Vicky Van Part 19

Beneath the thrilling excitement of the night's occurrence, I felt a dull, sad foreboding. All Vicky had said or done pointed to guilt. Had she been innocent, she would have told me so, by word or by implication. She would have given me a tacit a.s.surance of her guiltlessness, or would have cried out at the injustice of suspicion.

But none of these things entered into her talk, or even into her voice or intonations. She had sounded sad, hopeless, despairing. And her last words made me fear she contemplated taking her own life.

Poor little Vicky Van. Light-hearted, joy-loving Vicky. What was the mystery back of it all? What could it be? Well, at least, I would scrupulously perform the task she had set me, and I would do it well.

I knew I could manage to get into the house by making up some story for the police. But I must wait for the promised key.

With a glimmer of hope that the mailed parcel containing the key might give me a clue to Vicky's whereabouts, I at last went to sleep.

Next morning at breakfast I said nothing of my night experiences. I told Winnie, however, that she needn't watch the Van Allen house, as I had heard that Vicky had left it permanently.

"However could you hear that?" exclaimed my wideawake sister. "Have you had a wireless from the fugitive?"

"Something of the sort," I said, smilingly. "And now, listen here, Win. How do you think that friend of yours, Miss Crowell, would like to be a social secretary for Mrs. Schuyler?"

"She'd love it!" cried Winnie. "Does Mrs. Schuyler want one?"

"Yes, and she wants her mighty quick. From what you've said of the Crowell girl, I should think she'd be just the one. Can you get her on the telephone?"

"Yes, but not so early as this. I'll call her about ten."

"All right, you fix it up. I expect Mrs. Schuyler will pay proper salary to the right secretary. Of course, Miss Crowell is experienced?"

"Oh, yes," a.s.sured Win, "and I'm sure she'll love to go. Why, any secretary would be glad to go there."

"Not just now, I should think," observed Aunt Lucy. "The amount of work there must be something fearful."

"It will be heavy, for a time," I agreed, "but it is only for Mrs.

Schuyler's personal correspondence and business. I mean, the other two ladies would not expect to use her services."

"All right," said Winnie, "I'll fix it up with Edith Crowell, and if she can't go, I'll ask her to recommend somebody. Shall I send her there to-day?"

"Yes, as soon as she will go. And let me know--telephone the office about noon."

"Yep," Winnie promised, and I went away, my head in a whirl with the various and sundry matters I had to attend to.

I don't think I thought of the secretary matter again, until at noon, Winnie telephoned me that it was all right. I thanked her, and promptly forgot the episode.

And so it was, that when I reached home that night, I had one of the surprises of my life.

Winnie came to dinner, smiling, and rather excited-looking.

"What's up, Infant?" I asked. "Have you accepted a proposal from a nice college lad?"

"Huh!" and Win's head tossed. "I guess you'll open your eyes when I tell you what I have accepted!"

"Tell it out, Angel Child. Relieve your own impatience."

"Well, if you please, I have accepted the post of social secretary to Mrs. Randolph Schuyler."

"Winifred Elizabeth Calhoun! You haven't!"

"I thought I'd arouse some slight interest," she said, and she calmly went on with her dinner.

I looked at Aunt Lucy, who sat with a resigned expression, toying with her unused oyster-fork.

"What does she mean?" I asked.

"She has done just what she says," replied Aunt Lucy. "But only for a few days. Miss Crowell--"

"Let me tell!" interrupted Winnie. "It's my party! You see, Chet, Edith Crowell is wild to have the place, and is going to take it, but she can't go until the first of next week. And she doesn't want to lose the chance, so I went over and told Mrs. Schuyler about it. And then as she was simply swamped with letters and telegrams and telephones and callers, and goodness knows what all, I offered to help her out till Edith can get there. And she was so grateful--oh, I think she is a darling. I never saw anyone I liked and admired so much at first sight."

"She is charming," I conceded, "but what a crazy scheme, Win! How did you persuade Aunt Lucy to agree?"

"I managed her," and Winnie bobbed her wise young head, cannily.

It came to me in a moment. Though not exactly a tuft hunter, Aunt Lucy was deeply impressed by real grandeur and elegance. And it came to me at once, that Winnie's tales of the great house and the aristocratic people, had a strong influence on our aunt's views and had brought about her permission for Win to go there for a few days. And it was no harm. It wasn't as if Winnie were a regular secretary, but just to hold the place for Miss Crowell, was simply a kindly deed.

And so, after dinner, I settled myself in our cosy library for a comfortable smoke, and bade Winnie tell me every single thing that had happened through the day.

"Oh, it was thrilling!" Winnie exclaimed. "Part of the time I was at the desk in the library, and part of the time upstairs in Mrs.

Schuyler's very own room. She was so kind to me, but she is nearly distracted and I don't wonder! The undertakers' men were in and out, and those two old maids--his sisters, you know--were everlastingly appearing and disappearing. And they don't like Mrs. Schuyler an awful lot, nor she them. Oh, they're polite and all that, but you can see they're of totally different types. I like Mrs. Schuyler heaps better, but still, there's something about the old girls that's the real thing. They're Schuylers and also they're Salton-stalls, and farther back, I believe they're Cabots or something."

"And Mrs. Schuyler, what is she?" I asked, as Win paused for breath.

"I don't know. Nothing particular, I guess. Oh, yes, I learned her name was Ellison before she was married, but the sisters don't consult her about family matters at all. They do about clothes, though. And she knows a lot. Why, Chess, she's having the loveliest things made, if they _are_ mourning, and the sisters, they ask her about everything they order--to wear, I mean. And, just think! Mrs. Schuyler never wears any jewels but pearls! It's a whim, you know, or it was her husband's whim, or something, but anyway, she has oceans of pearls, and no other gems at all."

"Did she tell you so?"

"Yes; but it came in the conversation, you know. She is no boaster.

No sir-ee! She's the modestest, gentlest, sweetest little lady I ever saw. I just love her! Well, I answered a lot of letters for her, and she liked the way I did it, and she liked me, I guess, for she said she only hoped Miss Crowell would suit her as well."

"She knows you're my sister?"

"Of course. But that isn't why she likes me, old bunch of conceit!

Though, I must admit, she likes you, Chet. She said you were not only kind, but you have a fair amount of intelligence--no, she didn't use those words, exactly, but I gathered that was what she meant. The funeral is to be tomorrow evening, you know. I had to write and telephone quite a good deal about that, though the sisters tended to it mostly."

"Was there much said about--about the actual case--Winnie?"

"You mean about the murder?" Win's clear eyes didn't blink at the word; "no, not much in my hearing. But Mrs. Schuyler wasn't in the room all the time. And I know Mr. Lowney--isn't he the detective?--was there once, and I think, twice."

"Did you see anyone else?"

"Only some of the servants. Mrs. Schuyler's own maid, her name is Tibbetts, is the sort you read about in English novels. A nice, motherly woman, with gray hair and a black silk ap.r.o.n. I liked her, but the maid who looks after the old sisters, I didn't like so well."

"Never mind the maids, tell me more about Mrs. Schuyler. Does she think Vicky Van killed Mr. Schuyler? Since you're in this thing so deep Win, there's no use mincing matters."

"I should say not! Yes, of course, she thinks the Vicky person did the killing. How could she think anything else? And the two sisters are madly revengeful. As soon as the funeral is over, they're going to work to find that girl and bring her to justice! They say the inquest will help a lot. When will that be, Chess? Can I go to it?"