Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-06-08

of the trade, but it served its purpose by at
tracing his attention as I desired.
"What is his nsme?" he asked, turning
that he might stare down at me.
His namel My taciturn friend evidently
had theory of the crime at least
"Guess!''
"I am not good at the business"
81 thought you might have suspicion. "
A flush came into his face, and the hand
holding the fishing line trembled little; but
he said bravely enough:
81 have no suspicion. Who is it?'
"a tramp named Sinker. as far as can
make it out"
My statement had attracted around me the
amateur fishermen, as 1 intended, and they.
listened TO me with the most absorbed atten-
ton, the handsome black-haired man alone
seeming to have lost all interest in the sub
ject The curiosity hunters jeered at my an
nouncement of the arrest OF the imaginary
Siuker.
"It is just like the policel" stammered an
old man whose fishing like was piece of
knotted packing cord, ''it you tell them q
sculpin has eaten your bait, they'll arrest a
mackerel for it. Have they found out who
the woman is?"
NO." answered, the center now Of all
the idlers in the place, "but I'm told they
found the body, and on it breastpin with
the initial letters, E. and G"
ELLA and CyrilP' chirped ont childish
voice. 1 looked down and saw a boy anus
ing himself by dashing very small sculpin
against the wharf.
what is the child driving at?" I asked,
without receiving any answer from the men,
neglected lines. "Who is Ella, little boy?"
dnNb Ia ,rsf 4Y,k
looking up, and with his foot on the
sculpin, from whose capacious mouth he
was trying to extract the swallowed hook.
But Cyrill Cyril Durand, you know,
lives over wonder when he's ter home" The
child INDUCED in comprehensive sweep of
the hand, then halloing, "Hi, Billy, give us
a rowP' rushed from the wharf and van
ished, only to reappear in a rowboat under
the wharf, and to salute me with the title Of
"sculpin mouth"
The youth had only repeated what he had
heard his elders speaking; I don't refer to
"sculpin mouth" but to the word ELLA. I"
That the men had been speaking of the sub
ject their sudden silence convinced me. But
it was not my place to increase their obsti-
macy bv embarrassing them with questions.
1 bided nv time, and stood silently watch
ing while they waited for the fish that
wouldn't bite. kept doggedly by the side
OF the r,an had decided was Otto Morton,
and though he did not know me irsm Adam,
I saw that he would be glad if were away.
For certain reasons made up my mind not
to press my advantage just then, and so I
determined to cultivate the acquaintance of
the man with a red nose, who was winding
up his line preparatory to retiring from the
wharf. / had no doubt that this was the
Mr.. Bantle who had been the doctors COM
panion in the expedition on the evening
before. 1 followed him as he left the wharf
and soon walked beside him. "Mr. Ban
tle?''
That's my name"
''You had very exciting experience last
night"
.'veryp' He was taciturn and grave at
the same time.
"I would like to speak with you, Mr.. Ban
tie. but trust in your secrecy. I am De-
tective Fox"
'Tguessed your business, :" he said quietly;
but he could not conceal his vanity. was
in citizens clothes, and that he could guess
nv profession through my disguise was
supposition that WAS ridiculous. l read
him at once; he was the average stupid man
that wished to appear very wise, so deter
mined TO tickle his vanity and win his heart
at the same time.
"You have eagle eyes to read me so easily.
You are just the kind of man I want; one
of the intelligent sort, whose words are
worth their weight in gold. The Doctor
has been telling me about you"
"The Doctor is good man," he said, with
an assured nod of the head, "but If he has
told you everything, what do you want of
me?''
Several things. In the first place, who
L.
"Mr Otto Merton"
$50 thought. Who is this woman Ella
they talked about?"
"I don't know" .,
"Never heard of her?"
"Heard them speak of ELLA Constant
but never saw her ana know nothing about
her."
"What did they say of her?'
"That she haunted the footsteps of her
former lover, Cyril Durand, haunted him
like ghost and goaded him into despera-
tionP'
do you know this Cyril Durand?"
"Yes; but we were never friendly. His
ways are not my ways. They say he drinks
too much. CANDLES too much, and is too fond
of women. 1 don't personally know any
thing against him, only 1 don't fancy
him."
him?'
81 am not in his confidence. Otto Nor
ton is. Ny information is only secondhand.
What have heard was that he was tired of
her persistency; that she clung to him as
closely as perch to a hook.
what was said of Ella CONSTANT"
"I never met anybody who knew her;
what was known of her came from Durand;
he'd get drunk, and then he would talk of
her and his troubles. He never said any
thing to me, for, as I've said, we were not
intimate. am only telling you what you
could get better elsewhere"
saw that it was Mr. Bantle's eccentricity
to give the credit of what he knew to other
people; but provided 1 got the facts and
runners, was satisfied to humor his whims.
''She stood in his way?" asked.
"She was the cause of Mrs. Glaye bouncing
him."
"She had visited Mrs. Glaye?"
"I don't know, Ionly speak from rumor."
"Dr. Cyril Durand was paying his atten-
tions to Miss Glaye; was everything salts
factory up to the appearance of this Ella
Constant?"
"Durand was always warmly welcomed
by Mrs. Glaye," said nv companion, drylv.
''The old lady was very eager at first to
have her daughter married, until, if rumor
is right, she became the rival of her daugh-
ter"
$50 she fell in love with Durand?"
$50 the story goes"
"And hep"
Head over ears in debt. Put yourself In
his place and guess his actions"
"But he was in love with the daughter?"
81 think he was only afraid of his debts.
If he had any real feeling it was not for Ber-
tha Glaye or her mother. But he was in O
nd h. t-ia h IL 4