Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1893-02-04

I thought.
Now. papa. she hegan. without
no much ~ btsstowing glance Oh
me. put away all that h0riid work
and take me to the horticultural eS
hildfim. I've set my heart On going
this afternoon
"Impnedble. my dear child. re
piled Mr Burt. II have heaps to do
here. and ut 2 o'clock ! have to at
tend meeting Of the Parafiin trust
nj the Cannon Street hUtel Cam
you get the Plyinptons to take youf
Mis- Burt made pretty little dis
play of filial disappointment but
bowed Ia the inevitable.
II suppose must. " you can't or
won't come. she replied What u
nuinaDce these meetings arel Why
you We bad two this week already
Yes. and I've got another tOmor
row. said Mr. Burt abstrHtedly
This Is busy time. Tiix. and I'm
Obliged to keep bard at 1t. ="
Il believe you are making more
money than is good for you. replied
the young lady flippantly. ~ she pre-
pared to take her leave without try
ing her powers ut persuasion further
She paused at the door. however. to
ask
What time did you say your meet
ing at the Cannon Street hotel was
TO BET"
Two o'clock"
"And 1t will lastY"
"A couple of hours at least.
"Ah It's no use my waiting for
you then. Goodby till dinner time. v
and with frolicsome wave Of the
hand Miss Burt left us alone again.
1T was the young lady who has
Just been here who suggested the
idea of thought reading as solution
of this mystery" / asked.
mo, not in connection with this
affair, but generally. You see, she
Is almost a child--has no mother,
poor thing-and about six months
ago she met a young fellow who
gives thought reading entertain.
Bertram solvyn his name Is,
I dare say you have heard Of him.
Well, Trixie and this man got very
thick. de was after money no
doubt, and had to nip it in the bud.
She took it quietly enough, but sho
liz always telling me that Solvyn re-
vealed lot about thought reading,
and that there are plenty Of people
about who can spot what one IL
thinking just by looking at one.
When re-entered the private
room. after half an hours absence,
brought with me a small photo
graphic camera Of my own inven
ton II was fashioned in the form
of u carriage clock. for which any
ordinary observer would have taken
it, but 1t was fitted with powerful
lens and an instantaneous shutter,
which could he worked automatically
from distance by means Of an cleo
tric wire don't always let my
clients into my secrets at the outset
of "a case. and ! thought it best for
the camera to remain clock in Mr.
Burt's eyes.
Placing the apparatus on the man
tel piece. | made a connection be
tween the shutter and the drawer
where the cables" lay, running the
wire along the wall and under the
floor cloth in such a way that it could
not attract attention. If any one
opened the drawer knew that the
lense would do its work and that ]
should be in possession of the por
trait of the opener
Az we left the room together no
ticed that the window was open and
called Mr. Burt's attention to the
fact.
"Oh, yes" he said, Il like fresh
air always keep the window open.
! see what you are thinking about.
but II IL n moral impossibility for any
one to enter unseen that way. II
could only he done by means o! a
ladder eighty feet long placed in the
center Of u crowded alley below. See
for yourself"
II was true enough The wall of
the lofty building ran sheer down
into sort Of alley or courtyard
through which was n public thor
oughfare teeming with business men
taking advantage of the short cut ''
A ladder placed there would have
created an obstruction that would
have been promptly resented. So
we went our several ways, firm in
the conviction that the room was
unassalilableexeept through the door
way,
Al 4 o'clock ! returned 20 Queen
Victoria street and found Mr. Burt
waiting for mo In the outer office. On
passing through the anteroom on our
way to the private sinetum noticed
that Mr. johnson was absent. and
learned that he had gone out to the
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