r— — o j ML 1 .o "Mind Telling Mo About It?" fwfC/ie LASH </ I IJ CIRCMSI4NCE FFWRT HARRY IRVING GREENE _ Author of Yosonde of the Wilderness" | llKistratlons by Magnvjj# O. ICattner | . conrwowr »•«> by W.O.OIM'MA.M ? ??• SYNOPSIS. Ahner Halliday, a miserly millionaire, 1* found gagged. bound and Insensible in his room, his gate rifled and $40,000 miss ing. The thrSad of the story Is taken up by his nep)v*vv Tom. Diving In the same house are other relatives; reckless Bruce Halliday *.nd pretty Clare Wlnton. Bruce, who Is a. bond broker, has been trying to raise $15,000 to put through a deal and save himself from (lnaclal ruin. He has appliod to his miserly uncle and to others for the loan but has been refused. Tom lends fov WIIIIASn LeDuc, an old-time /rlend ro.niw-iprt with a detective agency. In relating the story Tom reverts to his acquaintance with a Mr*. Dace, a wealthy widow, whose business agent Is Richard Sfnekay, a boodler and political boss. Tom Is Jealous of Maekay and Is deeply Jn love with Mrs. Dace. Bruce Halliday ti-arns him ;o shun her as an adventuress. Tom sees Mrs. Dace and Mackay togeth er. He afterwards meets the woman at a horse race, and. happening to mention that Bruce had a tip on the winner, she f:ives him SSOO to place on the race. The Ip goes wrong and she loses her money. Later Tom invests In stocks. CHAPTER Vlll.—(Continued.) I had won handsomely, my spirits were effervescent and my old feeling of assurance predominant. I assumed the attitude of a critical man of af fairs whose confidence in his own Judgment has been verified by his suc cesses in many a jousting bout with the great, knights of the financial arena. I leisurely rambled afield acjorigst t*>e larger topics of the pub itc press as I sat In the easy chair which sii*» had bought for my especial comfort. I referred hazily to my pres *nt investments and diagnosed the condition of the business world; the Russian wheat crop: the boll weevil 1n Mississippi cotton; the machina tions of the trusts. She did not seem to be particular impressed and made few comments. At times I even Imagined a smile came flickering about her lips, tout I proceeded with careless assur ance until the time came when I re marked that I must be departing. She did not press me to stay, in fact, seemed to be thinking about some thing else; and tt was then that I flayed the card that I had been lead- Sag up to throughout the evening I opened my pocket-book casually. "By the way, Matie," I remarked half •patronizingly. "I put a little down •for you the other day on some stock <that I thought was a good thing. It went up, as I had expected, and I elosed you out a li'Me profit. Here is your share." I tossed a clearing Xiouse certificate for SSOO before her. She glanced at it with a quick side long flash of her eyes and her hand fame stealing over mine. "Why, Tom, « don't know what to say—lt was so generous—so thoughtful of you. You don't know how much I appreciate it —not the money, you know, but the consideration that prompted It. Yet, really, I do not feel like accepting it •when I took none of the risk. You had Vtter keep it for reinvestment." I laughed lightly as I backed away, tell 'ng her that it amounted to nothing *nd that she should keep it for pin money. She picked it up, folded it carelessly and tossed it into a drawer of her secretary. "Very well, if you wish it. But I shall not spend 1 shall keep it for luck. You once told me that I was an enchantress We shall see. I am going to use alt niy black arts towards the conjuring of your fortune. With this mftgic check as a basis I shall work e-onders." The smile she gave me «?> she closed the Irawer was certaif.iy that of an en chantress. She v«nt on almost with <if-.it pausing "You must «<ave a few mouthfuls with me —n&: Ding but coff"e sir.d sand wiches, yo..i know. I was just about *o order them when you spoke of go *Uf • « 4*.rniirred perfunctorily, reit erating as the cause of my hesitation that it was becoming late. Her little jeweled clock was ticking somewhere back of me and 1 turned as if to note the hour. Quickly she slipped behind me and placed her fingers over my eyes, the delicious thrill of her touch electrifying me. "Stay," she half whispered from her tiptoes, her lips close to my ear and the soft hair of her temple brushing my cheek. I sought to clasp her wrists, but they evaded me magically and with a low laugh she ran to the wall and pressed an electric button. Janet appeared as though conjured from the air. It was after midnight before we had finished. Through the moonlight I hurried homeward with a heart that sang like an aeolian. For the second time In my life I had kissed her upon the lips; not impassionedly as before, yet with enough warmth lurking be neath It to cause her to quickly break away from me. And most glorious of all. tt had been done with her tacit consent. At least she must have known what was coming, for I had taken both her wrists with a deliber ate air of proprietorship and quietly drawn her to me. "You are beautiful—sweet and tempting beyond any queen. I