The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1894-03-02
CONTINUED
CHAPTER XIII.
RAYMOND AT THE MoRGUE.

them, but this particular morgue had
peculiar keeper, "A man on the shady
side of so. His greed for place, power
and profit was an ineradicable feature
of his character, and there was no risk
he would not take to advance himself.
This was the man who two days aft
er Raymond's rebuff by Mother st.
Gertrude welcomed the political chief
tain into the private Office of the
morgue with:
''Arrah, Mr.. Raymond, how are you,
man? Sure, I'm glad to see you. And
what has brought you up this way, at
all, at all?"
II thought Id drop in to see you.
How are you getting along?"
Fine. The divil a. many are both
erin me these times. People are get
tin to think more of life every day in
the year"
''Then you haven't any bodies here
now?'
"Only one."
HAS this body you now have been
identifed2' Raymond asked.
1.-The divil bit of it. 1t will go to
potter's field. Two women came here
today to sec it-a mother and daugh-
ter. The young woman looked at it
and said it was her brother. She was
about to faint. The mother went closer
and said: 1t is not our Will. The
teeth are all here You see, the man
they were lookin for had broken
tooth. The head had a good deal Of
knockin against the piles in the water,
but if the blaggard had kept his lips
closed and not showed his teeth these
women would have given him dacent
burial.
His clothes were all tattered, +" the
morgue keeper went on, "and the face
battered. The wagon will be here to-
morrow for him, and it mesel won't
be sorry to get rid of his company.
did you know Laurence Mangan?"
questioned Raymond.
Did II" repeated the keeper. I'm
dade l did. Was he frind of yours?"
You ought to know better"
"I'm glad he wasn't. He was a
cheeky fellow. Now, if ever he came
out here on a special case, he'd insist on
me draggin up the body. The other re-
polters take my word and copy the de-
scription out Of the book. You see, if
body is picked up, it gets little no.
tice, but if it's case of murder or sui
eide they rush here. II man Is found
alongshore and no letters in his pockets
to say who he is OF where he KEN from,
he is brought here, and a few lines in the
paper end him. That's all this fellow
get. But you were talkin of ManganI"
hi
Mangan, could you:"
''Is there any reason mightf"
Twill you say itf"
''Seeln as you ask me, will. But
what use? He'll turn up"
''Never mind that.
"All right. I'll tell the boys at po-
lice headquarters that think it's Man
gan. If didn't know it mesel, I'd
take it to be Mangan."
"Some day later on, " said Raymond,
"I'll call upon you. 1t will be rich
joke on Mangan, the better because he
is out of town"
Bad cess to him, it's mesel' that has
long been wishin for this slap at him.
Why, do you know it, sir, now that
took to thinlSin it is Mangan, I'd like
to kick the body. It's had weltin
enough, but my toes wouldn't itch SO
much if had one good crack at it. !"
I'm go out now," said Raymond,
with a forced attempt to smile. II feel
little i'll, and the outside air is better
for me. :"
I'm sure I'm much Obliged TO you
for callin, Mr.. Raymond" said the
morgue keeper when they reached the
sidewalk.
at is l who am obliged to you. Good
day." was Raymond's parting saluta-
ton.
I'm thankful to You, Mr.. Ray
mond."
The keeper went back to the office
and rang up the reporters at police head.
quarters.
"Hellol Helloi Is that the report
ers2 You haven't been up here to see
that body. 1t didn't amount to any
thing, you say? Do you know if Man.
gan s about? No? Well, do you know
this body looks like his2 Yes, that s
what said. l hope it amt, but would
some of you come up? Oh, you can see
it any time. You will? All right.
Goodby."
Such were the telephone sentences he
| delivered to the reporters, and they sug-
| gested what the queries of Mangan 8
comrades in the journalistic profession
were. Usually one man goes out on an
assignment like this, but nearly all the
reporters went up to the morgue to see
the body, trusting that they would not
find it to be Mangan's.
Meanwhile Raymond had commune
Gated with the office Of his newspaper
organ and ordered man TO be sent to
him. There was one there, by Ray
mond himself appointed, whose stories
were passed unedited. They were un-
derstood to come from the chief. This
man staid in the office, killing time as
best pleased him, generally at easy desk
work, ready to respond to the summons
of his superior. In few minutes he
was in tho private office of the registrar
OF arrears, which Raymond had lately
been making his headquarters.
| Raymond s factotum was not news
paper man by training. He was an in
telligent fellow who could write fairly
well and drew two salaries-one from
| tne paper anu one lrol eelty govern
mentor doing nothing, with facil-
ity unequaled. He had sense enough
to realize that ii was none of his bust
ness to be inquisitive. 1t did not come
within the province of his duty to ques-
ton motives, to ask the why or where
fore of this or any other matter he
wrote from dictation. That his instruc-
tions We're sufficiently clear to enable
him to execute his task satisfactorily
was all he sought. He realized that nc
more would be given if he did ask,
and that he might incur displeasure il
he pressed for more information than
was volunteered
| - va got n little niere of work for