SILVER SANDALS
' A Detective Story of Mystery, Love and Adventure.
By Clinton H. Stagg.
w. J. Watt & Co.. International News Service.
CHAPTER XX
Carl's Story
Two persons in the great, vaulted
room that had been the study of the
strange old man whose life it had
cost to prove his theory that he had
discovered tho Great Mystery, were
calm and cool. The others had not
yet recovered from the shock caused
by the denouement when the cars had
come to see the blind man guarding
the former manager of the Hotel
t Beaumonde. One of the two cool
persons was Thornley Colton. The
other was Manager Carl!
"You've got me right," he said,
■with only a bit of sullenness In his
voice. "I did it. I'd have got by with
it, too, if I hadn't been a damn' fool
enough to try and play safe by get
ting you in."
"You are the only man who has ever
deceived mo by tone Inflection," de
clared the blind man, and in his tone
was the compliment tho clever crim
inal always gets from his detectors.
"Thanks, but you see I had several
months to practice in it. I figured
that that short-tempered attitude be
cause the police were spoiling my
business was the only one to use."
"Tell us how you pulled It!" Police
Captain McMann blurted the exclama
tion, and for the first time since he
had seen the murderer the look or
almost doglike admiration he han
been giving the blind man changed.
"Miss Neilton " put In Colton
sh rply.
"I want to hear It all! All!" put
in the girl, who sat. white-lippd, with
tightlv clenched hands, bv the side
of Silver Sandals. The old woman
had her arm around the waist of her
neice. One withered old hand held
the plump white hand of Ruth. She
murmured a low-toned, endearing en
couragement, and no one seemed to
notice the fact that she talked.
"That's what gave me the first
idea." Carl ierked his thumb vicious
ly toward the huddled-up figure of
Norman, who was handcuffed to the
wrirt of the square-Jawed detective.
"I used to know hjm when he was
a real hotel manager nnd not ouite
as crooked as Ooyers Street. About
six months ago he came and told me
he wanted a position as assistant man
ager. I was sroing to kick h'm out.
but he told me whv he wanted it. He
told me of the old man and his
Idea. T thought he was kidding. I
didn't think there -were people like
that. But I found that what he said
was true. He knew that the old man
had money, a million at least, some
where here. He knew how it was
going when he died, too. ' Been
around here a lot, I guess."
He paused to glance inquiringly
around. Colton nodded.
Carl continued: "Somehow Norman
knew how in the holo T was. He
knew that Wall Str-et had been get
ting me stronsr. Bracken was off on
his yacht all the time, and I was the
whole works around the hotel. In
the last year or so I knew it couldn't
go on. The boy was taming down,
and I knew it wouldn't be very long
before he took a hand in the Beau
monde. And I was * couple of hun
dred thousand into Bracken.
"This was an absolutely safe way
to get it back with a lot more. I
gave Norman the job, and never let
any one suspect that we were work
ing together. You never knew that?"
he asked of Bracken.
"No." The negative came hoarselv.
"I offered him five thousand dollars to
do his part. He knew the father of
my wife. He knew there was noth
-1 ing but the "*vhim of a strange old
man to be respected. T thought he
had secured the position on his
merits."
"You haven't been around New
York much." declared Carl dryly.
"Well. Norman knew the whole stunt.
We knew the day the old man had
figured he was going to die. We
knew the minute he wanted to be led
into the diningroom. I fion't suppose
there ever was a murder that was
figured out like that. Six months ago
I fixed the door to have everything
ready. I got the new cabaret act
that would make people sit up and
take notice and forget everything else
that was going on at the minute the
old man and the woman were to get
into the diningroom. I let two of the
captains go, through Norman, of
course, so that the one would be too
busy to keep near the table all the
time. Of course Bracken thought
Norman had fixed it for his part. But
I did that, too. I was grinning almost
when he came to plead for the private
diningroom, but I solemnly let him
have it.
"The old man came in the after- \
noon with Bracken. Norman slid
them up to the suit© without iny one
getting wise. Bracken left him right
away, and Norman told the old man
that he'd better wear gloves so that 1
his hands wouldn't get dustv from 1
the unused furniture. He put'*em on'
withoux a question. We didn't want I
any finger prints around. We'd had I
months to figure that end of it, too
I had it fixed eo that I could watch
him in the room. We knew that
he had the paper with the hiding
place of his money or Jewels on, be
cause Norman knew that the woman
?u PS F et U befor e she took him to
the diningroom.
took U out ar,d started to study
It. T hat was the signal for Norman
to enter and ask him if he wouldn't
ifci® a , U was a eHm sort of
thing, that old man sitting calmly
Pif .1 table waiting for death
that he d figured wa coming at seven
o clock, just because a lot of figures
Bringing Up Father $ Copyright, 1916, International News Service # ($) <!?) By
fSij 17111 S 111 II I I , 111 l JII I VEU_-<ET L
CU& r i£# V, j OPAHD<NE S
| J*' / I ' seyT:
SATURDAY EVENING.
