-
TITE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: FEBRUARY 10,' 1007.
T FT
TORYof tLeMSSING 3UIT LASE;
lie
jl Ry
George Barton
OCorrrUht IPC, by Oeorre Barton.)
trn Mmitfttlnn ftnt! th future c A-
I I reer of a promising young Amrrl-
Sl I - tnlnmal Arvnil ttA juami the
terioue disappearance of his suit
case. The newspapers were full of It at the
time; but none of them ever learned the
Inside facta, and they are now presented
ln their entirety for the first time.
The Incident upon which the story bliures
can be briefly summarised. Francis Lane,
consul general to the Flora Islands, had
been summoned from his post to appear at
"Washington to answer charges of gross
farorltlsm. If not corruption. In the man
agement of his office. The charge had been
made by the powerful Consolidated Cocoa
nut company, and although Lane was abso
lutely Innocent of wrongdoing the corpora
tion had managed to make out a rery
plausible case against him.
By rare good fortue Lane got possession
of a black-covered letter book belonging
to a rival company which furnished a com
plete vindication of bis official acts, lie
packed It In his suit case with some per
sonal belongings, and during the voyage
over never let It out of his sight. He held
the suit cane In his hand when the Capri
corn reached Its dock. When the gang
plank was lowered he hurried on to the
wharf, and the first person to greet him
was Helen Thomson, his fiancee. The sight
Of her bright brown eyes and blushing
cheeks threw the young diplomat Into an
ecstacy of delight. Involuntarily he dropped
the suit case and rushed over to greet the
girl. The next minute he turned to pick up
his valuable piece of property. It was gone
had disappeared as completely as If the
wharf had opened and swallowed It.
Lane, frantic at his lose, hurried to the
custom house and told his story to Barnes,
the chief Inspector. When he had con
cluded. Barnes set back In the revolvlnp
chair In front of the flat top desk In his
office and carefully scrutinised a fly that
was slowly making Its way across the dec
orated ceiling. From the Intensity of his
glance It might be supposed that the fate of
nations depended upon the certainty with
which the Insert made its Journey. But al
though Barnes' eyes were on the fly, his
thoughts were elsewhere. It was simply
one of the methods he employed to concen
trate his mind and to regulate and quicken
his mental processes. Presently the chief
turned to Lane and said abruptly:
"Might I ask what passed between you
and Miss Thomson T"
"It was purely personal."
"But what was Itr
The diplomat hesitated for a moment,
then spoke unreservedly: .
"She said John Buckingham, her guar
dian, was opposed to my engagement with
her. She said he was a very positive man.
and I said I could be very positive, too her tongue for speaking so impulsively, and
What do you want here?"
Barnes pulled all of his mental faculties
toother before reolvlng. He did not
underestimate his task. It
to be beaten by this man
would not do
with the for-
no thing In the face to frighten him.
The key to the man s po1 wa ln nl"
nle expect us to operate In that way. H' pudgy hand Presently he
pie expeoi u. i traditions of white the tone ws querulous the words,
just a tribute we pay to the f ar,y
the profession. . ,,,.
"But the motive," said tne youn
"uv . . "What An vrHt want
mat curiously, "the motive m ,u"-
"Assuredly. Oet the motive-! f yon can.
In your case it seems self-evident. Mind
you, I don't say It Is; but It seems self-
Tki. nnrtmntton. which has felt
the weight of your official hand, desires- to
get even with you. Of course, they have
shrewd representatives ln the Flora Islands,
through whom they are Informed of the
date of your sailing, the steamer you took
and the fact that your valuable documen
tary evtdenoe was lu your suit case.
Through your gross carelessness the suit
case Is stolen. Now, assuming that some
one employed by the Consolidated Cocoanut
company got the valuable bit of luggage,
what do you suppose the person would do
with It? Carry It to the office of the ware
bouse of the company? Not at all. It
would be taken as far away from these
places as possible. Hence the futility of
searching; about the premises of the com
pany." While they were talking Clancy bustled
Into the room with a suit case ln his hand.
