Carolyn Wells

“ Wise asked, as he passed the little note to Minna.
“Yes,” she whispered, trembling so violently and turning so white, that Zizi flew to her side, and induced her to take a sip of coffee.
“Brace up, now, dear,” Zizi said, “you’ll need all your strength and all your pluck. And cheer up, too. If that’s from Betty, she’s alive, and if she’s alive, we’ll get her! Bank on that!”
Zizi’s strong young voice and encouraging smile did as much as the coffee to invigorate and cheer the distracted mother, and Rod Granniss, said, “Sure! that’s Betty’s own writing,—no forgery about that! ”

“ Hannah moaned, wiping her eyes on her apron. “I tell you it wasn’t as bad as Mrs Varian makes out.”
“Yes, it was,” said Kelly, slowly. “You’ve no way of knowing, Hannah, you’re always in the kitchen. But I’m about the house all the time, and I hear lots of talk. And it’s just as Mrs Varian said: Miss Betty and her father never agree. They scrap at the least hint of a chance; and though sometimes they’re terribly affectionate and loving, yet at other times, they quarrel like everything.” ”

“ Don’t you bother, Betty, anyway. Father and mother will settle this little argument by ourselves.”
“I’d rather settle it with Dad,” Betty declared spiritedly. “It’s too ridiculous for him to take the stand that I shall never marry! I’m willing to promise not to become engaged without asking you both first; I’m willing to say I won’t marry a man you can convince me is unworthy; I’m willing to promise anything in reason,—but a blind promise never to marry is too much to ask of any girl!”
“Of course, it is!” agreed Mrs Varian. “Why do you talk to her like that, Fred?” ”

“ The household assembled promptly for an eight o’clock breakfast. Minna Varian, pale and fragile looking, clad in a simple black house dress, was a strong contrast to the young and glowing vitality of Zizi, whose slim little black frock was touched here and there with henna, and whose vivid and expressive face needed no aid of cosmetics to be a bright, colorful picture in itself. ”

“ Mrs Varian is a rich woman,—I am not a poor man. I shall use such funds as she provides, supplementing them, if necessary, with my own, but I shall find Betty Varian, if she’s alive,—I shall find Lawrence North,—if he is alive,—and I shall discover the murderer or murderers of Frederick Varian and of Martha. ”

“ Betty sang, saucily.
“It isn’t love, Betty. It’s a miserable childish infatuation that will pass at once, if you lose sight of the chap for a short time.”
“Nothing of the sort! It’s the love of my life!”
Varian laughed. “That’s a fine-sounding phrase, but it doesn’t mean anything. Now, child, be reasonable. Give up Granniss. Be friends with all the young people up here, boys and girls both, but don’t let me hear any foolishness about being engaged to anybody.” ”

“ Pennington Wise himself assisted in the locking up of the house that night, for he was determined if any more burglars came, he would know how they got in. The money that Minna had in her possession he took charge of, saying he would be responsible for its safety.
Long the detective lay awake in his pleasant bedroom that overlooked the sea. He could hear the great waves tossing and breaking at the foot of the cliff and he couldn’t free his mind from a queer obsession to the effect that those waves held the secret of the mysteries of Headland House. ”

“ If you decide against us, we settle Betty’s account and call the whole deal off. Our instructions are the same as before. On Friday night, at midnight, go to the edge of the cliff and throw the package of money over. Tie to it some float and we will do the rest. That is, if you act in sincerity. If you are false-minded in the least detail, we will know it. We are wiser than Wise. So take your choice and,—have a care! No one will be more faithful than we, if you act in good faith. Also, no one can be worse than we can be, if you betray us! ”

“ Down in the little village of Headland Harbor, Pennington Wise went first to see Claire Blackwood.
She seemed to know more about Lawrence North than any one else did, yet even she knew next to nothing.
“No,” she told the detective, “the police haven’t found out anything definite about him yet. Why don’t you take up the search for him, Mr Wise?”
“I’ve all I can do searching for Betty Varian,” he returned with a rueful smile. “I’m not employed to hunt up North, and I am to find Miss Varian. But surely the police can get on the track of him,—a man like that can’t drop out of existence.” ”

“ I have with me the money for Mrs Varian. Shall I give it to you here, or go up to the house with you and carry it? No one seems to be observing us; take it if you like.”
Rodney stared at him. Wise, then, had sent his messenger with the money along on the same train. By this means he had outwitted the man in the upper berth, who, without question, knew of Granniss’ errand, and who had thus been foiled in his attempt to rob him.
“Good for you!” Granniss exclaimed, heartily. “I think it will be all right for me to take it now,—here is the Varian car. But would you prefer to go up to the house?” ”

“ The detective was glad to have him to talk to, for it promised at least a fresh viewpoint to be considered.
“I admit, Doctor Varian,” Wise said frankly, as the two confabbed in the Varian library, “I have no theory that will fit this case at all. I have solved many mysteries, I have found many criminals, but never before have I struck a case so absolutely devoid of even an imaginary solution. Granting a criminal that desired to bring disaster to the Varian family, why should he want to abduct Lawrence North?” ”

“ But it’s a clue.”
“So’s the yellow pillow,—so are the scattered beads,—so was the footprint of cellar dust on the library floor,—but they’re all blind clues,—they lead nowhere.”
“Penny Wise! what ails you? I never knew you so ready to lie down on a job!”
“No, Zizi, not that. It’s only that I can see how futile and useless all these clues are. We’ve got to get some bigger evidence. In fact, we can do nothing till we find the way the criminal got in and out of this house. Don’t tease me, Zizi, I never was so put about!” ”

