work getting an-
other job, if I can prevent it, leaving me in the lurch
like that!"

"Do you know where he lives ?"

"Out on East One Hundred and Fifty-sixth Street,
I believe. Let's see,. I believe I got it writ down in my
pocketbook somewhere. Did you want him ?"

"I dropped a package in the car yesterday, or in Mr.
Farralon's office, I don't know which. If I can't get
into Farralon's office, I want to see the boy, in case he
found it."

"Well, you'll never get it, then, I'll bet! But I'll
give a look and see if I can find the address. Let's see.
He come here about two months back." He looked
over the greasy pages of the note-book till he found the
page. "Here it is: 1575 East One Hundred and Fifty-
sixth. That's right. Well, I hope you'll find your
package, sir."

Astro went back to the cab and drove immediately
to the address. It was a tenement swarming with chil-
dren, and he was directed to the fifth floor, where, at
his knock, the door was opened by Mickey himself. It
took only a short talk to convince the boy that he
would avoid trouble if he told what he knew immedi-
ately, and he explained his disappearance from his
post of duty with considerable anxiety.

"I was in de box up to eight o'clock, all right.

VENGEANCE OF THE PI RHO NU 413

Along about then two swell chaps come into de hall
and asked me was Mr. Farralon up-stairs. Yes, I says,
he was. Then one o' de chaps peeled free tens ofFn a
roll o' bills and shoved it into me fist. 'Beat it out'n
dis here !' he says. 'Go chase a new job/ he says, 'an'
lose yourself ! Dis here is give you so you don't come
back for a week/ he says. Well, I didn't ask no ques-
tions. It looked like a easy way to make t'irty to me,
an' I got me coat an' piked out in a hurry, and went
up to de Circle T'eater to see de show. An dat's all I
know."

"How did they come ?" Astro asked.

"In a buzz wagon. I copped dat off all right. Say,
I'll give you de number for anoder ten."

"You'll give it to me without that, or I'll have you
arrested ! I'm a detective !" the Seer threatened.

Mickey's eyes grew big; he was evidently a hero
worshiper. He fumbled in his pocket and drew out a
bit of newspaper. On it was scrawled the number
11115.

"Dat's de mark, all right," he explained. "Say, I'm
goin' to be a 'teck myself when I grow up. Will youse
give me a job ?"

Astro laughed. "If you'd had sense enough to wait
and see what those two men did, I'd give you a job
right now," he said.

Mickey groaned. "Gee!" he exclaimed. "W'y
didn't I t'ink o' dat? I was dopin' out w'at I'd do wit'
de money. I was crazy to see a show."

"Well, what did the men look like, then, if you're
such a good detective ?"

Mickey brightened visibly as he replied, "Say, I got
dat, all right. Look a-here! One was a tall guy wit'

4H THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

specs and a little mustache and, gee ! w'at a neck ! De
other was built like Jim Jeffries, — stocky an' heavy.
Looked like he could punch, all right! Mout' full o'
gold teeth, he had. De other chap called him Frank."

"Was there any one in the car when you left ?"

"Dey was a ch'uffer dere, all bungled up so I
couldn't reckernize him, wit' goggles and one o' dem
hairy coats."

"All right. That's worth the ten you wanted, I
think." And Astro passed over the bill and started
down-stairs.

Mickey leaned over the rail and shouted, "Say, boss,
de tall guy had a leather bag !"

Astro nodded and regained his car. "Drive to the
nearest big automobile dealer," he ordered.

The car stopped before the Aeromobile warerooms.
Astro got out and asked to see the automobile list. In
two minutes he had found that the car registered num-
ber 11115 was owned by Frank Brigham of number
12 1 2 Charles Street, in Greenwich village, New York.
A look at the telephone book showed Brigham's busi-
ness to be brokerage, and his office to be 1000 Wall
Street. Astro reentered the cab and returned to the
studio.

Valeska was not in the place. A boy in buttons in-
formed him that she had left a half-hour ago, after
having answered the telephone.

A package had come from Lieutenant McGraw.
Astro opened it, and took out a burglar's jimmy and a
note. It read :

"Be careful; but if you get in bad, let me know.
Belg. Rub. Synd. O. K., as far as I can find out.

"McGRAW."

VENGEANCE OF THE PI RHO NU 415

It was a quarter of an Hour before he heard Valeska
enter.

"Did Masson give you any names?" was his first in-
quiry.

"Yes; Mr. Paul Stringer of Flatbush, Mr. Richard
Hanbury of Albany, Mr. Frank Brigham."

"Of 1212 Charles Street?"

"Yes !" Valeska looked at him in wonder.

"And what about Miss Wister's house? YouVe
been out there, I fancy ?"

"Yes. It's a five-story brick dwelling. It's on the
corner."

"What about the other houses in the block?"

"I have the names of the owners from the Social
Register, all except one, which is vacant and for sale."

"Real estate agents ?"

"Swan & Dowell, 3421 Broadway."

"Very good. Telephone right out there for an ap-
pointment ; then hire that house and pay in advance for
one month. Tell them you'll sign a lease if the place
is satisfactory. Use any excuse you need. Just where
is it?"

"At the other end of the block, on the corner of the
next street."

"All right. Then, as soon as possible, look up
Stringer — he's Farralon's best man — and see where
he goes to-night. Find him, and don't lose sight of
him ! I'll have to work quickly, if I'm going to keep
my word to Miss Wister."

"You think Stringer knows something of it?"

"He hasn't been to see Miss Wister, and that's sus-
picious. I telephoned to her and to his office. He
hasn't been there. They say he's out of town. That

416 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

means he doesn't want to be found ; but you must try
to find him. Miss Wister will give you a description.
Now I'm off!"

He ran down-stairs and jumped into the waiting
cab. In less than twenty minutes he was at Frank
Brigham's Wall Street office. Inquiring of the office
boy, he discovered that Brigham was in; but, instead
of waiting, Astro took the elevator down to the street.
There was an automobile waiting by the curb, and he
looked at the number. It was 11115! He went back
to his taxicab.

"Can you keep up with that car?" he asked, point-
ing to Brigham's machine and handing the chauffeur a
five-dollar bill.

The man touched his cap and grinned. "I'll do it or
get pinched for speeding!" he answered.

Astro got into the cab and waited, watching through
a slit side of the curtain window. Within five minutes
Brigham appeared with a tall thin man in eye-glasses,
wearing a small, black, close-cropped mustache. They
entered the tonneau of the automobile, and the car
moved off, followed by the taxicab. Winding in and
out of the up-town traffic, the car was easily followed
until it stopped at the Hotel Saint Nemo, where the
two men alighted. Astro followed them to the grill-
room, waited till they had seated themselves, and took
a table not too far away to watch them.

Cocktails for three were brought. Astro's eyes nar-
rowed as he awaited the third conspirator. In a few
minutes he appeared, and the Seer of secrets had time
to make up his mind that he was the missing best man
before his suspicion was corroborated by Valeska's

VENGEANCE OF THE PI RHO NU 417

unobtrusive appearance in the doorway. He gave her
a sign that she could safely join him, and she came to
his table as if she had been expected.

"How do you suppose I got him?" she asked jubi-
lantly. "I called him up on the telephone, and some
one asked my name. I replied, 'Pi Rho Nu.J It was a
sudden inspiration, though I haven't the least idea
what it means. As soon as he answered, I hung up,
and got to his apartment-house as soon as I could. He
took a hansom, and I had no trouble in following him.
Who are these men ?"

"Brigham and Doctor Hanbury," .said Astro. "At
least I imagine that the one they've been calling 'Doc' is
Richard Hanbury. I wish they'd talk a little louder."

"Wait till they've finished those cocktails," said Va-
leska sapiently.

The three men were already laughing uproariously.
One was telling a story, marking imaginary circles on
his cheeks as he spoke. At the close of the narration
all three lifted their glasses and drank a health.

"Was that To the ride'?"

"Not quite." Astro was seated nearer to the group.

At nine o'clock the men showed signs of being about
to leave the dining-room, and Astro and Valeska had
just time to make their exit first without being ob-
served.

"I'll have to continue the chase alone," he said.
"You'd better try and find out what you can from Far-
ralon's apartment. See his man, if you can. You can
act the French maid for that. Any valet will talk, if he
thinks you come from some woman. As for me, I may
be in the police court for burglary by to-morrow morn-

418 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

ing; and so, if I'm not at the studio by eight o'clock,
you'd better see Lieutenant McGraw. Here they come,
now ! Good-by I"

In another minute his cab had again taken up the
chase of car 11115. They sped north, crossed the park,
turned into Seventy-second Street, and finally flew at
full speed straight out the Broadway boulevard. Here
the little taxicab had hard work following ; but kept on
and on, nearly to Kingsbridge. Here the open draw-
bridge enabled Astro to catch up. Beyond that, the
car turned sharply to the right and went a hundred
yards, stopping before a large brick building that stood
alone. It bore the sign of a sewing-machine company
but was apparently deserted, though a light shone from
one of the upper floors.

Astro, whose driver had stopped the cab at a safe
distance, got out and walked on cautiously. Luckily it
was dark and cloudy. As he went up the steps to the
door, he could still hear the voices of the men who had
just entered. The door was ajar. Instantly he slipped
inside, and, suspecting that the doorkeeper would re-
turn after he had shown his guests the way, he dodged
into a vacant room off the hall.

Here he waited nearly an hour, and, hiding close to
the door, heard several visitors arrive, saw them give
the hailing sign and pass up-stairs. At about eleven
o'clock the watchman looked at his watch, lighted his
pipe, and walked into the room opposite, evidently to
sleep. This was the time, if any time were safe, to in-
vestigate the upper floors.

Up one floor he crept softly, found all dark, and lis-
tened. From higher up came now the sounds of laugh-

.VENGEANCE OF THE PI RHO NU 419

ter, of singing, and an occasional cheer. He crept up
the next flight; the noise grew louder. He opened a
door at the right of the landing, and found a large hall,
once used for machinery. The pounding of feet on the
ceiling told him that the men he had seen enter were
immediately above. He paced the room, and found it
to be a hundred feet by fifty. Opposite the long row
of shuttered windows was another door. This he en-
tered, and found a small room, evidently once used for
an office, with a fireplace, mantel, and one window.

Step by step he now ascended the next flight of
stairs, the sounds of revelry growing louder every
minute. A glance above showed a streak of light
through the half-opened door. A nearer approach
showed another door, corresponding to that of the of-
fice he had noticed below. He darted up to the land-
ing, put his hand to the handle of this door, and it
opened easily. Passing in, he closed it behind him and
looked about.

There was a cot bed with a pair of blankets drawn
up against the wall, a basket of food, and a pitcher of
water and many beer bottles on a table. A fireplace
on the other wall corresponded to the one he had seen
below. Astro stole to the keyhole of the door leading
into the hall and listened. A smile came to his lips.

"Brigham ! Brigham !" the company was yelling.

From his post Astro could see only the broad back
of Brigham in the light of many candles ; but he could
hear perfectly the speech that followed.

"Brothers of the Pi Rho Nu," Brigham began, "far
be it from me to try to make a speech to-night — as you
know I can't! But I'll take my turn in testifying to
the utter depravity of the prisoner."

420 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

Cries of "Hear, hear!" interrupted him, and after
they were stilled Brigham went on.

"The event is now a piece of the history of the Pi
Rho Nu ; but I'll briefly state the facts. Two years ago
I was married."