salute you." I had said. She had made only a show of resistance in the beginning, yet when I displayed a disposition to prolong the embrace she ended it. Then, still retaining her clasp upon my finger ends, she had held herself at arms' length from me for a mo ment. the color of her cheeks blos soming into deeper richness, her eyes falling before mine. "Oil, Tom! You must be a good boy and run home at once," she had pleaded, and I had obeyed, well sat isfied with my achievement. Over and over in my recollection I foudled the delighlful details of the occurrence until beneath my sheets ray eyes closed in sleep. Even then my sub consciousness took it up, and all in all I passed the night in a dream revel. The few weeks which followed were lived in the most delightful mental exhilaration I had ever ex perienced. If paradise has joys be yond those of the young successful wooer and speculator, they are sen sations inconceivable to the mortal mind. Love and gold were mine. Up, steadily up, mounted that blessed stock as a skilled mountain climber arises, with never a slip backward and never a cause for worriment on the part of the watchers. Usually my daily winnings ran into the hundreds. In a very little time my profits amounted to SIO,OOO, and fifty thou sand, yes, even a hundred thousand more, seemed but the matter of a few months. And who but a -fool, given a hundred thousand, cannot achieve a million! I began to permit myself extravagances. More than ever I was with Mrs. Dace, and weekly my ex penses In entertaining her soared. Automobiles took the place of car riages. For her birthday present I gave her a bracelet that cost SSOO. I even ventured in an off-hand manner to speak, to her about marriage and a dash around the world as a wedding trip. It was not a direct proposal, yet It was sufficiently unmasked to preclude her ignoring It. She caught me by the arm. "You must not. talk about such things, Tom, yet," she said quickly. "You are young, almost too young a man to marry, and are in the midst of piling up your fortune. Let that bo your business, and your thoughts of k>T« your recreation. I know of noth- lng «u aeotractlve to « man's financial interests as for him to desert them for a honeymoon. Wedding trips and business are unmixable. If you would not have the one disillusioned and the other destroyed, keep them far apart. l A>ve can wait its hour, but when for tune knocks upon the door we must be there to throw it wide. Perhaps in a year from now—" She paused and averted her cheeks. "Perhaps in a year from now — what?" 1 cried eagerly. Her voice became very low. "Nothing in particular. I was only about to say that if in a year from ; now you have not changed your mind • and your business affairs are so grounded that you can leave them in safety for a period, it might then be proper for you to ask the fortunate lady." "Hut a year seems a lifetime to one who loves her as I do. And she might become tired of waiting," 1 expostu lated. "Then I would not Imagine that she had your best, interests at heart, or that she would be a particularly desir able person to choose as a life com panion. This is, of course, supposing that she understood the reason for the delay. This Is my sisterly advice to you, having no idea, of course, who the charmer may be whom you have In mind." The wisdom of her advice seemed unanswerable and I remained mute before it. My hand falling upon hers and clasping it longingly was my only reply. It was the day following this that I met Bruce in his despair over his lost fortune, and it was the next night that I'ncle Abner was robbed. I think everything of importance has now been told up to the time I drew Le- Due through the door after the de parture of the police. CHAPTER IX. I.eDuc was a medium-sized man. wiry of build and tough as whale bone. His eyes were restless and the faint, smile which hung habitually about his lips was offset by a hawk ish nose. I had known him ever since we had attended the same school as youths. on he had naturally gravitated into the service of one of the big detective agencies; had been successful on Important cases with a uniformity that mere good luck could ] not account for, and having thus ae- | quired a reputation had established j an agency of his own. I had seen | very little of hint in the last ten years, j but as boys we had been more or less chummy, the difference in our ages having been neutralized by the phys ical fact of my being considerably larger for ray years than was he. I had admired him in those days for his ! remarkable agility and strength. As It is quality of brain matter which , counts rather than quantity, so it is equally true of muscle. And while ! Billy was not especially powerfully ] made as far as appearances went, his muscles were like piano wire and the ! bulk of his competitor in a physical ; contest was to him a matter of su- | preme disregard. Moreover, he was ; shrewd and pleasant to meet and a ' decent fellow withal, and our friend- j ship had wended along smoothly un- ] til the inevitable separation of our life