(Continued From Yesterday)
ha had gotten from some old stone
said so. He'd been sitting there, for
hours, without a move. When the
time came nearer I suppose he want
ed to see that everything was right.
"He took the water and thanked
Norman, who was already beginning
to show the yellow. There was a
good stiff jolt of chloral In it. and II
the old man had been at all wise he'd
have seen that Norman was shaking
like a leaf. I watched him. Ho took
a sip water, then suddenly
decided that he wanted to write an
other few words on the funny-looking
sheet he had. He took a pen from
his pocket, a sort of a fountain stylus,
and started to write. Then the chloral
got him.
"Norman wanted to steal the thing
and get away. But I knew what that
meant. It wouldn't be two hours be
fore they got wise. The thing had to
be carried out the way he had In
tended. That made it safe! They
couldn't cotne back because they'd
made every plan themselves! The
next part wasn't very nice. Norman
crawled like a whipped dog. But
here was a bunch of money in it for
me, and on the other side was the
jail that watted when Bracken discov
ered how I'd run his hotel. Bracken
wasn't the kind of a man that'd let
up. .
"Norman knew about the slaihes.
The woman was supposed to make
them when she came up to take him
downstairs. I mad* 'em, and the
killn:g was done Just the way jrou
said!" Ho Jerked his head toward
the problemist. "We left him there
at the tub, so that vrhen the woman
came she'd think be did it himself. I
knew her well enough, from people
that have been to her and also from
the story Norman told me: I knew
that she wouldn't think it a bit strange
that the old man had taken things
into his own hands. She didn't either.
Her whole mind was on playing the
game the way she had promised. And
she did it. But a fool play of mine
spoiled it. I thought you'd ball the
thing up with your blindness, and
that's what got mo. Your blindness!
I was laughing at you, up my sleeves,
until last night when you came to the
hotel.
"The thing that we thought was go
ing to get the money for us was a
puzzle for fair. We couldn't get the
key because we didn't know what it
was. I figured on it—l used to be
a wonder with puzzles - but could
make neither head nor tail of the
thing. Then Norman, who was scout
ing around under cover, found out
that a crow was the thing we needed.
"Nofman had been taking the wait
er that came off Bracken's yacht out
every day and getting him full of
whisky no that he'd talk. Silver San
dals had him pretty well, but we got
a lot of things from him.
"Then you came up and found the
words on that table. I began to real
ize what I was up against then. You
found the hair. D'ye know the old
man had folded that up in the crypto
gram, and it must have fallen out
when I took it from his pocket there
by the tub? When you found that I
didn't know what was going to hap
pen, but I knew it was up to me to
get that money quick. Then you
found the crow's feather, and said
the crow was at your house. I fig
ured-the best play in the world to get
it. We'd gotten from the waiter
where the girl and Silver Sandals
were. X called up. The girl wanted
to know if it was Phil. I told her
yes and gave her the idea for stealing
the crow. They were up in the air,
too, about the cryptogram. I sent
Norman to lay for her. Well" —he
laughed grimly—"it was all a game
to lead me on, wasn't it? And then
I lost the cryptogram."
"I stole it from your pocket," the
blind man put in seriously.
"You stole it?" Carl Jumped in
amazement, and McMann pulled him
back.
"Yes. Another thing my blindness
enabled me to do. As I said beore,
your voice deceived me utterly. Your
pulse was absolutely normal when you
shook my hand. I can understand
this because there was no excite
ment such a sudden crime would
have caused. You had prepared for
months, and you thought that noth
ing could go wrong. I didn't connect
you with the case at all, first. My
blindness told me the true facts of
the thing; that it was the curious
idqg. of a curious man. I didn't think
it was murder. It was only with the
disappearance and finding of Sydney
that X realized something was behind
it all besides the mere carrying out
of a dead man's wish.
"I supposed Norman had been paid
to do his part. Then various things
pointed inevitably to the fact that
even he must have had your cooper
ation. Yesterday afternoon I spent
several hours in my library, figuring
out the case. Some of the time was
with the telephone to Wall Street
friends. Then I found out how deeplv
you were in the hole. I realized that
you were desperate. But I knew that
tljere wasn't a thing to prove your
guilt. You could laugh at me while
the three persons who had done
nothing but carry out the wishes of
John Neilton went to prison or the
chair. They had all plotted and plan
ned to make possible your murder of
Neilton.