"How delightful to be married!" the crowd began
to sing.

"And it was my fond intention to pass my honey-
moon in an automobile. In fact, it was begun all right,
and I'd have been safe if I had contented myself with
driving only daytimes. But on my very first evening —
we were married at noon — I was held up by a band of
desperadoes on the road from Albany to Troy. I should
have been able to take care of all of them with my
fists ; but I could never look a gun in the muzzle calmly.
The result was that I was tied up with Mrs. Brigham
and carried into a lonely house. She was put into one
room, and I into another. Gentlemen, I ask you to pic-
ture my feelings that night, as I heard scream after
scream coming from the room adjacent for hours un-
ending. It was only because I knew my bride had
been carried safely away to the nearest hotel that I was
able to sleep at all. So, gentlemen, I demand the pen-
alty of—"

"Death!" shouted the rest in a chorus of laughter,
after which there were calls for "Doc Hanbury." Han-
bury was invisible from Astro's peep-hole, but his voice
rose clearly.

"I also was married," he began, and was also inter-
rupted by the popular chorus ; "but under painful and
embarrassing circumstances," he continued. "The
afternoon of the wedding my flat was entered and I
was garroted by two masked men. I was tied to a

VENGEANCE OF THE PI RHO NU 421

chair, and then one of them painted my face deliber-
ately but too fancifully with iodine. He painted my
cheeks in circles, gentlemen, and my brow was a pic-
turesque plaid of squares. Those of you who were
present at the ceremony possibly remarked the grease
paint that attempted too unsuccessfully to cover my
shame. I had to do it. You can't explain an absence
from your own wedding except by — "

"Death !" came the jovial chorus.

One after another proceeded to testify, each con-
stantly interrupted by the hilarious members of the
fraternity.

Astro had heard enough. It was evident that Far-
ralon, the master spirit of the association and fiercest
of its practical jokers, had met his just deserts. Just
what they would do with him, Astro could not guess ;
but that the bridegroom would need a friend was not
to be doubted. How was he to be helped? Astro de-
termined to complete his investigation of the building
before he decided. Undoubtedly the gang would make
a night of it in the house and keep Farralon a prisoner
till the last moment, if indeed they did not prevent the
ceremony. The Seer took an electric torch from his
pocket and stole up-stairs.

The floor was planned like those below, with the
same big hall, the small office, and fireplace. As it was
in the office that Farralon was to be locked, evidently,
when his fraternity members had departed, Astro
looked over the little room carefully. The iron shut-
ters were barred and immovable. There was only one
safe means of communicating with the prisoner after
he was left alone, — by way of the chimney. Astro took
the jimmy from his pocket and set to work inside the

422 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

fireplace, to open a hole on each side. Which of the
two flues ran down into the next floor it was impossible
to tell. He must be ready for both. It took two hours
of hard work to get the bricks out ; but by the time the
company were racketing down-stairs Astro had the
satisfaction of perceiving a faint light deep down in
one of the openings. It was now only a question of
waiting till Farralon was alone, and hailing him. To
find out what was going on, he had started down-stairs
when he heard voices. A man was still in the larger
room speaking through the closed door of the office.

"Don't you try and make a row now, or we'll come
in and make you quit ! You keep quiet, Farralon ! I'm
going to turn in now. So long, old man ! Dream of
your bride and a happy wedding!" and after turning
the key in the door he rolled over on a cot in the hall.
In a few minutes he was snoring.

Astro stole up-stairs and put his mouth to the hole,
calling Farralon. No answer came. Then he sat down
on the floor, took off his sock, and raveled out a long
line of silk. Next, he wrote a short note, fastened the
paper into his pocket-knife, and tied the line to it. This
he let cautiously down the hole, and jangled it softly
at the bottom. In a few minutes he felt the line pulled
taut. Farralon took the note, read it, and came back.

"Who's up there ?" he called up in a loud whisper.

"A friend !" Astro replied.

And thereupon ensued a long dialogue ; after which
the Seer of Secrets, chuckling to himself mightily, stole
down-stairs and out the door, found his still waiting
taxicab, and was driven rapidly back to the city. It
was four o'clock when he threw himself, exhausted, on
the great couch in his studio.

VENGEANCE OF THE PI RHO NU 423

At half past nine that forenoon, Astro and Valeska
stood behind the inside shutters of the parlor window
at number 5652 Lexington Avenue. It was the house
that Valeska had rented at the other end of the block in
which Miss Wister lived.

A large furniture van stood in front of the door. A
long table was on the sidewalk, standing parallel to the
curb. Two men in overalls walked in and out of the
house occasionally.

Astro looked at his watch. "About time for the
show," he remarked. "How is Miss Wister standing
the suspense ?"

Valeska giggled. "I don't think she slept a wink
last night, and when I got to her this morning she was
almost frantic. I don't think that even now she con-
siders herself safe. You see, she doesn't know you so
well as I do. If you told me I was to be married to-
day, I'd believe it !"

Astro turned to her with a sudden look in his eyes.
"If I told you that you were to be married next month,
would you believe it ?" he demanded.

"Ah, but you're not going to tell me that !" said Va-
leska, putting away his hand gently. "But it was im-
possible to get Miss Wister to see the funny side of it
all. I'm afraid that young Mr. Farralon is going to
have a hard time getting some things into her head."

"Well, her heart is accessible, at any rate," Astro
replied. His gaze returned to the window. "It's queer
the Pi Rho Nu aren't here. We have mighty little time
to get him ready. I believe they're going to wait till
the last minute. No, by Jove ! there they come now !"
He rapped on the window sharply to the men on the
sidewalk, who immediately put their hands to the table.

424 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

At the other end of the block, where a long awning
stretched from the door of the Wister house to the
sidewalk and a curious crowd had gathered, a large
red automobile — number 11115 — had stopped just as he
spoke. It was full of men. One got out, then another,
then another. As the fourth, stepped on the sidewalk,
however, there was a sudden commotion. A man
dropped. Two others seemed fighting. They were
joined by two more, who jumped from the car. An-
other dropped, and another, and then —

Sprinting down the block came a wild fantastic
creature, half in man's clothes, half in woman's, with
ribbons streaming, with short skirts flapping, fighting
his way with excited gestures through the passers-by,
knocking down several as he strove. Behind him in-
stantly followed the crowd, led by the men who had
risen to their feet. As the fugitive came up to the
house where Astro and Valeska waited, the men on the
sidewalk swung the long table round and the mob
dashed against the barrier. One or two hurdled it ; the
rest ran round the ends. But the moment's handicap
gave the fugitive just time to rush up the front steps
and enter the doorway before the doors were closed
and bolted behind him.

"Quick ! Follow me !" exclaimed Astro. He could
hardly speak from laughter ; but the man followed him
with curses, raving like a wild beast. Up three flights
of stairs they raced, entered a small closet, and scram-
bled up a ladder.

"Now it's a plain track to the scuttle of the Wister
house," said Astro. "You'll find a ladder three houses
beyond here. You have just eight minutes to dress in.
Your clothes are all laid out in Wister's room, and the

VENGEANCE OF THE PI RHO NU 425

ring is in the pocket of your waistcoat. There'll be no
best man. I'll wait here to make ready for your get-
away."

"My get-away!" cried Farralon wildly. "For heav-
en's sake ! isn't it over yet ? Is there any more of this
confounded practical joke?"

"More!" said Astro smiling. "You ought to know
the capacity of the Pi Rho Nu. There's a hack covered
with ribbons which I've had ready at the door, and
there's a brass band and a demonstration waiting at
the pier that will make you feel as if you were a crown
prince."

Farralon wilted. "Well, I guess I'll get what's com-
ing to me this time," he said, grinning feebly.

"No, you won't. You'll escape on Miss Wister's
account. I've got it all fixed. As soon as you can,
after the ceremony, you and your wife are to go up-
stairs. Say you're going to leave in the cab at the door
in half an hour and drive by way of the Christopher
Street ferry to Hoboken. Then get up to the roof,
come back here, just as you are, and I'll give you your
instructions ?"

"But my trunks, and Kitty's my clothes, and every-
thing—"

"Everything is ready in that furniture van at the
door. Now hurry ! You've wasted two minutes !"

Farralon darted across the roof at reckless speed.
Astro watched, with a lingering smile, till the groom
disappeared over the edge of the roof of the third
house beyond. Then he descended into the house
again. Valeska was arranging a queer collection of
clothes in a rear room up-stairs.

"Is everything ready?" he asked.

426 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

She burst out laughing. "There's a bride's going-
away costume for you!" she exclaimed, holding up a
blue gingham skirt, a purple-checked blouse, and a
bandana kerchief.

"Well, be prepared for a quick change, then. I'll go
to the roof and be ready to help the bride down."

Astro had begun to be anxious by the time the bridal
couple reappeared. It was fully an hour before he saw
the happy pair approach, clambering lightly over the
roof. Then Farralon gave a whoop, and the two came
up laughing.

They laughed as she stumbled down the ladder ; they
roared as — Astro with the bridegroom in the front
room, and Valeska with the bride in the rear — the pair
changed their clothes for the emigrant costumes that
were ready. Then down-stairs they went, Astro carry-
ing two large suit cases filled with the wedding clothes.
At the door he stopped them and went to the window
to reconnoiter. The Brigham automobile was still
standing at the curb, near to the hack which was fairly
white with ribbons and bridal flags.

"Take this chair now," said Astro.

Farralon took one end of a Morris chair and Mrs.
Farralon the other. There was no one on the sidewalk
at this end of the block, though a crowd was collected
in front of the Wister residence, preparing for the fun
of throwing rice and old shoes. The couple were un-
noticed as they lifted the chair into the van and then
climbed in themselves. The two teamsters followed
with the suit cases, and in another minute the van was
safely off. Astro and Valeska waved a discreet adieu
behind the shutters of the empty house.

VENGEANCE OF THE PI RHO NU 427

Astro took from his pocket a check for a thousand
dollars and handed it to Valeska. "I think I deserve
more credit than the clergyman," he said. "But now
we must follow them and see how it all comes out."

The members of the Pi Rho Nu had hurried to the
ferry as soon as the bridegroom's escape was suspected.
They roamed all over the boat, passing the furniture
van several times in their search.

As soon as the boat was in the slip the gay fraternity
hurried to the pier where the Carothian lay with steam
up. Here a brass band was in readiness to serenade
the couple. The fraternity swarmed aboard the
steamer and pushed their quest everywhere — save into
the third-class cabin, where the bridal couple, disguised
as steerage passengers, sat and laughed till the gang-
plank was raised. Then Astro and Valeska, near the
baffled members of the crestfallen Pi Rho Nu, awaited
the denouement.

Just before the last line was cast off, the couple,
dressed perfectly now, appeared at the rail of the
promenade deck, waving their handkerchiefs merrily.
A shout went up from the Pi Rho Nu.

Stringer, who was standing near Astro, turned to
his companion. "Well," he said, "they fooled us, after
all. But when he gets into his stateroom it'll look like
a small grain elevator. There's a good ton of rice on
the floor and in the mattresses. He'll get his on the
way across ! Hooray for the Pi Rho Nu !"

Valeska smiled as if she were pleased ; and also as if
she were a little envious, too.

THE LADY IN TAUPE

"T^XCUSE me if I appear to patronize you," said

A ^ the young man, "but you certainly are clever."
He twisted up his blond mustache, nodded his head
slowly, and smiled.