j paths. As he had never called to j see me before. It took no rare instinct | on my part to divine that, this visit \ was not purely a social one. Dr. Courtney passed us in the hall | on his way back to his office, and ! with a farewell salutation to him I ! led my old friend up to my private ! quarters. He seated himself and I gave him a cigar. No sooner had he got it burning to his satisfaction than he broached the subject of his visit. "I have just heard that you have had a robbery of some consequence," he began. I assented with the remark that it was a beastly affair. LeDuc's eyes had always impressed me as hav ing the alertness of a watching hawk's, and I now noted that they were flicking about the room as though searching for some lost article | and apparently overlooking nothing, j He continued: "I don't suppose under the circum stances that It is necessary for me to | state the object of my visit, although ! I presume I may as well do so. When j I got wind of this affair it occurred J to me that perhaps I might be of as- j sistance to you professionally, and | even if that were not the case that I i would be glad to see you again on j general principles. So I hurried right ! over. Hut now that wo have shaken j hands and looked each other over, I J am anxious to know the particulars of this affair —thief catcher's instinct, you i know. Mind telling me about it?" "Not in the least. Glad you came," I returned heartily. Without further ado I briefly outlined the salient facts in the case as they had come under my observation. He then asked me a few questions as to who had pos sessed the keys, and such like, to which I gave him the same answers that I had the police. He listened quiet ly and without comment, and then expressed a wish to be introduced to Uncle Abner, whereupon I immediate ly took him to the adjoining room and made them acquainted. T/eDuc settled down to business without de lay. "As you perhaps know, I am a pro fessional detective and cases like this are strictly my specialty. I take it for granted that you wish to appre hend the parties who did this job, and that you would like to recover your money, or as much of it as possible. That being the case I would like to make an arrangement with you. I am in a more favorable position to get you results than aro the regular po lice for a number of reasons. In the first place I am better equipped for it than aro the majority of them, boih by nature and education. It is a mat ter of common observation that the smart crook is smarter than the av erage crook-catcher, and while I don't wish to sound egotistical, I don't be lieve that the rule holds good In my case. Furthermore, I can mix with ladles and gentlemen among any sur roundings, as well us with profession al criminals, without betraytng my self to either class, which is in itself a considerable advantage, for the criminal can spot the average city policeman, although he be in plain clothes, as readily as you could should he put on a dress suit and enter your ! drawing room. In addition to that, I ! am not bound by rules and regulations ; or the instructions of superiors who j may or may not be competent to di rect me, and neither am I always look ing forward to the hour when it is time for me to go off duty and take my rest. Your city sleuth Is paid a few dollars a day for certain hours of work, expects no reward as a general thing, and therefore more or less me chanically performs his work and then goes to his home the same as any other workman. I do not blame him for it, but It illustrates the weak ness of the system. In addition to that, he probably has a dozen other somewhat similar affairs in his mind, and his work Is more of a general than a special character. If ho is running along the trail of one criminal and strikes that of another which seems a little warmer, he is likely to be diverted pince all evil doers are fish i>- ihe other hand, when I t» .i'e I do It. with the ex r receiving substantial re -<n in case 1 succeed, and I jtt to be diverted by other mat- J which only indirectly concern me; and neither am 1 at all particular as to the hour when I shall quit my day's work. These and other facts which I will not. take the time to men tion, added to my natural fitness for the work, have made me success ful many times when the regular po lice force failed. You have lost $40,- 000, and I make this proposition to you: It will be a case of no cure and no pay, as the doctors put.it., and therefore an advantageous arrange ment for you. If the regular police get your money back I will charge you nothing for what I may have done in the meantime. Neither will I pre sent you any bill for the capture of the guilty party or parties unless I get some or all of your money back as j well. But on all funds that I regain j for you I will charge you a 25 per j cent, commission. I don't see how | anything could be any fairer than I that." Uncle Abner. who had remained quiet during LeDuc's utterances now sat up and began to whimper. "Ten per cent, ia plenty enough for any one to charge. I have been robbed j enough already. Suppose you should go out and get the money back in 24 I I . 