The moment the young diplomat saw ft he
gave a shout of recognition and delight.
He grabbed It end quickly laid it open, on
a nearby table. , Everything In It seemed
. Just the same as It had been when It was
originally packed. Lane hurried through
It with feverish haste. As he concluded
his task his face fell. One article was
missing.
It was the little black bound letter book.
Lane turned to Barnes, but the Chief,
leaning back In his chair, wss engaged In
his favorite recreation of watching the fly
cross the celling. This calmness Irritated
the young man.
"The letter book Is missing,' he snapped.
Barnes came out of his reverie. He
looked at the speaker with a charitable
smile.
"Of course. It's missing. It was a ques
tion ln my mind whether to send for the
suit case at all. Bttll It contains your be
longings, and frequently a new move, no
matter how aimless, leads to the suspicion
of a clue. But the fellow who has stolen
the black letter book wanted to taunt you
with the sight of your salt case. He must
be a vindictive cuss. He "
The speaker was Interrupted by a faint
tap on the door.
"Come In," he called.
The door opened timidly and Helen
Thomson entered. The half veil did not
conceal the unwonted sparkle In her eyes,
nor could It entirely hide the faet that
she was blushing most charmingly. She
gave a cry of delight at sight of Lane and
exclaimed Involuntarily:
"I thought I should find you here."
The next moment she could have bitten
languid interest until the chief told about
the reception of the visiting card with
"the tompllments of John Smith," and
then, to his astonishment. Mr. John Buck
ingham leaned back In his ehnlr and gave
vent to a series of very loud and very dis
agreeable churkles. Barnes hsd been
standing all this time. Now he quietly
slid Into a chair opposite Buckingham. He
concluded his narrative by saying:
"And that black letter book is still missing."
tween them fefl on the flat desk.
Barr.es felt instant confidence at these
unmistakable manifestations. But he was
fencing with a clever man, and a single
mlsplay might spoil the game. He waited
for Buckingham's response.
There came that disagreeable chuckle
again. The reply was almost languid m
tone.
"If you're quite through with this non
torf I'll bid you good night"
"Not quite. Bjr the way, you weir a
to you with the compliment of John
Smith?"
"That's what I said."
"Well, then. It seems to. me If such a
bright person will condescend to take a bit
of advice that what you want to do Is to
get John Smith."
"I have him."
Tou bave!"
"Where t" .And the voice was loud and
commanding.
The chief arose from his chair and walked
where she was concerned.
"Haven't you even a slight clue to the
theft?" asked Barnes, musingly.
Lane laughed Ironically.
"One of the Inspectors said he saw a man
leave the wharf with a suit case."
"What was be like?" ,
"He didn't know, except that he had on
a red cravat and wore a Inn r!n nat
After a long- silence the chief said. In
dulgently: "Come see me' this afternoon; there Is
nothing you can do Just now."
Once outside Lane started In the direc
tion for the purpose of calling onr Miss
Thomson. Arriving at the brown stone
residence, he handed bis card to the grave
faced butler. Presently that functionary
returned with the reply that Mr. Buck
ingham, as the guardian of Miss Thomson,
was "aware of the fact that Mr. Lane was
at present under a cloud, and in view of
that fact would respectfully request that
Mr. Lane discontinue his visits and ac
quaintanceship with Mr. Buckingham's
ward."
The unexpectedness of this blow made
Lane gasp for breath. He was Instantly
filled with resentment against John Buck
ingham. What right had that person to
treat him In such a scurvy manner? He
would return and have It out with him
like a man. Sober second thought, how
ever, convinced him that he was niftier a
cloud and that a careful guardian had a
perfect right to look after the Interests of
his ward.
Early ln the afternoon Lane returned to
Barnes' office flourishing a letter.