"My very dear sir," said Astro calmly, "what you
call my cleverness is the product of innate gifts, years
of study, and infinite thought and contemplation. You
are the clever one."

"How so ?" The palmist's client raised his eyebrows,
as a woman might. His deep blue eyes sparkled,
lighted with a strong sense of humor.

"Clever to have come here — for the purpose you
did. I assure you that you could have found no bet-
ter place, though I confess I shall be sorry to have
my studio reproduced. I shall have to redecorate it."

"•What do you think I came here for, then?" Some
of the self-assurance had vanished from the young
man's face.

Astro looked about calmly and pointed with the
stem of his narghile as he spoke. "That granite Thoth
could be easily imitated in papier-mache. One can hire
rugs, and pay for the rent by advertising on the pro-
gram. There should be a door there, R. U. E., of
course, and the divan should be brought down front
so that your leading lady can sit on it and look up over

428

THE LADY IN TAUPE 429

her shoulder when her lover leans on the back of it.
You can't escape that sort of love scene, you know,
in a modern drama."

The young man laughed heartily. Then he said,
"By Jove ! you've struck it ! I am an actor."

"No, you're not," said Astro. "You're a playwright,
and a successful one."

The young man jumped up and banged his fist on
the table. "What do you think of that !" he exclaimed.

Astro smiled cryptically. Then, "With considerable
literary ambition, as well."

His client sat down again as suddenly, and stared at
the Seer. "See here ! I want to tell you something. I
had no idea of coming to you for advice. All I wanted
was local color, as you've discovered. I wanted hints
as to setting, props, and business. I wanted a good
characterization. And, by Jove ! I wish you'd play my
Granthope! But never mind that. I'd just like to ask
you a question about a queer experience I've had lately.
You've convinced me that you know some things."

Astro handed him a small silver box. "Have one
of my cigarettes," he said. "There are not more than
four or five hundred left in the world. They were
given me by an army officer who once helped Diaz.
Now go on with your story."

"My name is Pinkard, Lionel Pinkard," said the
young man, "and, as you discovered, I am a play-
wright. I've written a book, too — that is, it's almost
finished — and it's going to make a sensation — in more
ways than one. Plays are all right for making money ;
but half the audience doesn't know or care who's the
author. I confess I want fame. By Jove! that cigar-
ette is sweet ! A bit too mild, though, for me. Well, —

430 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

let's see, — it was after A Run of Luck was put on. I
was working on The Chameleon — that was when I
first saw the Lady in Taupe."

"The Lady in Taupe!" Astro repeated the phrase
with humor.

"That's what I called her. She always used to wear
that color — 'taupe/ you know — a sort of purplish-
gray, something like what they call 'London smoke,'
only lighter. A gown with good lines, too. She always
wore it, usually with black lynx furs."

"Where did you see her?"

"Everywhere ; that's the funny part of it. This very
day I saw her breakfasting at Mouquin's, at the next
table. She's always near me. About two months ago
she began. I say began, because it has happened too
often to be accidental. She passed me in the street.
Next day she stood on a corner waiting for a car. A
mighty pretty girl, too — small head — you know how
that makes a girl look taller and helps her figure ; most
women are built like dwarfs nowadays — deep brown
eyes, a delicious mouth, and a touch of originality in
her expression on account of a small scar on the left
side of her chin. It's positively a beauty-spot, more
like a dimple than a scar, and it crinkles up when she
smiles. Well, I've run into her almost every day since
then — and she's never moved an eyelash to show she
recognized me. But she's up to something. She's al-
ways right in my way and never notices me. She's
got me going, there's no doubt about that."

"Have you ever followed her ?"

"Yes, I confess I've tried several times ; but she has
always given me the slip, or else I was clumsy."

"Well, what do you wish me to do about it ?"

THE LADY IN TAUPE 431

"I want to know what the lady's up to."

'That's simple enough. She wants to get an en-
gagement."

"Why doesn't she ask me, then ?"

"Ah, no doubt she will. She wants to make an im-
pression, first. You know what a hard struggle it is
for a girl without influence to get an engagement. She
wants to get you curious, interested. I fancy she's
heard you are to have a new play produced, and though
the author doesn't always have much to say as to the
cast, you are established and could probably help her."

"That's true enough. In my contracts I reserve a
power of veto as to members of the cast, and I natur-
ally have some weight, though there's a terrific
amount of influence in these things. But it seems an
elaborate method, I must say!"

"Well, I've heard of how the girls have to struggle.
It strikes me she's clever. I'm curious to know what
she will say when her time comes."

"So am I. I hope she'll spring her trap soon."

"And how is your book coming on?"

"Nearly finished. It's more or less of an expose of
society, and I hope will make talk. I'll send you a
copy; that is, if your diagnosis proves correct in re-
gard to the Lady in Taupe. If not, my dear Astro, I
shall conclude you are merely a clever guesser."

The tone was such that Astro could not be offended
at the banter. He rose smilingly to show Pinkard out.
The young man gave Valeska, who was busy in the
waiting-room, a sharp glance as he left.

"How did you know he was a playwright?" she
asked the Master.

43* THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"I was in my laboratory when he came into the
room, and watched him unobserved. He took in the
whole studio at a glance, very interestedly. He went
back to the door to get the effect as it would appear
in a stage set, from the orchestra. He viewed it, as
few do, as a whole, not in detail. Almost every one
who enters inspects the curios and furnishings one by
one. He summed up the general effect. By his ap-
pearance I knew him to be a man with brains. Few
men of business can afford the time for a morning
call, unless they wish some definite information. He
had not the appearance of the idle rich; yet he was
well-off. A literary man can use his inventive faculty
not more than four hours a day without excessive
fatigue; consequently he has time left in which to
amuse himself. And finally, when he opened his coat
for a pencil, I saw a typewritten manuscript in his in-
side pocket."

"He might have been an actor/'

"It was not a part in a play that he had; they're
bound up in smaller shape. Besides, he had none of
the vanity of the actor. He was so sure of himself
that he didn't feel the need of impressing any one."

"He might have been reading a play for a friend."

"The manuscript was full of pencil corrections. It
was not a final draft, and would be almost undeci-
pherable, except to the author. But, as far as that goes,
almost every man who writes has an unfinished play
up his sleeve. It was a safe guess."

"Well, what of the Lady in Taupe, then ? I'm in-
terested in her."

"What I surmised is probably true; but I suspect
something deeper than that. It's a bit elaborate, as he

THE LADY IN TAUPE 433

said. It's a clever scheme, and may turn out to be still
cleverer than it looks."

"I'd like to have a look at her. It takes a woman to
read women."

"True. I believe it would be amusing to have you
see her. The more I think of it, the more curious I am.
I'll tell you. I'll ring Pinkard up and find out what
he's going to do to-morrow."

He took up the telephone that evening and had a
short conversation with the playwright. The next
morning he said to Valeska :

"Pinkard will leave his house on West Seventy-
fifth Street to-day at about ten o'clock, go to Dayton's
office, lunch at the Grill Club, attend a rehearsal of
his play Wild-fire at the Monster Theater in the after-
noon, then go to the Park Riding Academy, dine at
the Grill Club, and go to see Marlowe this evening at
the Broadway. Knowing his itinerary, you can't miss
him, and you'll probably see her, as she hasn't appeared
for two days, and seldom misses it longer than that."

That evening Valeska returned with her report. "I
saw her!" she exclaimed exultantly. "She's a beauty,
too ! I liked her at first sight. I followed him to Day-
ton's office, and she met him in Forty-second Street,
almost the first thing."

"Where did she go?"

"That's the queer part of it. After she had passed
him she waited on the corner of Forty-second and
Broadway. An automobile came along with a lady in
it — a really swell girl — stopped, and the Lady in Taupe
got in. What do you think of that ?"

434 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"Number of the automobile ?"

Valeska consulted a paper in her purse. "99,954."

Astro went into the little library in his waiting-room
and took down the automobile list for the state of New
York. He looked up the number, and then whistled
softly. "Why, that was Helen Van Amsterdam !"

Valeska's eyebrows rose. "The heiress?"

"It must have been. That's the number of the Van
Amsterdam's automobile, at least."

"Then I don't see why the Lady in Taupe should be
looking for an engagement, if she has such rich
friends."

"Oh, that doesn't signify. But there's something
queer about it. Well, we can't take any more time ; I
have too many important things to attend to. We'll
just file that information for reference. We may hear
from Pinkard again."

He did hear from Pinkard, in fact, within the week.
The playwright came in one morning, as handsome,
confident, and debonair as ever. He took a new criti-
cal look at the studio, then sat down as Astro came in,
and said :

"Well, the Lady of Taupe has called on me at last !"

"Yes?"

"You were quite right — as far as you went. She
wanted a part in the cast of The Chameleon, and
waxed eloquent over her attempts to get an engage-
ment. You should have heard her talk! That girl
has magnetism, all right. She played as pretty a scene,
for an hour, in my library as I've ever watched on the
stage. She did imitations of Mansfield and Cissy Lof-

" She played as pretty a scene in my library as I've ever watched
on the stage."

THE LADY IN TAUPE 435

tus and Warfield and Barrymore; she told dramatic
little stories; she discussed the psychology of audi-
ences, the technique of the drama, and the very meta-
physics of acting. I never heard such talk in my life;
but — " He closed his eyes and smiled.

"Ah, but !" said Astro. "There was something else,
then?"

"I should say so! After she had left, I went into
my study, and found that it had been visited by bur-
glars."

Astro betrayed no surprise ; but his brows bent into
a new tense curve. He leaned forward and looked at
Pinkard intently. "And what was missing? Wait!"
He suddenly raised a warning finger. "Don't tell me !
I'll get it, perhaps — I have a feeling." He dropped his
head into his hands for a few moments, then looked at
Pinkard through half-shut eyes. "Not the manuscript
of your new book?"

Pinkard slapped his hand on his knee. "By Jove!
you've got it ! See here, you'll have to take this on !"

"Anything else gone ?"

"Nothing. I had a little safe in the wall, but it was
untouched."

"A very pretty game, indeed."

"Wasn't it slick? Of course, she held me there
while they worked it. I can't imagine how they ever
got in, though. The back door shows no sign of hav-
ing been forced, it was bolted on the inside. No fire-
escapes available. It's a small apartment-house, and
rather old-fashioned. But why any one should want
that manuscript, I don't know."

"You have no other copy?"

"No, I wrote it on the typewriter myself, and was

436 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

too lazy to make carbon copies. I haven't even my
first draft of the thing. And I wouldn't attempt to
rewrite it for all my hopes of fame and fortune ! I'm
no Carlyle. I've simply got to get it back ! And there's
no use going to the police for a thing like that, as you
ought to know. If it isn't diamonds or money, they'll
do nothing."

"Tell me something about the novel."

"Why, I hadn't decided upon a name yet; but it
was by way of being a social satire. I've been about
a good deal, you know, in New York, and know the
fastest part of the smart set, and not a few of the
others. It was pretty frank, an expose, really, as I
told you. Of course, I have toned it down in some
places and raised things to a higher power in others.
It's a bit sensational; but I've taken good care to
change episodes and details so that no one of the
characters could be identified. I'm not altogether a
cad. But it's all true to life; what might happen any
day in New York, and seen from the inside, too."