"The only thing to do was make you
convict yourself. I knew the crow
had some mighty important part. The
finding of the feather that the girl had
dropped In the house of Silver San
dals when she was excited over getting
away proved that there had been a
desperate attempt to catch the crow
P*MPMMMN■■^
This Is the Emblem of the
Order of Owls
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Have you joined yet? If not take the advice of 200 of the leading businessmen of Harris
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Remember you can become a Charter Member for only $5.00; after the Charter closes it
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The Owls no longer tolerate drunkenness or permit gambling.
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dies we all go to the funeral and pay hi 3 family $109.00. We take care of and educate our orphan
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Join now. Dues 50 cents per month.
Phone or call on any of the following members and they will furnish you with the proper
application blanks.
H. £. Morgan, National Organizer, Bolton Hotel, Phone 30. • C. F. Snyder, Sec'y West End Republican Club.
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T. T? r n . r\ • n t\t i o Ira L. Wagoner, 1636 North Sixth St.
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U t red Holtzman, Deputy County Controller, Courthouse Emanuel Kauffman, 1919 Briggs St.
E. H. Fisher, Chief Clerk Co. Com., Courthouse. V. B. Myers, Commercial Bank.
——
When the time came I took It to let •
you know that I h.id the crow and
to make you send some one after it. j
At the hotel X found the words on
the table."
"That told you I had the crypto
gram!" put in Carl.
"No." The blind man shook his,
head. "You told me that.
"I?"
"Yes. You have just said that you \
tried to figure the thing out. You did
that on the desk of your office. It
was littered with papers. You didn't
bother to push them back, and my!
wonderfully sensitise finprer tips felt
the indentations your pencil had made j
through the paper on which you had
written to the loose papers underneath !
it. My fingers were feeling them as
I sat at your desk before we went!
to the suite upstair*. Of course you !
had destroyed the pape\\ but that'
BKBRISBUTCG TELEGRAPH
made no difference 1 to my blindness.
: It was simple, then, for fingers such
|as mino to search your pockets at
the time I asked you to lead me. I
let you know that I was very anxious
to have the district attorney locate the
missing waiter so that you would have
the thing you needed to get me from
j the house. I pretended to listen in the
I suite to see if you would try to direct
| suspicion against Norman, who, I
knew, must have been your pal. You
did, very cleverly. Then I waited for
the girl. Her story proved the cor
| rectnesn of my theory and told me
the thing I could got in no other way
| —the hiding place of Silver Sandals.
| "I understood then that both Silver
Sandals and Bracken had come to
! know that Neilton had been murder
j ed. They kept it from the girl. But
I Bracken had an idea Norman was
Kuiltv, and he was trying to find him.
Both realized how their hands were
tied, and they were powerless because
no Jury in the land would believe their
story. I knew that Bracken must
come to the hiding place early this
morning because he would ixant to
report and to see the girl. He couldn't
have stayed away longer."
"Then I heard Silver Sandals con
fess!" Bracken exclaimed.
"Yes." The faintest suspicion of
smile hovered over Cotton's thin lips.
"I intended that to bring you into
the room. She thoußht that you had
committed the murder!"
"She thought " Colton could
hear the sudden movement that told
him of Bracken's turning to stare at
the silent woman whose arm was
around the waist of ene girl.
"You were supposed to have been
with Neilton. Even your wife thought
that. Silver Sandals loved Ruth as
SEPTEMBER 23, 1916.
i much as you do. She was willing to
sacri.lee herself to save you for Ruth."
"I wasn't in the suite except to take
him up," said Bracken. "He wouldn't
let me stay. But I couldn't go back
to the old house. I was afraid to do
anything that might get the'police on
the trail of Ruth. I never"—he hesi
tated a second, then plunged bravely
on—"I never believed that death
would come. I expected father would
be back at the house when I got
through my work. Then when Ruth
■came " He shuddered. The
thing was uncanny, dreadful.
"Then you confessed," reminded the
blind man gently.
"Your object was obvious," inter
rupted the blind man. "Your love or
your wife controlled you, too. You
wanted to give Silver Sandals time to
solve the cryptogram that meant so
much. You were willing to go to jail
so that she might carry out the wishes
of Ruth Neilton's fathej-. I've said
once before that only the girl and the
woman were dominated by the dead
man; you were dominated by love;
love for the girl who believed as
her father believed."
"And now"—Carl cooly crossed his
legs to be more comfortable—"l hope
you have the time of your young lives
solving the damn' thing. The fool
police left and made it easy for us.
But the Egyptian disguises were the
safe play, and X thought I was play
ing safe all through. You'll find the
two servants in Cairo, by this time.
They never stopped running when the
cops came. We had to lay around for
an hour or so before we could get In."
(To Be Continued.)
9