"I've Just received this ' at my hotel."
he said, excitedly. "Possibly you can make
something out of It; I can't."
Barnes examined the letter carefully.
The name and address were typewritten
on a plain envelope, which was free from
any other printed or written matter. The
ntaxk of the canceling machine Indicated
that It had been mailed at the main post
office at o'clock the night before. In
side the envolope waa a round brass check
and a plain brlstol board visiting card
The metal check was numbered and had
the Imprint of the package room of the
Grand Trunk Railroad station. The card
had on It ln old Oothlo type these words
COMPLIMENTS
of
JOHN SMITH.
Barnes paid very little attention to the
check, but looked so long and earnestly at.
the bit of pasteboard that Clancy, his as
sistant, who stood near by, waa moved to
say, with some show of Impatience:
"I don't suppose you'U get any Informa
tion out of that silly card."
"Who knows?" said Barnes, slowly shak
ing his head and speaking mora to him
self than to those In the room.
"Why, that's not the name of any per
son," persisted Clancy. determined to
wave the thing aside. "That's only an ad
vertisement." "Precisely." replied the chief In his care
ful, measured tones. "That's what makes
It valuable to me at this time. This brass
check Is for Mr. Lane's suit ease. The
thief Is returning ..It to him ln a spirit of
bravado. As he was' about to snail It ho
noticed this sample card lying on his desk.
she hung her head, her face scarlet. Lane,
overjoyed, but smarting from the treatment
of the morning, replied:
"I thought I'd find yon at home, too, but
I was mistaken."
"What do you mean?" she cried, partly
recovering her self-possession.
That I called on you and you refused to
see me."
She raised her veil and the. eyes flashed
lira, "
"I never refused to see you I never
knew that you called I"
"Oh," cried Lane, grasping her meaning
Instantly. "Then my card was Inter
cepted V
Bhe nodded her head.
The diplomat Involuntarily clenched his
flat. The girl noted the movement and,
lowering her voice, said:
"He proposed to me this morning."
Lane Jumped to her side as If he had
been catapulted across the room.
"What!" he shrieked. "That old man
Buckingham
"He's only eV Interjected Barnes.
The Interruption dampened the yonng
man's powder. He did not finish his de
nunciation of the guardian. He turned to
her with a query.
"You you" he began.
"I refused him. you silly goose," with a
happy smile. ,
He felt like hugging her. He contented
himself with fresh denunciations of Buck
ingham. Barnes interrupted the verbal
storm.
"Give me forty-eight hours to my own
devices."
An hour later the chief began exploring
the financial district. He spent ths re
mainder of the afternoon there. The next
day he took a cab and started out to visit
the principal printing and engraving estab
lishments of the city. At dusk he returned
to his office and said to Clancy:
"I want you to go out with me tonight
I'm going to make a call on one of our
prominent oltlsens.
II.
At S o'clock that night names and his
faithful satellite hovered about the neigh
borhood of a three-story brown stone house
on the avenue. Having satisfied himself
that a light waa burning In the library, the
chief, followed by his assistant mounted'
the steps of the ' house and pushed the
electric button. The well trained butler
who responded to ths call ushered them
Into the reception hall and solemnly ac
cepted the card which Barnes handed him.
Giving the man tune to reach the top
flight of stairs, the chief whlsperlngly di
rected Clancy to remain where he was,
while he swiftly and noiselessly followed
the servant On reaching the landing he
hard the murmur of voices in the library.
There was a scraping sound as of a chair
or bit of furniture being moved and all
was silent again. Barnes did not hesitate.
A handsome portiere covered the doorway
leading to the room. The chief thrust It
aside and stalked Into the library. The
servant on his way out almost collided
with the newcomer. Barnes murmured
something Incoherent about thinking be
waa expected to follow the man upstairs
and in the momentary play of words man-
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5UDDENCrTHarATHAMD5 SHOT OUT AND THE STUBBY FINGERS CLOSED ABOUT THE NECK OF THE CUSTOMS OFFICIAL
bidding; face and masterful hands. The
chief adopted his most caressing tone. , He
would spar for points first and later. If
need bt reply with body blows.