"How many people know that you were writing it ?"

"Oh, I've made no secret of it. Any one who wanted
to could have found out."

"Very well. I'll be up this afternoon to look about.
The Lady in Taupe called in the evening, I take it?"

"Yes, at about eight o'clock. I'm seldom in at that
hour. I can't imagine how she should know I was at
home. Funny thing, too, I have almost always met
her in the forenoon, usually within a half-hour of the
time I left my flat."

"Did you promise her a place in The Chameleon?"

"Why, I said I'd do what I could. She interested
me, and might go well for my heavy woman, though

THE LADY IN TAUPE 437

a bit too young. But of course, now, I'll see that she
doesn't get in. It's not likely that she'll let me see her
again, anyway."

"On the contrary," said Astro, "you'll see her as
much as ever."

Astro and Valeska called at the Vanberg apart-
ments that afternoon at three o'clock and went care-
fully over Pinkard's rooms. To Valeska's surprise,
their call lasted only fifteen minutes, and then Astro,
pleading another engagement, took his leave. She did
not question him, being busy trying to puzzle out the
mystery for herself ; but, when he stopped at the front
door down-stairs and rang the janitor's bell, she gave
a little cry of triumph.

"Oh, I begin to see !" she exclaimed.

"I should hope so! It's too ridiculously simple.
Half the flat burglaries in New York are done that
way."

"But who helped ? She couldn't do it alone."

"That's what we'll have to make sure of. I can
only guess, just now. But here's the janitor. Have
you any flats to rent in the building?"

The janitor looked them over before replying.
"Well, there's a party wants to move out if she can
find a good tenant to sublet to," he said.

"May we see the apartment?"

"She's not in, I think ; but I guess it'll be all right.
She's in a great hurry to rent, and I promised to help
her. It's up on the third floor."

Valeska pressed Astro's arm in glee. Pinkard lived
on the third floor ! They were taken up, and the door
unlocked.

43^' THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"She's been here only a little while," said the jani-
tor. "She didn't move in all her furniture; but you
can get an idea what the place is like."

They walked rapidly through the place. Only one
room was fitted up, and that but scantily, with only
the requisites. The kitchen contained a few utensils,
and it was evident that the occupant of the apartment
took her meals outside. Astro walked to the dumb-
waiter and lifted the sliding door. Opposite, only
three feet away, was the corresponding door into
Pinkard's kitchen. A glance at Valeska was hardly
necessary. She nodded her head emphatically.

"Who lives here ?" Astro asked.

"A Miss Demming. She's an actress, I hear. A
pretty girl she is, too."

"Well, I'll come and see her. Much obliged, I'm
sure."

"Do you think you will take it ?" the janitor asked.

"I'm afraid it's too small," said the Seer, as they
went out.

They were hesitating in the vestibule, and the jani-
tor had left them, when Valeska exclaimed, "Why,
there she is now !"

Astro looked out. A very pretty woman was walk-
ing toward them. By Pinkard's description alone he
would have known her, even in her spring costume,
for the Lady in Taupe. She held her head erect, ran
up the steps, and, as they made way for her, entered
the vestibule. Astro turned in time to see her open
the letter-box of the third-floor suite. She took a key
from her pocketbook, unlocked the door, and went up-
stairs without looking behind her.
. "Which," said Astro, smiling, "explains how she is

THE LADY IN TAUPE 439

able to know so easily when Pinkard is at home, and
when he leaves to walk abroad."

"And how the flat was entered while she held him
spellbound with her talk," added Valeska.

"But not how she is able to afford an eighty-five-
dollar a month flat when she's out of a job," Astro
scowled.

"Nor who it was who climbed across the shaft, en-
tered Pinkard's kitchen, and ransacked his study."

Astro finished, "For further particulars I think we'll
have to apply to Miss Van Amsterdam."

"Oh !" said Valeska.

"I forgot to tell you that Pinkard was once engaged
to Miss Van Amsterdam. She threw him over in a
particularly nasty way two years ago, when she was
engaged for a time to Count Vinola."

"How did you find that out ?"

"The steward of the Grill Club owns a half interest
in the Peerless Restaurant, though few of the mem-
bers know it. I lunched there this noon, and gave him
some tips on the stock market. Now that Mr. Calen-
don is a power in Wall Street, he doesn't forget his
friends. The steward was duly grateful, and told me
several interesting things. I shall cultivate him in the
future."

"Ah!" Valeska looked up, smiling. "So Miss Van
Amsterdam was afraid of being exposed in his book,
was she? Well, I hope she'll read the manuscript
quickly."

"Yes," said Astro, as they walked back to the stu-
dio, "I hardly think it will be necessary for us to do
anything more. I venture to make a prophecy. The
Lady in Taupe will call on Pinkard again within three

440 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

days, and the manuscript will be returned. See if I'm
not right. I'm going to write Pinkard to that effect
to-night, and enclose my bill for one hundred dollars."

It was four days afterward when Pinkard made his
third appearance at the studio, smiling broadly. "By
Jove, Astro !" he said, "I wish really you'd tell me how
you did it! I need it for my play. I'll swear it's too
much for me!"

"Well, what happened?"

"I don't see why I need tell you, by Jove !" Pinkard
shook his head. "You've certainly got your crystal
ball well trained. I wish I could make my character
Granthope as sensational as you are. I've got your stu-
dio all right; but I think I'll have to get you to take
the part. You could make an audience believe any-
thing. Of course I got the manuscript back, as you
said I should."

"Is your play cast yet?"

Pinkard laughed outright. "Part of it. What do
you think? We've signed the Lady in Taupe for the
heavy woman, after all. She's an adventuress, all
right! Talk about romance in every-day life! She
made a grandstand play with me for fair!"

"Do tell me about it."

"Well, last night she turned up again, as bold as
brass. I taxed her with being accessory to a felony,
and she only laughed, by Jove ! She swore it was all
a joke, just to awaken my interest in her, and then she
promised that the manuscript would be returned if I
gave her a part. Well, the audacity of it tickled me
just enough to accept. I wanted to see if it was a

THE LADY IN TAUPE 441

bluff. And what do you think ? She said, as soon as I
consented to the bargain, that I'd find the manuscript
on my study table. I raced in immediately, and there
it was ! Here's your hundred dollars. You're a wizard.
Sometimes I suspect that you were in cahoots with the
Lady in Taupe and planned the whole thing yourself.
But who on earth is she, anyway ?"

Astro chuckled good-naturedly. "I'm not wise
enough to know that. She is certainly clever, though.
If you hadn't engaged her, I think I should."

"Well," said Pinkard, rising to take his leave, "there
are tricks in all trades, they say. I won't inquire into
yours; but if I want any more sleuthing done, I'll
know where to go. I'll certainly send you a box for the
opening night of The Chameleon. I'm going to re-
write that part for the Lady in Taupe, by Jove! It
wasn't half good enough for her as it was."

"Well, Valeska," said Astro, "that proves again the
value of a knowledge of human nature plus a friend
'below stairs.' I fancy Miss Van Amsterdam must have
a rather guilty conscience to be so afraid of the reve-
lations of Pinkard's book. She certainly secured a
clever assistant in the Lady in Taupe. It must have
cost nearly a thousand dollars to put that little game
through. I'd rather like to know, though, whether it
was the heiress herself who crawled through the door
across the shaft. At any rate, it was lucky for Pinkard
that he wasn't a cad, as he said. I'm afraid his book
would have never seen the light, else."

Valeska placed her hand lightly on the Seer's shoul-
der. "But you didn't mean — I mean, you wouldn't

442 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

really have engaged the Lady in Taupe as your assist-
ant— would you?"

His answer was not in words ; but Valeska was ap-
parently satisfied. It was evident that she had no
longer a fear of any such dilemma.

MRS. STELLERY'S LETTERS

"OHE must be a beautiful woman, Mrs. Stellery,"

O said Astro.

Stellery looked a little embarrassed. He pulled his
blond mustache thoughtfully. "Why — ah — yes ; I used
to think so, when I first marrried her. One gets used to
a face, you know."

"I see. Still your wife must be charming. At least,
her anonymous correspondent seems to think so. He
is certainly very complimentary. See here," the Seer
picked up one of the letters from the bunch on the
table, opened it, and read aloud:

"It may sound banal to say you're pretty, and
yet every woman likes to know that she is. You're
far more; you have an original type of beauty.
One watches for your smile, hoping it will come
soon. And that constellation of dimples in your
cheeks !"

Stellery laughed faintly. "Just about the way I used
to talk," he acknowledged. "When I first courted her
I was quite poetical about those dimples, — named
every one after a different star, I believe. Queer this
chap has picked up the same idea, though."

It was on Astro's lips to say that the simile was as
old as woman's love and man's, but he did not. He
turned to another letter, typewritten like the other.

443

444 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"You're like a little gray mouse. I wonder if
there is any lurking devil in you for me to evoke?
With your gray eyes you look so demure! Are
you really as quiet as you seem ? I'd like to have
a talk with you alone and see !"

"She has a devil in her, all right," remarked Stel-
lery, "and a delicious enough one, too! Oh, she can
be charming, that mouse! It's very evident that the
fellow who's writing these letters doesn't know her
very well. That's one satisfaction."

Astro took up one more.

"I saw you at the opera last night. You had
more style, more apparent culture, more caste,
than any woman in the house. Once you looked
full at me, and I wondered what it would seem
like to have a wife like you. To own you, and be
owned by so wonderful a creature! How proud
I'd be!"

"I remember that night. Mrs. Stellery does look
well when she's dressed up. But curse such audacity !
Writing to my wife like that ! It's an outrage, by Jove !
You'll see why I don't care to go to the police with
these letters. But they must be stopped, and I must
find out who's doing it !"

"How long has this thing been going on ?"

"For two months, now. I have a bunch more of 'em
at home that my wife gave me."

The letters on the table were all written on tele-
graph blanks and enclosed in government-stamped
envelopes.

"All typewritten like these?"

"No; the first ones were crudely printed in pencil,
as if a child had done them."

MRS. STELLERY'S LETTERS 445

"And all of them complimentary?"

"Every one of them."

"How often do they come?"

"Every two or three days. Mrs. Stellery has been
away visiting in Philadelphia the last three weeks, and
they followed her down there. She brought back a
whole lot of them to show to me."

"Did she show you the first one when it came?"

Mr. Stellery considered the question a little.

"No, not for some time; not till she had received
several, in fact. At first she didn't want to worry me,
she said ; then she decided that I ought to know about
them, anyway. Some of the first ones were left in the
letter-box, but most of them have been sent through
the mails."

"Does Mrs. Stellery seem to be much worried at re-
ceiving them?"

"Decidedly. Of course, it isn't as if they were as un-
pleasant as anonymous letters sometimes are. But she
didn't want me to go to you about them, and thought
that they'd stop coming after a while. In point of fact
she hasn't had any this week ; but I want to find out
who's responsible for them ; and, from what I've heard
of you, you're the one to do it."

"I see." Astro let his chin fall into his palms and
stared at the table in silence for some time.

Stellery walked up and down, examining the fur-
nishings of the studio. He picked up a gold stiletto
and fingered it, walked to the wall and looked at an
antique bit of tapestry, smiled at Astro's white lizard
in its cage, and returned to the Seer, who looked up
to say:

"It's queer that a man who professes to admire her

446 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

so much doesn't have the courage to tell her so, isn't
it?" He watched Stellery between half-closed lids.