“ He found Hannah, and Kelly, the butler, gazing at a huddled heap on the kitchen floor, which he saw at once, was the dead body of Martha, the waitress.
“What does it mean?” he asked, in an awed voice. “Who did it?”
“Who, indeed, sir?” Hannah said, whimpering like a child. “Oh, Mr Granniss, sir, do get Mrs Varian to go away from this accursed house! Nobody is safe here! I’m leaving as soon’s I can pack up. Kelly, here, is going, too,—and I hope the missus will go this very day. It’s curst indeed, is this place! Oh, Martha, me little girl,—who could ’a’ done this to ye?” ”

“ Yet once was enough, and Granniss said, “Look here, you people, clear up all the red tape, won’t you? Betty and I want to go home!”
“Run along,” said Wise, kindly. “There’s a train in an hour. Skip,—and God bless you!”
Their arrival at Headland House, heralded by a telegram to Zizi, had no unduly exciting effects on Minna Varian.
Doctor Varian watched her, but as he saw the radiant joy with which she clasped Betty in her arms, he had no fear of the shock of joy proving too much for her. ”

“ Sheriff Potter and his colleague, Bill Dunn, had practically given up the matter. They pretended to be working on it, but as they themselves put it, “What can you do when you can’t do nothin’?”
There was room for much discussion, but when it came to action, what was there to be done?
You can’t hunt a criminal when you’ve no reason to assume any criminal intent. You can’t hunt for a missing girl after you’ve scoured all the places where she could by any possibility be found. You can’t hunt for the murderer of a man when there was no way for a murderer to be on the scene. ”

“ But I don’t think a young girl often shows definite or strong traits of character.”
“Some do,” Zizi said, thoughtfully. “How about talents? I want to find out, you see, more of what Betty is like.”
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“She has a little musical talent, a taste for drawing, and a fondness for outdoor sports,—but none of these is marked. I can’t describe the child otherwise than as a natural, normal everyday girl. I adore her, of course, but I am not blind to the fact that she is not a genius in any way.” ”

“ This angered North so, that he lost his head. He almost killed Mills in his rage and fury, and seizing Betty, made for the secret passage.
On the way, her string of beads broke, the pillow which they used to help make her unconscious was dropped on the kitchen floor, and then she was carried down the well, through the tunnel and cave and away in a swift motor boat.
But in a half conscious state, all these things were like a dream to her.
“A dream which must not be recalled,” said Granniss, with an air of authority that sat well upon him.
“My blessing,” Minna said, fondling the girl. ”

“ Could there have been two against him? He’s a powerful fighter!”
“Search the house,” said Wise, briefly, “and keep everybody out of North’s bedroom. I’ll lock it and take the key myself. Now look for him. Is he given to practical joking?”
But no amount of searching disclosed Lawrence North, or any sign of him, dead or alive. And the locked doors and windows were undisturbed.
“He certainly didn’t leave of his own accord,” said Granniss; “he couldn’t have locked the doors behind him.”
“He was carried off,” cried Minna, “just as Betty was! Oh, who of us is safe now?” ”

“ Eleanor Varian looked thoughtful.
“I will tell the truth,” she said, “because I can see it’s better to do so. Betty and her mother are much more in sympathy with one another than Betty and her father. I don’t know what makes the difference, but Aunt Minna always seems to want everything the way Betty wants it, while Uncle Fred always wants just the opposite.” ”

“ The hunt out of doors for Betty resulted in nothing at all. There was no kitchen garden, merely a drying plot and a small patch of back yard, mostly stones and hard ground. This was surrounded by dwarfed and stunted pine trees, which not only afforded no hiding place, but shut off no possible nook or cranny where Betty could be hidden. The whole tableland was exposed to view from all parts of it, and it was clear to be seen that Betty Varian could not be hiding out of doors. ”

“ Minna asked, tearfully, and Wise said, “There is not always a sound reason for blackmail, Mrs Varian. Sometimes it is an unjust accusation or a mistaken suspicion. Any way, as you have often declared, Mr Frederick Varian was a noble and upright man, and his integrity could not be questioned.”
“Now, then,” said Doctor Varian, “to find this master hand at crime. I am astounded at your revelations, Mr Wise, and I confess myself utterly in the dark as to our next step.”
“An animal that attacks in the open,” Wise returned, “may be shot or snared. ”

“ Rodney Granniss burst forth, his strong young face alight with zeal; “I’m going up there at once. Mr Varian didn’t like me, but Mrs Varian does, and maybe I can help her.”
“She can’t see you,” Dunn told him. “She’s under the influence of opiates all the time. Doctor Varian keeps her that way.”
“She’ll have to come to her senses some time,” said Rod. “I’m going up there any way.”
“I’m going with you,” declared Eleanor Varian. “I don’t want to stay here,—forgive me, Mrs Blackwood, you’re kindness itself,—but I want to be where father and mother are. I want to help find Betty, too. ”

“ It proves, of course, that there is a secret exit, but it is strange that such cannot be found.”
“It is disappointing, Mr Wise, to find that such a famous detective as you cannot find a concealed entrance to a country house!”
“You are not more disappointed than I am, at that fact, Mrs Blackwood. I am chagrined, of course, but I am more frankly puzzled. The whole case is so amazing, the evidence so scanty,—clues are non-existent,—what can I do? I feel like saying I was called in too late,—yet, I’m not sure I could have done better had I been here at first. ”

“ The younger man went on his errand, and going through the kitchen, found the back porch. To reach it he had to unlock the outside door, thus proving to his own satisfaction that Betty had not gone out that way.
But he went out and looked about. He saw nothing indicative. The porch was pleasant and in neat order. A knitting-bag and a much be-thumbed novel were evidently the property of the cook or waitress, and an old cap on a nail was, doubtless, the butler’s. ”