THE MYSTERY OF THE SYCAMORE By CAROLYN WELLS Author of _“The Vanishing of Betty Varian,” “The Mystery Girl,” “Anybody But Anne,” “The Come-Back,” “The Curved Blades,” “A Chain of Evidence,” “In the Onyx Lobby,” “The Luminous Face,” “Raspberry Jam,” etc_. A. L. BURT COMPANY Publishers New York Published by arrangement with J. B. Lippincott Company Printed in U. S. A. COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY STREET & SMITH CORPORATION, UNDER TITLE OF “THE PARDON TREE” COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 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!”