"You don't know her. My wife is a very proud
woman. She'd not stand for it a minute, I'm sure of
that. This chap has some romantic notion, or he wants
to make trouble. It seems to me the letters are a bit
too literary in style, as if he were used to composition.
And what he says is true, too ! How does he know my
wife has dimples in her shoulders, by Jove ? How does
he know how she looks in an Egyptian scarf? She
hasn't worn one since her honeymoon when I got one
in Cairo. Why, I might have written those letters my-
self! Little intimate details that make my blood boil
to think of another man's knowing! Little tricks she
has I didn't think any one else had ever noticed ! It's
amazing !"

"Are you home much of the time?" Astro asked,
stacking the letters into a pile on the table.

"Not much; that is, until lately. I'm a busy man,
and when I'm at home I try to get rid of some of my
outside work. I have a den down next to my library,
and often spend the whole evening there. I've been
trying to get together a lot of information on the his-
tory of Wall Street coups, and it takes about all my
spare time. All the relaxation I get, really, is in bridge
at the Percentage Club. Why?" He stopped and
darted a look at Astro.

"Oh, I only wondered how much time your wife
had to herself."

Stellery wheeled on him. "See here! I hope that's
no insinuation! My wife is above suspicion, you un-
derstand that! Good lord! why should she show me
these letters, if she weren't?"

MRS. STELLERY'S LETTERS 447

"Oh, my dear sir," said Astro suavely, "don't take
it that way ! I was wondering if any one were watch-
ing her, following her. Nevertheless, I should like to
know, also, just whom she sees, and where, and how.
You have given me a difficult task, Mr. Stellery, and
you must forgive me if I seem curious. But I pre-
sume I shall get it all better in my own way. You
don't mind my calling on Mrs. Stellery, I imagine?"

"Why, of course not. She'll be glad to see you, I
suppose. But, of course, it's a delicate matter, and she's
naturally sensitive."

"Very good." Astro rose, tall and distinguished. A
yeil seemed to be drawn before his eyes, masking all
expression; as if, having learned all he could of his
client, he was anxious to be alone to solve the problem.

Stellery seemed to feel the change of atmosphere.
He reached for his hat, shook hands, and left the
studio.

"How do you diagnose him, Valeska?" Astro asked
his assistant, who had overheard the talk.

"A clever man, absorbed in business, a bit cruel, or
at least inclined to be cold and unsympathetic, and
yet honorable and loyal at heart. I'd hate to be in love
with him ! He'd make me suffer. And you ?"

Astro smiled cryptically. "You work from your
feelings ; I from my facts," he said. "Fortunately, we
often come out in the same place. But, speaking of
facts, try and see what you can make of these letters.
It's an amusing complication, and a new variation of
the anonymous letter."

Valeska sat down and looked over the pile. As she
examined them one by one and threw them into a

448 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

heap to begin over again, she kept up a running com-
mentary. "Mostly stamped at the Madison Square
branch post-office. A few at Station E — that's on West
Thirty-second Street, isn't it? One or two at Times
Square branch, and one at Station I, One Hundred
and Fifth Street. All but that one mailed in the early
afternoon. Written on a Rem-Smith typewriter; a
pretty old one, I should say, for the alignment is bad.
All the small "o's" register below the line, and all the
capital "N's" above it. And I should say that the writer
is not in love with her ; only pretending."

"How do you make that out?" Astro smiled curi-
ously.

"I can feel it."

"Too literary?"

"Oh, I can't explain it. Only, I know if I got letters
like this I'd throw them in the fire. 'Your gracile
hands!'— bosh!"

"Yes, I noticed 'gracile/ It seems to be his pet
word. Also 'jimp/ Queer love-letters — I agree with
you."

"Love-letters ! They're deeper than that !"

"You're right, and there is small possibility of find-
ing the author unless we discover the motive first.
There are thousands of persons who might write these
letters. What I have to decide is, why should any one
of them do it? It may be a mere practical joke. If
that's so, it would be done by some one who can watch
the effect upon her. In any case, I take it that it must
be some one who knows her. What good could it do
a stranger?"

"What good could it do a friend or an acquaint-
ance?"

MRS. STELLERY'S LETTERS 449

"Flatter a woman with all sorts of intimate original
compliments, — not spoken, so that she would have to
blush, deny, and reprove ; but written, so that she could
read and reread them in secret as often as she liked, —
arouse her curiosity, a powerful ally ; her sense of the
romantic, a still stronger one, and finally unmask your-
self as the adorer; — I don't know that it's so bad a
way, after all."

"Unless you try it on a woman who shows all the
letters to her husband," said Valeska dryly.

"Yes ; but how's the writer to know she will ? He's
probably conceited enough to think she won't."

"There's one other way of discovering the writer, —
find a Rem- Smith typewriter with an alignment im-
perfect in just this way."

"Yes," said Astro. "We might begin and fine-tooth-
comb the city for it. Still, accidents do happen, luck-
ily for prophets and seers. And, at any rate, that will
be the final proof. Well, I'm going to reread the
whole bunch, look for some unifying theory — and then
call on the lady. I confess I'm curious to see her."

Mrs. Stellery, he was to find, was a woman of by no
means an obvious type. Outwardly, it is true, she
manifested social grace and experience, was handsome
rather than beautiful, with a dark serious face and
finely-chiseled features. One would call her aristo-
cratic in looks and manner, and yet behind the con-
ventional aspects in which she showed herself in com-
pany, a keen observer would note subtlety after sub-
tlety. That she had a fine mind and a fearless one,
was occasionally proved by the flashes of wit and per-

450 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

spicacity that illumined her conversation and colored
what might otherwise be a rather bored and repressed,
though perfectly polite habit of talk. She seemed
aloof, waiting for something interesting, all but ef-
fete. Her smile was elusive ; but, when it came forth,
compelling, captivating, and as soon as it had created
that impression, it faded and the weary manner as-
serted itself again. Only the mouth was tempera-
mental. The gray eyes were well schooled, though
velvety soft. She had a trick of half raising one eye-
brow, which gave a whimsical relief to her haughty
pose. One could fancy her always playing a part and
wonder what the real woman would be like. Not very
different from other women, after all, if one judged by
the quivering lips.

This, at least, is the way Astro described the wom-
an to Valeska later. He was waiting in the reception-
room, looking at a novel entitled The Guerdon, when
Mrs. Stellery entered, one brow delicately arched, as
if she had not been quite sure whom she was to find.

He introduced himself, and for a moment she
seemed embarrassed and turned the conversation to
the novel.

"Have you read it?" she asked. "I met the author.
Mr. Askerson, lately in Philadelphia at a dinner, and
he sent me the book. I saw him only twice; but he
seemed quite an extraordinary man."

Astro turned to the title page, and before rinding
it noticed the inscription on the fly-leaf, "Viola Stel-
lery : Her Book," a quaint-enough wording to arouse
his smile. "A problem?" he asked.

"Love after marriage — the modern theme," she re-
plied.

MRS. STELLERY'S LETTERS 451

"I'd like to know his solution."

She merely smiled. It was her only smile during the
interview, and the talk passed to the letters.

She had no idea, she said, why she was being so
persecuted. The letters were stupid, and apparently
meaningless, yet they annoyed her. Their audacity
had now begun to worry her, as well. If anything
could be done to stop them, she would be glad. Yes,
they had ceased coming, for the time being, and per-
haps it would be as well to wait and do nothing; but
now Mr. Stellery himself was aroused and wished the
matter investigated. He was too busy with his press
of work to spend much time on the matter. He was a
very busy man. Quite absorbed in his work — and she
had hoped to go abroad with him in the spring. At
present it seemed impossible. And so on the talk ran,
while her expression said, "What are you going to do
about it? I don't care!"

Then a card was brought in, and she said, "It is Doc-
tor Primfield, my husband's brother-in-law, you know.
Married Paul's sister, who died two years ago. He's
a physician. We see a good deal of him."

She did not add, "and he bores me" ; but the merest
drag in her words implied it. In another minute the
doctor came bruskly in.

He was a nervous, slim, snapping-eyed man of
thirty-five, with a jerky way of speaking and moving.
He said, "Hello, Lila !" shook hands, bowed to Astro,
and looked at him with a professional eye, seemed to
decide that the palmist was all right, flapped himself
into a seat, screwed his feet round the legs of a chair,
and began to talk very fast to his hostess, ignoring
Astro.

452 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

Mrs. Stellery endeavored to include both guests in
the conversation but found it difficult. Astro, seeing
that he was in the way, at least of the doctor, withdrew
and went back to his studio.

On the way he stopped at a bookstore and bought a
copy of The Guerdon. Dipping into it, walking down
Fifth Avenue, he came across a sentence, reread it,
shut the book with a snap, and walked home thinking.

Arrived at the studio, he laid the book open at the
page he had read, before Valeska.

" 'She laid her soft gracile hands, palms down, on
the table/ " she read aloud, and looked up. "Did you
find 'jimp', too?"

"You'll have to read the book and see," was his an-
swer. And then he described the interview. "If you
find 'jimp' and 'nuance/ — for there are several
'nuances' in the letters, — I think it would be well for
you to apply to Askerson for a position as secretary.
Only on the chance, a slim enough one, — but all we
have at present. But Stellery is right; the letters do
sound literary, though Mrs. Stellery is wrong — they
are by no means stupid. If I could only think of a
motive for a man like Askerson doing such a senti-
mental thing!"

"He might want to see what she'd do, and use the
episode in fiction."

"Yes, that's the trouble. Men have many motives,
and often several at a time, really mixed. Women sel-
dom act except with a single definite motive, no mat-
ter how they conceal it or even pretend to themselves
that it's different. I wonder if the author could pos-
sibly be Doctor Primfield."

"Why Doctor Primfield more than another?"

MRS. STELLERY'S LETTERS 453

Astro laughed. "There doesn't seem to be any other,
yet; and there was something queer in the way he
looked at her."

"How did he look at her?"

"This way/'

But Valeska, seeing too well what was in his eyes,
turned away her own. "Well, I'll read the book/' she
remarked, leaving.

"And I'll read the letters again."

There were, Valeska found, three "graciles," one
"jimp," and two "nuances" in Askerson's novel. In
connection with their recurrence in the letters, the coin-
cidence might mean anything or nothing. What was
more important was to get a sample of Askerson's
typewriting ; and to this end Valeska, in the guise of a
stenographer in search of work, visited him.

She found Askerson to be the farthest removed from
her preconceived idea of a novelist. He was a short,
round, and chubby, seraphic-looking young man, with
light curly hair and the mien of a preternaturally sol-
emn child. His earnestness seemed absurd masquerad-
ing in this juvenile guise; but, once that inconsistency
was forgotten, under the spell of his mental power, she
found him a most interesting man. He was in the
midst of his work, dressed in a pink silk shirt and
white duck trousers, his hair a mass of light wavy
locks over his eyes, smoking a brier pipe.

He assured her that, though he would like to em-
ploy a secretary, he could not afford it. Besides, he
was engaged in dramatizing The Guerdon, and had
to work it out himself on his machine, inch by inch.

454 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

He had to refuse her request; but seemed willing to
talk.

Valeska had prepared for the interview by reading
everything of Askerson's that she could find. Among
other books, she had discovered a slim book of poems,
privately printed during his college days. As a last
resort, she used this, hoping to play upon the vanity
of the poet in him.

