Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-09-26
"Graings, you live at Chaplain, don't

about a Mr.. Want" said Mr.. Gimblet,
drawing ROSES with his.
pen on his blotting-pad.
rs that the gentleman who has been
swlnd.ed by his partner?"
"Aes. The matter does not press at
al; any time will do. just find out
he left Biarritz, and what dav he
received in Paris the news of his part
ner's disappearance. You may be able
10 get it from one of the servants"
After this MIR. Gimblet dismissed the
subject from his mind for some days,
having more important business on
hand. He learned from the newspa-
pers that no clue had been obtained as
10 the whereabouts of the %defaulting
partner, and it seemed pretty certain
that he had made good his es, ape. At
length his subordinate reminded him
OF the mission he had intrusted to him.
"Well, what have you ascertained?"
81 made the acquaintance of the
sgentleman's valet, sir. who accompan-
led the family to Biarritz."
'.Yes:9"
"Every one in Chaplain sympathizes
very much with Mr.. Want. The house
and furniture are to be sold, and the
servants have all received notice."
cot course said Mr.. Gimblet, i'm
patiently.
"Ihe family stayed at Biarritz nearly
two months, at the Hotel d. Angle
terre. They left on the 10th of Janu-
airy and went to Paris. The letter fol-
lowed them there with other letters
from Biarritz some DAYS later"
''Yes?"
''The valet was in the room when
the letter arrived. Mr.. Want opened
it, and was dreadfully upset. Of
course, the valet did not know what
had happened at the time, but he
guessed there was something wrong by
the way Mr.. Want abused him for pick
ing up the envelope from the floor"
"Oh! How was that?" inquired Mr..
Gimblet, with sudden interest.
1.-The valet stopped to pick up the
envelope which had fallen. MIR. Want
pounced upon him directly and
snatched it away from him and de-
stroyed it in a passion"
81 suppose he saw the man looking
curieusly at some postnnark or some
thing" said Mr.. Gimblet, thought
fully.
81 suppose he did, but the valet
didn't notice anything except that the
letter had q Spanish stamp"
"Eh?' exclaimed MI. Gimblet,
quickly.
''That Is what the man said, SIR"
said the clerk, a little startled by an
abrupt movement OF his master.
Every well. What else?:" inquired
Mr.. Gimblet.
1t was evident, however, that his
mind was p~re-occupied, and that he
paid but little attention to the remain
ing details which his assistant related.
The latter were quite unimportant, and
when the man had finished Mr.. Gimblet
dismissed him without asking anything
further. But the incident OF the letter.
OF rather the envelope-a1orded him
food for reflection. The letter protested
to have been written from Queenstown,
and to have come from there. Mr..
original being in the hands Of the pc.
lice. Obviously the envelope contain
ing it ought to have been marked by an
English stamp. The fact OF its having
a Spanish stamp showed conclusively
that it had not been posted in Ireland.
OF course it was just possible that the
valet might have been mistaken at a
hasty glance; but, on the other hand,
why should Mr.. Want have seized it so
anSiously, and why had he destroyed
so important a piece of evidence? Upon
the whole, Nh. Gimblet was inclined to
believe the correctness of the Wallets
story; and this suggested the inference
that Mr.. Want had deliberately been
misleading the police and his creditors
for the purpose Of screening his part
mel.
The train of thought which followed
this discovery kept Mr.. Gimblet's mind
fully occupied for half an hour, during
which he sat at his desk whistling soft
ly to himself, with a very knowing .ex-
preston. At length he reused him
| self from his reverie and started off into
the city, where he paid a visit to Mr..
Want.
..rve called, sir" he said, quietly,
upon being ushered into the gentle
mans office, swith reference to our
conversation the other day"
"Ah! very glad to see you, Mr..
Gimblet,' said Mr.. Want, who had been
permitted, owing to the sympathy of his
creditors. to continue his business I'M
der favorable circumstances. There is
no news, l an sorry to say. I suppose
you have none?'
..Well I think I've found out some
thing, sir,' said Mr.. Gimblet, with edi-
flying humility.
.aIndeed: What is it:y' inquired MI.
Want, condescendingly.
.Iou said the letter announcing the
flight OF your partner came from Queens
town."
$50 it did. The police have it."
s'It protested to come from Queens
town, but l can prove that it really
came FROM Spain, and that you knew
it," said Mr.. Gimblet, in a matter-of-
fact tone.
Mr.. Want fell back in his chair az
though he had been shot, and turned
as pale as marble. The cN-dctective's
calm and penetrating gaze caused the
denial he attempted to utter to die on
his lips. After a pause he said, hoarsc-
ly:
81 did it for the best. He had wronged
me, but he had been my friend l had
no other mouive.'
an +l,,& 70 fho ,,o,;,o,