"I beg your pardon for this Intrusion,
but I wanted to know if you would aid me
in a little government Investigation in
which I am engaged?" '
The blue orbs wandered' feebly In the
direction of the card that was still
clutched ln the strong hand. Again the
words, short, sharp and crisp:
"You're in the wrong shop; I know noth
ing of customs."
"But let me tell you my story."
Without waiting for his assent . Barnes
went on and rehearsed the theft of the
suit case down to the minutest detail.
All the time he watched the face of the
man before him. It betrayed merely a
The unwilling host yawned openly to
signify that the interview was becoming
wearying. Barnes showed no ennui. He
leaned across the table, and, lowering his
voice to make It more Impressive, said:
"Burklnham, I want you to give me Frank
Lane's letter book!"
The chief waited anxiously for the effect
of his words, but the flabby face opposite
him was a perfect mask. Those stupid
eyes had a look of blind innocence. The
curl of the lip was unchanging. But the
hands! Barnes could have shouted for
Joy. Ills startling request scarcely came
from his lips when Buckinham's left hand
twitched convulsively and the card he was
holding fluttered to the floor. At the same
instant the stubby Angers on the other
hand became nerveless and the pen' be-
very becoming red cravat."
The upper lip curled.
"There are ten thousand men ln this town
wearing red cravats."
"You are still a stockholder ln the Con
solidated Cocoanut company."
"No news ln that to me."
"But you tried to keep It secret."
"Did I?"
"Yes, and you made the corporation file
the charges against young Lane. It cost
me three hours of my time to And this out
yesterday."
"Indeed!"
"Yes, indeed!" snapped Barnes, In danger
of losing his temper. I
The cynical smile about the other man's
mouth deepened.
"You say this this suit case was returned
quickly to the other aide of the desk. Be
clapped his right hand on the other man's
shoulder.
"Here!" he shouted. "You are John
The astonishment thst accompanied this
exclamation could not be mistaken.
"Yes." repeated Barnes, "I have."
Smith!"
Buckingham's hands unloosed themselves
and hung limply by his side. Ills face
showrd no emotion. When he spoke it was
with less energy than before. .
"You seem positive."
"Sure; you have betrayed yourself by
your sense of humor."
Buckingham's stare was a simulation of
Innocence.
"When you decided to send the suit case
back you made a mistake," said .the chief.
iiiiyiiiHisii
Building a City
Indoor amusement for children:
When it Is cold and rainy and the little
ones are tired cf playing nursery games
let them try their, hands at building a
city. Ye?, building a CITT. Now, don t
look incredulous, for it can be done, and
ln one day, too.
Supply yourself with all the empty
pasteboard boxes you can find about the
tu-ue, a pair of scissors that your mother
has thrown out of her work basket
(they'll do to cut pasteboard and paper,)
a tube of library paste, your box of water
colors snd a svft leadpencll. Then set to
work.
The architectural designs should be first
My First Pants
By Ernest Arundel, age t years, loul North
Twenty-first street Omaha, Neb.
I want to belong to the Busy Bees. So
I want you to all know about the first time
I ever wore pants. One day when I was
about t years old. my mamma, papa and 1
i?' k' t,b171.t!y ".T'l" ag4 to take a mental photograph of the young men at the hotel and they1 wanted
to play a Joke pn my papa, so they got
" twar, umrrvm apartment, plainly
courageous, so he enclosed the card with
the check, and there you are,"
"But" said Con. blankly. "If jrou got
the suit ease, the mystery will be solved."
The chief chuckled.
"Possibly. In the meantime, Clancy, take
this check, and see what them gtv yeu
for It at the Grand Trunk waiting room."