"I heard a girl once recite one of your poems ; Sea
Magic, I think it was called. Do you know where I
could get a copy of it ?"

He seemed pleased. "I didn't know any one remem-
bered that verse," he said. "It's one of my favorites.
If you'll wait, I'll see if I can remember it. I'll type-
write it for you, if you like." He sat down to his ma-
chine, puckered his brows, and began to write. He
paused once in a while in search of a phrase, which he
usually found by a hard glare at the ceiling, and finally
finished it and presented her with the sheet.

"Would you mind signing it?" she asked timidly.

He put his name and a flourish at the bottom of the
page.

She could scarcely wait till she was in the car to ex-
amine the printing. The small "o's" registered a little
below the lines; but the capital "N's" were in true
alignment.

Astro shrugged his shoulders when he saw it, and
pointed silently with the stem of his narghile to the
word "gracile" in the last stanza.

Two days after that, a hasty summons came from
Stellery over the telephone, at four in the afternoon.

MRS. STELLERY'S LETTERS 455

He wished Astro to come immediately to the house;
but did not care to tell, over the wire, why he was
needed.

Astro took a taxicab and went up-town immedi-
ately. He found the broker in his den, writing at a big
table covered with sheets of paper. On a smaller table
stood his typewriter, a sheet, half written, sticking
from the roller.

Stellery looked up with a worried expression. "Take
a seat," he said. "I want your advice ; or, rather, your
help. Things have come to a crisis. Brush those pa-
pers on the floor anywhere."

As Astro sat down, he noticed a waste-paper basket
behind him, a little to the left. As he seated himself,
he pushed his chair back a foot or so, so that the bas-
ket was within easy reach.

Stellery took a letter from his pocket and passed it
over. "Here's what came yesterday," he said.

Astro opened it and read :

"I simply can't wait any longer! I must see
you ! You must know, by this time, how madly I
am in love with you. I don't dare to speak to you
face to face, unless I receive some encouragement.
But I want to end this suspense immediately and
know my fate! Will you meet me to-morrow
afternoon, at six o'clock, at the prescription coun-
ter of the Times Square drug store? If you'll be
there and will let me speak to you for only five
minutes, please leave a candle lighted in the win-
dow of your room to-night between ten and eleven
o'clock."

"Well, did she light the signal?" said Astro hand-
ing back the letter.

456 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

Stellery frowned and nodded. "See here, you can
imagine how I must feel to have this sort of thing
going on!" he said. "And it's enough to make me
fairly sick ! But I want to trap that man and find out
who he is. That's why I sent for you. Mrs. Stellery
objected very strongly to lending herself to the scheme
in any way. It was all I could do to get her to light
the candle ; in fact, I had to do that myself. But, after
talking it over, and deciding that there was after all
no real danger of her compromising herself, she con-
sented to be at the rendezvous this evening at six
o'clock. She doesn't seem to be curious — the thing
disgusts her — but she wants to put an end to the mat-
ter. Of course I can't be seen there, or he'd never ap-
pear at all. That's what makes me wild. I'd like to
go down and punch that chap's head! Instead, I've
got to stay here and wait. I want you to follow her
down — nobody will know you have anything to do
with it, of course — and find out who it is, if it's some
one she doesn't know. Then we'll put that chap in
jail, if it's a possible thing!"

He had worked himself into a passion as he talked,
and, rising and gesticulating, walked back and forth
in the little room.

Astro watched his chance, and, when Stellery's back
was turned, reached into the waste-paper basket, drew
out a sheet of typewritten paper, crumpled it up in his
hand, and slid it into his pocket.

"Is Mrs. Stellery at home?" he asked.

"No; she had an appointment this afternoon. But
she'll be at the drug store at six, she promised."

"I wish I had known this before," said Astro. "I
should have liked to have my assistant with me."

MRS. STELLERY'S LETTERS 457

"I've been trying to get you on the 'phone all day.
But, in point of fact, though Mrs. Stellery consented
to the signal, I had to argue with her all this morning
to get her to meet this man. You can imagine how I
feel! I wonder if I've done wrong? Can you fancy
how it feels to send your wife to a rendezvous to meet
an anonymous correspondent ? By Jove ! I didn't know
how much I loved her, before ! You know, I've neg-
lected her shamefully, I suppose. I've been absorbed
in my work, and that's why this sort of thing has been
possible. I suppose people have seen her going about
alone, and have thought perhaps we were estranged,
even. And every thing this damned scoundrel has been
writing her is true, by Jove. She is charming, you can
see that! She's one of ten thousand, that woman! I
ought to know. Now, at the faintest prospect of los-
ing her, absurd as that chance is — why, I'm fairly
crazy about her. If I saw that man with her, I don't
care who he is, I believe I'd kill him !"

"Which is another reason for your not going," said
Astro, rising. "There must be no scene. You can
trust Mrs. Stellery to make the talk brief and forcible
enough, and, in any case, you may depend on me to
protect her."

It was nearly a quarter to six before he reached
Times Square. He entered the building and started
down-stairs toward the subway entrance on his way to
the drug store below the street, when a man brushed
past him, almost jostling him off the step in his haste.
The man looked round to apologize; it was Doctor
Primfield.

458 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

"Oh, I beg your pardon!" he said, and looked at
Astro queerly. "Haven't I met you somewhere?" he
added.

Astro recalled the meeting but did not mention his
own name.

The doctor appeared to be a little embarrassed.
"I've got to catch a subway train; so you'll have to
excuse me," he said. "Otherwise, I'd like to have a
talk. I have some theories of my own about capillary
markings on the fingers I'd like to discuss with you.
Good day !" and he was off like a busy squirrel. As
he passed the drug-store entrance Astro noticed that
he gave a swift, apparently uneasy look inside.

Mrs. Stellery, however, had not yet appeared ; but at
a few minutes before six she walked in the door, hand-
ed a prescription to the clerk at the desk, and seated
herself without appearing to recognize the Seer, who
lounged at a counter some distance away. She was
beautifully dressed in the prevalent mode, and sat like
a fashion-plate, without expression on her proud face,
as if bored to death.

Six o'clock struck, and no one approached Her. Fif-
teen minutes went by, and still she sat, calm and
haughty, in her place. Finally, when the prescription
was handed her, she walked over to Astro and bowed
coldly.

"Do you think it will be any use waiting longer?"
she asked.

"Not the slightest," was his reply. "No one will
come, I am quite sure."

She looked up at him with a sudden keen expres-
sion. "You are sure ?" she repeated.

"Quite so, Mrs. Stellery. May I escort you home?"

MRS. STELLERY'S LETTERS 459

When they arrived, the servant who opened the door
put a note into Mrs. Stellery's hand, saying that it had
been delivered by a messenger boy. She tore it open,
read it, and passed it to Astro :

"It was, of course, impossible for me to speak
to you, as you were watched."

The next day, as Astro and Valeska were driving
up-town, returning from a case that was then puzzling
him, he proposed that they rest at Sherry's and take
tea there. It was not yet four o'clock, and there was
no one else in the room when they entered. Tea, muf-
fins, and jam had hardly been ordered, however, when
Valeska suddenly exclaimed :

"Why, there's Mr. Askerson now !"

"And there's Mrs. Stellery as well !" Astro added.

Master and assistant gave each other a quick glance,
then turned to the approaching couple. They were
earnestly conversing, and did not, apparently, notice
that there was any one else in the room as they walked
across to the opposite side and sat down. Then Mrs.
Stellery cast her gray eyes slowly about the room and
met Astro's. He and Valeska could see the color man-
tle her cheeks as she turned away. Askerson was
slower at perceiving who was present; but when at
last he noticed Valeska, he turned suddenly and said
something to Mrs. Stellery. The latter was too well-
bred to turn ; perhaps she was too busy in attempting
to mask her thoughts in her haughty cold expression.
They did not look over again.

"Well, if Mr. Askerson has written those letters, it's
about time for him to explain now," said Valeska. "I

460 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

think he's dear ! But why should he take such an elab-
orate method of making love to her when he can meet
her like this whenever he wants to ?"

"Perhaps he can't."

"There's no reason why he shouldn't, is there? It's
all right."

"Do you think he wrote them?"

"I don't know. If it hadn't been for your meeting
Doctor Primfield, I'd be surer. Askerson's typewriter
leaves it in doubt.

"Oh, the typewriter, we agreed, was only the final
test. What you must seek is a motive."

"Well, then, Askerson is romantic — and a bit afraid
of her. Doctor Primfield is practical ; but afraid of her
husband. Either may be in love with her."

"I don't think you have proved a sufficient motive
yet for so extraordinary a course. But, by Jove ! look
at that ! If there isn't Primfield himself !"

It was Primfield, indeed, who entered at that mo-
ment, looked about, caught sight of Mrs. Stellery,
walked over to her table, and spoke. She reached out
her hand and smiled faintly. There were a few words
of introduction, and he sat down at their table and
lighted a cigarette.

"Now," said Astro, "you have a chance to vindicate
your woman's perception. Watch and see which of
those two men is in love with her."

Valeska narrowed her eyes and watched. It was
five minutes before she said deliberately, "I think nei-
ther of them is."

Astro laughed softly. "Well, my dear, I have a bet-
ter motive than you have yet discovered."

"What is it?" she asked eagerly.

Watch and see which of those two men is in love with her."

MRS. STELLERY'S LETTERS 461

"I won't tell you yet ; I'll give you a chance to think
it over by yourself. But at ten o'clock to-morrow
morning the writer of the Stellery anonymous letters
will walk into my studio."

At ten next morning Valeska came swiftly into the
laboratory where Astro was experimenting with phos-
phorescent sulfid of calcium screens. The sight of
her face made the Seer smile, it was so puzzled in its
expression.

"Mrs. Stellery is here. She says you wished to see
her. Are you going to have her meet the author of the
letters?"

"Yes," he answered, putting down a varnish brush.
"And if you want enlightenment on human nature, I
advise you to listen in the anteroom."

He took a piece of crumpled paper covered with
typewriting from his pocket and handed it to her. She
looked at it carefully ; then, as she stood for a moment
staring at him, her face changed.

"Oh !" she breathed, and walked rapidly back to the
reception-room.

Mrs. Stellery was waiting for him, standing beside
the granite Thoth in the center of the studio. Her eyes
were fixed blankly; but at his coming she turned a
white face suddenly to him.

"You said that you had discovered the authorship of
the letters," she said, and her voice was very low. "I'm
anxious about it. Do you really know? Are you
sure?"

He nodded gravely, motioned her to a seat, and sat
down himself. "My dear Mrs. Stellery," he began, "I
want you to trust implicitly in my tact and my consid-

462 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

eration. I shall do nothing whatever without your con-
sent, you may be sure. Indeed, it was to ask your ad-
vice that I sent for you."

She continued staring at him anxiously, and her lips
formed the words, "My husband !"

"Mr. Stellery shall know — only what you please to
tell him yourself," he answered.

"Then you do know !" Her lips were trembling.

"It was my business to find out."

"Who wrote them, then?" she demanded almost
fiercely, as if defying him.

"Mrs. Stellery," he replied, "you are a clever woman.
Not only that, but you have a profound knowledge of
men. And you have a heart that, in its danger, knows
how to ally itself with your brain."

"You mean—"

"That you wrote them yourself !"

