There Was an Old Woman Read Online Free PDF Page A

word neurologists don’t like, Charley,” complained Ellery Queen. “At best, standards of normality are variable, depending on the age and mores. In the Age of Chivalry, for example, Thurlow’s obsession with his family honor would have been considered a high and virtuous sign of his sanity.”
    â€œYou’re quibbling. But if you want proof, take Louella, the second child of the Cornelia-Bacchus union. . . . I’ll waive Thurlow’s hypersensitivity about the name of Potts; I’ll accept his impractical extravagant nature, his childish innocence on the subject of business values or the value of money, as the signs of merely an unhappy, maladjusted, but essentially sane man.
    â€œBut Louella! You can’t argue about Louella. She’s forty-four, never married, of course—”
    â€œWhat’s wrong with Louella?”
    â€œLouella believes herself to be a great inventor.”
    Mr. Queen looked pained.
    â€œNobody pays much attention to Louella, either,” growled Charley. “Nobody except the Old Woman. Louella’s got her own ‘laboratory’ at the house and seems quite happy. There’s an old closet in the Potts zoo where the Old Woman throws Louella’s ‘inventions.’ One day I happened to catch the old lady sitting on the floor outside the closet, crying. I admit,” said Charley, shaking his head, “for a few weak seconds I felt sorry for the old she-pirate.”
    â€œDon’t stop now,” said Ellery. “What about the third child of the first marriage?”
    â€œHoratio?” The lawyer shivered. “Horatio’s forty-one. In many ways Horatio’s the queerest of the trio. I don’t know why, because he’s not at all the horrible object you might think. And yet … I never see him without getting duck bumps.”
    â€œWhat’s the matter with Horatio?”
    â€œMaybe nothing,” said Charley darkly. “Maybe everything. I just don’t know. You’ll have to see and talk to him in his self-made setting to believe he really exists.”
    Ellery smiled broadly. “You’re very clever. You’ve already learned that my type of mind simply can’t resist a mystery.”
    Paxton looked sheepish. “Well… I want your help.”
    Ellery stared at him hard. “Charley, what is your interest in this extraordinary family?” The lawyer was silent. “It can’t be merely professional integrity. There are some jobs that aren’t worth any amount of compensation, and from what I’ve seen and heard already, being legal adviser to the Pottses is one of them. You’ve got an ax to grind, my friend, and since it doesn’t seem to be made of gold … what is it made of?”
    â€œRed hair and dimples,” said Charley defiantly.
    â€œAh,” said Mr. Queen.
    â€œSheila’s the youngest of the three children who resulted from the marriage of Cornelia and Steve. They’re rational human beings, thank God! Robert and Mac are twins—a sweet pair—they’re thirty.” Charley flushed. “I’m going to marry Sheila.”
    â€œCongratulations. How old is the young lady?”
    â€œTwenty-four. Can’t imagine how Sheila and the twins got born into that howling family! The Old Woman still runs the Potts Shoe business, but Bob and Mac really run it, with the help of an old-timer who’s been with Cornelia for I don’t know how many years. Nice old Yank named Underhill. Underhill superintends production at the plants; Robert’s vice-president in charge of sales, Mac’s vice-president in charge of advertising and promotion—”
    â€œWhat about Thurlow?”
    â€œOh, Thurlow’s vice-president, too. But I’ve never found out what he’s vice-president of: I don’t think he has, either. Sort of roving nuisance. And, speaking of nuisances, how are we going to prevent