While they waited for the return of the
fleetfooted one. Barnes cleared up soma sf
the loose threads of hla Investigation. A
man who had been sent to "spot" the of
ficials and employes of ths Consolidated
Coooanut company reported that be had
been unable to establish aay connection
between the corporation and the missing
suit ease. Another subordinate said he
had dlsaovered some men who wore long
striped ulsters, and others who had on red
cravats, but was unable to find any one
with both ulsters and cravats answering
that description.
"Almost absurd to send these men out,"
said Barnes to Lans as he dismissed the
detectives. "Ton might as well tell 'em
,ts go find the ml slng link. But
furnished. In ths center of the far end.
before a flat top deck, sat a squat looking,
smooth faced man, who did not appear to
bo either younc or old. Hs had expression
less blue eyas, which stared steadily at
Barnes without betraying the slightest
emotion. His large, bald head was covaied
with ths merest frtng of faded brown hair.
A broad flat nose Indicated surliness of dis
position, and a mouth curled In a saroaatle
smile suggested cunning. His doubts chin
sank In the folds of a whits collar and
grased the nap of a silk cravat He held
the chiefs card In ona fat little hand, while
ths stubby, blunt fingers of ths other
grasped a pen with ths Intensity with
which ots visually clutches a weapon at
ths opening of a battle.
This waa John Buckingham, retired bust
teas man, stock market manipulator and
guardian of Miss Helen Thomson.
Hs never moved those lustreless eyes
from his .unabashed visitor. Barnes bore
ths vacant stars with equanimity. There
the landlady to let them have her little
boy's pants and they put them on me, also
the coat and vest. Whsn they . saw my
papa coming up the road they sent me to
meet him. Now, when my papa walks
along the street be alwsys thinks hard and
doean't see anyone. He lan into me and of
course I cried snd lay on the sidewalk until
he stooped down to pick me up, for he
thought he had hurt someone else's little
boy, and you don't know how surprised hs
was to find it was his own He carried me
back to the hotel. I asked luy mamma to
put my dress on again, for I thought It
was t!)a 'ants that knocked me down.
A Trip to Bayfield, Wis.
By Mildred Cane. Age 10 Years, Council
Bluffs. Ia.
I was ln Bayfield for two weeks last
summer. Bayfield ia on Lake Superior. I
saw rafts of floating logs held together by
booms, whioh ara logs fastened together
la a chain, These logs are fastened by a
long rope to tugs, which pull them. Men
with long hooks and big, heavy boots with
long nails on the bottom, walk out over
the rafts and float the logs to the chain
which pulls them up into the sawmill.
There they are sawed Into boards of dif
ferent sizes. These boards are put on lit
tle cars on tracks, drawn by a horse, to the
boat, where they are loaded to ship away
I saw a boat one day which was said to
be over 3U feet long. One nice, bright day
we went out on the water In a large boat
called the Barker, a fishing boat, to the
farthest Island out on the open lake. This
Island waa called Devil's island. It ha9 a
natural dock of red stone, which Is as
level as a floor, where the boat lands.
There is a fog horn on this island which ia
blown by machinery every twenty soconds
on a foggy day, and can be heard fir
miles around. There Is also a lighthouse
there. We picked blueberries, which grow
wild there. There is an Indian reservation
Just above Bayfield, which e visited one
day. This Is called BMcliff.
Conundrums
When are needles like garments? When
threadbare.
When are manuscripts like disconsolate
lovers? When rejected.
Why does an ill-fitting dress resemble a
pug dog's face? Because it Is full of
wrinkles.
!' J ' i"
-w 7iv B BE
03 y UJ
PASTEBOARD HOUSES.
drawn on scrap paper, then following them
on the pasteboard box sdrs, cutting out
carefully and putting together with thin
paper and paste. All doors and windows
must be cut and completed before Joining
the four sides of a building. Ths roof
goes on last After the pasts has dried
thoroughly becin tinting with the water
colors. Some of the buildings should be
made to rcnemble bricks, stones, boards and
shingWs may be brought Into shape with
the leadpencll.