For a few minutes no one would have recognized
her for the proud serene woman of the world. A
strong effort of her will brought her back to something
like composure ; but now she must talk.

"If you knew what I have suffered !" she exclaimed.
"We have been growing away from each other for a
year. If it had been only a quarrel, we might have
made it up ; but this was only his carelessness, his ab-
sorption in his business, his thoughtless cruelty. I
wanted to arouse him, rekindle his interest in me, make
him love me again, if I could. Oh ! can't you see ? It
may not have been right — it was a deceit, I know —
but I missed him so !"

"My dear Mrs. Stellery, you needn't justify your-
self to me. All I need to say is that I'm sure your
ruse has worked."

MRS. STELLERY'S LETTERS 463

"Oh, I know it has ! But I had some good advice,
— it wasn't all sheer woman's wit — Mr. Askerson
helped me. I don't know how I came to confide in
him — I've seen him so few times — but he wrote most
of the letters for me, and I copied them ; so they would
seem more like a man's letters, you know. But I con-
fess— I don't know what you'll think of my praising
myself so — all those intimate personal things were
truly my own. Most of them my husband had said to
me during our honeymoon. I thought they would be
most likely to arouse his jealousy."

"Oh, he's jealous enough," said Astro. "You needn't
fear that you haven't succeeded. He has threatened to
kill the writer of the letters."

She smiled wistfully. "Well, I hope he won't kill
me when he finds out I'm the one. And that's the
question ! I always expected to tell him ; but now I'm
afraid to. I didn't quite intend to let it go so far, and
I don't know how to explain. What shall I do?" She
looked up at him with tears in her eyes. There was no
haughtiness left, now.

"I think you needn't worry," said Astro, giving her
his hand in sympathy; "for I met Mr. Stellery this
morning on his way to the office. He told me that he
intended to take you abroad immediately. That, he
said, would stop this nonsense and give him a chance to
get acquainted with you all over again. He said he
was sure you had been left alone too much."

"Really?" she said, suddenly smiling. "Oh, then,
I'm sure the letters will stop ! And," she added softly,
"when I've quite won him back, and we're happy again,
I'll confess everything." She paused a moment, then
spoke as if to herself. "There's a little canal in Venice

464 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

I love. It's called the Rio Margherita. I think it will
be there — in June — just after sunset."

She looked up wistfully as she added, "Oh, I do
hope he'll forgive me for being such a schemer !"

BLACK LIGHT

SURELY it had been a curious wooing; for Astro,
Seer of Secrets, so confident in other matters, so
keen in his insight into human nature, so quick to think
and bold to act, had shown from the first a strange
timidity when it came to a personal relation with Va-
leska, his assistant. His manner had long been merely
brotherly, modified only by his relation as instructor to
her. But of late he had begun to make tentative sug-
gestions, as if to try and sound her affection. From
these Valeska had instinctively warned him off, and
his tact had made him accede to her wishes. It seemed
as if he feared to lose her by speaking too soon.

But at last he had spoken. The words had sprung
unpremeditated from his lips, on the surging impulse
of the moment. Nor were they the fruit of any
dramatic moment. Merely the sight of her in a char-
acteristic attitude at the table, her blond head illumined
by the electric light, and a sudden terror struck him
lest destiny should sweep them apart and write the
story of their two years' friendship in the chronicles
of the past. So many things in his life had faded
like autumn leaves ! He must be sure of her, sure of
having her beside him always, sure of the inspiration
of her companionship. The speech came on the in-
stant in a passionate demand.

It had appeared -to frighten her for the moment, as

465

466 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

if it were a question she had long been dreading. She
had asked for time in which to consider it, and he
had reluctantly consented. Since then he had not
mentioned the subject; but he had watched her silently
with fear and constraint in his manner.

Valeska found it hard to explain why she had been
unwilling to answer; but, as she went over and over
the question, it seemed to her that their friendship
had been merely the product of propinquity. They
had been thrown together continually, had incurred
danger, and had enjoyed victory. How, then, could
she be sure that it was no more than friendship, a
common interest in their work ? Love, she had always
thought, should come with a flash of sudden illumina-
tion, as a divine gift, as a sudden wonder, convincing
in its very mystery. But her feeling — was it not the
mere result of a daily comradeship? Was it a fatal
irresistible appeal of the soul? She found him aristo-
cratic, generous, talented, finely perceptive, and deli-
cate ; but was this all ? Her love, if it were love, spoke
a commonplace tongue — and she had wanted words of
fire. So, for a week, she went over and over the sub-
ject, subjecting herself and Astro to a searching criti-
cism, and as yet she had found no answer.

He came into the room one morning, carrying from
his laboratory a large black square object, which he
set on the table. She looked at it, and then her eyes
questioned him.

"It is a lantern of a special kind," he said. "It casts
black light."

"Black light!" Her delicate brows rose.

BLACK LIGHT 467

"That's what Doctor Le Bon calls it. You see, the
visible spectrum (or all the light we can see) is only
about one per cent, of all the vibrant energy emitted
by the sun or any other luminous body. Beyond that
visible spectrum lie, at one end the ultraviolet rays,
and at the other the infra-red. I have here a lighted
lantern enclosed in an opaque box, which cuts off all
the visible rays, but permits the other ninety-nine per
cent, to pass through. The flame inside is now cast-
ing rays of black light through the opaque sides, —
black, because they are invisible ; light, because they
will illuminate certain objects.

"I want you to witness an experiment. You recall
the celebrated interference experiment of Fresnel, in
which light added to light produced darkness? Well,
I shall show you how darkness added to darkness may
give birth to light. It is Le Bon's discovery. Now
come into my dark room, and I'll show it to you."

At the farther end of the laboratory he opened a
door which led into a small dark room. Entering this,
and closing the laboratory door, he opened one into
another dark room beyond, carrying the dark lantern.
They both entered the inner dark room, which was
ventilated through a circuitous light-proof pipe. The
room was absolutely black; but Astro, well used to
the place, feeling his way with his hands, set the lan-
tern on a table.

"Upon a shelf here," he said, "is a Chinese image
of Buddha, which some weeks ago I coated with phos-
phorescent sulfid of calcium. By this time all its
luminosity is gone, and it is absolutely invisible. But
now I shall direct the invisible rays of black light from
this lantern upon it. Watch!"

468 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

As she waited there in the silence and the dark, Va-
leska strained her eyes for nearly a minute in vain.
Then a faint luminous blur was apparent. It gathered
intensity and showed a triangle of violet radiance. In
another minute it had taken the form of a squatting
Buddha and glowed plainly, the only visible thing in
the room.

"It's wonderful !" she breathed.

"Oh, that's not half that can be done with black
light," Astro said, as he took the lantern and led the
way out. "With it one can photograph objects through
an opaque screen, when they are illuminated by ordi-
nary sunlight. By using a screen of sulfid of zinc,
and training this black light upon an object, one could
see it even at midnight, half a mile away."

When they came out into the great studio, he
dropped to his favorite place on the divan and went
on. "Phosphorescence, opalescence and fluorescence
are queer things, Valeska. They haven't been half un-
derstood till lately, when what is called 'the new
physics' came into being through the discoveries in
radioactivity by Monsieur and Madame Curie. It used
to be thought that after a phosphorescent object had re-
mained in the dark for a while and had ceased to be
luminous, it ceased its radioactivity, and needed a new
bath of light to make it act again. But Le Bon found
that it would radiate for months after all visible glow
had disappeared. We have proved it with this black
light just now."

He had taken up his narghile and sat looking off
into space with a mystic expression on his face. It
was one of his dreamy, philosophical moments. Va-
leska recognized the mood and waited for the inevita-

BLACK LIGHT 469

ble parable. For, to Astro the Seer, modern science
was but an allegory of the intellect and the emotions.
By it he explained even his own charlatanry.

"Isn't it like absence? While our friend is present,
he is bathed in the matter-of-fact light of day; he is
radiant, luminous. When he disappears, for a time
that impression of him lasts, like the phosphorescent
glow. Then, the light fades and we begin to forget, —
all save those who truly love, who truly know, whose
soul can still perceive the mysterious astral black light
he radiates through the dark. His influence persists,
transmuted from mental into psychic energy. Selah!"

He dropped his narghile and sat with folded hands,
looking at her as if she were miles away. His smile
was the calm expression of his own bronze Buddha.

But Valeska took the parable to herself eagerly.
"Yes, yes, it's true, and that's just what I need to
know before I give you the answer you want ! I don't
know whether I really love you or not, — you're too
near me, too intermingled with my life and my work.
If I could try that test of absence, if I could wait till
your phosphorescence fades out, then I could tell
whether or not I was affected by your black light. I'd
know then just what you were to me — alone in the
dark!"

"Shall we try it?" he asked gently. "Shall I dis-
appear for a week, say?"

"Ah, I'm afraid it would take at least a month!"
she said.

He laughed. "Well, as long as you like."

"Will you really?"

He bowed gravely. "I shall disappear to-morrow.
You may use the studio as you please; and, when

470 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

you've found out whether or not you can be affected
by my psychic black light, — you will let me know."

"Do I care? Do I care enough for him?" Valeska
asked herself the next morning as she walked to the
studio. She had thought of it almost all night; she
had risen with the question on her lips. She had seen
him every day for two years. The thought that to-
day, and perhaps for a week or a month, she would not
see him, gave her a strange feeling. Was it a relief,
or a pain? As yet, she could not decide.

As she entered the studio it seemed strange not to
find him there, at first. Then, insensibly she began to
find it hard to believe that he was not there. Every-
thing suggested his presence, — the curiosities he had
collected, the weapons, the Egyptian sculptures, tapes-
tries, gems, — all evidences of his taste and his re-
searches. She could not rid herself of the feeling that
at any moment he might come in. He was near her,
somewhere, waiting and watching for her.

But this, she said to herself, was only the effect of
the familiar environment in which she had been used
to see him. But it became at last too strong, too in-
sistent. Surely she could never decide till she sought
a new atmosphere. She was sorry that she had not
disappeared, instead of Astro. But at least she could
leave the studio and be alone for a while, to think it
out. As she opened the outer door, she heard the soft
ringing of the electric bell in the studio which warned
them of visitors. It still rang as she closed the door,
and it gave her an uncanny feeling, — the one spark
of life in that dead empty place. She hurried away
and walked swiftly toward the park.

Shall \ve try it?" he asked gently. ''Shall I disappear
for a week, say?"

BLACK LIGHT

' "Do I care?" Valeska had little doubt of it wlien
the next morning she walked to the studio. One day
had made her sure. She wanted to see Astro again
more than she wanted anything in the world! The
day before had been empty and vapid. She had scarce-
ly reached the reservoir in the park before she knew
what a fool she had been ever to doubt. The product
of mere propinquity or not, the feeling she had for
him was paramount over every other emotion. She
wanted him back, to see him, hear him, and — well,
he would find out what else!

Again the empty studio smote her with trie strange
feeling that, despite the fact that she did not meet
him there, he was near her. Now it was a tantalizing
thought. Why had she not arranged how to notify
him ? She had been so sure she would need a month
that she had not asked where he was going, and she
had now no means of letting him know. It was ab-
surd! Must she wait for him to write?

After all, had she really no means of discovering
his whereabouts ? She looked eagerly about the studio.
For two years she had been his assistant in unraveling
mysteries. Why should she not now profit by her
apprenticeship? But how?