'rfp ! II Examined It by the Aid of a Magnify ing Glass. hourg. Would you have the greedi ness to charge me SIO,OOO for a day's work?" LeDuc's lips tightened into a thin smile. "I certainly eViuld. I am very im pudent in some respects, and 1 should charge you the full price even though the transaction took me only ten min-' utes. I have tried to emphasize that point as one ox the reasons why I will do harder, longer and more in telligent work than will the police man who only gets his $3 a day. But on the other hand, and to balance the scales between us, of course the more 1 get the more you get. I take it for granted that you would rather get $30,000 back than nothing at all. Also you must remember that there is the contingency that I may fail com pletely, and in that event I will be out my time, labor and expenses. Then again, I may recover but a small portion of what lias been stolen, and in that case my fees will be insignifi cant and my time practically wasted, i 1 have made you my offer and it is the : best I will do. You can take it or i you can let It alone if you prefer." "Too much —altogether too much." I whined the voice from the sheets.? Then as LeDuc, with an indifferent i shrug of his shoulders, arose as If to I depart, the lean hand of Uncle Abner shot from beneath the coverlet and hooked itself to the tails of his coat. "Very well, if you must take ad vantage of a sick man, I suppose 1 will | have to submit. I'll be lucky if I don't i die in the poorhouse after all, the way i everybody imposes upon me." That LeDuc was half inclined then and i there to throw up the proposi'' n in disgust I could tell by the cur 112 his lip, but after a second of r iction he turned to me with a liti smile which told me that he had j le his allowance for the nature of e man with whom he was dealing. "Very well. Sign this i eement then," he commanded shortl , as he handed the qulbbler a paper and a fountain pen. Carefully Uncle Abner ran his colorless eyes over the printed form, inserted the necessary words and figures and affixed his signature. LeDuc thrust it into his pocket, and first having his new client repeat what he had previously told the po lice, turned his attention to the room without comment upon the statement. The safe he examined with infinite attention to detail. 4MRT hole that had been drilled in the combination i occupied his attention for at least ten I minutes in itself. He measured it, peered into it as a terrier peers into a rat hole, examined it by the aid of a magnifying glass and actually smelled of it. The shattered pieces of lock he examined slowly, pondering over them for many minutes as he slowly turned them around and around in his hands. As for the room itself, the floor and the walls, he went over them inch by inch, and having at last finished that task asked me to show him the closet in which I had found the old man. In the hallway I saw him suddenly stoop and pick up some small object, which he thrust hurriedly into his pocket without showing it to me. Inside and out we went over the house for a full hour, and then at his suggestion returned to my room where we seated ourselves. I asked him If he had discovered any thing. "Yes. The explosion occurred at 22 minutes past three,"he replied, as he blew a long cloud of smoke. I de manded tliat he tell me how he knew that. "Simply because the clock on the j mantle stopped at that hour. I gave ; it a little shake when I noticed that I it had stopped and it started up again as merrily as you please, so I guess j the concussion is what put if out of business temporarily," he stni'ied. Sim- ! pie and obvious as this fact had been ! I had not noticed it in my survey of I the room, and not particularly flatter- j ed at my own lack of discernment. I j agreed that his explanation was prob ably correct. He seemed to be think ing intently for a while after that and I did not disturb him, but presently he turned to me. "In getting at the roots of a case like this, one way of simplifying it is by the process of elimination —that is to say, by the weeding out of those persons and circumstances which al though immediately surrounding the affair could not in the nature of things be connected with it. By do ing this you are often able to narrow the field of your search and thereby secure greater concentration. 