Crimson Thread , livre ebook

THE CRIMSON THREAD
AN ADVENTURE STORY FOR GIRLS
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ROY J. SNELL
 
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The Crimson Thread An Adventure Story for Girls First published in 1925 Epub ISBN 978-1-77658-215-0 Also available: PDF ISBN 978-1-77658-216-7 © 2013 The Floating Press and its licensors. All rights reserved. While every effort has been used to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information contained in The Floating Press edition of this book, The Floating Press does not assume liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in this book. The Floating Press does not accept responsibility for loss suffered as a result of reliance upon the accuracy or currency of information contained in this book. Do not use while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. Many suitcases look alike. Visit www.thefloatingpress.com
Contents
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Chapter I - Two Hours Before Midnight Chapter II - Crimson with a Strand of Purple Chapter III - A New Mystery Chapter IV - The Picture Girl Chapter V - "Come and Find Me" Chapter VI - The Iron Ring Chapter VII - Cordie's Mad Flight Chapter VIII - The Diamond-Set Iron Ring Chapter IX - Her Double Chapter X - Cordie's Strange Ride Chapter XI - As Seen from the Stairway Chapter XII - Silver Gray Treasure Chapter XIII - Lucile's Dream Chapter XIV - The Newspaper Picture Chapter XV - "With Contents, if Any" Chapter XVI - A Great Day Chapter XVII - An Icy Plunge Chapter XVIII - The Mystery Lady's New Role Chapter XIX - Meg Wields a Belaying Pin Chapter XX - The Great Moment Chapter XXI - The Man in Gray Chapter XXII - The Finish Chapter XXIII - Meg's Secret Chapter XXIV - Three Questions Chapter XXV - What the Brown Bag Held
Chapter I - Two Hours Before Midnight
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Starting back with a suppressed exclamation of surprise on her lips,Lucile Tucker stared in mystification and amazement. What was thisghost-like apparition that had appeared at the entrance to the long darkpassage-way? A young woman's face, a face of beauty and refinement,surrounded by a perfect circle of white. In the almost complete darknessof the place, that was all Lucile could see. And such a place for such aface—the far corner of the third floor of one of the largest departmentstores in the world. At that very moment, from somewhere out of thedarkness, came the slow, deep, chiming notes of a great clock telling offthe hour of ten. Two hours before midnight! And she, Lucile, was for amoment alone; or at least up to this moment she had thought herselfalone.
What was she to make of the face? True, it was on the level with the topof the wrapper's desk. That, at least, was encouraging.
"That white is a fox skin, the collar to some dark garment that blendscompletely with the shadows," Lucile told herself reassuringly.
At that moment a startling question sent her shrinking farther into theshadows. "If she's a real person and not a spectre, what is she doinghere? Here, of all places, at the hour of ten!"
That was puzzling. What had this lady been doing in that narrow passage?She could not be a member of the working force of the store. No salesperson would come to work in such a superb garment as this person wore.Although Lucile had been employed in the book department for but tendays, she had seen all those who worked here and was certain enough thatno such remarkably beautiful face could have escaped her notice.
"She—why she might be anything," Lucile told herself. "A—thief—ashoplifter. Perhaps she stole that very cape—or whatever it is shewears. Perhaps—"
Suddenly her heart gave a leap. Footsteps were approaching. The nextinstant she saw a second face appear in the narrow line of light whichthe street lights cast through the window.
"Laurie Seymour," she breathed.
Laurie was the new man in the department. He had been working at theboys' and girls' books for only three days, yet Lucile liked him, likedhim tremendously. He was so friendly, even-tempered and different. And heseemed a trifle mysterious.
"Mysterious," she mused, "perhaps here's the mystery answered."
It certainly did seem so, for after the apparition in white had whispereda word or two, Laurie looked at her strangely for a second, drew from hispocket a slip of paper and handing it to her, quickly vanished into theshadows. The next instant the apparition vanished, too. Again Lucilefound herself alone in the far corner of the mammoth store, surrounded bydarkness.
Perhaps you have been wondering what Lucile and Laurie were doing in thegreat store at this hour. Since the doors are closed at six o'clock, youhave no doubt thought of the entire place as being shrouded in darknessand utterly deserted. These were the days of the great rush of sales thatcomes before Christmas. That evening eight thousand books had beentrucked into the department to be stowed away on or under tables andshelves. Twenty sales persons had been given "pass outs"; which meantthat they might pass in at seven o'clock and work until ten. They hadworked like beavers; making ready for the rush that would come on themorrow.
