Mexico weekly ledger., 1890-04-24


morning following the day Holbrook
had been surprised by his three widely
separated visitors bent on the same er-
rand, there occurred a scene which
greatly excited the interest, no less han
the curiosity, of the Shadow, who occu-
pied the back room of the second floor
Of the house in question.
On this particular morning, because he
had been out the greater part of the
previous night, and because Tom had in
formed him that he would not require
his services until the afternoon, he had
slept late.
The occupant of the adjoining room,
that is to say, the front room, was an
old man, nearly if not quite seventy
years old. Who he was, or what his be-
longings were, had long since ceased to
be of interest to anybody in the neigh
borhood. He was accepted as a fact of
the locality, just as the corner grocery
and the hydrant were.
He was rarely quite sober, and when
he was, it was early in the morning be-
fore he had had time to make an early
visit to the rum mill Of which he was
the most frequent customer.
1t had become a settled fact that he
was a man Of property, for he had al
ways enough money to buy drink and
pay his board bill. From time to time
he sailed forth from the street, and
when he returned it was known that he
was flush, and so the neighborhood had
come to believe implicitly that these
occasional excursions were for the pur-
pose of collecting his rents and receiving
his interest.
From his life long habit of spying on
people, the Shadow had kept an eye on
him.
Between the front and back rooms
there was a space divided into closets.
One was entered through a door from
the front room and the other from the
back room.
The Shadow had long ago discovered
that there had been, ICE upon a time,
an opening in the partition which di-
vided the closets, doubtless for the pur-
pose of ventilation. When the closets
had been papered this opening had been
covered up
By standing on his trunk in the closet
he could bring his head on a level with
this opening, concealed only by the thin
paper. If the door between the front
room and the closet were open anything
said in an ordinary tone of voice could
be distinctly heard.
The Shadow had broken a hole into
the wall which separated the front room
from his closet, on his side. And once,
when the opportunity had presented
itself, he had slipped into the front room
unseen and made a hole corresponding
on the other side SO deity that it APP
peared as if it had been made by a vio-
lent pushing Of a chair against it.
By this means he could frequently de-
termine who were in that room.
When he was awakened on this par
ticular morning by a noise apparently
caused by the overturning of a chair, he
sprang out of his bed as if he had re-
ceived a shock.
That he should go into the closet and
place himself at the point of observation
was due only to his invariable habit Of
spying.
He saw the occupant of the room sit
| ting with his back to him at a table in
| the center, while on the opposite side
was George Parker, the attorney.
"Ah," said the Shadow, there's mis-
chief. Inever knew that old scamp of
a lawyer in anything that was not mis-
| chief"
He climbed to the top of the trunk
and listened.
All he heard for a moment was the
scratching Of a pen as it was driven rap
idly owe paper.
Finally he heard Parker's voice.
Snow see here, Preston, I have care.
fully written this story down, and you
must familiarize yourself with it"
"How much is true and how much
falseg'
sit doesn't make any difference how
much is true or false; this story" slap
ping the papers) s'has got to be the true
one. Now, I want you TO study over it
and ] will come again and again anC
talk with you until you get it pat"
"Well, I'll try it."
"I you would stop drinking and ge'
the rum out of your sodden old brai1
you would get it all right enough. Yot
used to be sharpenough,i in all conscienc,
sake
IAN as sharp now as ! ever was, onl,
I car recollect AZ | used to. That's be
cause I'm getting old
ITS because you are getting you
skin full of whisky every day. Now
see hers. You are a brotherof Charlie
Preston
"0f course / am, or why did he Civ,
me money for fifteen years.
whats the use OF cur arguing tina
point e mskes no differsnce betwee,