CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE [I. The Letter that Said Come] 9 [II. North Door and South Door] 28 [III. One Last Argument] 47 [IV. The Big Sycamore Tree] 65 [V. The Bugle Sounded Taps] 83 [VI. The Other Heir] 101 [VII. Inquiries] 119 [VIII. Confession] 137 [IX. Counter-Confessions] 155 [X. The Phantom Bugler] 173 [XI. Fleming Stone] 191 [XII. The Garage Fire] 209 [XIII. Sara Wheeler] 227 [XIV. Rachel’s Story] 245 [XV. The Awful Truth] 263 [XVI. Maida’s Decision] 281 [XVII. Maida and Her Father] 299 [XVIII. A Final Confession] 317
THE MYSTERY OF
THE SYCAMORE
CHAPTER I
THE LETTER THAT SAID COME
As the character of a woman may be accurately deduced from her handkerchief, so a man’s mental status is evident from the way he opens his mail.
Curtis Keefe, engaged in this daily performance, slit the envelopes neatly and laid the letters down in three piles. These divisions represented matters known to be of no great interest; matters known to be important; and, third, letters with contents as yet unknown and therefore of problematical value.
The first two piles were, as usual, dispatched quickly, and the real attention of the secretary centred with pleasant anticipation on the third lot.
“Gee whiz, Genevieve!”
As no further pearls of wisdom fell from the lips of the engrossed reader of letters, the stenographer gave him a round-eyed glance and then continued her work.
Curtis Keefe was, of course, called Curt by his intimates, and while it may be the obvious nickname was brought about by his short and concise manner of speech, it is more probable that the abbreviation was largely responsible for his habit of curtness.