Mrs. Wilson Woodrow

“ Ramsey settled himself more deeply in his chair and crossed his knees, lightly quoting: “'They also serve, who only stand and wait.' The quality that insures success, Achison,” he went on, “is the staying power. And I am with you to the bitter end.”
“I am afraid it will indeed be the bitter end for you.” The lawyer lighted a cigarette, and threw one arm carelessly over the back of his chair.
“I listened closely to you and Brown,” said Ramsey deliberately, “and the longer I listened, the more my conviction grew that there is something crooked in this affair.” ”

“ Suppose, too, that that some one was a connoisseur who had been honestly deceived as to the authenticity of the painting, but who after it came into his possession discovered that it was beyond question a fake.
“Would not that some one, rather than submit to the ridicule of fellow-experts and collectors, wish to obliterate the picture in such a way that his failure of judgment would never be known? He would also—especially if he happened to be an Achison—want to make some one pay for his disappointment and the blow he had inflicted on his own self-conceit. ”

“ I am not charitably inclined by nature. My heart is not easily touched. But I will admit to you, Ramsey, that the position of those two tenderly nurtured women, struggling merely to live, lacking the bare necessities of life, affected me deeply. I went through a good deal of hocus-pocus, examined the picture minutely, and then told Mrs. Edgewater that I was convinced it was in part, at least, the work of Velasquez. I took an option on it and removed it to my bungalow. Also, I gave the girl a place here in my office. As a private secretary, she is a wonderful musician. ”

“ With that done, all that remained was to connect to the lighting circuit of the house the insulated wires which held the picture. Then, when the current flowed through them down into the coil at the back of the canvas, it would redden and glow, ignite the picture itself, and the blaze, spreading to some inflammable draperies near at hand, would soon have the whole flimsy bungalow in flames, with the chances a thousand to one that every scintilla of evidence of the device would be destroyed. ”

“ Achison, did you ever come to leave a picture of so great value in that empty house and exposed to such hazards?”
Achison spread out his thick white fingers.
“That,” he said, “comes in the category of questions which most of us are asking ourselves every day. ”

“ Ramsey retorted stubbornly.
“I could have prompted you on that statement,” Achison observed. “I know so well the workings of your mind. You no doubt label it: 'A logical conclusion deduced from what I know of Achison's character.'
“But considering the evidence at hand, I wish you would kindly enlighten me as to how I could possibly have had any complicity in the matter. Eliminating my theory of defective wiring, a house does not burn from the inside unless it is set on fire; and the caretaker declares that no one had entered the place for two days. ”

“ He spoke with the air of a man who has sustained a real and unexpected blow, his expression regretful and a bit stern; but Ramsey, who knew his histrionic ability, watched him with a skeptical eye.
“Both the picture and the house were insured, I understand?”
“Oh, yes. But when a thing of beauty is destroyed, money seems a poor recompense. ”

“ Ramsey smiled. “And I'm willing to admit that that very circumstance came near proving a fatal stumbling block to me. It was only by pricking my finger on a bit of twisted wire that I arrived at the solution.
“Let us suppose again,” he proceeded in his former manner, “that the artful mind which devised this scheme had foreseen this difficulty and had provided against it. Suppose a very delicate switch had been installed in the lighting connections which would operate at the slightest pressure—even to so slight a pressure as the vibration of a telephone bell. ”

“ The only man beside myself whose judgment I would trust has been out of the country for some time. But I will insist with my last breath that the picture which was burned today was a genuine Velasquez, a copy of the celebrated 'Lady with a Fan,' in part the work of a pupil, but unquestionably finished by the master himself.”
“Well, I wont question its validity, anyhow.” Brown smiled as he got up. “That would spoil the story. Thank you very much, Mr. Achison. Staying on, Ramsey?”
“Yes. He's going to play bridge with me.” Achison spoke before Ramsey had a chance to answer. ”

“ Achison glanced down a bit impatiently at the papers in front of him; nor was it, Ramsey recognized, a mere assumption of indifference.
“Very ingenious,” he nodded. “I was aware that you had carted away a load of trash from the ruins yesterday, but I really had not expected that you would do so well with it. However, you overlook one very salient point, young man. A fire started as you suggest would have taken place as soon as the current was turned into the connecting wires. Some one, to accomplish that, must have thrown a switch inside the house. ”

“ I might”—he paused, with a forkful of salad halfway to his mouth—“work up something lurid about the curse on the Edgewater collection.”
“A Velasquez?” repeated Ramsey incredulously, quite ignoring the last bright idea. “And a connoisseur like Achison left it in a frame bungalow out in the wilds? But that's absurd.”
“Well, people do queer things,” said Brown with the philosophy engendered by a long newspaper experience. “And the picture must have been something pretty good, for one of the insurance men tipped me off that Achison had it insured pretty near up to the limit. ”

“ It must be accomplished in such a way that it would seem pure accident. The beneficiary of the fraud must be absolutely free from any taint of suspicion. That was doubtless a question that required thoughtful consideration and planning; but the cunning brain that tackled it was equal to the problem.”
HE paused, and opening the handbag, brought out the reflector and heating-element which he had recovered from the ruins of the bungalow.
“The electric heater to which these belonged, Achison, was, as you know, a part of your bathroom furniture. ”

“ He looked down arrogantly at the two men through half-closed eyes.
[Illustration: “Miss Edgewater,” Achison said, “I want to introduce Mr. Wallace Ramsey. I have an idea he will be a good person for you to consult in making your plans.” ]
“Egotistical though I may appear, I regard myself as an expert. Why should I have a lot of fellows for whose opinions I hold very little respect, pawing over my picture and giving their owlish pronouncements? ”

“ The poor woman was left with no means whatever, nothing to live on except through the sale of the few pictures which were saved from her husband's collection, and which at last were all sold to meet her needs, with the exception of one which she regarded as too worthless to be disposed of. ”

“ One of the lads to whom such a contraption was evidently familiar hurried off to a little pile of salvage they had hitherto collected, and came back with the missing part, a round, spool-like coil with two strands of insulated wire still attached to it. ”