A large table in the center of the room
will answer for the city's site. If the
builders do not like a level site, they may
have as many hills as desired by laying
small pillows about the table and cover
ing with a bed rpread. smoothing It over
the ups and dewns made by the pillows
to give a good surface on which to place
the houses.
A public square may be laid out with
the public buildings, such as stores, a
church, a courthouse, a schoolhouse and a
public library, grouped about It Ar
range the residences along streets open
ing into the public square. On account
of the uncertainty of the "pillow ground,"
It would be more satisfactory to kep the
table surface flat and hard for the city
site, then there will be no danger, from a
careless little hand or arm resting against
the hillsides to tumble the bouses Into
the hollows below.
An tllustrstlnn, accompanies which will
give an idea of a pasteboard city that was
"bullded by little hands."
MARY GRAHAM.
Hidden Name Puzzle
Each of the following proverbs contains
a one-syllable word, the initial letters of
said words If written In the order In which
they come will spell the nsme of a once
great man.
Judge not. lest ye be Judged.
If you would find life worth the living,
earn your dally bread.
Look for truth and beauty and you will
surely find them.
A friend In need Is a friend Indeed.
Eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow
ye die.
The fool will risk his hard-earned money
on games of chance.
Sing from your heart and the angels will
hark to the melody.
Go over the hllls-nnt round them If you
would see the1 world beautiful.
Do not put off till tomorrow that which
should be dons today.
"And when you put ths visiting card In
the envelops with ths baggage check you
sealed your own fate. Any man of ordi
nary discernment could see that It was a
specimen of card and type sent out by an
engraving and printing house. The only
traits required to trace It were Industry
and Infinite patience, and I flatter myself
that I have both. I visited the establish
ments of sixteen printers today. Some had
type like this and some had cards like this;
but not until I struck the sixteenth man
did t find the combination of card and
type. He reed II y recognised it as one of a
number of samples he had sent out during
the week. He had a list Ct ten persons to
whom the samples were mailed. When I
saw yotir name among the number I didn't
bother with the others." ,
"Very clever," said Buckingham, with
the characteristic curl of the Up. "But
there is nothing about It to show that I
have this this wonderful, letter book."
"Oh. you have the book all right,"
chuckled the chief. ,
"Well," with a sudden burst of anger,
"even If I had you don't suppose I'd be tool
enough to keep It on the premises, do you?"
During this unexpected show of feeling
Barnes' eager eyes had been searching the
apartment. Finally they rested on sevi
eral rows of shelves, tilled with books, by
the side of the flat top desk. A little
three-step footstool, such as are found ln
libraries, was' on the floor next to the
shelves. At the sound of Buckingham's
voice died out, the chief took a hurried
stride and walked up the three steps of the
stool. Before his companlen realized what
he was doing, he reached up to the fifth
shelf" and from between two volumes of
Macaulay's essays pulled out a thin, black,
official looking document
It was Frank Lane's letter book.
"Yes," said the chief triumphantly, an
swering Buckingham's query. "You wers
fool enough to keep It on the premises. For
a normally shrewd man you have com
mitted all kinds of blunders. Why, you
even directed me to the hiding place of
this litUe book."
The expressionless eyes gave no sign of
Intelligence. . Barnes continued:
"You were looking at the book when I
came In the house. You might have de
stroyed It and possibly ruined this young
man; but the same fatuity which Induced
you to send back the suit case and to
enclose the visiting card also prompted
you to hold on to this book and to gloat
over the mere possession of It. When
your servant came upstairs I followed him,
and I heard the scraping sound of the
footstool when it was moved next to the
hook case In order to permit you to con
ceal this valuable bit of property on the
top shelf. The more haste the less speed.