It came to her then that it was, so to speak, by means
of black light that he himself had always worked.
Most people saw only the outward and visible signs, —
the one per cent, of facts that were luminous and ob-
vious. His delicate mind registered the infra-red rays
of psychic action. He vibrated to the ultraviolet
waves. Could she not do so as well? She was a
woman and had intuitions as well as intellect ; she had
emotions finer than men's. But her emotions told her

472 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

somehow, irrationally, that Astro was still there in the
studio. She could not believe, quite, in his absence.
Everything shrieked his name to her. She could close
her eyes and see him before the porphyry sphinx, ex-
amining thumb prints at his table, poring over the
mimic planets of the orrery, figuring out nativities,
gazing into his crystal ball.

That would never do ! She must keep her imagina-
tion as an instrument with which to work on facts.
Where, then, were the facts that could help her ? She
set herself to investigate the studio thoroughly, inch
by inch.

At the first round, she found nothing not in its ac-
customed place, nothing new, nothing significant. She
sat down at his table to think, putting her elbows on
the blotter and letting her head drop into her palms.
Her eyes fell on the blue blotter. It was changed
every morning, ordinarily ; but now she noticed pencil
markings, — a small square drawn with its diagonals.
Would this be mere thoughtless penciling, or perhaps
a clue? Next, an envelope lying beside the inkstand
attracted her attention. Surely that could mean noth-
ing, and yet, as it lay with its face down, the X shaped
cross of its gummed edges suggested the diagonals
of the square. Either one alone might have no sig-
nificance; but the two taken together — the hint, per-
haps, repeated? She smiled at the very absurdity of
so frail a clue.

Then her eyes dropped to the waste-paper basket.
This should have been emptied yesterday morning, yet
it contained a few scraps of paper. She stooped and

BLACK LIGHT 473

drew them out, one by one. Three were blank. On
the fourth she found the following:

"St. Patrick's Cath 115 lOth-Ave.

Pier 83 N. R 320 3d-Ave."

She gave a little cry of triumph. Here at last was
something to work on! She considered the ad-
dresses carefully. What did they mean? Astro had
never mentioned such places ; yet the notes were in his
crabbed handwriting. She knew of a certainty that
the studio had been cleaned the day before yesterday.
This writing, then, must have been put into the basket
after they had had their talk. If so, then they meant
something. The first thing to do was, of course, to
look up these localities and see what she could find
there. Saint Patrick's Cathedral and the Pier 83
seemed unlikely places to discover news of Astro's
whereabouts ; but she determined to visit all four be-
fore she returned.

She called a taxicab and set out first for Pier 83.
This, she found, was at the end of the Forty-second-
Street side of the Weehawken ferry. She walked along
the wharf, and found a tug laid up there. Besides
this, there was no sign of life. What should she do?
Ask the tugboat men if they knew where Astro was?
That was nonsense ! She walked up and down for a
half-hour, and discovered nothing which she could
possibly twist into evidence. She decided, then, that
she would visit the other places, and then, if she found
nothing suspicious, return over the ground again.

Saint Patrick's Cathedral next. There it stood, on
the corner of the avenue, and she recalled how Astro

474 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

had once called her attention to its resemblance to a
vast Gothic rabbit. The two transepts did resemble
a bunny's haunches, and the front towers were like
ears. She smiled at the thought; but got no nearer
Astro by the pleasantry. She walked inside, sat down
on a seat, and thought. What associations could this
have with his whereabouts? Why, he was not even
a Catholic ! He always said He was a Buddhist. Well,
if this were a part of the black light his memory ema-
nated, it was black indeed !

In Third Avenue her hopes went up. Number 320
was the entrance to a brick apartment-house. There
was a sign indicating that flats were to let, and she
rang for the janitor. By him she was shown a very
pleasant "four rooms and bath", whose windows were
on a level with the elevated railroad; but it was as
bare as the palm of one's hand, with no lines she could
read. She asked tentatively of the other occupants,
and found that all, with the exception of a couple of
old men, were married families. Yes, a man had been
to look at the flat yesterday; but he had worn a beard.
Was this a disguise? But if Astro had come there
with the intention of renting a flat temporarily, why
should he have left the address in the waste basket?
And, moreover, why should he have coupled its ad-
dress with Pier 83?

There remained only the Tenth Avenue address,
and this she found to be a huge unoccupied building
with shuttered windows, belonging to a gas company.
Opposite was a vacant lot piled with lumber refuse,
beams and timbers; on the other side was the gas-
tank's cylindrical bulk. She could find no watch-
man to give her permission to enter. What pretext

BLACK LIGHT 475

could sfie give for wanting to see the premises, even
if she inquired at the office on Eighteenth Street ? She
could think of none. Better think it over and plan a
campaign. She had this much information, at least.
Now what she had to do was to find some plausible
theory to utilize it.

Back she went to her room and cried herself to sleep,
as any other woman would. She missed Astro more
than ever. Before, she had a hunger and thirst for his
presence; now she wanted his help and protection.
Oh, she was sure enough, now! She felt lost with-
out him; she saw how necessary he was to her, how
he had made life different, romantic, picturesque.

It was a sad little Valeska that crept to the studio
next day. She took up one of the cushions of his
divan and kissed it passionately, buried her face in it
for a while, then sat resolutely down at his desk to work
out the mystery of his location. The more she thought
of it now, the surer she became that he must have left
these clues on purpose to guide her in her search. It
would be like him to test her that way; there was a
sort of humor in it that, at last, she saw. Well, then,
she would be a worthy pupil. She would prove that
his lessons had not been without effect. She, too,
would be a seer of secrets !

With a smile on her lips now, she began the problem.
But again she stopped. It was absurd to think of him
as being away. She was so used to seeing him here
in the studio that she could not take her task seriously.
Could not she go into a trance, as he had so often pre-
tended to, and summon him to her, or project her spirit
to meet his? Could she not perceive the radiance of

476 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES '

his secret black light directly through her intuitions,
without this tedious and stupid analytical logical
process? As she sat there she could almost feel him
at her side, leaning over her shoulder, looking from
the door of his laboratory. She looked up with a start
from her reverie, and was a little frightened to find
herself alone in the great studio with its shadowy cor-
ners. Then she went back conscientiously to her study.
What was the meaning of the four addresses? It
seemed evident that he could not be in any one of the
places ; that would be too easy an explanation of the
mystery. Was there any esoteric significance to the
Weehawken ferry or Pier 83? She laughed at the
idea. All she could gather from the addresses was that
Astro was probably in New York. Well, that was
something. Her mind jumped to the square with di-
agonals, to the cross on the envelope. How did they
fit in ? Why, for all she knew, the pattern on the car-
pet, or the legs of the chairs could solve the mystery !

No, there must be some relationship between these
things. If these evidences were left purposely, they
were correlated one to another. Her mind went back
to memories of Astro. He used to jump up and walk
back and forth as he considered his problems. So up
rose Valeska and began to pace the room.

As she passed the book-shelves, she noticed that one
book stuck out a little from the others. It was a vol-
ume of Poe's Tales. She pushed it back and con-
tinued her promenade. She went over the addresses
again, — Saint Patrick's, Pier 83, 320 Third Avenue,
the gas works. It came to her vaguely that these

BLACK LIGHT 477

places were about equal distances apart. Now could
that mean anything ? Then she thought that she could
consider them more clearly if she had a map.

She went to the shelf, therefore, took down and un-
folded a large map of New York, and laid it on the
table. She next took four pins and marked each place.
They were indeed equal distances apart ; she measured
them with a ruler. Then she noticed that 'they seemed
to form a square, and tested it with a little transparent
celluloid triangle Astro used for plotting horoscopes,
and found it was true. The sides were about a mile
and a quarter long. Again she dropped her chin on
her palms and her elbows on the table and studied the
pins.

But her thoughts wandered. It seemed as if Astro
should be there to help her as he always had. She
thought, with a smile, that if it were propinquity that
had made her love him, propinquity was what she
wanted most. But she forced her mind to the sub-
ject and remembered the diagram drawn on the blotter
of the table. Why, that was a square, too! And it
had its diagonals drawn. The hint reached her at last
and, seizing a pencil and ruler, she drew in the di-
agonals on the map, and looked curiously to see where
they intersected. On Thirty-fourth Street, between
Seventh and Eighth Avenues. But the studio itself
was at 234 West Thirty-fourth Street.

She jumped up, then, her hand on her beating heart.
Her intuitions, then, were true ! She had felt the black
light of his presence, though he was invisible! He
was in the studio, and had been from the first! He

478 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

had, perhaps, even looked from the doorway, as she
had fancied. She trembled as if at the presence of a
ghost, and feared to see him.

But where was he? Must she look in every nook
and corner? Should she call him out loud? Hungry
for him as she was, she could not yet do that; her
heart beat too fast. Yet she longed to tear the mystery
open and let in the light again — the old-fashioned sun-
light of his actual visible presence — and break into
tears on his shoulder. She moved across the room on
tiptoe now, as if she were guilty of some crime in be-
ing there, threw herself on the divan, and tried to think
it out.

As she calmed herself, the thought of the book she
had replaced on the shelf came to her, and she ran
across the studio to take it from its shelf. It fell open
of itself to The Purloined Letter, and she smiled to
herself. That proved her hypothesis to be right. Was
not the purloined letter concealed in plain sight, so
prominently placed that it escaped the search? Then
Astro's hiding-place would be as obvious, if she rea-
soned aright. Could she solve that as she had solved
the other, by her intuitions, by means of his black
light?

Black light! The very words were enough to tell
her. Where should he be, but in the dark room where
she first witnessed his experiment, where the little
phosphorescent Buddha, though invisible in the dark,
still radiated its mysterious waves of energy?

So it was solved ! She hugged herself with delight,
and smiled at the prettiness of his plans. How well he

BLACK LIGHT 479

knew her and her mental processes — indeed, he must
know her very soul, to be so sure of her and her ways !
Indeed, he was the Seer of secrets; for he had seen
hers before she had discovered it for herself, had waited
with patience and tact till she should know and be
sure of her own love for him. A wave of impatience
to see him, speak to him, touch him, swept over her.

Of course he had retreated to his hiding-place when
he had heard the ringing of the bell on the door. She
had been there for an hour, and he must be tired of
waiting there, well ventilated as the dark room was.
So she crossed to the laboratory door, opened the door
of the little anteroom, shut it behind her, and put her
hand to the inner door, opened it, and listened.

It was black and still. For a moment she almost
fainted with the fear that, after all, she might be mis-
taken and he was not there. Her childhood's terror
of the dark returned; but she put it away and tried
to speak aloud. Her voice came thin and small in
that closed space.

"Astro, I have found you !" she said tremblingly. "I
have seen your black light in the dark, and I know,
now ! I want you, dear !"

She gave a little cry as she felt two arms take her
in their grasp. Then the touch of his lips thrilled her,
and she laid her head on his shoulder in peace and con-
tentment.

When Astro took her out into the light, it blinded
them with sunshine so that they staggered and could
hardly see.

480 THE MASTER OF MYSTERIES

The thrilling of the electric bell interrupted them in
their dream.

"It is the clergyman and the witnesses," said Astro,
smiling. "They are just five minutes ahead of time.
I didn't expect you'd find me till eleven o'clock at
least!"

THE END

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Full text of "The master of mysteries : being an account of the problems solved by Astro, seer of secrets, and his love affair with Valeska Wynne, his assistant"

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