1 be lieve that you can help me consider ably in this matter if you will frankly answer all questions I may ask you, feeling perfectly free to volunteer any thing that may occur to you as you proceed. First of all, was your uncle In the habit of keeping large sums of money In the safe?" I shook my head. "It very seldom happened. Perhaps once or twice a year only, and then merely because the cash was received out of banking hours. The rest of the timo it would ntx t* wwrit rob bing." "Who knew of tills particular amount being there at tills particular time?" "No one as far as I know except Uncle Abner. of course, my cousin, Bruce Halilday, and myself. Unci# Abner says he did not tell Mrs. Teb bets, she denies all knowledge of it and I am inclined to believe that that settles that." "It would so seem. And what kind of a in 1 does Bruce happen to be?" I hesitated, endeavoring to choose my words with circumspection before an swering a question which embraced so many qualifying and modifying phases.. "Well, that is a hard question to answer off hand. He is a complex proposition, you know —a sort of a paradox. You should know him thor oughly before passing judgment. But comprehensively I should say that he is genial, generous, outspoken and in clined to be reckless along certain lines. But I never knew him to even contemplate doing a dishonest thing and I don't believe that he ever did. The only two things that I ever knew him to do that might be criticized from a high moral standpoint are to occasionally take a few highballs or cocktails and to habitually speculate on 'Change. He is a broker, you know, and plays the game himself, like most of the rest of them." "And his financial condition theso days?" pursued my companion con templatively. I shifted uneasily. It was plain that I>.'Duc was going to dig deep and ask me questions that would make it necessary for me to put Bruce in an unfavorable light, and it is not a pleasant task for one to be compelled to cast suspicion, even by inference, upon a life-long friend, especially when the friend is of his own blood. Yet a serious crime had been committed against both society at large and another of my kinsmen in particular, and should I conceal any essential fact that I knew and LeDuc discover that I had done so, it would put me in the miserable plight before Uncle Abner as having tried to shield some one and thus acted against him in the recovery of at least a portion of what had been pilfered from him. I did not for an instant believe that Bruce would even con template such an act, even though standing blindfold against the wall of financial despair, yet certainly there were things which in Justice to every body concerned he should explain; and while I did not doubt but that he couid do so without difficulty, I dis liked exceedingly to speak against him. LeDuc sat quietly throughout my j mental colloquy, eyeing me keenly. That my hesitancy in answering was unnoticed I did not for a moment flatter myself, for as well might one expect the fox to miss a movement of f ,he cornered hare. "There seems to |be something disagreeable in your I mind. Perhaps you had better out with it."he suggested at length. "Re member that I am asking you, as a good citizen, to help me in this matter and am taking you into my confidence. I therefore expect you to assist me to the fullest extent of your powers regardless of whom it may help or hurt; always bearing in mind that no innocent man need be afraid. Further more, you may trust me not to give any information you may convey to me any more publicity than the exi gencies of the case demand. What is it you are keeping from me now?" "You have asked me as to my cousin's financial condition, and under my protest and your promise 1 will say this," I returned slowly. "lie was in a miserable fix through losses on the exchange and came to Uncle Abner yesterday for a loan. Uncle Abner only grinned at him. as Bruce should have hud sense enough before hand to know he would. When 1 saw Bruce afterward he was way down on his luck and fairly desperate. He knew that uncle had the money in the house, because he was the one who called my attention to that fact, say ing to me: 'My God, 1 must get hold of SIO,OOO some way.' He then left me. When I saw him again he ap peared to have been drinking. I put him in a carriage to get him out of sight and he was driven away, where I don't know, for I have not seen him since. That is all I know about that phase of the matter." My com panion was following my every word and action with the intentness of a watching lynx, and when I had fin ished pounced upon my last and quali fying words instantly. (TO BE CONTINUED.) Other Fish to Fry. Mrs. Tuthill has a reputation of pro longing her calls. One Sunday, after an hour's visit at a friend's house on her way from church, she said, play fully, to the eldest child; "I am going now, Willie, and I want you togo part of the way with me and be my own little boy." "I cannot," answered serious Wil liam. "We are going to have lunch as soon as you leave." —Metropolitan Magazine. Almost Spoiled It. 'Time has been very kind to yon." he said when they met, after the laps* of years. "I* is very good of you to say so." she replied, making no eifort to con ceal her pleasure. "Xot at all. not at all. One la al way- Justified in straining a point if necessary to spread hap—l mean I couldn't truthfully 6ay anything else." Art Illustration. "Courage U often the result of igno rance " "How do you make that out?" "Why do you suppose the mice the other night would havv got your hair arrangements on the floor ana torn them to pieces If tli« mine hart !, wi U»*y war* rsurf
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