I have eyes, and when I came in the room
I used 'em, and It didn't require any won
derful amount of brains to know that a
shabbily bound book of this kind waa out
of place between two aristocratic looking
copies of Lord Macaulay."
Buckingham dropped his eyes. He was
nearlng the end of his rope. He looked
up presently with the air of a man nbout
to plead for mercy. But those eloquent
hands told a different story. They twitched
nervously, opening and closing repeatedly.
Barnes was standing by the side of the
footstool. Buckingham approached him
with an air of great humility. Suddenly
the fat hands shot out and the stubby
Angers closed about the neck of the cus
toms official. Just when Barnes was be
coming purple In the face the villain gavs
him a shove and threw him, head first,
over the footstool, where he lay all In a
heap on the floor. Buckingham grabbed
his hat and hurried down the stairway,
two steps at a time. In the hallway he
met with an unexpected obstruction.
Something glistened ominously In the dim
light, and something cold, touching the tip
of his nose, sent a shiver down his spinal
column. The ever faithful Clancy was
bark of the shining barrel, and when hs
spoke It was through his closed teeth:
- "If you dare to move I'll shoot, and If I
do you'll bo sorry!"
There was a convincing earnestness about
these words. While Buckingham was
thinking them over Barnes, deeply morti
fied at having been caught unawares,
slipped downstairs snd deftly fastened a
pair of handcuffs upon ths wrists of his
late antagonist. '
It did not take Jong to prove the guilt of
Mr. John Buckingham. When he flrst
prompted the charges of the Consolidated
company against Lane he was actuated
solely by business motives; but when he
discovered that the young consul general
was engaged to his ward his aim became
vindictive as well as mercenary. He had
gone to the wharf to get a clandestine look
at the man who was his personal and
business rival. He noticed the Jealousy
with which Lane guarded hla suit case,
shrewdly uessed Its contents, snd when
the young man rushed over to greet Helen,
Buckingham, on the spur of the moment
conceived the idea of stealing the bag. It
was a bold act, but he waa a bold man and
succeeded. He Jumped Into a waiting cab,
and for want of a better direction ordered
the 'man to drive to the Grand Trunk rail
way station. On the way there be broke
the lock of the suit case and abstracted the
letter book. Strapping the bag up again
he deposited It in the package room of the
station.
His first idea on reaching home was to
destroy the book, but he became deeply
Interested in the letters snd thus, fatally
for himself, postponed Its destruction. Ths
possession of the brass check suggested
some sport at the expense of his victim.
Hs put it in a typed envelope and, Just as
Barnes had surmised, noting . the John
Smith visiting card on his desk, slipped
that in the envelope also.
Buckingham's arr. et proved to be a for
tunate thing for Helen Thomson In mors
ways than one. ,Whlle publicly pretending
to lead the life of a retired merchant, he
was secretly a confirmed stock market
gambler. He became heavily Involved, and
ln order to tids himself over a crisis began
to use the money he held In trust for the
girl. His proposal of marriage had been
made to Helen purely for the purpose of
covering up his financial transactions. Ths
failure to ruin young Lane and his own
detection uncovered all of his other delin
quencies. The guardianship, foolishly ar
ranged by her father with a man he had
only known In a business way. was termin
ated Just In time to save the remainder of
Helen's little fortune.
Three weeks later, while Barnes sat In
his office Indulging In day dreams, the
doorway was darkened by a very attrac
tive young woman and s stylishly dressed
young man.
"Let me speak to him." said the girl,
two pink spots glowing on her smooth
cheeks.
"No, Helen," protested the young man,
laughingly. "I think I should do It."
Barnes greeted his visitors warmly and
then raised his hand to command silence.
He spoke like a man who has made a
momentoua decision.
"You needn't speak. I know what you'rs
going to sar. I haven't done It for forty
years, but I'll make an exception 1n this
ease. I'll promise to dance at your wed
ding." And hs did.
