Daily camera., 1897-07-28

you are seeking, or never catch the real
criminal l shall SUI! be grateful and love
both you and the doctor to the emo Of my
life.
ANNETTE DELMAR"
DR.. Lampkin folded the letter with
trembling hands. Hendricks paused in
front of him, and smiled coldly.
Now it is your turn to whistle with
your sympathies, old man. l have been
at it all day"
'Do you think you'll ever get within a
mile of the scoundrel?" asked Lampkin,
gloomilyy
81 don't know said Hendricks. with
a frown. Il have told you several times
that | was a blasted ass, haven'tI? Well,
get up here and kick me, and don't let
up till daybreak. At eight o'clock to-
night | was as near our man as l am to
you; | even shook hands with him; and
yet God only knows where he is now"
"What! You don't mean"
"Yes, do. Mean everything. Read
this" Hendricks thrust a sheet of pa
per at The doctor "What do you think
of that"
DR.. I.ampkin stared at the lines in
growing surprise.
'NIinard Hendricks Detective, New
York" the letter began-"I am the man
you are looking for. did the deed, and the
game is up with me. / am tired of lodging
you, and am ready to surrender like man,
| would come to you al once, but have an
enga. cement this evening that | want to
fulfill before LOST g my liberty | have
agreed to give little lecture on 'Hypno-
tism and it's Practical Uses to some peo-
pie at Albridge hall, in Grand street. 1t is
a small place, but you can easily find it. 1
begin to talk a eight o'clock, and the lee
ture will last an hour. If you will let me
finish, | shall be obliged, as I owe man
some money and have promised him the
door receipts Please take a seat in the
front row. as near the center of the hall as
you can. You will be in tough company;
but you won't mind that, if all the ad-
ventures told of-you are true. You need
not fear any foul play on my part. have
nothing against you You are simply doing
your duty, and l admire you for it.
Sincerely yours,
THOMAS HAMPTON FARLEIGH."
Did you go?" asked Lampkin, look
ing up from the letter.
Hendricks smiled grimly. eyes.
was on hand early enough. 1t was a
frightful place, a little narrow hall,
used for lectures, political meetings,
and low-class concerts. About a hun
dred people were present, mostly men.
You can judge what the crowd was when
| say that the price of admission was IS
cents. ] got seat near the center of
the little stage, in the first row. The
drop-curtain was down, but promptly
at eight it was drawn up.
"a boy came out on the stage from be-
hind the scenes, bringing the lecturers
table, and placed it near the footlights.
The crowd began to applaud with sticks
and umbrellas, and in the uproar our
heroappeared, bowling and smiling, quite
at ease, assure you. Really, I admired
him for his coolness. He was exactly
the style of man described by Matthews
as having paid the mysterious visit to
Strong His hair was white, and he was
very thin, sallow, and dark skinned
He looked as if he had not eaten any
thing nor had square nights sleep for
a month.
"He recognized me, and singled me
out with bow and a smile, then stepped
down from the stage and held out his
band cordially.
81 am glad to meet you, Mr.. Hen
dricks,' he said. I hope my talk will
not bore you; that is, if you have de-
cided to let me make it,
eco ahead. by all MEANS I replied.
4 shall be Interested
''He thanked me, and went back on
the stage. He talked for 90 minutes in
a very eloquent, smooth way about
hypnotism, and called several men up
to be hypnotized. He made them do a
number of laughable things, and then
asked them to take their seats in the
audience While he was doing this,
| saw a change come over his face that
/ could not interpret. He seemed to be-
come depressed. He leaned forward,
with hand on each side of his table.
and said: Now, gentlemen, I am going
to show you a mechanical arrangement
that will interest you Then he turned
and went behind the scenes.
"It did not take me half minute to
smell mouse. l srrang over the foot
lights, and surprised the boy who had
been assisting him by suddenly rushing
into the dressing
"'Where is Mr.. rarleigh? :? | asked.
Gone the boy replied. He told me
to tell you he had changed his mind and
would not wait for you. The lecture is
off for tonight
(Which way did he go?' l asked.
"'The stage door, SIR said the boy.
81 tried the door. 1t was locked on
the outside. Itwould have been folly to
force it. He had escaped me. | went
quietly out at the front door, leaving
the audience impatiently waiting for
the return of the lecturer and his me
chanical arrangement Since then
have been searching every possible hole
that man might have run into, but am