Motion Picture Magazine (Feb-Jul 1925)

dBrasspf a tho it was supported by what the patrolman, Boyle, had seen. The appearance of Stella stirred him to action, of course; but he hasn't known how to make her talk, and his investigation in this house consists of watching for He isn't using his brain." The police had laid claim to her room. It nas being visited every few hours by reporters and news photographers. For the moment the fickle attention of the crowd was centered upon it I something new to happen. "I guess I haven't used mine either," murmured Gene. "Wont you set me straight, Margot ?" "Strip the case to its essentials, and we get this : I saw an apparently unattached arm, and the following night Stella Ball entered with her the elbow. I believe there is a connectio n between the two things." A cold shudder passed d o w n the cameraman's spine. "Oh, Lord!'' he breathed. "That sounds like an admission of the spook theory you said you'd rejected. Sounds as if she'd sent her arm ahead of her. You cant mean it." Margot pierced him with a level, speculative gaze. "No, I dont mean just that," she said. "But, remember, the hand found it important to put out lights on the. floor. Stella had lived in the same room. She might, in the past, have penetrated its secret. The other night, she may have wanted either to help or to thwart the hand." "In dealing with the lights ?" gasped Gene. "Xot necessarily. But I reason in a stubbornlv logical way, and until I am forced to, I refuse to tag the easy label of coincidence onto a sequence of odd happenings. I contend that the hand has a living owner, and that he and Stella were after something in the room of which they both had knowledge." "What were they after?" "I am not ready to say yet. But the flames on the carpet will probably prove to have a lot to do with it, and so will the fact of Stella's being armless." Eugene sighed. "You are too deep for me, Margot. I'm afraid I'm not going to be of much help to you in this business." "Oh, yes, you are, clear! I'll need masculine moral support when T challenge the police. And there's a physical job or two 1 ma} ask you to tackle." "Call on me for anything of that kind." he said, brightening. "Good. Xow, let's take up the next question that Mr. I fart scorns to consider. The quick and complete vanishing of the arm after it had appeared, first to me and then to Boyle, argues the existence of a hiding-place for the arm's body." 'But haven't we all searched for such a place0 Search You over "Of course, I think it. No finding a thing the first, or even the twentieth time, one looks for it, is no proof that it isn't there. You ought to know that, if you've ever lost a coin or dropped one of your collar buttons." "But where, Margot — where could a man have hidden?" demanded Gene, amazed. " Between the spring and the mattress of your bed ?" "No. I'd have felt it if he'd crawled up there. Besides, Quinlan checked up on that. He almost broke his nightstick pounding at the bed." "In the fireplace, then ?" "Silly boy! The fireplace is several feet clear of the bed. The creature could no more have reached it unseen than he coul d h a v e made the doorway, as Quinlan suggested." "Where?" he reiterated, his imagi nation stunned by the restriction to been most closelv of the room that had ing has been the chief thing the police have dune. cant think any possibility in the room has been looked." 46 that corner scanned. "I dont knoiv," she answered. "I've only followed the Sherlock Holmes method and discarded the escapes that couldn't have been used." "Until one remained that might have been?" "Yes." "Will you show it to me?" "You and I mustn't tamper with anything, because we're not sure of our ground. It's best to direct the police what to do. But we can take a look now. The possible object of Stella's quest is really the more interesting of the two " She was interrupted by a rapping" on her door, and the voice of a messenger boy piping. "Telegram !" Eugene hurried to receive the message for her. She tore open the envelope as soon as it was in her hands, then leaned forward in her chair, her gray eyes troubled, her wide, sweet mouth drawn at the corners. "What do you think of this?" she asked, and read aloud: SEE ME AT THE STUDIO WITHOUT DELAY. — CORINNE DELAMAR. "I guess Stoner was right in saying her high-andmightiness would be mad at your breaking into the newspapers. That would be her only reason for sending for you today. Too bad, dear." "I guess Stoner set her up to it." retorted Margot. mimicking the jeer in Eugene's voice. "Miss Delamar isn't a bad sort. It never occurs to her to be jealous unless somebody hints it's expected of her." She went over to the mirror and renewed her make-up for the street. "No time for detective work until I get back," she said over her shoulder. "Now, Gene, will you do this for me: Will you get Hart and his crowd here at five o'clock? Tell that brilliant sleuth of Mayor Ilylan's