Now the great bulk of the work had been done. More than half of theworkers had chirped a cheery "Good-night" and had found their way down amarble stairway to the ground floor and the street. Lucile had been sentby "Rennie," the head sales-lady of juveniles, to this dark section foran armful of books. Here in this dark corner a part of Laurie's truecharacter had, uninvited, come to her.
"He gave her his pass-out," she said to herself. "With that she can leavethe building with her stolen goods."
For a second, as she thought of this, she contemplated following themystery woman and bringing her back.
"But that," she told herself, "would be dangerous. That passage is ahundred feet long and only four feet wide; then it turns sharply and goestwo hundred feet farther. She may carry a knife; such women do. In thatplace she could murder me and no one would know until morning.
"Of course," she reflected, "there's the other end of the passage whereit comes out at the offices. She must leave the passage there if she doesnot come back this way. I might call the watchmen. They could catch her.It's a perfect trap; she's like a mouse in a boot. But then—"
She paused in her mad rush of thought. What proof had she that thisbeautiful creature was a thief? What indeed? And what right had she tospy upon her and upon Laurie? Truth was, she had none at all. She was asales person, not a detective. Her job was that of putting books onshelves and tables and selling them; her immediate task that of taking anarmful of books to Rennie. Her simple and sole duty lay just there. Then,too, in the short time she had known Laurie Seymour, she had come to likehim.
"He might be innocent of any real wrong," she reasoned. "If I goblundering into things I may be serving a friend badly indeed."
"But," she was brought up short by a sudden thought, "if he gave her hispass-out, how's he to leave the building?"
How indeed? In a great store such as this, where hundreds of thousands ofdollars worth of rare jewels and much silver and gold are kept and whereprincely furs and priceless old paintings are on display, it is necessaryto maintain a constant vigil against thieves. "Pass-outs" are given toall employees who enter or leave the store after closing hours. It wastrue enough that without his pass-out, Laurie could not get by theeagle-eyed guard who kept constant vigil at the only door where theemployees were permitted to pass out to the street.
"But the books," she murmured, starting up, "Rennie will be waiting."
Rennie, whose real name was Miss Renton, appeared to be in no hurry.Having become interested in writing down lists of books that were to beordered in the morning, she had so far forgotten the girl as to exclaimas she came up:
"Why, Lucile! I thought you had gone! Now, dearie, just put those booksdown right there. We can take care of them before the rush begins in themorning. Run along now and get your coat. You must go home. It's pastten, less than two hours till midnight!"
"Yes, but—"
Lucile checked herself just in time. She had been about to say that shewas afraid to go for her coat. And indeed she was, for was it not hangingon the wall in that narrow passage at the door of which the mystery ladyhad appeared?
"But it wouldn't do to tell," she thought, "I—I've got to go alone."
Go she did, but with much fear and trembling.
She might have spared herself all this trembling, for there was no one inthe dark passage.
But what was this? The row of coat hooks were all empty save one, herown, and on that hook—what could it mean?—on that hook hung not her owntoo frankly thin and threadbare coat, but a magnificent thing of midnightblue and white. It was the cape with the white fox collar worn by themystery woman.
Even as her hand touched the fox skin she knew it was far more costlythan she had thought.
"It's over my coat," she breathed. "I've only to leave it."
This, she found, was not true. Her coat had vanished. The cape had beenleft in its stead and, as if to further perplex and alarm her, themidnight blue unfolded, revealing a superb lining of Siberian squirrel.
"Oh!" Lucile exclaimed as her trembling fingers dropped to her side andshe fled the place.
One consoling thought flashed across her mind. Rennie had not yet leftfor the night. Rennie, the tall and slim, with a thread of gray in herblack hair, who had been in the department for no one knew howlong—Rennie would know what to do. The instant she was told all that hadhappened she would say what the very next step must be.
"The instant she is told," Lucile whispered to herself. Then suddenly sherealized that she did not wish to tell all she had seen.
"Not just yet, at any rate," she told herself. "I'm not supposed to haveseen it. I want time to think. I'll tell Rennie only what I am supposedto know—that my coat has been taken and this cape left in its stead."
Rennie showed little surprise on hearing the story. "Someone has probablytaken the wrong